Where Can I Buy Gold?
When looking to buy gold, there are many sources that sell gold bullion, both online and in person. Depending on what you are looking for when buying gold, whether it be the best gold price, the best service, the most convenient, etc., there will be a seller out there that fits your criteria. However, it is important to verify the source before purchasing gold bullion from them, since the precious metals industry is one of the most often targeted for fraud. While the demand for gold bullion has been increasing, the frequency of sources to acquire gold has increased as well.
Potential Sources to Purchase Gold
Reputable Online Gold Dealers
The fastest growing way of acquiring gold is through online dealers. There are countless online gold dealers that sell gold products on their site, however, not everything online can be trusted. When choosing what dealer to buy from there many different factors to weigh: price, reputation, customer service, etc.
At SD Bullion, we pride ourselves on having the lowest prices in the Industry guaranteed along with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau; and all of our products are backed by the ‘Doc’s Satisfaction Guarantee’.
Local Coin Shops
Local coin shops can be reliable options to buy gold from as well. However, because they do very little volume compared to an online dealer, the prices are likely to be quite a bit higher. So effectively, you could be paying more money for the exact same product.
Pawn Shops
Pawn shops are slightly less reliable when it comes to selling gold. Some pawn shops may rely on their customers not being able to tell the difference between real and fake gold products. In addition to fake gold products, some pawn shops also attempt to sell lower quality gold while fabricating the look to make the gold look better than it actually is. Pawn shops are also more likely to inflate the prices of gold products than coin shops since their customers are less likely to know the true value of the gold.
Ebay
While Ebay does have some of the best deals, it is definitely more likely to have a counterfeit product being sold compared to a bullion dealer. This is due to the fact that anyone can make a posting on Ebay, so we would recommend that you always check the seller's feedback profile, if that is inconclusive, do not buy from them. Especially when it comes to something as valuable as gold bullion, you want to be sure that the seller is genuine.
Beware of Gold Counterfeits
There are a few different ways to avoid receiving gold counterfeits. The proactive way to do it, as mentioned before, is to source your gold from a reliable seller.
The safest places would be highly respected gold bullion dealers or local coin shops, as opposed to Ebay, Craigslist, etc. In 2017, two people were arrested after selling $60,000 worth fake gold bars on Craigslist, with the counterfeiters going even as far as to make fake assay cards from the Royal Canadian and Perth Mint to make the bars look virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. These kinds of stories highlight the need to verify where you are purchasing your bullion from.
If you do receive gold that you are not sure if it is real or not, there are a few different types of tests you can do at home to verify if your gold is genuine. Two simple ways to detect fake gold products are the product’s buoyancy and its magnetic properties. Real gold is will sink in water while most elements used to make fake gold will float. Also, gold has no magnetic properties, so if your gold products are attracted to magnets, they are fake.
A more advanced method that is more affordable that purchasing a metal verifier is the ‘nitric acid test’. If pure gold is tested with nitric acid, there will be no reaction and in fact, some people even use nitric acid mixed with water to clean gold. If you were to put a fake gold product or even a gold-plated product in nitric acid, there would be a large reaction with green bubbles and it will turn the metal brown.
There is always the option of purchasing a precious metals verifier which would be the only way to be absolutely sure that your gold products are real gold.
Using the tips and information stated above, you can be sure that the gold products you buy and own are genuine gold. If you are interested in purchasing gold, you can do so here at SD Bullion.
