Selling your gold in Singapore: testing, pricing and getting paid

How selling gold to us works, step by step

There's no need to book. Walk in during opening hours, Monday to Saturday 12pm to 8pm and Sunday 2pm to 8pm, and tell us what you'd like to sell. If you want a rough idea first, look at the live prices on our market page, or send us photos of your pieces on WhatsApp and we'll tell you what we'll need to see.

At the counter, the order is the same every time. Nothing is final until you say yes.

• You hand over your bars or coins, with any certificates, cards or receipts.
• We look over each piece, weigh it and test it.
• We quote a price from the live market at that moment, based on weight and purity.
• You accept or decline. If you decline, your pieces come straight back to you.
• If you accept, we record the sale and pay you.

What we check when you bring gold to the counter

We test every piece before we buy it, just as we test everything before we sell it. Staff start with what the eye can tell: the refiner's mark, the stated weight and fineness, the edges and finish, and whether the size looks right for the weight. Then each piece goes on the scale.

Next come the instruments. A Precious Metal Verifier (PMV) checks how the metal responds electrically beneath the surface, while XRF reads the make-up of the surface itself. PAMP bars also get a Veriscan check, which compares the bar's surface pattern with the one PAMP recorded when the bar was made. Our separate guides on PMV, XRF and Veriscan go into what each one can and can't tell you.

None of these tests marks or damages a genuine bar or coin. If something doesn't add up, we'll tell you plainly what we found and why we can't buy it. It doesn't happen often.

How your selling price is set from the live spot price

Gold trades around the world through the day, and the world spot price moves with it. Our prices follow that live price. The figure you're quoted reflects the market while you're standing at the counter, not what you saw that morning and not what you paid when you bought.

The quote starts from the pure gold in your piece. One troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and a 1 kg bar holds about 32.15 troy ounces. A 22 karat coin such as a Krugerrand or an American Gold Eagle is 91.6% gold, but the coin is made heavier so that it still holds a full troy ounce of pure gold. So a Krugerrand and a 999.9 Maple Leaf carry the same amount of gold, even though their purity is different.

Because the price keeps moving, we can't fix a number over the phone and hold it until you arrive. You can follow the live figures on bullionking.sg/market so you know roughly where things stand before you come in.

The buy-back spread: why selling price and buying price differ

At any given moment, the price we pay for a bar is lower than the price we sell that same bar for. That gap is the buy-back spread. It isn't a charge for selling. It covers testing, handling, holding stock and getting the metal back into the market.

The spread isn't the same for every item. A well-known bar from a refiner such as PAMP, Valcambi or Perth Mint, in good condition, is easy for us to resell. Unusual items, damaged pieces, or anything that may have to go back to a refinery take more work, and the price reflects that. Our guide on spot price and selling price covers the buying side.

The spread also explains why buying and then selling again soon after usually returns less than you paid. Better to know that going in than to find out at the counter.

What to bring when you sell gold

Bring your NRIC or passport. We're registered with the Ministry of Law under the PSPM Act (registration No. PS20260001016), and we keep records of what we deal in. For larger transactions, above S$20,000, the Act requires us to take your identity details, so carrying your ID saves a second trip.

Paperwork helps as well. Original receipts or invoices, the assay card or certificate, and the original box or pouch don't change how much gold is in a piece. They do make it quicker to confirm what it is and where it came from. If your bar has been taken out of its card, that's fine; it gets tested the same way. Our guide on sealed assay cards explains the trade-offs of opening one.

Please don't clean anything before you come. Polishing, rubbing at tarnish or scrubbing with household products leaves fine scratches, and in our humid weather silver especially will tone again anyway. Bring your pieces as they are, ideally in whatever you stored them in.

• NRIC or passport
• Original receipts or invoices, if you still have them
• Assay cards, certificates and original packaging
• Your bank details, in case you'd like payment by transfer

Getting paid and keeping a record of the sale

Once you accept the quote, we record each piece and then pay you. If you're selling a large amount, message us on WhatsApp beforehand and we'll explain how payment will work for your sale, so there are no surprises on the day.

Ask for a record of the sale and keep it with your other bullion paperwork. It shows what you sold, when and for how much. That's handy for your own files, and for any family member who later wonders what happened to a holding.

You don't have to sell everything at once. Plenty of people bring in a couple of small bars or coins and keep the rest at home. The testing and the pricing work the same way whatever you bring.