Excavation: The Karatbars 1g Gold Card in Detail
You want a bright idea on how to begin a portfolio of gold. Internet presents a snazzy picture: gold in a sealed credit-card-like holder, with holograms and logos embossed on it. And this is the karatbars 1g gold, a small chip of hope at first time buyer or pocket-sized insurance policy lovers. It will be so chic, but is it smart? Or even a cul-de-sac in a tin foil?
With clean sleeves we will roll them up and talk about these gold cards. We will get to see actual figures, check the balance between the positive and the negative, and laugh (or sigh) over some of the crazier aspects of the market.
What Are The Karatbars 1g Gold Cards?
Begin with the beginnings. Karatbars are not some oddball technology you never heard of—it is simply an ounce of gold. The gold is sealed in a plastic card, with a security hologram, a serial number, assay information and branding. And this fancy packaging leads so conveniently to your wallet or in a dusty sock drawer. It does not appear in any way like the piles of sovereigns of your granddad. It is being sold as mobile fortune gold you can stash around like a credit card.
How Compare Karatbars: Premiums and Real Value
This is what it boils down to. Approximately one gram of gold costs about 55-65 in the UK (at time of writing, but this also goes up and down with the markets). A short Google search however displays a different story when you just enter the word karatbars 1g gold cards. They can be bought at a regularly of 70-90 pounds or indeed more on third party markets. That is a beefy premium.
Why? The solution is in branding, packaging and the size of small side. Processing of a 1g card is as fiddly to a manufacturer as a larger bar, but the cost is crowd into a much smaller object. And that is followed by all the marketing jazz; glitzy holograms, glamorous websites with lots of promises.
The buyers have been hit by the realization that they are paying 20-40 percent premium above the underlying price of gold to get a gram of gold in a plastic bag. Assuming you want to get the most metal per DOLLAR, classic bars of well-known refiners such as PAMP, Valcambi, or Metalor will be almost always priced lower.
Portability, Security and Gifting Pros of Karatbars 1g Cards
We do of course have to appreciate where the props are due however. As compared to loose gold or scrap jewellery, checking and carrying a karatbars 1g gold card is easy. Serial numbers, holograms and sealed packaging discourage tampering and allow authenticity to be proved with ease.
There is also a factor of gifts. Inserting a gold card in a birthday card or an envelope in a wedding is what I would call exercising power. The packaging and labeling transform a personal present into something very special indeed as opposed to that shifty market gift certificate.
And, to be honest, in case you lose a karatbar somewhere, it won’t go away in the vacuum machine bag. It is credit-card sized so it is less likely to be misplaced than a flickable micro-bar.
MLM Question: Why are Karatbars Boring?
Karatbars International made the news when it launched its business structure that had resonated with affiliate marketing. Others refer to it as a pyramid scheme—plenty of the marketing activities and focus on recruiting more consumers and suppliers compared to just selling gold as a product.
In a number of jurisdictions regulators raised concerns over unlicensed products and false advertising of new types of digital currencies which purportedly are backed by gold. To put it briefly: Its route taken by the business evoked eye rolling not to mention legal action. It does not imply that the gold is a fake but it insinuates that the buyers need to be extra cautious and not go through exaggerated statements of future dividends or promises of almost guaranteed prices.
What is of interest to you, the UK investor, is that all the physical gold should be verifiable, authentic and easy to sell. Disregard flashy terms and choose your decision using math and not a marketing buzz.
Exit: Where to get a buyout?
Is It Easy To Sell Karatbars 1g Gold?
The king of precious metals is liquidity. Can you sell them fast enough as a stack of hundreds of karatbars 1g gold cards as you could a gold Britannia coin, or a PAMP bar? The easy way to answer is that the answer is sometimes, but frequently below calendar spot price.
UK mainstream bullion dealers seldom buy them (karatbars) back at full market value. They like bars and coins that have been minted by reputable refiners, are marked with hallmarks and registered on precious metal exchanges. Karatbars brand is on a borderline line—known to most but unknown to many. When trying to sell, a buyer will doubt authenticity, and strive to negotiate more.
Constructing a Reasonable Portfolio: Finishing Adonis About Karatbars 1g Gold
PR spade should name PR spade. Efficiency at stacking pure bullion, karatbars take last place. Added expenditure of packaging and branding cuts away with the returns. This much money that you will never see once more, unless another person cares about that card as much as you cared.
Though, in case you enjoy variety, desire safe presents or require a dose of a rainy day emergency stock, you will enjoy their convenience. A modest purchase just to have fun will not ruin your plan, but a portfolio bet on them? That is drawing lots.
Whenever making big purchases, veterans use bigger bars, coins that are readily identified, or already mature mint merchandise. Add little karatbars, to spice things up, should it make you not feel bored, or allow people see the reality behind the magic of gold.
Portfolios thrive the best when they are constructed on liquidity, trustworthy, and broadly accepted assets. Karatbars 1g gold may have a cameo role but do not take this as the principle of the show. It is all that glitter, but avoid being blinded by the glitz, and go back to plain old common-sense investing. Keep studying, keep your mind up, and you will be grateful that it is worth the stack of gold.
