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Several Dealers Increase Order Minimums and Shipping Times

FindBullionPrices.com

Over the last week, APMEX, JM Bullion, SD Bullion and Money Metals Exchange have announced either increases in minimum order amounts or have added a few days to their shipping policies.

The updates includes:

Gold has been trading steadily above $2,008 per troy ounce and silver closed the week at $25.07.

The demand for Silver Eagles have quickly increased because they are seen a trusted store of value over keeping cash with record inflation. Currently, the cheapest Silver Eagles have a premium of over 50% above spot price.

Other sovereign government coins with a lower premium are also reliable alternative for investors looking for a lower premiums.

Britannia, Philharmonic and Kangaroo have become the go to silver 1 oz coins that make an excellent store of wealth and are easy to stack and store at home.

According to inventory tracking of APMEX stock, it’s been reported that APMEX sales of silver on Thursday April 6 reach over 135,000 troy ounces, slightly higher than the Thursday following the collapse of SVB bank and the start of the current banking crisis.

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BGASC Changes Shipping Policy – Orders over $199 Ship Free

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vintage gold coins

Changes have been happening behind the scenes at BGASC since being acquired by A-Mark Precious Metals earlier this year.

Over the last few months we’ve seen the launch of a new website incorporating a deep catalog of new and historic products.

For many years BGASC has had the reputation of being the best place to buy 1 oz gold coins. Even though they have the lowest silver prices on many popular items, their high order minimum for free shipping kept a lot of buyers away.

Newly minted custom branded silver rounds and silver bars minted by Silvertowne with the BGASC logo have been added in the new product offering.

The low premium generic 1 oz silver rounds have quickly become on the most popular amongst stackers.

Recently, BGASC made changes to their shipping policies that makes it easier for investors to save money on premiums.

BGASC is now offering free shipping on all orders over $199.

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JM Bullion Acquires Provident Metals

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Bulk Silver Rounds

Provident Metals announced today that it had been acquired by JM Bullion in August 2019.

Details of the acquisition have been kept quiet until now. Though rumorsĀ have been circulating in online precious metals forums and social media for several months.

It appears as though Provident Metals will be maintained as a separate brand from JM Bullion and continue to operate independently. This is similar to the previous purchase of Silver.com in 2012.

In the announcement from Provident Metals, they indicate that the new ownership structure has allowed them to improve upon their e-commerce and order fulfillment capabilities.

Among the improvements are:

  • The return of PayPal and the addition of eCheck/ACH as a payment.
  • Ability to store multiple payment methods in user accounts.
  • Website performance improvements, better mobile experience and the improvement of the search functionality.
  • New order fulfillment center.
  • Reduced shipping fees for orders less than $99.

In addition, Provident has also announced a continuation of their series programs, the Egyptian Gods andĀ Prosector series’. Also announced were the release dates for the 5th and 6th releases of theĀ World of Dragons series, which will be November 1st and February 1st.

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Compare Premiums to Determine Which Silver Dealer Has the Best Price

FindBullionPrices.com
shipping silver bullion

When you buy silver and gold bullion from online dealers the pricing displayed on their websites can be confusing. It can sometimes be hard to tell if you’re getting a good deal or not.

All bullion dealers, whether online or a local coins shop, price their bullion relative to the spot price of the precious metals. The price the dealer charges over spot price is called the dealer premium.

The only way to know whether or not you’re getting the best price when you buy precious metals online is to compare the dealer premiums over spot price.

Comparing dealer premiums for a particular item, whether it’s the latest American Silver Eagle coins, 10 oz silver bars, or Pre-1933 gold coins, can be a tedious and time consuming job. Looking for the same item across multiple dealer websites takes time.

FindBullionPrices.com provides tools to help simplify the process for buying silver and gold bullion from online dealers. We pull the latest prices from many trusted and reputable bullion dealer websites for over 300 unique products.

Each product listing is designed to make it easier to decide which dealer has the best deal when you buy bullion online. The product listings display the current spot price, including the melt value for each item. The current price the dealer is selling an item for is displayed, along with the calculated dealer premium over the melt value.

For each product we try to show as many dealers as possible that are selling a particular gold or silver coin. Dealer inventories can change quickly so we may not always show every dealer that is selling a particular item, though we try to do the best we can.

Shipping Charges and the Myth of Free Shipping

Many online bullion dealers offer free shipping when you place an order over a certain dollar amount. For a lot of bullion dealers, the free shipping threshold is that orders over $99 ship for free. The cost of the shipping is generally included in the dealer premiums.

Several online bullion dealers offer free shipping for all orders regardless of the dollar value of the order. These dealers typically have much higher premiums per item to cover the shipping costs.

Still, there are other dealers that are more transparent in their pricing and cost structure. They may not offer free shipping at all, or have a higher minimum order dollar value threshold for offer free shipping.

As silver and gold bullion are commodities, market conditions dictate the price trend which affects the price you pay. As with any business, each dealer has different levels of overhead, operating costs and desired profit margins.

Some online bullion dealers prefer high volume with lower margins while others may charge a heavy premium, especially when purchasing lower quantities or lower order values.

The top trusted and reputable online bullion dealers willing to compete on both service and price, who are interested in establishing long-term stacker customers that will continue to buy from them on an ongoing basis, are the dealers will to compete on price and provide the best customer service.

Payment Methods and Types

Our dealer listings section has a page that shows the payment methods accepted by dealer accepts and displays information regarding the shipping policies, minimum order value thresholds for free shipping and more.

Virtually all online bullion dealers accept credit cards, checks and wire transfers for payment. Dealers that accept credit cards and PayPal as payment methods typically incur a fee for each transaction. The fee that credit card companies and PayPal charges the dealer are typically 3% to 4% of the dollar value of the order. These fees are included in the cost.

Online bullion dealers often display on their product pages two or three different prices. Dealers will usually display the Cash Price and the Credit Card/PayPal price, and some dealers may display a third category that have begun accepting BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment.

Paying the Cash Price for Silver & Gold Bullion

The lowest price is the Cash Price. The Cash Price when you buy gold or silver from an online dealer represents the equivalent to walking into the store and paying cash. This is obviously not possible when making an online transaction, so this price also often represents the price if you were to mail a check to the dealer, use an e-check option or perform a wire transfer.

Some  credit card companies and payment processors have requirements that forbid merchants from charging a fee for accepting credit cards as a payment method. Online bullion dealers get around this by offering the items for sale at a Credit Card/PayPal price that is typically 3% to 4% higher than the Cash Price. While the Cash Price is often referred to as a discounted price for using Cash, Check, e-Check or wire transfer as a payment method.

 

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Online Bullion Dealer Rankings by Website Traffic

FindBullionPrices.com

Below is a list of online bullion dealer website’s ranked by volume of visitors as measured by Amazon’s Alexa website metrics.

The volume of visitors and traffic to a dealer’s website is just one factor in determining the popularity of a dealer. Often, online bullion dealers with the most popular website have higher operating costs, higher marketing costs and may therefor have higher premiums on silver and gold bullion products.

As a rule of thumb, it doesn’t necessarily make them the best dealer to purchase from.

The Alexa US Rank shown below next to the online bullion dealer’s name represents the website’s overall ranking in the United States as compared to all other websites, not just silver or gold bullion related websites.

  1. Kitco – Alexa US Rank: 1,127
    Kitco ReviewsThe popularity of Kitco’s website is primarily from their news and information about the precious metals markets and discussion forums where investors discuss precious metals. The Canadian company was established in 1977.
  2. APMEX – Alexa US Rank : 4,150
    APMEX ReviewsIt’s no surprise that APMEX tops the list of bullion dealers in terms of website traffic. APMEX has been around since 1999 and launched their first website in 2004. Being an early participant in online bullion has helped to establish them as an industry leader.
  3. JM Bullion – Alexa US Rank: 5,504
    JM Bullion Reviews
    Founded inĀ 2011, JM Bullion has a reputationĀ of being one of the top bullion dealers to buy from when it comes to price and customer service.JM Bullion offers a vast array of gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium products. With an average inventory carry in the tens of millions, they are able to sell in-stock items only and satisfy even the largest of clients. They focus on the most important products to minimize overhead and unnecessary bloat. This lets JM Bullion charge less over spot than their competitors while maintaining healthy stock levels on everything they carry.JM Bullion also offers a silver at spot price deal that includes ten 1 oz silver rounds at spot price for new customers. The rounds come in a tube and velvet branded bag.
  4. SD Bullion – Alexa US Rank: 12,460
    SD Bullion Reviews
    SD Bullion debuted in March of 2012 as a service to their readers with the goal of providing the lowest cost bullion available. All sales were completed via telephone with the motto, ā€œNothing Fancy. Just a Telephone and Low Prices.ā€ More importantly, buyers were 100% satisfied with their bullion transactions according to a post purchasing survey. An online website purchasing option was added in the later part of 2012 and SD Bullion has continued to gain industry market share to where they stand today as one of the premier, low-cost online bullion establishments in the country.
  5. Provident Metals – Alexa US Rank: 13,518
    Provident Metals Reviews
    Based in North Dallas, Provident Precious Metals, LLC describes itself as “the webs premier provider of international and domestic bullion, currency, numismatic coins, and other IRA and investment grade metals.”ProvidentMetals.com was built to meet the precious metal investment needs of those in pursuit of an online environment focused on security, service, and affordability. Competitive pricing and customer service are not merely a slogan or a plank in our platform; it is the reason our company was founded.Provident Metals also offers a silver at spot price deal that contains ten 1 oz silver rounds at spot price.
  6. GoldSilver.com – Alexa US Rank: 22,484
    GoldSilver.com Reviews
    GoldSilver provides bullion investors with unparalleled education and world-class gold and silver dealer services. It was founded by Mike Maloney, a renowned precious metals advisor, bestselling author, and one of the industry’s most sought-after speakers.
  7. GoldenStateMint – Alexa US Rank: 25,737
    GoldenStateMint Reviews
    The Golden State Mint is a full-service mint. By purchasing silver, gold and copper directly from the mint, you’re enabled to cut-out the middle-man, saving money and time. Our high-volume production allows us to provide customers with the most competitive pricing and fastest deliveries in the industry. They provide a turn-key solution to all your minting and investment needs. They have been in the business of precious metals, minting and refining for 40 years. Golden State Mint is ready to meet all your minting needs, and provide total reliability and confidence. All Golden State Mint silver, gold, and copper products are brand new and ship directly from the Golden State Mint.
  8. Bullion Exchanges – Alexa US Rank: 40,938
    Bullion Exchanges ReviewsA fully licensed and authorized dealer by PCGS, NGC, ANA, & CCE, Bullion Exchanges is one of the most trusted gold and silver bullion dealers in the United States, based in the Diamond District of New York City. With years of experience in providing our customers a wide, carefully curated selection, the most competitive prices, and customer service that you can count on, we have worked hard to earn our A+ business rating on BBB and our thousands of glowing reviews.
  9. Silver.com – Alexa US Rank: 45,588
    Silver.com ReviewsWe take great pride in offering a wide selection of precious metals products at market-leading prices. That, along with our sincere commitment to quick shipping and fast, friendly customer service, keeps investors coming back to Silver.com time and time again.
  10. BGASC – Alexa US Rank: 51,631
    BGASC ReviewsOur goal is to be the kind of dealer we’ve always wanted to trade with: to be in stock, ship fast, be fair & reasonable, and operate honestly and efficiently. BGASC is one of the largest coin and bullion dealers in the United States. We are a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ Rating, an Official PCGS Dealer, member of the Certified Coin Exchange (CCE), an NGC Collector’s Society Member, and a Bulk Purchaser of United States Mint non-bullion coins. Every single package we ship is sent fully privately insured for its time in transit. Customers all across the country have quickly come to recognize BGASC as one of the largest, fastest, most trusted online precious metals suppliers in the U.S.
  11. Golden Eagle Coins – Alexa US Rank: 52,241
    Golden Eagle Coins ReviewsSince our inception we’ve witnessed 1 oil embargo, 6 recessions, 3 wars, 12 U.S. presidential terms, 3 stock market crashes and a 12+ year commodities bull market that has seen the price of silver rise by over 1,000% and gold by over 700%. We’ve been around so long that when Golden Eagle Coins was founded, gasoline was 53 cents per gallon.
  12. Modern Coin Mart – Alexa US Rank: 52,751
    Modern Coin Mart Reviews
    ModernCoinMart (MCM) is a private distributor of worldwide government coin and currency issues and privately issued and licensed collectibles.
  13. US Gold Bureau – Alexa US Rank: 56,823
    US Gold Bureau ReviewsThe U.S. Gold Bureau was founded under the premise of bringing trust and integrity to all aspects of the precious metals acquisition process. Our goal is to always exceed our customerā€™s expectations by helping them to make better, more informed buying decisions. We understand that when acquiring precious metals, you have many choices to consider. Your Precious Metals Specialist will serve as a great resource to guide you step-by-step as you navigate through those choices. Each of our Precious Metals Specialists has been through an extensive training program and is well equipped to assist you at all stages of the process. Whether you decide to move forward with a purchase today or at some point in the future, our hope is that you will feel a sense of confidence knowing that you are dealing with a reputable organization.
  14. Silver Gold Bull – Alexa US Rank: 59,044
    Silver Gold Bull Reviews
    Silver Gold Bull has tens of thousands of satisfied customers who have taken their financial future into their own hands by investing in gold and silver. Their commitment to their customer is to provide extraordinary service throughout their customer’s bullion buying experience. Thousands of people have left Silver Gold Bull testimonials about their service, high quality products and genuine commitment to providing customers with an easy and risk-free way to buy gold and silver.
  15. GovMint – Alexa US Rank: 71,361
    GovMint ReviewsBesides a wide selection of rare and hard-to-find U.S. coins, GovMint.com offers many other collectible products including paper money, coin jewelry, foreign and ancient coins, and specialized numismatic services. Our dedicated staff is a highly experienced sales team who offers personalized one-on-one services, dedicated to your specific interests. By doing this, we ensure that you, the client, are able to obtain the items you want, not unlike the relationship of a personal banker or shopper. Each representative has an extensive background in the area of numismatics.
  16. SilverTowne LP – Alexa US Rank: 89,376
    SilverTowne LP Reviews 
  17. Monument Metals – Alexa US Rank: 113,418
    Monument Metals ReviewsMonument Metals is a family-owned business headquartered in Frederick, MD. The firm’s owners are veterans of the numismatic and bullion business, with nearly three decades of combined industry experience. After trading exclusively in the wholesale end of the marketplace, the principals of Monument Metals began selling to the general public in 2014. We pride ourselves in buying effectively, operating efficiently and maintaining low overhead. The result is our ability to offer excellent pricing–almost always better than the largest online retailers or local coin shops. Our industry experience and connections allow us to deliver high-quality coin and bullion products at ultra-competitive prices.
  18. BOLD Precious Metals – Alexa US Rank: 146,204
    BOLD Precious Metals ReviewsAt BOLD Precious Metals, our involvement in precious metals stretches back over 30 years to the influence of our grandfather, an avid coin collector. He instilled in our family an abiding appreciation for the beauty and historical significance of coins. As we grew up and pursued careers in various fields including engineering, finance, and technology we maintained that interest, first as a hobby and then as a means to invest in physical precious metals. Coin collecting became a fun and rewarding way to teach our own children about the history of the United States and introduce them to other cultures around the world.
  19. Monarch Precious Metals – Alexa US Rank: 158,942
    Monarch Precious Metals ReviewsEstablished in 2008 in response to the increasing demand for gold and silver bullion. The gold and silver that is used to produce our bars and rounds is .999+ fine. From refined raw material we hand pour bars and mark them the old fashioned way, which gives them a rustic look that collectors love. We also strike rounds and bars for investors looking for a more polished product. We are a privately held company which is headquartered in Southern Oregon’s beautiful Rogue Valley.
  20. Wholesale Coins Direct – Alexa US Rank: 225,368
    Wholesale Coins Direct ReviewsOur vision at Wholesale Coins Direct is to provide quality bullion metal and diamond products and numismatic coins to the public and other dealers at wholesale prices. And, we understand that you have options when it comes to deciding who to buy precious metal and diamond products from, as there are many choices in today’s market.
  21. GMR Gold – Alexa US Rank: 231,868
    GMR Gold ReviewsCorporate headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Full state and federal accreditation. Relationships with the nation’s top mints and distributors. GMRgold is a good-standing member of the NGC Collectors Society, NCS, PMG, ICTA, PCGS, NGC, American Numismatic Association, and CCE
  22. Liberty Coin – Alexa US Rank: 268,238
    Liberty Coin Reviews 
  23. Texas Precious Metals – Alexa US Rank: 280,803
    Texas Precious Metals Reviews 

Unranked Dealers:

Money Metals Exchange – Alexa US Rank: N/A
Money Metals Exchange Reviews

Money Metals Exchange is secure, private and offers you the most gold and silver for your money. After balloting of more than 20,000 industry insiders and investors across the globe, the company was recently named precious metals “Dealer of the Year” by industry ratings group Bullion.Directory. That’s because Money Metals offers great value with high integrity, and it’s totally beginner friendly — focusing on educating its customers and answering their questions.

Gainseville Coins – Alexa US Rank: N/A
Gainseville Coins Reviews

Gainesville Coins is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and offering a wide range of bullion products to match every taste or portfolio. Finding the right precious metal item to meet your needs is our primary goal. Your order will always ship in secure, discreet packaging, or you can make a trip to our luxury showroom to pick up your metals in person.

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Buying silver online, How to choose bullion dealers

FindBullionPrices.com
silver rounds

Some frequent questions new precious metals investors ask are :

  • Which online bullion dealer is the best?
  • Which online bullion dealer has the best prices?
  • Which online bullion dealers are reputable?
  • Does anyone have experience ordering from XYZ dealer?

Choosing which online bullion dealers to order from can be confusing for those just getting started in precious metals.  It’s important to trust the online bullion dealers that you buy from because there have been a lot of well publicized scams and there are lots of counterfeit products floating around out there.

How do you choose which bullion dealer to buy from?

There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing which online bullion dealers to buy from. All of the major, reputable online bullion dealers carry many of the same products. Oftentimes, the pricing on what is the exact same product vary greatly from dealer to dealer.

Reputation and Trustworthiness

The best way is to conduct thorough online research to identify well-known bullion dealers. Look for established dealers with a solid reputation in the industry. You can research customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials on trusted review websites like TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau and FindBullionPrices.com. There are also many existing threads on online forums and social media platforms like /r/SilverBugs and others on Reddit.

Pay attention to feedback regarding reliability, order processing times, shipping times, customer service, and overall customer satisfaction. Verify that the dealer accepts your chosen payment method. Many will have minimum order amounts for wire transfers and some other payment methods. Crytpo payments are an option for some dealers as well, making it easy to exchange digital tokens for physical metals.

Consider dealers with a history of transparent and ethical business practices.

Customer Service

How dealers handle issues that arise is one of the biggest differentiators in how to choose which bullion dealers are best for you. Some questions to ask yourself when evaluating

  • Does the dealer have a track record of handling complaints and responding quickly to even minor inquiries?
  • Does the dealer have open inquiries with the Better Business Bureau?
  • What’s the dealer’s TrustPilot rating?

Product Selection

Online bullion dealers will carry a wider product selection than your local coin store. The product selection offered by online dealers will always include a wider selection of sovereign government bullion coins from numerous countries in addition to a large volume of generic silver bars and rounds in many sizes and weights.

Once you’ve identified a reputable dealer, browse their online inventory to explore the silver products available. Look for different types of silver, such as coins, bars, or rounds, and consider factors like weight, purity, and design to find the products that best suit your preferences and investment goals.

Pricing and Dealer Premium

Pricing and dealer premium are important factors to considered when choosing which online bullion dealers to buy from. When you buy silver and gold bullion, you are likely buying it as an investment or as a way of storing wealth or saving money for the future.

No matter what reasons you have that lead you to buy silver bullion, price will almost always be a top factor. The amount you pay above the current spot price when you buy silver is called the “dealer premium”. This is the markup that the dealer charges that will cover the dealer’s overhead costs, the dealer profit and in cases of free shipping, the shipping charges. The dealers that offer free shipping with a low minimum order typically have higher per piece premiums which can be of particular to note when making bulk purchases.

You always want to pay the lowest possible premium over spot price when you buy silver. In most cases, the spot price will have to rise higher than the price that you paid, including the dealer premium in order to profit from your investment.

Prices on precious metals are relatively stable and rise and fall slowly over time. It can take months or years before the spot price rises to an amount above what you paid in order to turn a profit on your investment, if that is one of your goals. The lower the dealer premium on the items that you buy the faster your investment becomes profitable.

Some items, such as American Silver Eagle coins will always cost more than silver spot price. One reason for this is because the US Mint charges wholesalers and dealers a premium over spot price in order to cover the cost of production and distribution. That premium gets baked into the cost is always past along to investors.

The US Mint has been experiencing ongoing production problems that began during the pandemic with supply chain shutdowns. In recent months, it’s been reported that the procurement of raw planchets continues to be an issue for the mint. The mint has been unable to keep up with the demand from investors, which has resulted in higher wholesale premiums and market prices.

Part of this premium can be recovered when selling Silver Eagles as dealers tend to pay above spot price. But you can’t always count on that.

Buying Silver Online

One of those deals is from Money Metals Exchange. They have a silver starter kit that comes with both a random year American Silver Eagle and a random year Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. The kits also comes with a one Troy ounce generic silver round, plus a half ounce fractional round and five 1/10th ounce fractional rounds. Together this starter kit comes with 4 Troy ounces of silver, including the two premium government bullion coins. Money Metals Exchange ships the starter kit for free.

The Money Metals Exchange silver starter kit price does fluctuate with the silver spot price.

This silver starter kit includes high premium government minted silver bullion, and 6 fractional silver rounds. With free shipping included it’s hard to pass up this offer at such a great price.

There are only a handful of wholesale bullion dealers in the country, most of the online bullion dealers are buying from the same sources. For the most part, they are also paying the same prices. Some of the larger dealers may get volume discounts, those may be offered as discounts to their customers.

Placing an Order with an Online Bullion Dealer

Once you’ve selected the dealer and the silver products you wish to purchase, add them to your cart. Most dealers will lock in the spot price that is used to calculate the order total for a few minutes while you continue browsing.

When you’re ready to check out, review your order in the cart to ensure accuracy and check the total cost. Verify the spot price, the lock-in time remaining, any applicable state sales taxes and shipping fees. Proceed to the checkout page and provide the required information, such as your shipping address and payment details.

Follow the instructions provided to complete the purchase. Verify all the details before finalizing the transaction. Some dealers may require additional steps, such as identity verification for larger purchases, as part of their compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

After completing the purchase, you’ll receive an order confirmation screen followed by an email that will contain the order details. The dealer will then process your order and prepare it for shipment. Depending on the dealer and your location, shipping times may vary. Most dealers will provide you with notification of when your order ships and a tracking number may be provided.

Once your silver order arrives, carefully inspect the package for any signs of damage or tampering. Ensure that the contents match your order. If you have any concerns, contact the dealer immediately.

Sales Tax Varies by State

The reasons for states charging sales tax on bullion can vary. Some states have chosen to exempt bullion purchases from sales tax as a way to promote precious metals investing and attract bullion buyers. The specific sales tax policies on bullion vary from state to state, so it is advisable to consult the tax laws of your specific jurisdiction or seek professional advice regarding tax implications for bullion purchases.