Reading a gold price board: buy, sell and the spread

Every gold board has two columns. Many first-time buyers read them the wrong way round.

Two columns, from the shop's side

• Buy: what the shop pays when you sell gold to it.
• Sell: what you pay when you buy gold from it.

The sell price is always higher. The gap is your cost if you buy and immediately sell back.

Units

Many boards quote per tael; the Kim Bảo Minh Châu website quotes per chỉ with grams. To convert a tael price to chỉ, divide by 10.

The cost of a round trip

Illustrative example: 9999 rings buy at 14.0 million VND per chỉ and sell at 14.3 million. Buy 5 chỉ and sell straight back:

• Paid: 5 × 14.3 = 71.5 million VND
• Received: 5 × 14.0 = 70.0 million VND
• Round-trip cost: 1.5 million VND, about 2.1%

Gold must rise by more than the spread before a buyer profits on sale.

World price converted

The Gold prices page includes world gold converted: the USD per ounce price turned into VND per chỉ at the exchange rate. The gap between domestic and converted world prices moves with local demand, import costs and policy.

What is different about the KBMC board

• Timestamped to the second, applying to boutique and website at once.
• Drafted by one person and approved by another.
• Shown alongside other companies' prices and the world price for comparison.
• A 5-year history chart so you can see the trend before deciding.

This article is information, not investment advice.