Gold Coin Dealer Ratings: 5 Best Places to Buy Gold Coins
1. eBay (ebay.com) — eBay tops at number one because of the seer variety of coins available. Also because of the number of sellers competing on eBay you’re almost guaranteed the best deal, the lowest premium, and some times the best service. Many sellers frequently have free shipping. The lowest premium, price above gold spot price, is found on eBay because of the auction feature that is buyers aren’t willing to bid up the price far above a reasonable premium.
If you do decide to use eBay to buy gold bullion coins look first at the seller feedback score. The higher percentages show a seller focused on serving the buyer. Second, look for sellers with a higher number of auctions because a seller with a higher number of auctions means he or she is eBay savvy. Third shop around until you find the best deal, don’t bid on the first item you see — there’s better deals waiting for you to find.
2. Austin Rare Coins & Bullion (austincoins.com) — Austin Coins comes in at number two because of their diverse selection of coins, not as diverse as eBay, but still impressive. Austin coins also has the largest presence on-line than any other coin dealer, which means they understand serving the Internet user. But more importantly is the information they provide about their company. Located on the “about us” page of Austincoins.com contains financial references, trade references, and a number to call the local office of the Better Business Beauro to check up on the company. No other dealer has this amount of information to prove the reliability and reputation of the company.
3. Lynn Coins (lynncoins.com) — While Lynn coins has a less than professional design, the prices and selection are still strong enough to score Lynn Coins number three in the list. Browsing the selection is a little confusing, but after finding the links to the coins you want the prices are reasonable.
Lynn Coins is a PayPal verified site for all those PayPal addicts. It also means the security of Credit Card transactions are a little more secure than other dealers we found on-line. As for history according to PayPal, Lynn Coins has been in business for seven years and has processed “3,406 buyers.”
4. American Gold Exchange (amergold.com) — Along with Lynn coins, American Gold Exchange needs a serious website redesign. It’s outdated layout and design might deter a number of visitors. We couldn’t help asking ourselves “is this place still in business?” American Gold Exchange has a large selection of gold coins, yet the large selection caters more to the collecting crowd than the investors. Even with a collector’s mindset, there are still a large number of coins to chose from making this shop slightly below Lynn Coins at number four.
5. Monex (monex.com) — Many of you might be suprised to see Monex at the bottom of the list. But with the lack of options, the inability to order small quantities on-line, Monex lands the last spot on our list. There are a few people on-line that do not order on-line, therefore Monex fills the need to talk to a real person. In this case the person is an account representative. Monex is not for the small time investor, it deals with large accounts and has some complicated options such as “Atlas Account program” to use leverage in the gold market. While Monex might have a strong reputation, it does not have convenient options to buy on-line nor does Monex cater to the small investor.
In summary, use eBay if your comfortable with searching for and finding a great deal with a reputable seller behind the deal. Use Austin Rare coins or Lynn coins for simple, quick purchases at low prices. For the collectors, use American Gold Exchange for rare gold coins. And finally, use Monex if you’re looking for a company to handle a large portfolio or more advanced account options.
