Jewellery showrooms do not seem to be the only places where people flock to buy gold. Post offices too, have emerged as hubs of gold coin sales in the recent months.
On April 24, Akshaya Tritiya day, the designated post office in the city sold a whopping 5.4 kg of gold coins of varying sizes, worth nearly Rs.1.60 crore. This was 20 per cent more than last year's sales. Sales that had dipped owing to volatile prices have bounced back this Akshaya Tritiya season.
Officials of the Postal department say the purity of gold coins and the trustworthiness of post offices are the reasons for customers buy from them. The discount of six per cent, which is available till June 30, proved another attraction.
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The Department sold nearly 22 kg in post offices across the State on April 24 alone, earning a revenue of Rs. 31.83 lakh. The price of the coins is fixed based on the prevailing international rate of the precious metal. The coins, manufactured in Switzerland, are sold in sealed covers.
In October 2008, the department tied up with Reliance Money, to sell 24-carat gold coins of varying weights. Nearly 600 kg of the yellow metal has been sold since the launch of the scheme until March this year. With patronage for the scheme growing exponentially, the department recently extended the service from 50 to 84 post offices across the city. “We are now planning to expand the service to Puducherry,” an official said.