# Lifestyles & Discussion > Personal Prosperity >  Recommend me where to buy physical gold (online)

## billjones

Sorry if this thread has been done a thousand times but I didn't find one on this site.

What are the most reputable sites to buy gold/silver online? Reputable meaning the largest/been in business the longest/etc.

So far I've gathered this list:

APMEX
Blanchard
Kitco
Gainesville Coins
US Gold Bureau
Monex
Money Changer
Euro Pacific
Bullion Vault
American Gold Exchange
Bullion Direct
Northwest Territorial Mint 
Goldline Int.
CMI Gold/Silver

Quite a long list and I'm sure there are plenty more. What do you guys recommend? Either on my list or off, who have you had experience with? Any on my list I shouldn't trust?  

All opinions welcome. Thanks E & SM!

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## Cleaner44

Why online?

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## billjones

> Why online?


I was under the impression that online dealers had lower premiums. No?

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## billjones

Also, I should mention, free shipping is a high priority if I do buy online. I know APMEX has free shipping as does Blanchard if you buy over 50 oz.

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## Bruno

Coin shops support local business and are more anonymous.  Apmex is a reliable online site, though.

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## Cleaner44

> I was under the impression that online dealers had lower premiums. No?


Not for me, but that may different in your local area.  Where are you located?

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## billjones

> Not for me, but that may different in your local area.  Where are you located?


Tulsa, OK. I called the largest shop here and they quoted me the price of an eagle at $2122. Blanchard has it at $1994. I also read somewhere that brick and mortar shops in general have higher premiums than online dealers.

What's wrong with buying online? I assume it's very safe provided you stick to the big name companies. However, I assume it would probably be a good idea to purchase gold/silver from a few different online sellers so you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

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## Corydoras

http://www.tulving.com
http://www.jhmint.com
http://www.scottsdalesilver.com
http://www.firstmajestic.com
http://www.lydianmint.com

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## Corydoras

http://www.momssilvershop.com (affiliated with jhmint.com)

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## TexAg09

I typically go through Kitco since they have lower premiums.  They have a flat shipping rate of like $30, so the more you buy the better deal it is.

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## Corydoras

And oh yeah,

http://www.ebay.com/gold-and-silver/

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## pacelli

stay away from northwest territorial mint.  I've heard from 2 different people that they take orders for $#@! they don't have, then you are left months later wondering where your order is... phone calls go unreturned.  Haven't tried them personally after hearing these stories.

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## Corydoras

It really depends on what you want to buy (Eagles, ingots, Krugerrands, rounds, etc.), how much you want to buy (3 oz of silver, 10 oz. platinum, 2 oz gold), what form of payment you want to use (PayPal, credit card, bank wire), and whether you foresee selling it back.

If I wanted to buy a lot, I'd go with Tulving, but as the joke goes, You Must Be This Tall To Ride at Tulving.

Scottsdale Silver takes PayPal, which means your bank account registers only that a certain amount of money went out through PayPal.

Gainesville doesn't gouge as much for credit cards as a lot of places do, and their shipping is especially reasonable.

Apmex gives its best buyback rates if you bought those exact items there, OR if you are selling more than $10k to them. This was real handy when I needed to sell back some stuff when I had a sudden need for FRNs, and I didn't want to sell $10k.

If I just wanted to buy a few ounces of silver, I'd go with Scottsdale's special offer.
http://store.scottsdalesilver.com/pr...-Week-Estimate

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## Cleaner44

> Tulsa, OK. I called the largest shop here and they quoted me the price of an eagle at $2122. Blanchard has it at $1994. I also read somewhere that brick and mortar shops in general have higher premiums than online dealers.
> 
> What's wrong with buying online? I assume it's very safe provided you stick to the big name companies. However, I assume it would probably be a good idea to purchase gold/silver from a few different online sellers so you don't have all your eggs in one basket.


Nothing wrong with buying online.  

Check this guy out, I have never bought from him but I have spoken with him.  I really like his website, prices and I think he is a Ron Paul guy.
http://libertycpm.com

Don't forget to factor in shipping with online.

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## tsai3904

I haven't had any problems with these two companies:

Golden Eagle Coins
Provident Metals

I've found their prices to be better than APMEX's.

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## CaptainAmerica

Try to buy recognizable pre 1960s silver coins. It would be better recognized and easier to hide from theft as well as the benefit of people recognizing it for quick transactions in the event that the dollar goes hyper inflated.

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## eric_cartman

www.allamericangold.com

listen to their radio show, the patriot radio news hour.  cool guys for sure

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## heavenlyboy34

I don't know about gold, but you can get silver on amazon, FWIW.  ETA: After checking, it seems amazon has some good prices if you know what you're looking for.

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## billjones

After looking through every major site I can find, Monex seems to be the winner wrt prices. Blanchard and Gainesville are a close 2nd. 

So does anyone have experience with Monex?

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## Jeez

I haved used the following:
Apmex
Golden Eagle
Rarecoin Collector

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## Corydoras

One more place you might want to look at - a very interesting auction site - which, however, I have not used:

http://www.oneoverspot.com

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## billjones

I guess each site varies day to day because today Gainesville has the best prices. Hmm...

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## billjones

> I haved used the following:
> Apmex
> Golden Eagle
> Rarecoin Collector


Positive or negative reviews?

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## Jeez

They have been good only hiccup was with Apmex which requires credit card billing address to be the same as your shipping address.

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## Corydoras

> They have been good only hiccup was with Apmex which requires credit card billing address to be the same as your shipping address.


But if you wire money to them, Apmex will ship to your office or whatever.

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## GunnyFreedom

> Try to buy recognizable pre 1960s silver coins. It would be better recognized and easier to hide from theft as well as the benefit of people recognizing it for quick transactions in the event that the dollar goes hyper inflated.


I avoid this, as people who don't know PM's will have a hard time getting past face value.  I prefer silver bars in 1oz 5oz and max 10oz.  Small enough to transact if needs be, different enough from coins to avoid ANY confusion.

I just bought another 10 1oz bars today, on the dip.


ETA -- I use APMEX and like them plenty.  I did notice their overspot rates just went up.

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## billjones

Here's the National Inflation (NIA) website's reviews of Gold/Silver dealers for anyone interested. It seems pretty unbiased.

http://inflation.us/reviews/

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## billjones

> I avoid this, as people who don't know PM's will have a hard time getting past face value.  I prefer silver bars in 1oz 5oz and max 10oz.  Small enough to transact if needs be, different enough from coins to avoid ANY confusion.
> 
> I just bought another 10 1oz bars today, on the dip.
> 
> 
> ETA -- I use APMEX and like them plenty.  I did notice their overspot rates just went up.


I've thought about this and am hesitant to buy junk silver for that very reason. What about silver rounds? Why do you prefer 1 oz bars over the rounds?

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## Badger for Paul

I've had good experience with Bullion Direct.  I like that you can make multiple purchases over time and they will hold them until you request delivery.  That way, you can choose when to take delivery and group the purchases into a single shipment to save on shipping.

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## Corydoras

> people who don't know PM's will have a hard time getting past face value.


And it's not entirely unreasonable, if you don't know offhand that old coins are 90% silver and neither sterling nor fine silver. And after all, nickels don't show copper on their edges, and they aren't made of silver, either.

People are astonishingly unsophisticated about coins. I use dollar coins a lot, and I am amazed at the number of people I meet who think that there is gold in them.

By the way, Lydian Mint sells 1/10 oz. silver rounds.
http://lydianmint.com/lionsilver.xml

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## billjones

> If I wanted to buy a lot, I'd go with Tulving, but as the joke goes, You Must Be This Tall To Ride at Tulving.


I must have missed this the first time through. Tulving does have the best prices on the net no doubt. But they aren't BBB accredited. And their website is really unprofessional. So I am hesitant, especially since I'm not investing a trivial amount of money. 

Can anyone reassure me that they are a solid company?

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## billjones

One more thing. Should I worry about the bullion being certified? I read on Blanchard's site that that won't buy back any coins unless they have been certified.

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## Bern

> Here's the National Inflation (NIA) website's reviews of Gold/Silver dealers for anyone interested. It seems pretty unbiased.
> ...


If you want reviews, read what customers are saying:

http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/forums...n-coin-dealers




> I must have missed this the first time through. Tulving does have the best prices on the net no doubt. But they aren't BBB accredited. And their website is really unprofessional. So I am hesitant, especially since I'm not investing a trivial amount of money. 
> 
> Can anyone reassure me that they are a solid company?


Tulving sets the bar in the low premium physical bullion business.  They have an impeccable reputation for delivering on what they promise.  One thing you should know though is that they are a small outfit and they only sell large quantities.  They can be rude or short (impatient) on the phone with noobs calling them and wasting their time.  You aren't paying them for customer service / advice.  If you know exactly what you want and have the chips for a large enough order, they are the best.




> One more thing. Should I worry about the bullion being certified? I read on Blanchard's site that that won't buy back any coins unless they have been certified.


Certified?  Imo, it's a gimmick to encourage you to buy from them (or make you pay for a service that others provide for free - verifying that your bullion is legit when negotiating a sale price).  This is where establishing a relationship with a local coin shop (or two) is a good idea.  apmex, tulving and other dealers will buy without that ridiculous requirement.

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## billjones

> If you want reviews, read what customers are saying:
> 
> http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/forums...n-coin-dealers
> 
> 
> 
> Tulving sets the bar in the low premium physical bullion business.  They have an impeccable reputation for delivering on what they promise.  One thing you should know though is that they are a small outfit and they only sell large quantities.  They can be rude or short (impatient) on the phone with noobs calling them and wasting their time.  You aren't paying them for customer service / advice.  If you know exactly what you want and have the chips for a large enough order, they are the best.
> 
> 
> ...


Good Stuff, Bern. Thanks a lot. Sounds like Tulving is exactly what I'm looking for.

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## GunnyFreedom

> I've thought about this and am hesitant to buy junk silver for that very reason. What about silver rounds? Why do you prefer 1 oz bars over the rounds?


I prefer the bars simple because they are "obviously not coins."  If we ever get into a situation where we are forced to barter silver (I really consider silver more of a value storage than a barter medium, but if we DO) then I want people to have no question that this is bullion silver.  Simple as that.

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## GunnyFreedom

WRT certification, there is certification and there is certification.  Bullion that is "ISO Certified" is generally more expensive and intended for IRA's, 401K's, retirement, and investment grade holdings.  I like the idea of certification for 401k, but then it's not really physical material in your hand.

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## Bern

Just in case folks haven't seen it yet:

http://the-moneychanger.com/commandments.phtml

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## GunnyFreedom

> Just in case folks haven't seen it yet:
> 
> http://the-moneychanger.com/commandments.phtml


I disagree with the value of 90% silver.  It's only recognized as valuable to the people who KNOW it's valuable -- dealers and collectors -- and when the time comes to SELL SELL SELL then all the dealers and collectors will be selling, not buying.  "Junk" silver as it's called is great for a store of wealth to ride you through the depression and when it's OVER exchange through a dealer for the 'new' currency whatever that is, even devalued dollars.  If you ever have to use junk silver to buy food in an economic cataclysm, just expect to get 20% to 8% return on your metals investment value, as the guy who has a bushel of corn and tomatos is more likely to trust the face value on your coins than the metal content.

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## Sjmfury

I'm taking a look at Silver Bars, good stuff!

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