How do we decide what to pay you for a gold bar?

Big Bullion · Published 15 September 2026 · Updated 15 September 2026 · 5 min read

Reviewed by the Big Bullion team, 15 September 2026

We publish a buy-back rate for every bar we deal in, and it moves with the live spot price all day. You are paid that rate for your bar, confirmed once we have weighed and tested it in front of you.

The rate is already published

You do not have to ask us what we pay, and you do not have to negotiate for it. Our sell page carries a rate for every bar, coin, karat of jewellery and grade of scrap we buy, and those rates move with the market while you are looking at them. So you can work out roughly what your bar is worth before you decide whether it is worth the trip.

Treat the figure you get there as an estimate rather than an offer. It is priced on what you tell us you have, and the price you are actually paid is set after we have weighed and tested the real thing.

Every rate we pay today is on one page, and it moves with the market.

See what we pay for your bar

Why the buy price is below the sell price

We sell that same bar for more than we pay you for it, and the gap between the two is the spread. It is the whole of what the shop earns on a bar it buys today and sells again later, and it has to cover the risk that gold moves against us in between, the cost of testing what comes over the counter, and the cost of holding the bar until somebody wants it.

We publish that gap rather than leaving you to work it out. On a product page you will see a buy and sell spread printed beside the price, marked indicative, because the rate we quote you on the day can differ once the bar is in front of us.

What moves the figure

Spot. The rate is pegged to the live Singapore dollar gold price, so it moves every few seconds, up and down.
Which bar it is. A product we deal in regularly is easier for us to sell again, and that is reflected in the rate we publish for it.
What the weighing and testing say. A bar that weighs what it should and tests as what it claims is paid the published rate.
Whether you take the money or put it towards metal. A trade-in pays part of the batch at a higher rate than a straight payout does.

What does not move it

Where you bought the bar makes no difference, and neither does whether you still have the receipt. We buy bars we never sold you, and we buy bars bought abroad. What you originally paid makes no difference either, because we are pricing the gold in front of us rather than your purchase, and that cuts both ways.

How much you are selling does not change the rate per gram. A single 10 g bar is paid at the same published rate as ten of them.

What the counter can still change

We weigh and test every piece in front of you before anything is priced, so you see each check as it happens. If a bar comes back as what it says it is, you are paid the published rate for it. If it does not, we tell you what the test showed and why, and nothing is bought on a guess.

Nothing is priced until you have confirmed the tested weight, so the figures you agree to are the figures you are paid on.

When the money reaches you

Below S$20,000 we pay by PayNow or bank transfer straight away. Larger amounts go out within one to two working days, and either way the payment goes to an account in your own name.

Your figure keeps moving with the market until you settle, so the price you get is the one at the moment you cash out or trade in.

Questions we are asked about this

Do you pay spot for a gold bar?

No dealer pays spot, here or anywhere. We pay a published rate that is pegged to live spot and sits below the price we sell the same bar for. That gap is the spread, and our product pages print it beside the price.

Can I negotiate the price you pay me?

There is nothing to negotiate. The rate for each product is published on our sell page and it is the same rate for everyone, moving with the market rather than with who is asking.

Do you pay less for a bar you did not sell me?

No. We buy investment-grade gold and silver bars and coins wherever you originally bought them, at the published rate for that product. You do not need the receipt.

Is the figure on your sell page what I will be paid?

It is an estimate at today's rates, for what you describe. The final figure is set after we weigh and test the bar and after you confirm those figures, and it keeps moving with the market until you settle.

What happens if the bar fails a test?

We tell you what the test showed and we do not buy it. Nothing is priced on a guess, and you take the piece home with you.

Sources

Our own published buy-back rates on the Big Bullion sell page, and the buy and sell spread printed on our product pages (Read 15 September 2026)
Our own counter process at Golden Mile Tower, and the buy-back rules published on our FAQ (Read 15 September 2026)