Updated: March 27, 2024

Dubai Gold Souk

Tips when Buying Gold at the Deira Gold Souk

When in Dubai, it is almost impossible not to visit the gold markets. This is one of the popular tourist destinations of the emirate. After all, this city is known for its gold trade. With almost countless retailers around, you might wonder which areas you should check out to shop. You can never go wrong with the Deira Gold Souk in Old Dubai.
Tourist buses (Book a Bus Tour here) include this area as a regular stopover because of the many options of gold and how the structure of this place was set up. But even if you’re not planning to buy gold, the Deira Gold Souk is a must-see when you’re in Dubai. Gold lined up from aisle to aisle, who wouldn’t get attracted just for the fun of it.
How to Buy Gold at the Dubai Gold Market
In case you’re planning to buy gold, here are a few tips to help you understand how things work. Check out the guide below.
1. Know the market price. Gold is like stocks, their price fluctuates on a daily basis. So it is only prudent to know how much it goes for in the open market. Aside from your knowledge of gold, this is probably the most important factor you must know before proceeding to buy gold in Deira Gold Souk. By knowing market price, you are able to haggle with the vendors.
The Dubai Retail Gold Rate is a good place to start. Going prices in AED is posted at the market for going price.
2. Know the types of Gold. Like anything that you want to buy, doing your research pays a lot. Gold is sold by the Karat and weight. The higher the Karat , the purer that gold is. This means a 24 Karat gold is 100% pure gold. Because pure gold is soft, it hardens by mixing it with different metals such as silver, zinc, copper and nickel.
Gold also comes in different colors which explain the type of alloys and the percentage of alloys mixed with it.
3. Choose your jewellery. Once you know what type of accessory you want, whether it’s a ring, bracelet, necklace, earring, gold chain, etc., ask about its Karat and weight. The attendants will weigh the pieces you choose.
4. Learn to Haggle. Haggling is an art and you will learn it after you go through different shops. Sellers will expect you to haggle so they have price buffers when you do so. Try bartering 25% off the quoted price, you might get lucky. In the same fashion, try to barter according to the price you can afford. But be prepared to walk away if you don’t agree to a compromise. Some sellers will ask you how much you can afford just to sell a piece. The haggling is based on the RATE and the MAKE.
• RATE – check the rate of gold per Karat from the prices which are posted outside. These are real-time updates according to how much the price per Karat is of the gold. It can be assured that shops are strict and are always in tune with the rate of the gold. Because they are regularly monitored by Dubai Police. If a customer complains that they have been tricked, their shops will be at stake. So expect that the gold rate is uniform across all stores.
• MAKE – this is the price of the labour of the jewellery that you are buying. The more intricate the design is, the pricier the MAKE charge is. But usually, this is where you an haggle, as different shops usually have same pieces/designs, you can try to ask for a cheaper MAKE charge.
• The more pieces you buy, the more you can barter for. But know as well that the more intricate the design of the piece you choose, the harder it is to haggle for the lowest price you want. Gold is sold by Karat and weight so you can only haggle on the labour it took to create the piece.
• 5. Go around different shops. Before settling for a piece, shop around. Most of the stores have the same pieces, they only differ in the price based on your bartering skills. You have over hundreds of retailers to choose from.
• Another tip here, the shops in nooks and corners (not the ones easily accessible) have better price rates because not much foot traffic pass through these areas. So it’s good to go to narrower alleys in the souk to find better deals.
• Be sure to stick around the stores where the quality of gold being sold is closely monitored by the government. It doesn’t hurt as well to ask about the quality of the gold from the shopkeepers. “Is this gold fake or an imitation?” is a regular question they get asked a lot of times so don’t be shy to ask that. Anyway, a usual response from them is NO (of course). They will assure you that if they sell fake stuff, their business will be closed down.
• 6. Don’t be too stingy. Sometimes it pays if you don’t go into an argument to get the lowest rate you can get. If you’ve already chosen an accessory but could not haggle for the lowest price, then either step out of the shop or just agree. Besides, if it’s within your budget, that shouldn’t be much of a problem, right? Sometimes, the seller will slash off another dollar or so to show their appreciation that you are willing to purchase. We’ve tried that when we didn’t