According to observations by VietNamNet reporters on the morning of October 1st, on Tran Nhan Tong gold street (Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi ), while other gold shops were sparsely populated, the two branches of Bao Tin Minh Chau (at numbers 15 and 29) were always packed even before opening for business.

People said they had been waiting since early morning to be able to buy gold.

At 9 AM, staff at Bao Tin Minh Chau gold shop announced that they would not be selling gold that morning. However, 15 minutes later, store number 15 unexpectedly started selling a maximum of 5 taels per person, causing many people to flock there.

Mr. Dung, who had been waiting to buy since 8 am, said that nowadays, you have to be lucky to be able to buy gold. Gold shops don't have fixed opening hours, leaving buyers constantly waiting.

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Customers were constantly talking to their relatives inside the gold shop because they were getting impatient. Photo: Tien Anh

According to the gold shop's security staff, the non-fixed opening hours are due to the availability of gold in the store and to avoid large crowds that could lead to security and public order issues.

Accepting the rather long waiting times to buy gold, Mr. Bac (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi) said he doesn't want to buy gold from any other brand besides Bao Tin Minh Chau because he has to wait a very long time to receive the product, sometimes even waiting nearly 2 months to receive just a few grams of gold.

Around 9:30 AM, when the store became overloaded with customers, they announced that each person could only buy a maximum of 2 taels of gold.

Nevertheless, inside the Bao Tin Minh Chau store, the line of people waiting for their turn stretched all the way to the door. By 9:45 AM, the store announced that it had stopped selling goods, as many people were still unable to purchase anything.

Mr. Trung (Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that this morning he took his wife to buy gold. "My wife is queuing inside, and I'm waiting outside. I feel nervous and anxious, just like when I take my child to their graduation exam," he said.

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The surrounding shops had very few customers. Photo: Tien Anh

What's puzzling is that many other gold shops on this street are very quiet. Even within the same Bao Tin "ecosystem," one Bao Tin Manh Hai store had almost no customers, even during peak hours (9-10 am).

According to observations at Bao Tin Minh Chau stores, the busiest time in recent days only lasts about an hour in the morning. During the rest of the day, although the stores are open, the staff are quite idle because there are no sales, spending their time browsing on their phones.

Early this morning, Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) listed the price of gold rings weighing 1-5 taels at 81.4-82.9 million VND/tael (buy - sell), a decrease of 100,000 VND/tael in both buying and selling prices compared to the close of yesterday's trading session.

Doji Gold and Gemstone Group also lowered the price of gold rings (1-5 tael) to 82-82.9 million VND/tael (buy - sell), a decrease of 300,000 VND/tael in the buying price and 450,000 VND/tael in the selling price compared to yesterday's closing price.

Meanwhile, the price of SJC 9999 gold bars unexpectedly increased by 500,000 VND per tael in both buying and selling prices compared to the close of yesterday's trading session, reaching 84 million VND/tael (selling price).