Growing lineups mix with affordability challenges as Winnipeg retailers navigate surge in gold prices

With the steady surge in the price of gold, more customers are lining up to sell off or invest in the precious metal at some Winnipeg retailers, as those businesses are also wrestling with alternatives to make the karats more attainable. 

"It is a roller coaster," Paul Szurlej, co-owner of Golden Hand Jewellery in Winnipeg, told CBC News.

"People are selling, people are trading, people are even pawning if they're in a pinch and they need money." 

The market price of gold closed at about US $4,600 per troy ounce — the measurement used when weighing precious metals — on Friday, Paul said. 

Even though it dipped slightly before last week, the price for the commodity has progressively increased in the last six months.

After years of gradual growth, gold hit a record-high in October, peaking above US $4,000 per troy ounce. The commodity has mostly surged in value since then with a five per cent increase in January alone, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

The soaring prices means the value of products at Golden Hand Jewellery has also grown — but that has come with challenges, including finding new alternatives to offer affordable options to customers buying at a time of rising inventory prices. 

"It's very hard for us to keep on engaging customers to come in and feel that they're getting amazing deals," said Golden Hand Jewellery co-owner Dorota Szurlej. 

The business is trying to increase sales by offering some gold products on clearance with hefty discounts while bringing new items into inventory that resemble the precious metal but are actually made of yellow silver and can be sold at a fraction of the cost. 

Appealing to younger audiences on social media, bringing in NHL licensed jewellery and original designs are also some alternatives to keep sales going, Dorota said. 

"We are also being more creative when people come in to sell or pawn their gold, so how can we reuse that gold? … we can either make memory pendants or remake customers' gold into new sentimental items," she said.

University of Manitoba Professor Barry Prentice said the sale value of the precious metal will continue to be determined by its supply and demand.

"It's worth whatever people are willing to pay for it, that's essentially what it comes down to," he said. 

The recent growth comes amid large government institutions moving their economic reserves away from the U.S. dollar, trading it for gold, he says.