{"id":21083,"date":"2026-10-10T06:24:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/glossary\/bid-ask-spread\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T06:24:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:24:56","slug":"bid-ask-spread","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/bid-ask-spread\/","title":{"rendered":"Bid-Ask Spread"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mrf-gl\"><p class=\"gl-def\">The bid-ask spread is the difference between the price a dealer sells a coin or bar to you (ask) and the price the dealer pays to buy it back (bid). It is the cost of a round trip, before any change in the gold price.<\/p><aside class=\"panel gl-live\"><p class=\"gl-live-h\">\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 Today in Canada<\/p><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Gold, 1 troy ounce (spot)<\/span><b>5,970 CAD<\/b><\/div><p class=\"gl-src\">Data as of 10.10.2026, updated daily.<\/p><a class=\"btn primary\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">Compare gold coin prices \u203a<\/a><\/aside><div class=\"gl-body\"><h2>Bid, ask and the round trip<\/h2><p>Canadian dealers publish two prices for most products. The ask (or sell price) is what you pay. The bid (or buy-back price) is what they pay you. The ask usually sits above the <a href=\"spot-price}}\">spot price<\/a> by the <a href=\"premium}}\">premium<\/a>; the bid sits near spot or slightly below it.<\/p><p>Fixed-number example with spot at 4,000 CAD per ounce: a dealer sells a 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf at 4,200 CAD and buys it back at 3,960 CAD. The spread is 240 CAD, or about 6% of the purchase price. If you bought and sold on the same day, you would lose that 240 CAD. Gold has to rise by about 6% in CAD before you break even.<\/p><table><thead><tr><th>Product<\/th><th>Typical spread<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1 kg gold bar from a known refiner<\/td><td>Narrowest<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1 oz Maple Leaf, Britannia, Krugerrand<\/td><td>Narrow to moderate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fractional gold coins and 1 g bars<\/td><td>Wider<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Silver coins<\/td><td>Wide in percentage terms<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Proof and collector coins<\/td><td>Widest, often far from metal value<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><h2>What widens the spread in Canada<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Unknown or damaged products:<\/strong> dealers may test or discount a bar without a recognized brand, or a coin with scratches.<\/li><li><strong>Taxable items:<\/strong> GST or HST paid on a 22 karat coin is part of your cost, while buy-back offers are based on the metal. See <a href=\"investment-gold-tax}}\">GST\/HST on gold<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Collector premiums:<\/strong> bullion dealers often buy proof and coloured coins back closer to metal value than to the issue price. See <a href=\"numismatic}}\">numismatic coins<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>Cash deals:<\/strong> when a dealer receives 10,000 CAD or more in cash, FINTRAC rules require it to verify your identity and report the transaction.<\/li><\/ul><h2>How to keep the spread small<\/h2><ol><li>Buy recognized 99.99% products such as the <a href=\"\/ca\/product\/1-oz-maple-leaf-gold-coin\/\">Gold Maple Leaf<\/a> or bars from LBMA-listed refiners.<\/li><li>Keep original packaging and invoices; they speed up resale and support your capital gains records.<\/li><li>Get buy-back quotes from more than one dealer before selling.<\/li><li>Compare entry prices with delivery included in the <a href=\"\/ca\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">cheapest gold coins ranking<\/a>, since a lower entry price shrinks the spread you need to recover.<\/li><\/ol><p>To value what you hold before asking for quotes, multiply its fine weight by the live <a href=\"\/ca\/charts\/gold-price\/\">gold price in CAD<\/a>. A buy-back offer far below that figure is a signal to shop around.<\/p><\/div><h2>Related terms<\/h2><p class=\"gl-chips\"><a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/\">Premium Over Spot<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/spot-price\/\">Spot Price<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/numismatic-coins\/\">Numismatic Coins<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/glossary\/gst-hst-on-gold\/\">GST\/HST on Gold and Silver in Canada<\/a><\/p><section class=\"mrf-faq\"><h2>FAQ<\/h2><div class=\"faq-list\"><details open><summary><h3>How much do you lose when selling gold back to a dealer?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>You lose the bid-ask spread, the gap between what you paid and the dealer's buy-back price, which is smallest on large bars and well-known 1 oz coins.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Do dealers buy back at spot price?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Buy-back prices are usually close to or slightly below spot for recognized bullion, and lower for unbranded or damaged items.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Do I need ID to buy gold with cash in Canada?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>For large amounts, yes: under FINTRAC rules a dealer must verify your identity when it receives 10,000 CAD or more in cash, including smaller payments that add up to that within 24 hours.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section><details class=\"gl-src-list\"><summary>Sources<\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/fintrac-canafe.canada.ca\/guidance-directives\/transaction-operation\/lctr-doie\/lctr-doie-eng\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FINTRAC: Reporting large cash transactions<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/fintrac-canafe.canada.ca\/guidance-directives\/client-clientele\/client\/dpms-eng\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FINTRAC: When to verify identity, dealers in precious metals and precious stones<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/revenue-agency\/services\/forms-publications\/publications\/17-1\/definition-financial-instrument.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canada Revenue Agency, GST\/HST Memorandum 17.1: Definition of financial instrument (precious metals, paras 29 to 38)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/revenue-agency\/services\/forms-publications\/publications\/t4037\/capital-gains.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canada Revenue Agency, Guide T4037: Capital Gains<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":21075,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-21083","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21083\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}