Just as in any business venture, success depends on how well you know the ropes and when you buy gold from another country, there are a lot of ropes to know.

There is a seemingly endless amount of paperwork, hours of phone work verifying sellers, confirming gold and negotiating prices; and all of it with people who often don’t speak English.

So if you do decide to go it alone, you can expect a lot of hard work, a lot of frustration and no guarantees that when your shipping gold finally arrives, it will contain what you actually ordered.

Many of the gold seller you will encounter online offering cheap gold are not gold sellers at all, many scammers pose as African local gold miner on the internet, and if they manage to get your money, you won’t see it again, nor have any legal recourse for getting it back.

That’s why many buyers that buy gold from African countries prefer to use a local purchasing agent. The agency takes care of all the shipping documentation, taxes, fees, customs declarations and the like and verifies the credentials of the gold seller on your behalf.

But often, that’s all they do. If they are based in abroad, they have little control over what happens at the sellerer’s end, other than what they can glean over the telephone.

The ideal agent to help you is the one based in the country you are buying gold from. Local representation is vital to ensure you avoid the common pitfalls of scammers posing as gold seller.

Local knowledge

A local agent knows the local gold miners or sellers in the various regions where certain gold are mine and the legitimate players in these regions. They can verify your chosen gold seller’s credentials far more accurately than you can ever do by phone or email.

Gold Inspection

A locally based agent can also visit the local gold miner on your behalf, confirm gold and quality and ensure you are getting what you are paying for. They know the local language and customs, which means they are treated as locals rather than as foreigners to be exploited.

Troubleshooting

Because your purchasing agent is there on the spot, they are able to visit the gold seller at short notice if problems arise, Having someone on the ground to assess the problem and deal with it there and then can not only save you time, but potentially a lot of money as well.

So whether you choose to go it alone as a gold buyer or seek the services of a reputable gold purchasing agent really comes down to whether you:

• Trust your chosen gold seller
• Are able to deal effectively via phone and email
• Know the local language and customs
• Know all the red tape to be followed

You may find after your first attempt that the fee you would have paid to an agent is nothing compared to the amount of money you have lost through time spent away from your business.