How many times have you gone to a jewellery store looking for one thing (a gold bangle perhaps) only to have found yourself enamoured with something else entirely (that breath-taking necklace set)? Do you find yourself doing some quick math to see if you can afford the item that caught your fancy? Do you really want that gold set but simply can’t afford it right at the moment? Worry not, because most jewellers now offer special partial-payment schemes for customers to be able to buy the jewellery that caught their eye. These plans can even help you avoid the pitfalls of a gold price fluctuation. After all, gold prices should never come between you and your desire to own that necklace!
So, how exactly can you take advantage of pre-booking schemes and avoid a gold price fluctuation as well? Here’s the two-step process:
Pre-book your jewellery item
You start by asking the jeweller what payment plans they can offer you. Chances are your jeweller has a pre-booking scheme that lets you place the item of your choice on hold by paying a certain amount. Maybe they can even offer you a plan that allows you to pay in instalments.
Most jewellers are happy to extend pre-booking facilities for their clients and will often find a way to create a payment plan that works best for you.
But what if the price of gold rises over the period you make your payments? How do you protect yourself from the gold price fluctuation?
Pre-book the rate of gold
Let’s say that the price of gold on the day you booked the bangle set was Rs39,000 per 10 grams. Gold price fluctuation could mean that by the time you go to pay the remaining amount and pick up your jewellery, the price may have risen to Rs42,000 per 10 grams. Wouldn’t that be heart-breaking? But most credible jewellers will have you covered to avoid the shock of a gold price fluctuation. How you ask? Through the reliable instrument called the Gold Price Safety Scheme (GPSS).
All you need to know about the Gold Price Safety Scheme
GPSS is a protective measure against a gold price fluctuation. Under the plan you can book the gold rate as on the day you make the order. By allowing you to pre-book the gold rate, the GPSS guards you (and your pocket) from any gold price fluctuation when you go back to pay the remaining amount and collect your bangles.
How does the GPSS scheme work?
Most jewellers that offer the GPSS scheme may require a 70%-80% advance for you to reap the benefits of the plan. What this means is that when you pay the remaining 25% amount, you will do so at the gold rate on the date of the booking, even if the price has risen.
Although you are required to make a substantial advance payment to avail the GPSS, most jewellers are happy to take a lower amount as an advance if you are a regular client or are making a purchase of a sizeable cost.
Many online jewellers are now offering a 10 percent advance scheme (Candere by Kalyan offers such a scheme), and allowing you to pay the remaining in instalments while offering you protection from gold price fluctuation.
Take advantage of festive deals
Jewellers tend to be more accommodating of customers’ needs during festivals. By presenting money-saving plans to safeguard from a gold price fluctuation, especially during the festive season, jewellers make all the right moves to boost ties with their clients.
So the next time you go to buy some gold jewellery on Dhanteras, Diwali or New Year, you may find that the jeweller is willing to let you place a jewellery piece on order under the GPSS by paying a lower advance amount than usual.
Don’t be surprised if retailers who do not usually offer the GPSS may also be inclined to do so, after all its festival time and no one wants to miss a sale or be less competitive.
Downward gold price fluctuation: What now?
Let’s face it, the price of gold does not only rise every day. Some days, it may fall. What if the price of gold is lower on the day you go to pick up your jewellery set than it was on the day of the booking? Does that mean you’ve lost money since there has been a downward gold price fluctuation? Not necessarily.
Most jewellers include a provision in their GPSS to consider a downward gold price fluctuation. In most cases, the rule is to charge the customer at a lower rate in the event of such a gold price fluctuation. What this means is that if the gold rate is lower on the day you go to pick up your piece of jewellery than on the day you pre-booked it under a price-protection scheme, then the final price of the product is determined by the lower rate. In such instances, you benefit from a gold price fluctuation.
Although each jewellery store may offer its version of a GPSS, these plans are designed to protect and benefit you from a gold price fluctuation. So the next time you decide to buy some gold jewellery, don’t forget to ask your jeweller about their pre-booking plans to stay on top of any gold price fluctuation.
*With inputs from Abhishek Bafna, Ratanlal C Bafna Jewellers, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, and Shankar Sen, Senco Jewellers, Kolkatta (chain of store across eastern and western region)
