Categories of Gold Buyers
The words gold buyers and this phrase taken as a whole, have two meanings: we are either referring to that category of buyers that have specialized counters and who have this day to day function as an occupation, or we are referring to those people that buy gold to invest in it, that buy gold for its functions and properties.
I think you have understood that the first category of gold buyers is also known as dealers, who have the occupation of buying gold from other people that want to sell their scrap gold. Scrap gold can be everything from broken jewelries of any kind, nuggets, dental fillings, broken, damaged gold, therefore gold in any form that is no longer of any practical use to you, and which can be recycled meaning melted and reused.
The second category mentioned above is that of investors that buy gold for the following reasons: to make a profit over a short period of time based on the gold price fluctuations, to add another asset to their portfolio for diversification purposes, or to hedge themselves against inflation and currencies devaluations.
We can also talk of a more special category of gold buyers in the person of collectors from all over the world. These individuals develop such an increased interest for gold, especially in gold coins, that they are not valuing their purchases taking into consideration the daily evolution of the gold price.
Gold Buyers as Investors
Gold buyers represented by investors a large part of the traders that act on the spot market. These are the persons that speculate on gold, meaning on its evolution. Therefore, through their demand or supply, they influence how gold evolves. The continually increasing amount of gold investors makes us found ourselves transacting on a bull market.
Before 2007 central banks were only acting as gold sellers, however after that year when the financial crisis started, they took the decision to be gold buyers again.
People found themselves in the position of gold buyers because they feel the need to invest into something that will bring them security and a feeling of safety, and also to invest into a commodity that is profitable. Gold is a precious metal with an intrinsic value that is not influenced by the economic situations of certain countries.
Gold Buyers as Dealers
Gold buyers in the person of dealers will purchase gold from anyone that has scrap gold for sale. They are interested in any kind and any shape, as long as it is made of gold.
When you sell your gold to a dealer, you should know that they will charge you a fee for accepting your gold, which is called handing fee. Therefore, the price received for your scrap gold will be calculated in the following way: from the gold spot price for that respective day will be deducted the handling fee. These gold buyers will usually pay their clients on the spot.
As you can see when you take your scrap gold to gold buyers, you have to thoroughly search for the dealer with the smallest handling fee; that is how you will make sure that you will receive the maximum amount of money for your gold.