Chapter 613 - 5: Gold_2
By searching through various platforms, Chen Zhou quickly found some online gold recycling companies that appeared more reliable.
Banks repurchase gold on the condition that it has no scratches or wear and tear, and require proof of purchase such as invoices, certificates, and packaging.
According to the information Chen Zhou found online, banks require gold to be brought to designated outlets for repurchase, and reservations must be made in advance. The bank will repurchase the gold at the international gold price of the day, deducting a 2%~5% handling fee.
Among all the channels for repurchasing gold, banks are the safest and most reliable, with prices being transparent and close to real-time gold prices.
Unfortunately, the goods Chen Zhou had were "unpresentable" items, and their purity was unlikely to reach Au99.99. Moreover, the shape was entirely different from the gold bars and jewelry that banks dealt with, so this path to liquidity was obviously blocked.
Aside from banks, most people use professional gold recycling companies to convert gold into cash.
These companies do not limit the brand or type of gold they recycle, and prices are referenced to real-time gold prices. According to the description, they are similar to banks as recycling agencies.
However, they are not banks, and even if they are legitimate and qualified, issues such as price suppression or falsely reported losses may occur during the recycling process.
Since the seller’s gold lacks proof of purchase, the recycling company will conduct destructive testing to verify its purity, inevitably causing loss in the process.
This loss is borne by the seller.
Gold is calculated by the gram, so even slightly exaggerating the loss during testing can earn one thousands more yuan. Faced with such substantial profits, who can resist greed?
As for offline gold shops buying back gold, it actually results in a greater loss than gold recycling companies.
Except for investment bars issued by brand gold shops, which can be bought back at real-time gold prices, gold shops typically deduct for loss and labor costs, in addition to the loss incurred by recycling companies, resulting in less cash being obtained.
Pawnshops incur the most significant loss.
Their price is about 70% to 80% of the real-time gold price, meaning gold priced at 1,000 yuan per gram can only be sold for 700 or 800 yuan per gram at a pawnshop.
Pawnshops have no advantage other than quick liquidity and ease of sale.
The Gold ATM was something new to Chen Zhou, which he had never heard of before.
It is only found in large cities’ international shopping malls, resembling an ATM machine, capable of intelligent gold recycling and self-service gold purchasing.
According to the information Chen Zhou found, a Gold ATM can recycle up to 1,000 grams of gold in one transaction.
One only needs to enter personal information into the machine, then open the recovery cabin door and deposit the gold. You can then watch the gold smelting and inspection process in real-time through a glass screen in a transparent testing room.
Gold products need only meet the criterion of having a gold content of over 50% to be recycled.
After confirming the recycling and entering the payment account information, the seller receives the funds.
In terms of liquidity speed, Gold ATMs are even faster than pawnshops, with the entire process being intelligent and without manual intervention, making it convenient.
The handling fee for Gold ATMs is 18 yuan per gram of gold; while not cheap, it is acceptable for Chen Zhou, a "tycoon sitting on a mountain of gold."
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The gold recycling companies Chen Zhou found online all support both offline and door-to-door recycling methods. The nearest site is 300 kilometers from Balin Town, and it takes about four hours by bus to reach.
With 28 days remaining until the end of the private storage space contract, he must quickly find a safe and concealed place to remove all assets and store them securely, then slowly liquidate them.
Chen Zhou already had a suitable choice for the best place to store the assets in mind—
On the outskirts of the new street in the south of the town, there is an abandoned factory building. It is in a remote location, made of reinforced concrete, with three floors above ground and one underground.
This factory was used to produce alcohol years ago. After the distillery went out of business, it was taken over by the government and remained in their hands because no one wanted to take it over.
A tall wall was built around the factory, with a barbed wire fence on top.
The factory has two doors, front and back. The back door is smaller, allowing only one vehicle to pass through, while the front door is large and made of iron, but it has collapsed due to years of neglect.
During the summer holidays in middle school, Chen Zhou and his classmates sneaked into the abandoned building to play.
The factory’s underground cellar used for storing alcohol left a deep impression on him.
It was pitch dark inside, with passageways leading in all directions, resembling a small air-raid shelter.
Deep inside, a few rooms were separated, with heavy iron gates installed at the entrances. The entire gate area was surrounded by thick concrete walls, making it suitable as a storage room.
Chen Zhou wanted to buy the factory, clear out the trash, and simply refurbish the building. After hooking up electricity and internet lines, he would install surveillance and place a couple of rows of safes in the separate underground rooms to store gold.
The factory’s open courtyard was perfect for raising a few dogs and planting a vegetable garden, allowing the dogs to guard the home while achieving self-sufficiency.
Purchasing an abandoned factory and renovating it may seem grandiose, but with 24-hour surveillance and the dogs, it was safer than burying it randomly in a mountain gully.
Balin Town isn’t a big city; it’s just a small inland town in the north.
The abandoned factory is in a neglected corner of the town, and as long as he kept it quiet, no one would know about anything happening beneath this unnoticed building.