Examples

• 2006 Krugerrand Proof Set from Westminster Collections
  Westminster price £1,995 Chard price £895
  We had, in December 2006, 2 of these sets in stock during the year, 1 had already sold, but we still had the other one in stock as we wrote this, (see our 2006 Krugerrand Proof Set page). It was only when we bought the second set that we found an order leaflet from Westminster, showing their price as £1,995; although it did offer "Easypay" 0% Interest Free Payments - pay in 5 instalments at 2 monthly intervals of £399 each.
• Royal Mint Sovereign Collections
  
  Gold Sovereign Mintmarks' Monarchs 8-coin Collection £1,645.00 (over £205 per coin)
  There are only 7 different mints and mintmarks, the Royal Mint moved from London to Llantrisant.
  At the time of writing we were selling a 7 coin mintmark set for £695 (£99 per coin), in the same grades, and better grades at up to £825 (£118 per coin).
  • The Royal Sovereign Collection £2,495.00 (£119 per coin)
    According to the Royal Mint, this contains 21 bullion sovereigns "As a special tribute to the Queen in her Coronation Anniversary year," (although it fails to state which anniversary). Extremely Fine condition
    We offer a 24 coin QEII sovereign collection, every date issued from 1957 to 2006 inclusive for £2,595 (£108 per coin), Uncirculated condition.
  • 20th Century London Mint Bullion Half Sovereigns Collection £1,595.00
    The Mint fail to specify how many coins are included, but the photographs show 16.
    According to the Mint "Each coin in the Golden Finale Collection has been specially selected for its state of preservation", although they fail to specify which grade.
    We do not currently offer this as one of our stock products, but could make them up by request for about £995, and this would almost certainly be in better grades than those supplied by the Mint.
  In all three Royal Mint offers, an attractive looking wooden or wood veneer box is included, whereas our sets are supplied in plastic cases. It we estimate the boxes to be worth about £50 each, their sets still look vastly overpriced!

Advice

• Shop Around
  Although, we try to make it possible for you to avoid needing to do so, by offering fair and competitive prices throughout.
• Use Your Intelligence
  
• There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
  
• Interest Free Credit, Credit Cards, and PayPal all conceal hidden extra costs passed on to the consumer.
  
• Consider Waiting for New Releases
  
  If you can manage to live without the absolutely latest coin or set as soon as is released, are are patient enough to wait, you will often be able to buy it for a huge discount off its original price.
• If You Want the Latest and Can't Wait
  At least shop around. We, and a few competitors, offer very competitive pre-release prices on many higher priced gold proof sets and coins.
  One example is the 2007 gold 4-coin gold proof sets, which we sell for £300 less than the Mint.
  We have to keep a slightly low key on some of our prices, otherwise the Royal Mint get shirty about being undercut on their own products, however as we make a secondary market and they don't, we feel justified in deciding our own price levels.
  Some new issues we refuse to stock as we feel they would still be overpriced even at the price we would be able to offer them at.
• If It's "Too Good to be True", then it probably isn't.
  
• eBay and other auction sites are not always the cheapest way to buy.
  They are also not the most convenient or safest ways to buy.
• Do Your Homework
  If you do a little research before you start spending your money, it will usually repay you dividends.
  Our websites, for example, contain literally thousands of pages of advice, and we try to ensure it is easy to find.

More to Follow
We are still editing this page, as at 11th December 2006.

2006 Price Increases Leave Older Gold as Bargains
We believe that many existing gold proof coins, sets, and other collectable gold coins remain bargains, as their prices have not yet risen in line with gold bullion price increases.