Simit Patel

ADDED September 5 2012:

Gold Bullion International, whose services I originally reviewed back in September of 2011, is providing much of the back end to Hard Assets Alliance. They have much of the same deal that Gold Bullion International does, with the exception that they charge a minimum of $5,000 for delivery and $10,000 for storage. There is a 0.7% annual fee for gold storage and 0.8% fee for silver storage. You can request delivery at any time, and you can purchase 1/10th ounce coins of gold or 1 oz silver bars (platinum and palladium are also available in 1 ounce increments). Shipping costs can vary based on delivery size and location. They do offer delivery via armored truck for very large orders.


Prices are derived in real-time by sourcing by querying a network of precious metals dealers and delivering customers the best price they can. I haven't tried it myself so I don't know for sure, although I would expect prices to be reasonable and in line with the broader market.

Vaults are insured as well.

This is a service I really like, and with the price point that is lower than Gold Bullion International, I like it even more. Casey Research, an organization I admire greatly, is also involved in running and promoting Hard Assets Alliance, which gives them greater credence, in my opinion.

Click here to go to Hard Assets Alliance.



Original Review of Gold Bullion International, Posted August 30, 2011

Gold Bullion International

I am planning on opening an account with this firm, and moving some of my gold and silver there. It is another metals storage facility, similar to Bullion Vault and Gold Money with much of the same sales pitch (allocated, insured, assayed gold), although it is easier to get delivery from gold bullion international than from many others. the downside is that it costs noticeably more all around, and is less suitable for trading gold/silver ratio (which i like to do). the smallest increment available is 1 ounce; there are no purchases of grams.

i do like this added element of safety, and i am inclined to find the firm somewhat credible due largely to some of the members of its team, namely fund manager john hathaway. i also want to diversify a bit more.

if anyone here has used this company before and has any feedback (positive, negative, or neutral) i would love to hear their take.

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Simit Patel

i called these guys and learned a bit more about them.

1. $25,000 minimum account opening
2. no electronic trading at the moment; phone only
3. trades can only be done during new york business hours

the representative i spoke to was very professional and sufficiently knowledgeable, and did not try to bully me into buying something. so that was good.

you can have a cash account with them. so, you buy gold, you can sell it, be in US dollars in your account with them for a while, buy silver in a different vault in a different country, etc. of course, the more active you want to be the better off you are in vehicles better suited for active trading, but bullion international has some structures in place to enable that if you ever need to.

i do like this company, but i prefer to have the bulk of my wealth in something more liquid. if i get wealthier and $25k becomes a small portion of my net wealth, than i think i would have an account with bullion international.

basically, i think it's a good service for wealthier people.

Thank

 

Dylan Chase

Very professional. They are VERY different from Gold Money and BullionVault. With these guys you actually buy whole bars, not gold grams or pieces of a gold bar. I kind of like that notion. I never liked the idea of buying a piece of a gold bar via BV or GoldMoney....this is pretty unique.

Simit Patel

two other interesting things about this company are that

1. they offer platinum and palladium as well in increments of one ounce
2. they have a vault in utah. london, new york, and zurich have become standards, although as utah recently made gold legal tender for its state, that's an interesting option -- doubly so if you're in a location where utah is closer than other options

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Simit Patel

i just updated this review with some comments about hard assets alliance, which uses GBI's back end for its operations -- so they're very similar.

Thank