GoldInvestingHow to Check a Gold Dealer Before You Buy, Online or Local
A gold dealer worth your money shows its premium, buyback price, shipping terms and complaint record up front. We show you how to check each one yourself.
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A gold dealer worth using tells you its price over spot, what it pays when you sell back, how it ships and insures your order, and has a complaint record you can look up yourself. Check those four things, and any regulator warnings about the firm, before you send a dollar. Below are the checks in order, plus what several big online dealers publish on their own sites.
What counts as a gold dealer
A business that buys and sells physical gold coins and bars to the public. Some sell online and ship nationwide, some run a shop on Main Street, some do both.
In the U.S. you'll almost always buy government bullion coins through one. The U.S. Mint says it doesn't sell bullion coins directly to the public and instead distributes them through a network of "authorized purchasers," who sell on to wholesalers, financial institutions and other retailers. Its published list includes A-Mark Precious Metals, APMEX, Dillon Gage, StoneX Bullion, SD Bullion and others. The Mint notes that not all of them sell to consumers, and that it doesn't endorse or guarantee any outside organization on the list. So being on the list means a firm buys directly from the Mint. It says nothing about customer service.
Seven checks for any gold dealer
Go through these in order. Each takes a few minutes, and all of it is public.
1. Look up its BBB profile
Search the company on BBB.org. The Better Business Bureau says a rating represents "BBB's opinion of how a business is likely to interact with its customers," on a scale from A+ (highest) to F (lowest). Seven factors go into the grade, among them complaint history, time in business, transparency, licensing and advertising issues.
A few things trip people up when reading a profile. BBB says customer reviews "are not used in the letter-grade calculation," so stars and grade are separate. An NR (No Rating) just means BBB lacks enough information or is updating the file; in its words, "NR is not a grade, and it is not negative." And BBB itself states that "a rating is not a guarantee of a business's reliability or performance."
That's why we'd read the complaints, not just the letter. Look for patterns like slow shipping, delayed refunds or pressure to switch products, and see whether the company answered.
2. Check its Business Consumer Alliance record
The Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) also rates businesses and logs complaints. Search the name there and set it next to the BBB profile. Two clean records tell you more than one.
3. Search for regulator actions and advisories
The FTC's investment scam guidance says to search the company's name, and its officers' names, with words like "review," "scam," "fraud" or "complaint," and to read several pages of results. For precious metals and coin sellers it says to check CFTC records too, and to report precious metals fraud to the CFTC.
Two CFTC advisories describe what bad actors do. The 2012 one warns of firms that take a payment of "between 15 percent and 25 percent" of the price and arrange a loan for the rest, without saying the buyer may have to send more money if prices move against them. It also flags firms that won't name their lender or say where the metal is held.
The later advisory, on gold and silver schemes aimed at retirement savings, says dealers "often times are not licensed or registered to provide investment or trading advice," are often paid on commission, and "are not obliged to have your best interests in mind." It says never to buy "based on a cold call, unsolicited email, social media post, or infomercial," to compare premiums and to insist on all fees in writing.
Then there are imposters. The FTC's July 2025 alert says no one from the government will ever tell you to buy and deliver gold bars.
4. Compare premiums
The premium is what you pay above the gold's spot value. One troy ounce is worth today’s spot price at today's spot price, so whatever a one-ounce coin costs above that is its premium. The CFTC says bullion is typically priced at spot "plus a markup or 'premium' of between 5 percent and 10 percent," and that numismatic (collectible) coins can carry "premiums that can range from 40 percent to 200 percent above the spot price."
Compare like with like: same product, same quantity, same payment method, shipping included, worked out per ounce of pure gold.
Price over spotSee what a dealer is really charging above the gold price. 5. Ask for the buyback price
The buyback (bid) price is what the dealer pays when you sell. Get it for the same product on the same day as the selling price; the difference is the spread you pay to buy and later sell. If a dealer won't quote one, or quotes far below everyone else, that tells you plenty.
Big online dealers publish how selling works. APMEX lists five steps: request a quote, lock your price, ship with prepaid insured labels, have the items verified and authenticated on arrival, then get paid. JM Bullion says you can lock a price online at any hour, ship with labels it provides, and get paid after its team inspects and approves the items. How to sell gold has the whole process.
6. Read the shipping and insurance terms
What you want to know is when the dealer's insurance stops. For all three below, it's at delivery.
| Dealer | Free shipping | Smaller orders | When insurance ends or does not apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| APMEX | Orders over $199 | $9 fee | Once signed for or delivered; report damage within 48 hours |
| JM Bullion | Orders of $199 or more | Not stated on the shipping page | Once the carrier obtains a signature or completes delivery confirmation |
| SD Bullion | Orders over $199 | $9.95 flat for shipping and insurance | Not covered if you waive signature with the carrier, or ship to a UPS Store, FedEx store or other mailbox location |
JM Bullion also says its return address and packaging "do not give any indication of the valuable contents of the package." It's a fair question to put to any dealer.
7. Check payment methods and what each one costs
Cards often cost more than check or wire. JM Bullion says paper check, eCheck (ACH) and bank wire "offer a 4% discount over credit/debit card and PayPal orders," and crypto gets 3%. Paper checks and ACH take 3 to 5 business days to clear before the order enters the shipping queue; wires clear on receipt.
SD Bullion takes cards for orders up to $5,000 and says they're "not eligible for the 4% cash discount." E-checks up to $10,000 get the discounted price, and bank wire is the only way to pay for orders over $20,000. APMEX holds personal check and eCheck orders for 4 to 6 business days after payment is processed, and says it no longer treats bank, certified or cashier's checks as "as good as cash."
Say you're spending $10,000. At a 4% difference, paying by card instead of eCheck costs you roughly $400 more.
Paying more than $10,000 in cash to any business means it has to file Form 8300 under IRS Publication 1544. A cashier's check of $10,000 or less can count as cash for a coin sale under that rule. A personal check doesn't.
How do you find gold dealers near you?
The U.S. Mint's advice is to use "your preferred search engine to find a local or national coin and precious metal dealer that fits your needs." Run any local shop through the same checks as an online dealer. Then go in and ask:
- What's your price per ounce over spot on a one-ounce American Gold Eagle, cash and card?
- What would you pay me for the same coin today?
- How do you test what you buy and sell? An X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer or a conductivity tester are the usual answers. See how to tell if gold is real.
- Will the receipt list each item, its weight and fineness, and the price?
A shop lets you look the product over and take it home that day. Online dealers usually list more. We'd compare total cost per ounce on the same day and let that decide.
The big online dealers you'll run into
These are names American buyers run into constantly. The facts come from each company's own site or the U.S. Mint, checked in October 2026. It isn't a ranking, and the checks above apply to every one of them.
| Dealer | Based in | U.S. Mint authorized purchaser | Published card terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| APMEX | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Yes (silver, gold, platinum, palladium) | Cards accepted; check and eCheck orders held 4 to 6 business days |
| JM Bullion | Dallas, Texas | Not on the Mint's list | Cards up to $250,000; 4% discount for check, ACH and wire |
| SD Bullion | Fort Worth, Texas | Yes (gold only) | Cards up to $5,000; cards and PayPal do not get the 4% cash discount |
Looking at companies that set up gold IRAs rather than ship metal to your door? See gold IRA companies and the gold IRA guide.
When to walk away from a gold dealer
Straight from the CFTC and FTC guidance above. Walk away if you see any of these:
- A call, email or social media message offering gold that you didn't ask for.
- Talk that now is the only time to buy. The FTC says scammers will tell you "there's no better time than now to invest," whether the market is up or down.
- An offer to finance most of the purchase, or a firm that won't name its lender or where your metal is held.
- Refusal to put the premium, fees and buyback terms in writing.
- An unsolicited pitch to move retirement savings into gold or silver, which is what one CFTC advisory is about.
- Anyone claiming to be from the government who tells you to buy gold and hand it over.
More on choosing a gold dealer
How do I find a reputable gold dealer?
Look up its BBB profile and Business Consumer Alliance record, search its name with "complaint" and "scam," compare its premium and buyback price with two other dealers, and read the shipping and insurance terms before you pay.
How do I find gold dealers near me?
Search for coin and precious metal dealers in your area, as the U.S. Mint suggests, then call or visit with the same questions: price per ounce over spot, buyback price, card surcharge and how the shop tests gold.
What is the best online gold dealer?
For you, it's whichever has the lowest total cost per ounce on the product you want, a clean complaint record, clear insurance terms and a published buyback process. Put APMEX, JM Bullion, SD Bullion or anyone else side by side on those points on the same day.
What premium should I pay over spot for gold?
The CFTC says bullion is typically priced at spot plus 5 to 10 percent, and collectible coins can carry 40 to 200 percent. Smaller coins and bars cost more per ounce than one-ounce pieces.
Is a BBB A+ rating enough to trust a gold dealer?
It's a good start, not the whole check. BBB says a rating is its opinion and "not a guarantee of a business's reliability or performance," so read the complaints and look at regulator records too.
Do gold dealers charge more for credit cards?
Many do. JM Bullion and SD Bullion both publish a 4% discount for certain non-card payments, like check, ACH or wire.
Sources and fact-check16 primary sources, checked October 17, 2026
- United States Mint: Authorized Purchasers of United States Mint Bullion
- United States Mint: Collectible and Investment Coins
- Better Business Bureau: Overview of BBB Ratings
- FTC: Investment Scams
- FTC: Real government agents aren't asking you to buy and deliver gold bars (July 17, 2025)
- CFTC: Release 6172-12, Consumer Advisory on precious metals fraud (January 31, 2012)
- CFTC: Customer Advisory, Beware of Gold and Silver Schemes Designed to Drain Your Retirement Savings
- IRS: Publication 1544, Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000
- APMEX: Shipping and Insurance FAQ
- APMEX: How to Sell Your Gold
- JM Bullion: About Us
- JM Bullion: Payment Methods
- JM Bullion: Shipping
- JM Bullion: Sell to Us
- SD Bullion: Payment Options
- SD Bullion: Shipping Policies
We check every figure against the original source: the mint, the regulator, the exchange or the company itself. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
