Buying Gold Online: What to Know

Buying physical gold and silver online has become one of the most common ways investors acquire precious metals. Established online dealers typically offer lower premiums than local coin shops, a much wider product selection, and the convenience of shopping from anywhere. But sending thousands of dollars to a website you cannot visit in person requires knowing exactly what to look for — and what to avoid.

The Case for Buying Online

Online precious metals dealers operate on higher volume than local retailers, which lets them negotiate better wholesale prices from refineries and pass some of those savings along. A 1 oz American Gold Eagle at a major online dealer often carries a premium 1%–2% lower than the same coin at a typical local coin shop, simply because of volume purchasing power.

Online dealers also maintain deep inventory across hundreds of products, make it easy to compare prices, and usually offer real-time pricing that adjusts with the spot market. Many allow you to lock in a price at checkout so you are not exposed to spot price movement between when you order and when payment clears.

How to Vet an Online Dealer

Before placing any order, run through this checklist:

Check Their History and Credentials

Look for dealers with a long operating history — 10 or more years is a strong positive signal. Check their Better Business Bureau profile for complaint volume and how complaints were resolved. Search the dealer's name on Reddit communities like r/Gold, r/Silverbugs, and r/WallStreetSilver; precious metals buyers are candid about both good and bad experiences.

Membership in the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) or Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA) indicates a commitment to industry ethics standards. Check the dealer's website for these affiliations.

Verify Physical Contact Information

Any legitimate dealer should have a real physical business address, a working phone number, and a live customer service team. Call the number before you order. If you cannot reach a human, or if the address is a P.O. Box with no other location information, look elsewhere.

Review the Pricing Structure

Prices should update automatically with the spot market. A dealer with static, non-updating prices is either behind on technology or hiding something. Compare the same product across three dealers (APMEX, JM Bullion, and SD Bullion are commonly used as benchmarks) and see where your chosen dealer falls.

Read the Return and Buyback Policies

Reputable dealers publish clear buyback prices on their websites. They should also have a policy for addressing complaints about product condition on arrival. A dealer who will not tell you what they will pay to buy back their own products is a dealer to avoid.

Payment Methods: What Each One Means

Online precious metals dealers typically accept several payment forms, each with different cost and protection implications:

Check or Money Order

Mailing a check is the traditional method and usually earns you the lowest price — most dealers offer a 3%–4% discount versus credit card pricing. The downside is the additional time: your check must arrive and clear before the order ships, adding roughly a week to the process. Use this method for larger orders where the savings are meaningful.

Bank Wire Transfer

Wire transfers are fast and typically earn the same discount as checks. Most wires clear within one business day. The tradeoff: wire transfers offer very limited buyer protection. Once the money leaves your account, recovering it from a bad actor is nearly impossible. Only wire to dealers you have thoroughly vetted.

Credit Card

Credit cards offer the strongest buyer protection — you can dispute a charge with your card issuer if metals are never delivered. The cost is higher: most dealers charge 3%–4% more for card payments to cover interchange fees. For smaller first-time purchases, the added cost may be worth the protection while you build trust with a new dealer.

Cryptocurrency

Some dealers accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, often at the same discount as checks. Crypto payments are final and irreversible, so only use this method with dealers you know well. Never send cryptocurrency to a dealer you have not already done business with.

ACH / eCheck

Electronic bank transfers offered by some dealers. Typically earn the same discount as paper checks. Processing time is similar to wire transfers, but ACH transactions do have reversal options in some fraud cases, unlike wire transfers.

Price Lock and Order Timing

Precious metals prices move continuously during market hours. Most reputable online dealers offer a price lock at checkout — you lock in the price when you place your order, and that price holds for a defined payment window (typically 3 days for checks, 1–2 hours for wires). If you miss the payment window, your order may be repriced at the current market rate.

Place orders when metals markets are open (Sunday evening through Friday afternoon, U.S. Eastern time) to ensure you are getting accurate real-time pricing. Weekend or holiday pricing may reflect a slight additional buffer built in by the dealer to cover overnight market risk.

What to Expect After You Order

Standard timelines for online precious metals orders:

• Credit card: Ships within 1–3 business days of order
• Wire transfer: Ships 1–2 business days after wire clears
• Personal check: Ships 5–10 business days after check is received and clears

Shipping typically takes 2–5 business days via USPS registered mail or FedEx. Expect your total order-to-doorstep time to be 7–14 business days for check orders and 3–7 business days for wire or card orders.

Red Flags: Online Dealer Warning Signs

When Your Package Arrives

Inspect your order immediately on delivery. Verify the count, weight markings, and purity stamps match what you ordered. If anything is missing or damaged, contact the dealer the same day — most have short windows for reporting delivery discrepancies. Keep all packaging, invoices, and receipts. You will need them for tax records when you eventually sell.

For orders over $5,000, consider basic authentication checks like a digital scale (to verify weight) and a magnet test (gold and silver are not magnetic; anything that sticks is not what it claims to be). Read our full authentication guide for more testing options.