Over the past several years the number of companies offering monthly bullion subscription box products has proliferated into virtually every niche.
Is it any wonder that more than a few different monthly subscription services related to silver and gold bullion have been brought to market?
Not really surprising.
Are they worth it for the average precious metals investor?
What are the bullion subscription box services?
Several different bullion subscription services have emerged over the past couple of years. Each bullion subscription service allows for investing in silver, gold and platinum bullion at monthly intervals with a fixed amount of money spent.
The amount of bullion received in each monthly shipment will vary depending on the spot price of each of the precious metals as well as the amount each investor has chosen to spend.
Investor Crate
What is Investor Crate?
Investor Crate is one of the most popular bullion subscription services to have emerged over the past couple of years. InvestorCrate offers a variety of subscription levels that include gold, silver, platinum and constitutional or “junk” silver.
Their monthly subscription boxes start at $50 and go as high as $1,000 a month.
The subscriptions that they offer include:
50/50 Combo
This monthly subscription box contains a mix of Gold and Silver. The exact mix is determined each month based on availability and spot price. Though it’s hard to imagine what mix of gold and silver you might expect if you’re subscribing at the lowest level of $50.
The Big Bar Crate
This monthly subscription box is for those interested in just silver bars. The exact items, size and quantity of the silver bars in this box are going to depend a lot on how much you’re paying each month for the subscription.
For the basic subscription level of $50 the most one could expect at the current silver spot price would be around 3 troy ounces a month. As spot price rises the amount of silver each month will decrease.
InvestorCrate has several other varieties of combo boxes that you can subscribe to each month. They have a subscription crate that includes only items issued by the US Mint, such as American Silver Eagle coins and perhaps other special release bullion items.
Subscription prices range from $50 to $1,000 a month.
Money Metals Exchange
Money Metals Exchange offers a couple of different options for monthly subscription services for both gold and silver bullion. Their Monthly Gold & Silver Savings Plans offer the option to invest as little as $100 a month in silver, in gold, or a combination of silver & gold.
Instead of being sent a random box of bullion every month they allow you to choose your specific investments. The idea being their plan is based on the strategy of dollar-cost averaging. Dollar-Cost Averaging is an investment strategy that focuses on investing the same dollar amount at regular and consistent intervals.
In the Money Metals Exchange monthly savings plan you chose from a list of popular bullion items. The choices available include sovereign government backed coins such as Silver & Gold Eagles and Maple Leafs, as well as generic bullion bars and rounds in a variety of sizes and weights.
Subscription prices start at $100 a month.
GMRGold
GMRGold offers monthly curated bullion subscription boxes similar to those from InvestorCrate.
They offer three subscription levels, Basic Bullion Box, Advanced Bullion Box, and Elite Bullion Box.
The Basic Bullion Box costs $100 a month, the Advanced Bullion Box is $250 a month and the Elite Bullion Box is $500. They also offer an option for Custom Bullion Box for any larger amount.
Their expert advisors curate what is included at each level every month. Items delivered each month may include Gold and silver bullion, bronze and/or copper precious metals, and will be in the form of coins, bars or rounds.
Are bullion subscriptions worth the money?
Generally speaking, No. Bullion Box subscriptions aren’t a good value for the money. In each case the company needs to make money. With spot price changing on a constant basis it’s difficult for these companies to lock in prices that would compare to many of the larger dealers.
Most often, the items included in the monthly subscription won’t compare to just setting aside money every month and buying the items you want yourself. There are lots of InvestorCrate unboxing videos on YouTube that show what is included in their typical boxes and most seem disappointing for the cost.
