What our ratings measure
A gold company earns a strong rating from us when a reasonably careful investor could do business with it and not get an unpleasant surprise. In practice, we evaluate every company against the same factors:
Are setup, annual, storage, and transaction fees published or readily disclosed before a sales call? How does the all-in cost compare to peers? Hidden or evasive pricing is the single biggest downgrade we apply.
What premium over spot does the company charge, especially on the “premium” and “exclusive” coins where the industry's worst behavior hides? Is there a published buyback commitment, and at what spread?
BBB rating and complaint record, consumer review platforms, and any regulatory or legal actions. We weigh the pattern and the company's responses, not a single data point.
The investment minimum, which determines who can realistically use the company at all, and whether the sales process respects it or pushes customers to stretch.
Does the company explain custodians, IRS rules, and costs honestly, or does it lean on fear-based marketing and urgency tactics? We read the marketing so you don't have to.
Where the data comes from
Our reviews are built from publicly available and verifiable sources: the companies' own published fee schedules, terms, and disclosures; Better Business Bureau profiles and complaint records; consumer review platforms; and regulatory filings or enforcement actions where they exist. Where a company doesn't publish a number, we say so — non-disclosure is itself a finding.
How compensation interacts with ratings
Some companies on this site pay us referral commissions, as described in our Affiliate Disclosure. That compensation can affect which companies we feature and their placement on comparison pages. It does not set the ratings: the criteria above are applied to partners and non-partners alike, our guides to industry scams and red flags name names when warranted, and no company can pay to change a score or remove a criticism.
Updates and corrections
Companies change their fees, minimums, and promotions constantly. We revisit reviews when companies announce changes and when readers flag discrepancies. If you find something out of date, let us know — we correct errors and date the updates.
One thing we can't do: tell you whether gold belongs in your portfolio. We rate the companies that sell it. The investment decision is between you and a licensed advisor.