• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

GOLD or COMICS - Which will be the better investment?

Started by dekeuk,

Which asset class will increase more in value during the next 5 years?  

375 members have voted

  1. 1. Which asset class will increase more in value during the next 5 years?

    • 21240
    • 21239
    • 21240

218 posts in this topic

qualitycomix

qualitycomix

Posted
Posted
As I understand it, silver is a far better investment than gold. Silver is not being mined anymore (hard for me to believe but I understand from a radio commentator that is the case), and has a lot more uses than gold.

 

I know gold is the standard and has been "forever", but I still don't understand why. Tradition? Glitterness? We had to pick something, so we picked what we could find the least of at the time?

 

There are so many things more useful than gold. Heck, why isn't the "standard" women?

 

(oops, there he goes again) :)

 

Gold is:

1) durable (also doesn't oxidize in air or water)

2) it is scarce

3) it requires great effort to mine/acquire

4) it has industrial uses (currently in electronics/dentistry)

5) generally chemically unreactive

 

So?

 

So compare that to women. They aren't scarce, most aren't very durable, don't have any industrial uses that I know of and are very chemically reactive. Bad idea as a medium of exchange.

 

There are no other metals or substances (in the ancient world) that had these properties. That is why gold was used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conditionfreak

conditionfreak

Posted
Posted
As I understand it, silver is a far better investment than gold. Silver is not being mined anymore (hard for me to believe but I understand from a radio commentator that is the case), and has a lot more uses than gold.

 

I know gold is the standard and has been "forever", but I still don't understand why. Tradition? Glitterness? We had to pick something, so we picked what we could find the least of at the time?

 

There are so many things more useful than gold. Heck, why isn't the "standard" women?

 

(oops, there he goes again) :)

 

Gold is:

1) durable (also doesn't oxidize in air or water)

2) it is scarce

3) it requires great effort to mine/acquire

4) it has industrial uses (currently in electronics/dentistry)

5) generally chemically unreactive

 

So?

 

So compare that to women. They aren't scarce, most aren't very durable, don't have any industrial uses that I know of and are very chemically reactive. Bad idea as a medium of exchange.

 

There are no other metals or substances (in the ancient world) that had these properties. That is why gold was used.

 

1. Good women are few and far between (scarce).

 

2. They usually live longer than men (durability).

 

3. Produce babies. Work in factories and everywhere else, and more of them are maintaining jobs during these hard economic times than men are. They do the dishes and cook the food. Wash the clothes, etc, blah, blah, all so I don't have too (industrial uses).

 

4. Are so much prettier than sheep (again, uses).

 

:makepoint::roflmao:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kimik

kimik

Posted
Posted
Nor everything you read on the internet forum sites.

 

Right, so you should check with a reputable source to verify your facts. May I suggest the leading trade association for silver miners, refiners, fabricators and manufacturers, The Silver Institute, which reported all-time record mine production of 680.9 million ounces in 2008:

 

http://www.silverinstitute.org/production.php

 

:makepoint:

 

You beat me to it, Gene. I can't believe that anyone would believe that silver is not being mined any longer. doh!

 

When I was looking at junior exploration plays a couple of years ago almost every company in Mexico was touting their high grade silver and or copper/silver potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conditionfreak

conditionfreak

Posted
Posted

Ha Ha. I agree with you. As my initial statement that brought us to this point states.

 

"Silver is not being mined anymore (hard for me to believe but I understand from a radio commentator that is the case)".

 

I am wrong (the radio commentator actually).

 

Here is an interesting article concerning the coming silver bull market. Or not.

 

http://www.silver-investor.com/misc_articles/SilverHitsWall.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites
delekkerste

delekkerste

Posted
Posted
but a "real" at retail" Boss suit costs more like 1200-2500... an outlet version isnt a "real" Boss suit at its "real" price.

 

Most Boss (black label) suits can be had for under $1,000, even at full retail. :gossip:

 

Anyway, I just bought a gorgeous new, current-season, solid color Canali suit last month for $1,001 at a major department store (25% off designer sale, an extra 20% Friends & Family discount promotion, plus alteration costs and taxes). There are two takeaways from this:

 

1. You can indeed buy a fine suit of men's clothing for less than the price of an ounce of gold, even from one of the top Italian marques. :acclaim:

 

2. I have to part ways with my friends who think the government inflation #s are currently being understated. No doubt they were greatly understated during the boom years (not fully capturing the real estate bubble, for example), but they are also massively understating the deflation that has been prevalent since the financial crisis/recession hit - all these amazing deals and discounts that can be had on apparel, travel, restaurants, housing, etc. - not to mention the resale value of anything used - are not being captured in the government's cost of living figures.

 

One of the inflationista strategists who I follow semi-capitulated yesterday. He said he has been "dead-wrong" about inflation and probably will be for some time to come. He still believes that all the money creation will eventually be inflationary, but he realizes that, while inflation may be a monetary phenomenon, inflation expectations are a psychological phenomenon. And, with the majority of American shoppers polled just before Black Friday not even considering buying at less than a full 50% discount (and many looking for even greater deals), this strategist said he had to admit - this is not only not inflationary, it's full blown-deflationary. The only question is: how long will this persist until the inflation kicks in? :popcorn:

 

My guess is that it could be longer than people think, and "the pain trade" would definitely be for an upward correction in the dollar and a decline in gold and risk assets, but we are in uncharted territory and it's crucial to keep an open mind about everything. hm

Link to comment
Share on other sites
The Question?

The Question?

Posted
Posted
but a "real" at retail" Boss suit costs more like 1200-2500... an outlet version isnt a "real" Boss suit at its "real" price.

 

Most Boss (black label) suits can be had for under $1,000, even at full retail. :gossip:

 

Anyway, I just bought a gorgeous new, current-season, solid color Canali suit last month for $1,001 at a major department store (25% off designer sale, an extra 20% Friends & Family discount promotion, plus alteration costs and taxes). There are two takeaways from this:

 

1. You can indeed buy a fine suit of men's clothing for less than the price of an ounce of gold, even from one of the top Italian marques. :acclaim:

 

2. I have to part ways with my friends who think the government inflation #s are currently being understated. No doubt they were greatly understated during the boom years (not fully capturing the real estate bubble, for example), but they are also massively understating the deflation that has been prevalent since the financial crisis/recession hit - all these amazing deals and discounts that can be had on apparel, travel, restaurants, housing, etc. - not to mention the resale value of anything used - are not being captured in the government's cost of living figures.

 

One of the inflationista strategists who I follow semi-capitulated yesterday. He said he has been "dead-wrong" about inflation and probably will be for some time to come. He still believes that all the money creation will be inflationary, but he realizes that, while inflation may be a monetary phenomenon, inflation expectations are a psychological phenomenon. And, with the majority of American shoppers polled just before Black Friday not even considering buying at less than a full 50% discount (and many looking for even greater deals), this strategist said he had to admit - this is not only not inflationary, it's full blown-deflationary. The only question is: how long will this persist until the inflation kicks in? :popcorn:

 

My guess is that it could be longer than people think, and "the pain trade" would definitely be for an upward correction in the dollar and a decline in gold and risk assets, but we are in uncharted territory and it's crucial to keep an open mind about everything. hm

 

 

 

Superb, Gene (thumbs u

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BucOne-migration

BucOne-migration

Posted
Posted

Only fools buy gold at historic highs and then never buy it again. Jan-80 only lasted a couple of weeks. Those who bought before December 1979, and after January 1980 were not subject to that eroded value.

 

In fact, if you just take out that single month, the performance of gold vastly improves, and beats the dollar, adjusted for inflation. If you take out all of 1980, gold is the far and away winner against the dollar.

 

The number I cited was an average for the year 1980, not the specific month of the peak.

 

http://www.inflationdata.com/inflation/images/charts/Gold/Gold_inflation_chart.htm

 

"If you take out all of 1980."

 

But your source is still incorrect. If the inflation adjusted peak was $2189, according to your chart, based on the actual high of $850 in Jan, 1980, then, based on that percentage (and yes, I know inflation fluctuates throughout a year, but it's close enough for these purposes) then the actual inflation adjusted number for all of 1980, based on the cumulative avg. price of gold at $612, is really about $1550, not $1732, or an erosion of buying power equivalent to about 39 cents to the dollar.

 

Therefore, if you only bought gold in the highest inflation adjusted year in the entire history of gold, you would STILL be about par with the dollar.

 

When you add in any other year, gold wins. As it always has.

 

http://www.kitco.com/scripts/hist_charts/yearly_graphs.plx

 

The point is not to buy gold at "historic highs" and during "speculative bubbles." The point is to store your wealth...by buying metals consistently throughout the years as a hedge against the erosion of the buying power of the dollar by inflation.

 

That is a fine plan. Gold can be a useful part of a portfolio as a long term inflation hedge. However, the sudden interest in buying gold by the general public and CNBC crowd does not make me think that this is the best time to start buying gold.

 

But, in a former post, you cautioned against using gold as a "store of value."

 

If you pick any 10 years period in gold's history...any 10, including Jan 1980....you will find that it beats inflation. Of course, one would have to have bought gold on a consistent basis throughout that time, not just Jan 14, 1980.

 

And....if you consider inflation from 1973-1983, and gold's performance in that time, gold held far more value than the dollar.

 

Sure, but that is true for almost any wildly fluctuating asset.

 

No, that's just not true. If a company is wiped out of existence, their stock value becomes zero. There is no further chance for that stock to "wildly fluctuate." It's dead, and any money you had tied up in that stock is gone. Poof!

 

The point is, even when gold is "wildly fluctuating", it will never become worth $0.

 

You would be up in the stock market over the last ten years if you dollar cost averaged, even though it is overall pretty much flat for that time period.

 

My concern is not for people who have been buying gold all along. They will have bought gold cheap over the years. That will protect them from buying some a little high now. My concern is the people who have decided that now is the time to buy. I suspect that they are wrong and likely to get burned.

 

Here is my general advice--

 

If you we're buying gold 2 years ago, now is a bad time to start.

 

 

But what about the people consistently buying gold? Should they stop?

 

And, since it's still not anywhere near its inflation adjusted high, why would now be a bad time to start buying and holding?

 

Again...including the very worst possible year to buy gold in the history of gold...1980...gold has still outperformed the dollar against inflation.

 

Is it a bad time to buy gold with the hopes of cashing out in 6 months? Absolutely.

 

But it's never a bad time to start buying and holding gold.

 

 

from the spot price you pay around $60.00 in fees (includes shipping) for 1oz

 

I didn't pay any extra fees on my last two purchases.

 

fee = base price + commission + shipping, can't imagine brokers working for free.

 

I buy my gold on ebay. The auctions I bid on include free shipping.

 

after a quick search, Ebay sellers are asking a few hundred from the spot price. I don't know of anyone selling for less then the base price.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BucOne-migration

BucOne-migration

Posted
Posted
but a "real" at retail" Boss suit costs more like 1200-2500... an outlet version isnt a "real" Boss suit at its "real" price.

 

Most Boss (black label) suits can be had for under $1,000, even at full retail. :gossip:

 

Anyway, I just bought a gorgeous new, current-season, solid color Canali suit last month for $1,001 at a major department store (25% off designer sale, an extra 20% Friends & Family discount promotion, plus alteration costs and taxes). There are two takeaways from this:

 

1. You can indeed buy a fine suit of men's clothing for less than the price of an ounce of gold, even from one of the top Italian marques. :acclaim:

 

2. I have to part ways with my friends who think the government inflation #s are currently being understated. No doubt they were greatly understated during the boom years (not fully capturing the real estate bubble, for example), but they are also massively understating the deflation that has been prevalent since the financial crisis/recession hit - all these amazing deals and discounts that can be had on apparel, travel, restaurants, housing, etc. - not to mention the resale value of anything used - are not being captured in the government's cost of living figures.

 

One of the inflationista strategists who I follow semi-capitulated yesterday. He said he has been "dead-wrong" about inflation and probably will be for some time to come. He still believes that all the money creation will eventually be inflationary, but he realizes that, while inflation may be a monetary phenomenon, inflation expectations are a psychological phenomenon. And, with the majority of American shoppers polled just before Black Friday not even considering buying at less than a full 50% discount (and many looking for even greater deals), this strategist said he had to admit - this is not only not inflationary, it's full blown-deflationary. The only question is: how long will this persist until the inflation kicks in? :popcorn:

 

My guess is that it could be longer than people think, and "the pain trade" would definitely be for an upward correction in the dollar and a decline in gold and risk assets, but we are in uncharted territory and it's crucial to keep an open mind about everything. hm

 

Bloomingdales

 

nothing like a D&G suit, around $1200 at Saks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
comicdonna

comicdonna

Posted
Posted
from the spot price you pay around $60.00 in fees (includes shipping) for 1oz

 

I didn't pay any extra fees on my last two purchases.

 

fee = base price + commission + shipping, can't imagine brokers working for free.

 

I buy my gold on ebay. The auctions I bid on include free shipping.

 

after a quick search, Ebay sellers are asking a few hundred from the spot price. I don't know of anyone selling for less then the base price.

 

Clearly you are much smarter than I am. Maybe I should hire you as my broker.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing