Kingold Jewelry

Colorado Gold is a Colorado-based precious metals business that has been in the industry longer than almost anyone else. They've been helping people invest in precious metals since 1977. Since gold IRAs became legal thanks to IRS regulations in the 90's, they've helped people open these accounts.

Is Colorado Gold a legitimate business? How do they compare to the newer companies that offer gold IRA services? We've taken a look at their services, past customer experiences, and overall performance.

About Colorado Gold

The company has been in business since 1977 and has been helping with precious metals IRAs since they were approved by the IRS. In addition to selling IRS-approved IRA metals, they also sell a variety of other precious metals products.

The products are platinum, gold, and silver. In rare cases, they may offer a limited supply of palladium, but palladium usually isn't offered through their site.

Some gold IRA companies partner with a single custodian and depository. This can help streamline the setup process, but it also limits your freedom of choice. Instead of doing this, Colorado Gold lists the custodians they've worked with in the past.

You can compare the custodians to see which depositories they use, what fees they charge, and which services are right for you. Some of the custodians Colorado Gold has worked with include:

Because you select your own custodian, you won't know how much you'll be paying annually until you make your decision. Different custodians have different fees.

The company buys back precious metals when you're ready to liquidate your assets. In addition, they'll buy precious metals even if you didn't purchase them through their service. There is a 1 percent charge for this service if you didn't buy the precious metals using Colorado Gold. In addition, you have to pay for your own transport and shipping insurance.

Management

The company's management team is made up of a group of experienced industry experts.

Don Stott founded the company in 1977. He ran it for nearly forty years, finally retiring in 2015. Even after his retirement, the company has continued to be family operated. Don continues to write a weekly blog column that's published on his website.

There is no one preferred custodian that the company works with. You are left to choose your own custodian. Some people might appreciate the extra chance to direct your own account. However, others might prefer a company that does everything for you, including communicating with a custodian.

Products

The company specializes in selling platinum, gold, and silver. Though not all of their products are suitable for an IRA, there are some items that meet IRS regulations.

Unlike some other dealers, this company does not offer numismatic collectibles. They say that this is because collectibles aren't a good investment.

They have common coins like the American Eagle, American Buffalo, Gold Maple Leaf, and Australian Kangaroo available in a variety of different metals and weights. The exact metals and weights available will vary depending on the coin.

The company does sometimes sell palladium. However, this metal isn't often available on their marketplace.

How to Buy

The company has taken steps to simplify the purchase process. It's easier to buy through their website than with a lot of the competition. Some people might be drawn to them because of their no-hassle process.

The first step is to submit your Client Agreement. You need to fill out this document before you can make any purchase. It is a legally binding document. If you don't want to be stuck with a binding contract, you might want to work with a different company.

The Client Agreement states the following:

It's all fairly straightforward. You need to pay your entire total within a week of receiving your order number, and if you don't, the company has the right to sue you for their losses.

You will see prices listed on the website. These reflect the current prices of these products with Colorado Gold. Some companies don't list their prices, so this added layer of transparency is nice. It makes it much easier to research competing prices.

There isn't an online shopping cart like with some other stores, which might inconvenience people. Instead, you'll call to place the order. Each telephone call is recorded to make sure that the representative gets accurate information about your order.

A trade number will be issued to you. You will pay the total. The order will then be fully insured and shipped using UPS. Since the shipment is insured, you'll need to sign for it when it arrives. If you want a USPS shipment instead, you can ask for that.

Payment Methods

There are several ways to pay for your items. If you're making a small purchase of just a few coins, you can use Venmo to transfer the funds. There are also more traditional payment methods including:

The company does not allow people to pay with credit or debit cards. In addition, you might need to transfer your funds before having your order confirmed. This is more likely if you have a history of defaulting on payments or it's a very large order.

If you pay with any kind of check or money order, it will take seven business days for the check to clear. The company's bank needs to make sure that no fraud has occurred.

You need to call the company if you have questions. The company has a policy against calling people unless it is absolutely necessary.

There are sometimes bargain priced items on the website. These become available when the company's supplier offers them a special discount on certain coins or bullion. You can keep an eye out for these special deals.

How to Sell

In addition to buying back metals, the company will buy metals that you didn't purchase through their marketplace. There is a buyback fee of 25 dollars, plus a 1 percent fee when you're selling items from a different marketplace. If you want to do a wire transfer, there's a 50 dollar fee.

As with buying, you will need to complete the Customer Agreement. This outlines the guidelines for when and how you will ship your items. You are responsible for insurance, transportation, and shipping.

All gold, silver, palladium, and platinum with accepted hallmarks can be bought. The order price becomes locked when you get your trade number. If the metals increase in value, Colorado Gold is not responsible for paying you more.

You will need to ship your metals within two days of the purchase agreement. If you don't send the metals to the correct depository in this time, there might be legal action taken against you to collect.

If you are a new customer, the company might ask you to show them the metals before they finalize the trade. This allows them to do an inspection and make sure that they are of the agreed-upon quality. After the metals are inspected, a final price will be agreed upon.

If your metals are shipped in poor condition, your price quote might be lower. The same is true of damaged metals. This is not determined by the company. Instead, it is determined by their supplier, since the supplier is the one who will ultimately possess the metals.

The company encourages people to use the USPS Registered Mail service to ship their precious metals. Every box needs Postal Form 3806. You can pick it up at your post office. It's also recommended that you double box your metals to make sure the packaging doesn't become damaged or tampered with.

Is Colorado Gold a Scam?

Colorado Gold is not a scam. They are a legitimate business that has been around for more than 40 years. They are accredited with the Better Business Bureau and hold an A+ rating.

With that said, it is difficult to find information about past customer experiences. Customers haven't left reviews on third party sites like Trustlink or the Business Consumer Alliance. In addition, the company's BBB page doesn't have any reviews or complaints.

Basically, it's hard to find any information about people's experiences with this company. It wouldn't be able to operate for over 40 years and maintain an A+ with the BBB if it wasn't legitimate. But there are plenty of other legitimate businesses that have much more reliable data online.

To be clear, a lack of online reviews isn't automatically a red flag, especially with a company like this. Since the business has been in operation since 1977, it's likely that they don't rely on the internet for their business model. It's also likely that their clientele is older and more likely to recommend them through word of mouth instead of a review site.

This is a small, family owned business. It makes sense that they aren't pouring all of their energy into their online presence.

But if they're not trying to pull in online clientele, there's not a lot of incentive for you to buy with them. There are other companies that do more online outreach. They're easily accessible, have a ton of online resources, and have verified reviews that you can examine.

Although we do think that Colorado Gold is a solid company, we believe that there are better companies out there to make your investment with.

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