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While precious metal prices can fluctuate, gold has performed well over the years. People have long used it as a store of value, and in uncertain economic times, even more folks find their way to the yellow metal. When starting out, though, you need to find a reputable gold bullion dealer.
This is a step in precious metals investing that you simply cannot overlook. Due to heightened demand for gold, scam artists are working overtime to take advantage of people. The only way to ensure you don’t lose your investment is to work directly with a trusted dealer.
Now comes the hard part: finding a gold bullion dealer you can trust. You’ll get millions of results when searching the term on Google. Unfortunately, not all these options are equally reputable. If you pay attention to the following factors, though, you can significantly reduce potential risks.
Choose Between Online and Local Dealers
When you’re trying to find a gold dealer, your first step is choosing between local and online dealers. It’s easy to think that there wouldn’t be many differences between the two. In fact, that’s why countless folks opt to shop in their community. The feeling of helping a local business is great.
Unfortunately, this fleeting feeling can cost you big. While there are probably reputable gold bullion dealers in your area, they rarely have the professional resources of larger companies. This explains why several dealers recently told a man his $5 million authentic gold coin was fake.
Online dealers simply have access to a larger professional pool. You’re not relying on a single individual to ensure your investment is genuine. Of course, there are many other benefits you’ll find with online gold bullion dealers:
- More selections: Local retailers often only have coins from their collections or what people bring them. Online retailers have connections with mints and refineries from around the world.
- Larger inventories: When the U.S. Mint recently had a gold coin shortage, most local dealers had zero inventory. Larger companies can keep larger inventories on hand.
- Reduced costs: Since large online retailers can afford to buy more inventory, they get a better price on what they purchase. They can pass these savings on to you.
- More reviews: Online gold bullion dealers sell to people around the world. That means you’ll find more testimonials for online retailers. This gives you more information to help you decide.
- Better customer service: Local dealers typically have fewer employees to offer customer service.
This guide certainly isn’t meant to badmouth small precious metals dealers. Many of them have been in the industry for decades, and this is something everyone should respect. It’s a simple fact of life, though, that larger retailers have more resources.
Regardless of whether you go with online or local gold bullion dealers, though, it’s important to know who you’re working with. Just because someone owns a store — whether physical or digital — doesn’t mean they’re reputable or reliable.
This is where a bit of research into reviews comes in handy.
Reputable Gold Bullion Dealers Have Great Reviews
When you decide to jump into the world of gold investing, online reviews can be your best friend. Whether you’re buying an American Gold Eagle as your first coin or are looking for your 50th 10-ounce bar, you need to see what others think about the company.
If you decide to work with a local dealer, this is as simple as searching “gold dealer” along with your city’s name on Google. Search engines strive to provide great local information. If you’re working with an online dealer, though, you’ll need to check national review sites.
For instance, if you head over to TrustPilot, you’ll find that Silver Gold Bull has a 4.8 on a 5-star rating system. You’ll also find an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. These high marks aren’t easy to come by, but they show that a company cares about their customers.
Regardless of who you choose as your gold bullion dealer, make sure they have stellar reviews online.
Avoid Unsolicited Offers and Telemarketers
When you’re choosing a precious metals dealer, you should be the one choosing. Many of us learned early on to avoid unsolicited offers. That’s a pretty easy feat when a stranger calls trying to get your personal information. Unfortunately, this can be trickier when buying gold.
That’s because many of the precious metals scams encountered today come from at-home shopping networks and “investment” companies. When you buy gold from these places, you’re likely to get actual bullion. And in most cases, they don’t plan on misusing your information.
Unfortunately, some of these companies engage in other shady practices. In addition to unsolicited contacts, be weary if you notice any of the following behaviors from supposed gold bullion dealers:
- They claim major news events — that have already occurred — mean gold prices are going to skyrocket.
- The salesperson offers guarantees of profit.
- You’re told that economic collapse is coming soon.
- The salesperson offers to help you take out loans or convert retirement funds to buy gold.
- When purchasing gold, the payment process is complex (e.g., “Transfer money from X to Y, then send it to…”).
If you recognize these actions, it’s likely you’re not dealing with a reputable gold bullion dealer. In fact, you’re likely not speaking with a dealer at all. These red flags could mean you’re talking to a fake company, or they could be a warning of an overpriced and dishonest business.
Watching out for these red flags is important. The best way to avoid being taken advantage of, though, is to do your own research. Don’t let a precious metals dealer, seller or investment firm “find you.” Take the time to find one on your own that meets your requirements.
Find Someone That Offers Precious Metals Storage
There are plenty of honest gold bullion dealers out there that don’t offer precious metals storage. If you find a company that does provide this service, though, it’s a sign that they have an established presence in the industry.
Storage facilities that hold consumers’ precious metals must meet stringent rules and regulations. Not just anybody can start promising to store your gold in a secure location. And if someone offers this service but isn’t insured to do so, you could lose your entire investment.
At Silver Gold Bull, we have fully allocated storage options spread across three countries. This keeps your bullion outside of the banking industry — a benefit some people demand — and provides zero counterparty risk.
And the best part? If you use us as your gold bullion dealer, we’ll ship your precious metals to storage for free.
Review Their Selection of Bullion Items
When you seek a reputable dealer, you need someone that can provide exactly what you want. This is why you should review a dealer’s entire selection before choosing one. If you can buy gold bullion bars but not coins, for instance, it’s important to ask yourself “why?”.
In that situation, it probably means the company doesn’t have sufficient connections and relationships within the industry. This doesn’t mean you can’t get great value from such a gold bullion dealer, but it might mean they’re low on resources and may not have what you need.
It’s unnecessary to review every single product offered by a company. It is smart, however, to scroll down their product pages. And if they sell other precious metals such as silver, platinum and palladium, it’s a good assumption that they’ve got solid connections in the industry.
Reputable Gold Bullion Dealers Have Fair Prices
Precious metals dealers certainly have the goal of making money. After all, who would go into business just to “break even”? Of course, this doesn’t mean you should face unfair prices. It’s one thing to earn a profit from a sale, but it’s quite another to take advantage of consumers.
You won’t find gold items sold at spot price — that’s a fact of life. Costs related to mining, refining and dealer overhead will all have an effect. But if you’re on a website that provides live gold prices on every page, you’ll at least know the premium you’re paying.
At Silver Gold Bull, we want to be your go-to gold bullion dealer. Our goal is to provide fair prices for precious metals investors. That’s why we offer a Best Price Guarantee. If you see a better price from one of our competitors, let us know! We’ll make it right.
Check Their Shipping Process — Before Buying!
When you buy gold online, shipping is an important aspect. After all, a single item can cost thousands of dollars. With that type of investment, you want to be sure your items are safe. This is why you should make sure all items you purchase are insured before shipping.
Of course, that’s really the least a gold bullion dealer could do. Review all of their policies. Do they set specific timelines for packing and shipping your purchase? Can you follow order change statuses as they occur? These are all important for a great buying experience.
Buy from a Reputable Gold Bullion Dealer Today!
It’s an exciting moment when someone takes their first step to invest in precious metals. We’ve seen folks make a quick profit while others build their retirement nest eggs. The fastest way to ruin your journey into gold investing, though, is to work with untrustworthy dealers.
At Silver Gold Bull, we work diligently to ensure every single one of our clients is happy with their experience. This is why we offer things like the Best Price Guarantee, free shipping options, international storage and more. When our clients are happy, we’re better able to succeed.
If you’re ready to work with a dealer you can trust, visit our Gold Bullion Products page today. We have a massive selection that meets a variety of investment and collector needs. We honestly believe we’re the best gold bullion dealer out there. Once you give us a chance, we think you’ll agree.
