Investing in gold has become a phenomenon since the 2008 housing collapse, and for good reason: people want an asset that gains value and stays strong even when the economy is down.
But in order to get your hands on that security (figuratively speaking), you have to know the right people to buy gold from in the first place.
We’ve compiled this list of the best online gold dealers through painstaking research, verifying companies, checking track records, and doing everything in our power to validate bringing these companies into our guide.
You can buy gold online: you just have to be smart about who you buy it from. It’s time to show you the most reputable gold dealers you’ll ever meet.
Augusta Precious Metals is one of the leading precious metals IRA companies in America because they are the absolute best when it comes to customer education, experience, and fee structure. They are my #1 recommended choice after researching over a dozen gold IRA companies.
Best Online Gold Dealers
- Augusta Precious Metals - Best Overall
- Goldco Precious Metals - Best Customer Service
- Noble Gold Investments - Best Education
- Birch Gold Group - Lowest Investment Minimum
- American Hartford Gold - Best Buyback Plan
- Advantage Gold - Best for 1st Time Buyers
- Regal Assets - Best for Buying Gold & Crypto
Summary of Best Gold Dealers of May 2022
Best Overall
Best Customer Service
Best Education
Low Investment Minimum
Great Buyback Plan
Best for 1st Time Buyers
Best for Gold & Crypto IRAs
1. Augusta Precious Metals - Best Overall Pick
Augusta has a plethora of educational content to help new precious metals investors at every step of the process, a plan to waive fees for first-time gold IRA accounts, and excellent storage options that rival or surpass their competitors.
You can choose Nevada, Ohio, Delaware, or even some locations in Canada to store your gold (and the prices are different, so you definitely want to pay close attention at this step in the process).
That’s just the advantage of being with one of the longest-standing gold dealers in the business. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but once you get past the mental block of feeling inexperienced or amateurish that many of us find ourselves in, you’ll be able to double down on your gold investment and prepare for the future.
2. Goldco Precious Metals - Best Customer Service
Goldco isn’t the first choice when it comes to wrapping up all your fees and services into one. They require you to find and use your own custodian service since they’re not partnered with one.
What they will do is provide the best customer service of any gold dealers that we’ve dealt with. They take time to put their expert-level representatives to work, finding you the best solution to your specific investment needs right from the start of the call.
They’re fantastic, and this pours over into how they explain their programs, and their educational content on-site. The rollover program is top-notch, and they set up your self-directed gold IRA in such a short amount of time to get you on your feet before you know it.
Great customer service, all they need to become the best of the best is a custodian partnership.
3. Noble Gold Investments - Best Education
While Noble Gold Investments is a slightly newer company at the time of making this guide, they’ve made waves as one of the fastest and most reputable gold dealers in such a short amount of time.
With an excellent BBB rating, an emphasis on customer service, and some of the most in-depth educational content available to their members, you’re basically looking at the perfect starter gold dealer for anyone who doesn’t know much about this space.
The annual fees are low, the content is helpful, what more do you need?
4. Birch Gold Group - Low Investment Minimum
Getting started with gold investments can be pricey. Birch Gold Group makes the minimum barrier-to-entry fairly low, so you can get started even if you don’t have a crazy $25,000+ investment to make on the first day.
While their customer service is great, their site is old and hard to navigate. You will run into a few hidden fees here and there, so be on your toes, but other than those it’s a transparent process.
The fees are essentially the cost of doing business for the low minimum investment, and it’s worth it.
5. American Hartford - Great Buyback Plan
American Hartford Gold wants you to know that you’re doing business with a trusted professional service, which is why they offer one of the best buyback plans that you’re ever going to find from any gold dealer.
You can sell if you need to without taking much of a hit, but their fees are a bit wonky. They’re transparent with you once you begin the process, but their site is a bit vague, so you have to dip your toes in the pool to learn everything that you need to get started.
6. Advantage Gold - Best for 1st Time Buyers
If you’re just getting started, Advantage Gold developed a business model centered around helping new investors get started. That unfortunately means that their customer service lines are clogged up quite often, but it’s part of the process.
The online services are limited, but once you’re able to connect, you have IRA experts at your disposal to help answer your questions. No matter what stage you’re at in the gold buying and investing process, Advantage Gold has your back, which is just one of the reasons that they’re so successful.
7. Regal Assets - Best for Gold & Crypto IRA's
Last but not least, Regal Assets is the best diversified IRA that you can get. Gold, plenty of crypto assets, and a low minimum make this a great way to begin your IRA account.
The fee model is structured and flat, so you won’t run into crazy hidden fees around every corner. While the customer service is arguably the worst of any company on this list, they still help you, it just depends on when you can get through to them.
They’re great to get started with if you don’t want to go all-in with gold right away.
How to Choose a Reputable Gold Dealer
There are a few ways to tell if a gold company is legitimate or a fraud. These are a few of the first markers you should look for.
- Check if they have an established business location that you can find on Google Maps, because if there’s no company headquarters, then there’s no company
- Look for track records throughout every established year of business so you know a phony gold company didn’t just forge the last 1-2 years of sales and information
- Outlined buyback policies and clear return information listed for public consumption on their official website
- Track the CEO and check their history, work history, public record, public opinion, and if they’re known in any similar business
- Multiple payment options should be available on their site, because if it only accepts crypto or gift cards, it’s not a real gold dealer
- Transparency in their pricing and how they reach those prices, because if it’s not clear and public, what else are they hiding?
Tips for Avoiding Gold Scams
Gold scams date back thousands of years. If there’s something precious, people are going to make a fraudulent version of it and try to scam people out of money. Here’s how you can avoid it.
- Understand what gold weight has to do with price, current mint prices, and the designs that are publicly stated by the IRS on their website that you’ll see on coins and bullion
- Speedy deliveries are another aspect of legitimate gold companies, because if it’s going to take one month or more to transport your gold, it’s not likely to be real
- Ask for verification of every step of the process and documentation, as well as certification, because if a lender has a problem providing any of this information, that’s because they don’t have it
- Make sure the lender has a buyback policy that you can enforce
- Check if the business is listed on the Better Business Bureau directory
Next Steps
Gold scams exist, but they’re easier to avoid than ever. Go with reputable gold dealers with long track records and a rich history, and you shouldn’t run into any major problems at all.
These are the best gold dealers you’ll ever have access to, so it’s important to keep them in mind when you really consider pushing forward and buying gold for your retirement account.
They’re honest, transparent, and verified. The security is worth the cost of doing business, and then some.
Methodology - How We Chose These Gold Dealers
Buying gold from a trusted dealer is a monumental deal, which is why we took the following precautions in order when determining our list of the best gold dealers in 2022: public opinion, BBB ratings, years in business, customer complaints, TrustPilot scores, gauged their publicly available information, tested their customer service, and verified their services and certification (and more).
At PersonalIncome.org, we want you to have the absolute best financial experience of your life, whether it’s gold dealers or IRA firms. We’re committed to helping you find the perfect gold dealer to build your IRA today.
Gold Dealer FAQ's
Yes, buying gold online is safe, but it does have a high number of false websites and fake gold vendors that want your money and information.
That’s why we made such a point to create this list and give you all the best gold companies in one place, so that you can choose wisely, safely, and find a legitimate gold dealer that upholds integrity in their business.
Remember: if a deal sounds too good to be true, that’s because it likely is. These gold dealers are businessmen and cut straight to the point without selling a single sentiment of getting rich off of gold.
No, you cannot. If you buy gold from a dealer that guarantees at-home delivery, they’re selling you something that can never be used for an IRA or any true investment.
Panic gold is a name for high-quality gold that you store at home, because it’s only there in the event that a disaster happens and you try to use gold to barter your way to safety.
IRA eligible gold needs to be produced at a mint, purchased by you (through an IRA firm), and safely shipped to a custodian service at their facility. Otherwise it’s a collectible (which you pay taxes on and have to report), and not an investment.
With gold bars, you’ll pay less on the spot price, but you’ll also have an IRA eligible asset that can accrue wealth over time. Gold bars are a better choice because they have to be 99.95% finesse, or pure gold.
Gold coins require more alloy, so they can only be 91% pure gold, which means you’re paying for 9% alloy in that price. That, and coins can lose value due to commemorative imprints, whereas gold bullion is faceless: it will continue to follow the gold market.
Bars are a better option every time.
Paying above spot price means paying a premium for the gold bullion to actually be created (that process isn’t cheap, as you can imagine). You should expect to pay between 2% and 5% above spot price.
Some mints charge as high as 6%-7%, but that’s when it becomes difficult to recoup your losses for what you spend on the bullion in the first place.
Augusta Precious Metals
This company has proven its commitment to exceptional customer experiences and education to help Americans savers use physical gold and silver in an IRA to gain retirement peace of mind.
- Augusta Precious Metals - Best Overall
- Goldco Precious Metals - Best Customer Service
- Noble Gold Investments - Best Education
- Birch Gold Group - Lowest Investment Minimum
- American Hartford Gold - Best Buyback Plan
- Advantage Gold - Best for 1st Time Buyers
- Regal Assets - Best for Buying Gold & Crypto
