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Easy Ways to Sell Costco Gold Coins for Cash

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With regards to precious metals, Costco has revised the return policy for these products. One of the caveats in the fine print is that gold coins are not-returnable, unlike virtually every other item that they sell.

It’s been estimated by analysts at Wells-Fargo that the warehouse club could be selling as much as $100 to $200 million in gold per month, which is as much as 75,000 to 80,000 troy ounces per month.

Even though Costco’s extensive list of available gold products, a quick scroll through the r/CostcoPMs forum on Reddit that tracks precious metals offerings shows that majority recent offerings have been American Buffalo and American Eagle Gold Coins, Maple Leaf Gold Coins and gold bars in various sizes from 1 oz to 100 grams from PAMP Suisse and RAND Refinery.

There are a variety of options available if you’re sitting on a stack of Gold Buffalo bought from Costco and want to sell for cash and get the highest price possible, .

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that selling gold bars takes a bit more effort than the few clicks it takes sell stocks, bonds or crypto. Gold is a tangible asset, unlike stocks, bonds and crypto. It’s something physical that can be stored in your possession.

Once you have an understanding of the various places that you can sell gold, the process can be easy and simple.

Local Coin Shops

The Local Coin Stores in your area are a good starting point when looking to sell gold coins.

When you’re looking to sell gold coins, the first thing to do is contact the local coin stores in your area. Some local coin shops will post their buy and sell prices for bullion coins and bars on their websites. While others may be able to provide you with an appraisal or estimate over the phone.

When you contact the local shops, it’s a good idea to have an idea of what the current spot gold price is trading at. Many local coin shops will use the current market price when making a bid for your gold. However, some may use to closing price from the previous day. This is common if you are selling over the weekend or on holiday when the trading markets are closed.

It’s a good idea to contact at least 2 or 3 local shops. Expect to get a wide range of offers since each dealer will have their own buy/sell spread, with some being absurdly low, while some will be within typical market ranges.

The offers you get when you sell 1 oz Gold American Eagle Coins to a local coin shop should be slightly above the melt value. The exact rates will vary depending on local market conditions, the condition of the coins and the volume of coins in the secondary markets.

Many local coin shops also accept walk-ins without an appointment. You can often just walk in with your gold coins and lay them on the counter to receive an immediate offer. The clerk will inventory what you’ve brought and assay any pieces they may need additional confidence in.

The Sigma PMV machines have become standard equipment for any business that trades in precious metals, especially local coin shops. These devices use the electromagnetic resistance to verify gold coins without causing damage to the coin. These devices can also verify the purity and composition of coins that are encapsulated. Extensions wands allow testing of smaller pieces.

Depending on the value, some dealers may pay cash, but most will probably pay with a check.

Online Bullion Dealers

Most online bullion dealers are specialists in the trading of precious metals. While each dealer has a process that is unique to their business, some dealers make it easy for you to do a self-appraisal of sorts by publishing their buy back rates on their websites. This helps to get an estimate of what each piece in your collection is worth.

Others may require you to contact them and submit the details of which gold coins you would like to sell via email, chat or a form on their website. Each will have a unique buy back price as well as a process for handling the intake, which they will provide to you once you contact their sales team.

Typically, online dealers will make an offer for your precious metals based on the current market rates. You will be required to mail the metals to their intake center if you agree to sell them the metals at the quoted price. Some dealers will provide a mailing label to cover the cost of postage, while others may require you to send the metals at your cost.

Once the dealer receives your metals, they will inspect each piece and test on a Sigma or XRF to ensure that each piece is genuine and authentic. Once everything is confirmed, the sales team will issue payment, most typically via check or ACH.

eBay

eBay is notable for collectibles, however, they are also the largest online marketplace for buying and selling precious metals. Beyond numismatics and collectibles, many of the largest online bullion dealers including Bullion Exchanges, APMEX, and JM Bullion sell many of the same products through eBay. eBay offers large volume sellers higher discounts on listing fees, final valuation fees and includes other incentives to help keep the prices low.

There are even times when dealers will offer a product for a lower price on eBay than on their own website. It’s hard for individual collectors and investors to compete when selling bullion gold coins like Gold Buffalos and Maple Leafs.

While the selling fees make it prohibitive for individuals to sell, eBay does offer a precious metals buy back program that is managed by APMEX.

Facebook Groups, Reddit and other Online Forums

There are thousands of Facebook groups, Instagram and TikTok channels focused on the buying/selling/trading of gold coins and other precious metals. Many are operated by local coin shops, investors, coin clubs, collectors, numismatists, traders and other enthusiasts.

There are various groups on Reddit that have developed community ratings systems that help identify active members with a positive reputation.

While its possible to sell coins through these online communities, developing trust as a seller is something that takes a number of transactions with positive feedback.

Pawn Shops and Cash4Gold Stores

There are around 11,000 pawn shops in the US, with the highest concentrations of stores in lower-income areas. Pawn Shops and Cash4Gold stores are typically considered places of last resort for selling gold coins.

Selling gold coins to pawn shops may seem convenient and quick, but their primary aim to make a profit when they resell items. This means they need to purchase yours at a lower price to ensure they make a profit upon resale, regardless of changes to gold price. As a result, offers from pawn shops might be significantly below the market value of your coins.

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Gold Price Climbs Amidst Record Central Bank Buying and Tensions in the Middle East

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The spot price of gold rocketed past $2,400 per ounce in Asia this morning, topping out at $2,429.70 before the tamp down by the Wall Street after the New York opening bell. By afternoon, the price had settled down to around $2,342, $87 lower.

While consumers in China have been buying up small gold beans, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, has been buying vast quantities of gold over the last couple of years while simultaneously dumping US Treasury Bonds and dollars.

Even though gold prices continue to trend upwards, consumers demand for gold in the United States keeps getting stronger.

An analyst from Wells Fargo estimates that Costco is likely selling between $100 to $200 million worth of gold each month. Based on the typical premiums that Costco prices their gold products, that’s somewhere in the range of 43,500 to 86,000 troy ounces per month.

By comparison, APMEX, one of the largest online bullion dealers has annual sales of around $2.4 billion, which is also around $200 million per month. A-Mark, one of the largest precious metals wholesalers, which owns JM Bullion, Provident Metals, BGASC and others, reported $9.3 billion in sales in its 2023 annual report.

Some industry analysts have speculated that China has taken over control of the gold price since the middle of 2022. In 2023, the PBOC bought roughly 735 tonnes of gold, a 23% increase over the record breaking buying of 597 tonnes in 2022.

Additionally, the Chinese government has created strong consumer demand for gold, particularly for younger generations that view gold as safe haven amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

Costco has limited their precious metals products to mostly 1 troy ounce coins and bars. With prices continuing to test record highs almost weekly, a more affordable investment option that many investors turn to is fractional gold bars and coins.

The US Mint issues the American Eagle Gold coin in three fractional denominations of 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz. Each of these fractional Gold Eagles shares the same design, purity, recognition and trust as the 1 oz coin, but are minted in smaller denominations that are more accessible to a wider range of investors.

These coins are minted in mass quantities by the Mint and are extremely liquid with an expansive amount of bullion dealers and others paying cash for gold.

Fractional gold bars are available in many different increments. With available sizes as small as 1/2 gram. However, the premiums for the smallest sizes can be relatively high. While denominations containing 5 grams or 10 grams of gold per bar can offer significantly lower premiums.

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Flipping Costco Gold Coins for Profit

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In some areas, it has become profitable to flip the 1 oz Gold Coins for a tidy profit. Depending on inventory levels, many local coin shops will pay a premium above the melt value for current year gold coins that are kept in their original Mint State condition.

Some investors are buying gold coins from Costco below melt value when factoring in the rewards. The premium on Costco’s gold coins appears to average around 2.5%. Once receiving them, they bring them to their local coin stores to sell back. If your local coin store will pay 3% above melt, then without factoring in other rewards, its possible to make a quick .5% profit.

Costco Executive members earn 2% cash back, up to $1,000 annually. This is essentially an annual rebate that must be spent on other products in the warehouse. When factoring in other credit card rewards, the potential profit from these transactions can increase by a few percentage points quickly.

The Costco Citibank card, for example, offers 2% rewards for all purchases at Costco and it is possible for those rewards to be deposited as cash into your bank account. Though you may have a better deal with the cards in your wallet.

The practice of flipping gold coins for profit as a side hustle has been around for a long time. Some investors hold onto coins for the arbitrage when the price of gold increases. Other investors look for opportunities to flip coins for a profit.

The profitability can vary depending on which part of the country you’re in and the number of gold investors in your local coin shop’s customer list.

Many investors find great deals on eBay, particularly for historic and vintage gold coins. This includes US Mint Pre-1933 gold coins and circulated gold coins from Europe, such as 20 francs and British Sovereigns. There are many trusted and reputable bullion dealers that use eBay as a sales platform to liquidate excess inventory, such as APMEX, Liberty Coins, Aydin Coins and Pinehurst Coins.

Having a good relationship with the folks at your local coin store is important. They have the best understanding of which coins collectors and investors in the local area have the most interest in, as well as a customer list of willing buyers.

They can also give you an idea of the prices they would be willing to pay, particularly for coins that are graded and encapsulated by reputable third-party grading services like NGC, PCGS and ANACS.

Graded Gold Coins are generally the most liquid and easiest to sell, as they provide verification of the authenticity as well as the condition.

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Costco Selling $100 to $200 million of gold per month, Wells Fargo

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In a letter to investors, an analyst from Wells Fargo estimates that Costco may be selling up to $200 million in gold each month.

Based on recent spot price averages, that would mean the brick & mortar retailer may be shipping up to 85,000 troy ounces of gold each month, the equivalent to around 2,400 kilos of gold.

Earlier in the year, Costco stated that gold sales contributed around $100 million in revenue in the final quarter of last year when they first began the offerings.

Since then, Costco has been making regular offerings of gold coins from both the US Mint and Royal Canadian Mint, such as the 1 oz Gold Buffalo and 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf coins.

The offerings have also included various denominations of gold bars from PAMP Suisse and RAND Refinery. In addition to the 1 oz Lady Fortuna gold bars, there have been sales of the PAMP Multigram+25 gold bars as well as larger sizes such as 50 gram and 100 gram gold bars.

The premiums that Costco charges seem to be roughly 2-3% over spot, which is a great deal for current year coins. From online bullion dealers, the premiums for current year gold coins are typically around 4.5% at the low end, while secondary market coins will usually be in the 2-3% range.

Costco offers their Executive members a 2% reward, which allows these members to buy gold coins below spot price. When shopping online for these deals, the best practice is to use a credit card that offers additional rewards in the form of cash back. The industry average credit card rewards adds an additional 2%, which some offer more.

The spot gold prices have been hitting record all time highs in recent weeks, overall gold is up around 13% YTD. Industry analysts suggest that the mass buying by the central banks of BRICS countries, along with persistently high inflation in the US, and record high government debt are major contributing causes to the surge.