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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   2269 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 1, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Is right now (after a historic crash) a good time to buy in on silver and gold? The underlying logic still seems sound (needed for electronics, inflation/weakening USD, increased international drama)

Periodically when I have the extra cash in the bank and the extra room on my credit card, I buy an ounce of gold at Costco on my way out. I wouldn't want to buy gold futures, as the value of the gold to me as an inflation/TEOTWAWKI hedge is minimized by having intermediaries between me and the gold.

If you have significantly higher value assets than I do, that probably becomes impractical for storage reasons.

I'm not sure what's the point of buying Costco gold tbh. It's overpriced (usually not by a lot, but noticeably), if you'd want to sell it you will inevitably pay a commission, you need to store it somewhere in secure place and not lose it, and frankly excluding the scenario where the civilization collapses, I do not see any advantage over holding gold-linked assets. At least I don't run a risk of losing those if I move...

Am I missing something important here?

You are missing Bernie Madoff and SBF. Fraud happens.

Not sure how it relates to gold though. I mean yes, bad investments (and fraudsters) exist and existed since primates invented money and lying. But this does not lead to gold investments, I don't think investing in something like industry-benchmark index would expose me to SBF-Madoff types any more than buying physical gold.

I think it relates to anything. Are you sure that the gold exists? That it is not "fractional reserve" or that it is in storage in USA that refuse to send it back (in the case of Germany).

The argument that if this asset is not in your hands then you may turn to own some very expensive toilet paper in times of crisis is not outlandish. Not saying that is good idea to overpay for physical gold.

Are you sure that the gold exists?

As sure as the rest of the market. Which is enough for me. Again, if the market as a whole collapses, then we're in "canned food and ammo" scenario, that's a different discussion. But until the society has not collapsed, being as safe as the rest of the crowd is enough.

The argument that if this asset is not in your hands then you may turn to own some very expensive toilet paper in times of crisis is not outlandish.

That depends on the kind of crisis. If it's the crisis like 2008, then I think FDIC and similar mechanisms worked as intended. Surely, some risky investments caused losses, but as expected, the government went out of its way (and some say, way too far, but that's beside the point) to preserve the market and not let it fall too deep. If it's the crisis like 1917 in Russia, then yes, people who own property are fucked, and lucky if they get out alive, and may forget about such insignificant things as property. And having a couple of bars of gold won't help much, rather gets one more viable candidate for being murdered.

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