Despite being one of the most well-known distributors of physical gold, there are a few Augusta Precious Metals complaints floating around on the internet. Given the size of the company, this isn’t surprising, but we thought we’d address them in this article.
After all, if you’re going to invest your on-hand cash (or retirement savings) into bullion products, you want to make sure you’re working with a trusted precious metals company. We’ll get to the customer complaints momentarily, but first, a bit of background information.
What is Augusta Precious Metals?
Augusta Precious Metals is a company that offers a wide variety of physical gold and silver products (such as bars
and premium coins), amongst other precious metals. The company offers multiple services, including the buying and selling of precious metals.
However, its main offering is its precious metals IRAs. The company offers gold and silver IRAs, which customers can add to by purchasing physical gold or other metals from Augusta Precious Metals.
As regular retirement accounts don’t generally allow for people to invest gold American coins or bullion into an IRA, Augusta Precious Metals works with another company—Equity Trust—to create self-directed IRAs for its clients.
Now that you have a general idea of what the company offers, let’s take a look at the few Augusta Precious Metals complaints we could find!
Complaint 1
“Total rip-off! We invested $******* in Gold and Silver coins. We made the assumption that if we were investing $*******, we’d gave $******* in coins. Nope, you get $****** in gold with the “potential” that someday they may become more valuable. (Probably not in our lifetime). How they **** you in is they tell you the coins are a much better investment with much greater potential, but what they don’t tell you is that you are charged that “potential” price. For example, you go to a car dealership to buy a brand new custom Mustang for $***, and the salesman tells you it will someday be worth $****. You go to sign the papers and lo and behold, he’s charging you $****, based on it future potential. That’s exactly what they do! We are average people and it took sacrifices to save that kind of money, and now we’ve lost 1/2 that money. It’s been a few years and they are not even minutely close to what they charged us. STAY AWAY!!!”
In the last twenty years, the price of gold has gone up 429.23%, with a low of $319.90 and a high of $2,070.05. For comparison, silver prices—which would apply to silver bullion such as silver coins—have gone up 394.35%. In the last twenty years, silver has had a low of $4.37 and a high of $48.58. However, the current price—as of writing—is only $23.63.
If you were to look at the charts for these precious metals, you’ll instantly notice large jumps in prices over time. However, if you look at the entire chart (rather than a specific time frame), you’ll see that the value does go up over time.
Whether you’re investing in silver collectible coins or premium gold bars, it’s important to remember that you’re investing. Returns are never guaranteed, and it will likely take a while for you to realize gains.
Augusta Precious Metals summarizes this well via the disclaimer on their website: “Augusta cannot guarantee, and makes no representation, that any metals purchased by a customer will appreciate at all or appreciate sufficiently to make a profit, and there is no certainty that any metals can be sold for a profit. The future value of the coins you purchase cannot be predicted. You could lose money. Don’t purchase Augusta products with money you can’t afford to lose.”
Complaint 2
“We had a couple of issues with shipments. At one point, something got lost. It took us almost a month to figure out what happened. So at least the tracking of the shipment and getting stuff on time could be improved. But their setup rate was at a good price. They leave a message and they do get back to you within a day or so, if not right away.”
Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to be a commonplace issue. As noted by the customer, the issue was actually resolved: “Update Jan. 22, 2021: Augusta resolved the initial issue with the shipment, and I received my order.”
Still, what happens if you order an actual gold bar from this gold dealer and it somehow goes missing during transit? Fortunately, not much: every order from Augusta Precious Metals is insured so anything missing or lost will be covered by this insurance.
Whether you’re sending it to your home or to your preferred depository, your order will be covered during transit. Coverage doesn’t end until the package is signed for. If you do decide to send it to one of the storage facilities (such as the one in Salt Lake City), you will have to pay storage fees.
However, your gold will be safe in storage. Not only is it physically protected by state-of-the-art security systems, but the depository will also have its own insurance. Generally, this is “all risk” insurance, which covers claims up to $1 billion USD.
Complaint 3
“Great customer service, but the price is too steep based on the price of gold.”
As an investor, you want to make sure that every dollar counts, which means that it’s important to find reputable gold companies that offer competitive prices while you build your investment portfolio.
However, it’s important to remember that companies are trying to make money, and—as such—will mark up the prices of physical metals beyond the spot price (going rate). Generally, you should expect to pay 2%-5% over the spot price for physical gold and premium silver products.
Of course, just because you expect to pay a bit extra doesn’t mean you need to simply accept the asking rate at face value: feel free to shop around! Prices for physical metals are constantly changing. A company could offer the best prices around one day, and the worst on the market the next.
It’s critical to do your research before sourcing precious metals to ensure you make each dollar count on every transaction.
Other Reviews
It was actually quite hard to find negative customer reviews, as nearly 100% of the feedback this company has received was positive reviews. Here are a few examples of the average reviews you’re likely to see.
“ –“They were well rated with the Better Business Bureau and they sounded like they had some good consumer ratings. I ended up buying quite a bit through them. I had worked with Bruce, who since has passed away. I worked with him pretty much exclusively on purchases. Since then, a metals specialist has walked me through my investment with a valuation whenever I ask, and I’m satisfied with my experience” – Brian (Consumer Affairs)
–“Augusta Precious Metal agent Kevin Martin put together a very informative presentation of IRA Gold and Silver investments. He coordinated a presentation by Devlyn Steele which provided details form an economy perspective. I was impressed with the information which was presented. This information provided me with the information that I need to determine if investing in precious is right for my portfolio. They graciously answered all my questions.” – T. (BBB.org)
“ –“I attended a web conference with an Augusta Precious Metals about diversifying my IRA. It was very informative and they readily answered any questions I had. There was no pressure to make an immediate decision. They covered the applicable fees and seem to be a good company to work with if you are interested in precious metals.” – James G. (BBB.org)
Augusta Precious Metals Complaints: Far and Few
Overall, Augusta Precious Metals has generally received excellent reviews from the vast majority of its clients, whether they were retirement investors hoping to fund their Roth IRA with gold or customers simply looking for a one-off purchase.
Offering lifetime service to their IRA customers and a streamlined process for purchasing gold, Augusta Precious Metal is definitely a company you should consider when looking to acquire precious metals.
Click here to learn more about their services and current offerings.
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