While some precious metal companies out there prefer to focus on a particular niche, Bullion Exchanges attempts to be a true one-stop shop for gold and silver investors. Located in New York City, Bullion Exchanges advertises a huge selection of precious metal products, including platinum and palladium. Not only that, but they offer self-directed precious metal IRAs, storage supplies, and some more uncommon metals like Rhodium and Ruthenium. But is there selection really all that they claim it to be? Can they back it up with the kind of customer service you’d expect from a leading dealer? Most importantly, should you consider themes for your next gold or silver purchase? Continue reading our comprehensive review of Bullion Exchanges to find out.
WHO IS BULLION EXCHANGES?
Bullion Exchanges was founded in 2012, and is headquartered in New York City’s famous Diamond District Area, located on 47th Street between 5th and 6th avenues. It’s actually a Business Improvement District (BDI), where local businesses fund and promote companies dealing in precious metals and gems. The district itself has a rich history, being created in the early 1900’s as a way to consolidate geographically separated districts. The founders of Bullion Exchanges built on their multiple decades of connections and experience in the district, and created the company as a way to help others secure their financial futures.
Approaching a decade in business, Bullion Exchanges has grown to become one of New York City’s premier precious metal retailers, and is now known around the globe to gold and silver investors. Unlike many of the other gold investment companies we have looked at, Bullion Exchanges actually has a physical retail store, as well. For us, that fact builds further trust that they are indeed a legitimate outfit that’s here to stay. Plus, if you’re located anywhere near New York City then it makes it easy to buy or sell precious metals.
Bullion Exchanges’ web presence has also shown strong growth in the past eight years, and they have continually improved and updated their website to keep up with the most current technology and trends. They’ve also been a company that aims to satisfy their customers, implementing creative marketing measures such as a rewards program and a price match guarantee.
Bullion Exchanges’ offering sounds impressive on paper, but is their massive selection for real? Does their rewards program actually reward you? Is their price match guarantee hampered by a bunch of restrictions? Let’s take a deeper look.
WHAT DO THEY OFFER?
Bullion Exchanges boasts an especially impressive collection of gold and silver coins and bars. They carry gold coins from the most popular mints around the world, including American Gold Eagles, Certified Gold Eagles, Royal Canadian Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas, Mexican Libertads, British Royal Britannias, Royal Australian Lunars and Kangaroos, and Perth Mint Kangaroos. They also carry Austrian Philharmonics and South African Krugerrands. As for gold bars and rounds, they stock items from PAMP Suisse, Credit Suisse, Republic Metals Corp. (RMC), Perth Mind, Valcambi, Johnson Matthey, and Sunshine Mint.
Their silver offering is similar. As with gold, they carry the top sellers from the most well-known mints. This includes American Silver Eagles and Proof Silver Eagles, Perth Kangaroos, Royal Canadian Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas, British Royal Britannias, Austrian Silver Philharmonics, South African Silver Krugerrands, and Mexican Libertads. If you are more interested in silver bars and rounds, you can purchase products from the Sunshine Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, PAMP Suisse, Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, Asahi, and Credit Suisse.
We found their platinum offering to be larger than most. You can purchase platinum coins from the U.S. Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Australian Mint, and Royal British Mint. There are also platinum bars available from PAMP Suisse and Credit Suisse. As we mentioned earlier, they also carry some less common metals. This includes palladium, copper, rhodium, and ruthenium.
If you need supplies such as tubes, boxes, coin capsules, or presentation sleeves, Bullion Exchanges has you covered. They offer precious metal verification services as well, and are an authorized dealer for the Professional Coin Grading Service and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Bullion Exchanges also has a separate “On Sale” section so it’s easy to find all of their latest and greatest deals.
Want to liquidate your metal holdings? Bullion Exchanges has a buy-back program where not only will they buy your coins and bars, they’ll purchase other items ranging from jewelry to gemstones to watches. They even buy your scrap metal. On their “Sell To Us” page, you can view a live listing of how much they are offering for specific specimens. We found their prices to be fair and always close to spot price.
Finally, Bullion Exchanges offers self-directed precious metals IRAs. They boast that via their partnerships, they can provide the lowest costs and easiest account opening process available. Their preferred IRA custodians are GoldStar Trust Company and New Direction IRA, both established firms managing billions of dollars in assets. Their IRA-approved depositories are of similar quality, and include IDS and SWP. We found their account opening process to be pretty straightforward and fast, but more on that later.
WHAT DO WE LIKE?
First, we really liked Bullion Exchanges’ vast selection of coins and bars. They carry an array of specimens from the most popular mints, so if you’re an investor you should have no trouble finding something to fit your portfolio. Most of the larger precious metal dealers out there have large gold and silver offerings, so it’s Bullion Exchanges’ selection of the rarer metals that won us over. You’ll find platinum and palladium examples, as well as even more uncommon rhodium and ruthenium specimens. Their full selection of storage supplies is a convenient touch, too.
Their rewards program shows that they care about their customers. Called the “Bullionaire Club Rewards Program”, you receive “Bullionaire Bucks” for every order you place. You’re rewarded based on how much you spend, and your points can then be redeemed on future purchases. Basically, for every $1,000 you spend, you’ll earn 1,000 Bullionaire Bucks. Redeem 1,000 to get $1 off a future purchase. So if you place an order with Bullion Exchanges for $5,000, you’ll receive an amount of Bullionaire Bucks equivalent to $5.00 off a future purchase.
Bullion Exchanges also has a price match guarantee in place that can help you save even more money. If you find a lower price on a competitor’s website, Bullion Exchanges will match it. The product must be identical by name, size, weight, color, and quantity, and must not be on Bullion Exchanges’ exclusion list (if they can’t match it then they’ll still give you 5,000 Bullionaire Bucks for your trouble). They’ll match from nation bullion dealers including APMEX, JM Bullion, Provident Metals, SD Bullion, Money Metals, MCM, GovMint, and PinehurstCoins. If you find a lower price, simply call up Bullion Exchanges during their active trading hours, Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm EST. Also note that the price match guarantee can only be applied to orders totalling over $300 USD.
Finally, we appreciated Bullion Exchanges’ strong record of customer satisfaction. We found that they responded to our queries in a timely manner, and they’re available via email, phone, and live chat via their website. It didn’t surprise us to learn that they have earned the Better Business Bureau’s highest rating of A+, and they’ve been accredited since 2015. On SiteJabber, they have over 12,000 reviews and a five-star score. Their record on TrustPilot is also impressive, with 89% of their 900+ reviews rating them five stars.
HOW TO GET STARTED
We’ll start with Bullion Exchanges’ self-directed precious metals IRA product. Getting started is a 3-step process. First, you’ll need to open the actual IRA account. Complete the forms on their website and then choose among their IRA custodians and IRA-approved storage facilities. As we mentioned earlier, all of their partners are respected players in the industry, so you should be fine no matter who you go with. After you submit the form, you’ll receive a confirmation email and a link to your chosen IRA custodian. You’ll need to go ahead and fill out their IRA application, as well. Upon completion, Bullion Exchanges will be informed of your newly created account number.
Next, you’ll need to fund your IRA account. This will also be done through your IRA custodian. After that, Bullion Exchanges will be notified that funds have been authorized for your precious metals order.
Finally, you’ll make your selections from Bullion Exchanges’ IRA-eligible product list. You’ll then receive a quote that sums it all up. All that’s left to do is approve the trade. Bullion Exchanges will do the rest, executing it and then sending the shipment to your selected storage facility.
When purchasing coins and bullion, the process is much easier. You’ll create an account on their website, add products to your shopping cart, and then check out, much like any other online retailer. As for payment options, PayPal, Bitcoin, credit card, debit card, bank wires, and checks are accepted. Bank wires are recommended for orders over $5,000.
Don’t forget that orders over $75 that are shipping within the Continental United States receive free shipping. Stocked items are shipped within one business day of payment. You’ll be provided with tracking information, as well. Overall, we found it to be a safe and easy online shopping experience.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Bullion Exchanges has something for everyone. Their large selection of coins and bars will satisfy both collectors and investors alike, while their self-directed precious metals IRAs are perfect for anyone that’s thinking about retirement and protecting their financial future. Overall, we recommend Bullion Exchanges for their strong customer focus, excellent service, and huge offering of products.
If you’re interested in learning more about Bullion Exchanges, or are looking to open a precious metals IRA, visit them at www.bullionexchanges.com or call 1-844-307-7550.