Gold purchasing and storage at home comes with its own set of risks. From theft to natural disasters, it could end up costing a considerable amount over time.
Retaining bullion at home can limit its diversification potential. Once word gets out about your investment, others could access your precious metals – becoming potential targets of thieves.
1. It’s expensive
Gold is an expensive asset to keep at home, which makes its storage an unwise decision for large quantities of gold or silver.
Physical bullion requires extra security measures for safekeeping, so investing in a safe or vault is ideal to safeguarding precious metal investments at home. Most models feature tamper-proof seals to help avoid theft or loss.
Another concern when keeping gold at home is maintaining privacy. Informing others of your holdings could put it at risk from theft; gold should also remain out of sight as its value should remain hidden from view.
2. It’s difficult to sell
If you want to sell gold jewelry or coins that you no longer want, visiting a physical store and waiting for someone to buy them from you can be tediously time-consuming. They must first test and evaluate your precious metals; which takes some time.
Furthermore, most homeowner’s policies don’t cover jewelry and valuables, making them easy targets for thieves. Therefore, it is recommended not to disclose its location to anyone other than trusted confidantes.
Online selling to trusted buyers eliminates many of the hassles and storage concerns of selling in your own home, while being much faster and more convenient due to no business hours limitations compared to physical stores.
3. It’s not insured
Home storage offers many advantages over shipping costs, but buyers must first invest in a safe or depository, purchase desiccants and dehumidifiers, as well as pay insurance premiums. Unfortunately, homeowners’ policies typically cover only limited jewelry and valuables.
Storage makes gold more difficult to sell. In an ever-transient society, many find it inconvenient and impractical to move precious metals between homes; so instead they may keep it at one location with only confidantes knowing exactly where it lies; this poses a potential danger if that person falls ill, becomes incapacitated or passes away unexpectedly.
4. It’s not industrial
Home storage poses its own security threats. Once burglars learn of an individual’s possession of valuable gold bullion at home, their interest may grow even more in breaking in and searching through its contents.
Safe deposit boxes offer the ideal solution, being steel vaults designed to thwart thieves from every direction. Unfortunately, however, such storage solutions are costly; their rental costs start at 600 pounds for even a relatively small box that may only fit a few bars of gold.
Also, most homeowner’s policies don’t cover jewelry or other valuables without an add-on rider, making storing precious metals at home an unnecessary risk if their price increases dramatically while they remain stored there.
5. It’s inefficient
Home gold storage can be an attractive option for buyers, yet it also comes with some downsides: selling can be more challenging and security risks are greater.
Gold purchased and stored at home requires extra safeguards in order to protect it from theft or burglary, such as installing a secure safe and purchasing additional insurance policies. Furthermore, it’s subject to natural disasters such as fires and floods.
Home storage involves disclosing its location to others, which can be risky in case you become incapacitated or die and they cannot gain access to your bullion. Therefore, this option should only be considered suitable for small quantities; larger amounts should opt for another storage option like vault or bank storage options for increased efficiency and security.