It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Colorado Gold is a precious metals company based out of the great state of Colorado. They have been in the industry for so long that it’s almost difficult to keep track of them, but in truth they started selling precious metals in 1977 and they haven’t looked back since. In the 90s when gold IRAs came into being, they also began working to help people open these types of accounts.
Do we think Colorado Gold is a legitimate business? Do they stack up well against other newer gold IRA focused companies? We have delved deeply into their services, check out their overall performance, and even read previous customer reviews to get a better picture of the company for you.
IMPORTANT – before we get too far in this review, we’d like you to know we’ve vetted quite a few companies in this space.
We know that selecting a company to work with is a major financial decision and something not to take lightly. InvestingInGold.com has put in extensive research spanning many years in order to compile a list of the 5 highest recommended companies for this year.
==> See our #1 recommended company for precious metals investing
We urge you to view the links to see where Colorado Gold stacks up against the competition.
Colorado Gold Information
As mentioned, Colorado Gold first opened their doors in 1977. This company jumped on the precious metals IRA bandwagon pretty early and have been helping individuals open these accounts since the 1990s. Additionally, besides selling approved IRA precious metals, they also sell many other precious metals products too.
Mainly, they focus on selling gold, silver, and platinum products. And every once in a while, they may offer their customers a special limited-edition type of palladium, but typically they do not sell palladium on their website.
Mostly, your typical gold IRA company will only have a connection with one depository and one custodian. This usually streamlines the overall setup process. But it also has its limitations as well. Colorado Gold, on the other hand, works with multiple custodians and depositories as well.
Typically, the custodians that work with Colorado Gold include the following:
- Entrust Group
- Strata Trust
- New Direction Trust
- Equity Trust
Since you have the ability to choose their own custodian, you are going to know your annual fees until the decision is already made. Some custodians have different price structures than others, so keep that in mind.
Colorado Gold also has a precious metals buyback program in place, just in case you have to liquidate your petition and sell some of your assets quickly. They purchase precious metals whether you’ve bought from them or not. So, if you like to sell them precious metals that you purchased from another broker, they will be willing to pay for them as well. The only thing to know is that there is a 1% service charge if you haven’t purchased the precious metals from Colorado Gold directly. Plus, when you sell your gold you have to pay for shipping and insurance out of your own pocket as well.
Company Management
This company has an experienced management team in place and it’s filled with industry experts.
Don Stott is the name of the man who originally founded the company in 1977. He ran this organization for roughly 40 years, but finally decided to retire in 2015. Since his retirement, the company is still a family-owned business. And Don even writes a weekly column on their blog and it’s published directly to their website to this very day.
As mentioned, the company doesn’t work with a specific preferred custodian but they do have four options for their customers to choose from. Some people like having the extra options and they want to make this choice. On the other hand, some people prefer having all of these decisions made on their behalf. I guess it’s up to you to decide if this is the right choice for you or not.
Precious Metals Products
As alluded to earlier, this company sells precious metals. And it specifically sells gold, silver, and platinum. Many of these investments are IRA suitable, meaning they pass the strict purity regulations set forth by the IRS.
Many online retailers sell numismatic collectible coins, but you will not find them at Colorado Gold. They do not believe in this investment and feel that it is a poor choice to sink your hard-earned money into.
Many of the common coins that they sell include Gold Canadian Maple Leafs, Silver and Gold American Buffalo coins, silver and gold American Eagle coins, and Silver and Gold Australian kangaroo coins as well. And they also have a wide variety of other precious metals at various sizes and weights that you can find out more about by visiting their website.
And to reiterate, the company does sell palladium on occasion, but it isn’t a regular offer that you can typically find in their marketplace.
How to Buy Precious Metals from Colorado Gold
Colorado Gold wanted to make it easy for customers to purchase precious metals from their website so they simplify the entire process. In fact, it’s easier to buy from them than many of their competitors. This no hassle process is the reason why so many people are drawn to their website.
First thing, you have to commit a Client Agreement. Phil of the document out prior to purchasing and remember that this document is legally binding. If you do not want a binding contract, you may prefer to choose a different company.
The client agreement includes the following:
- Order trade number
- Agreement to pay for your order and seven days
- If selling precious metals, you will ship them within two days of getting the order number
- Legally binding agreement for first transaction and future transactions
- Signees are subject to penalties and collections if they fail to adhere to the agreement
The agreement is pretty much straightforward. If you pay for everything within the week of getting your order number, you will not get sued or lose any money.
You can find their prices listed on the website. The prices reflect the current market value of gold, silver, and platinum. Many companies do not share their prices online, but this extra transparency is a nice feature. And it makes it easy to pick and choose based on competing prices as well.
Some people are inconvenienced by the fact that they do not have an online shopping cart. To place an order, you must call them and order your precious metals over the phone. They record these calls for accuracy to make sure that the representative gets your order right.
On the call, the rep will issue a trade number. And you also will be given an amount that you have to pay in total. Your order is shipped by UPS and it’s fully insured. You’ll need to sign for the package on arrival, unless it’s part of an IRA account, which it will get sent to your depository instead.
Selling Precious Metals with Colorado Gold
Not only will this company buy back precious metals that you purchased from them, but they will also purchase precious metals from you that you didn’t buy from them. The buyback fee cost $25 and there is a 1% fee added to the total if they are buying precious metals from a different marketplace. There is a $50 wire transfer fee if you decide to get paid via wire transfer, so also keep that in mind.
Just like making a purchase, you also have to sign a Customer Agreement before they will buy your precious metals. The agreement will tell you about the guidelines for making the purchase and it also shares how you are supposed to ship the items. During shipping, you have to come up with the insurance, shipping fees, and transportation fees.
The company will buy all platinum, palladium, silver, and gold with accepted hallmarks. They will lock in a price for your order once your trade number is received. And they will not pay you more or less if the value of your precious metals increases or decreases. This is a locked-in price that doesn’t change.
It’s important for customers to ship the metals within two days of coming to an agreement. If you do not ship your metals, you can be subject to legal actions and collections at the time.
As a new customer, you may even have to show them your precious metals before they come to an agreement. This gives them the opportunity to inspect them to guarantee that they meet the quality standards as expected. They typically agree to a price once the metals have been inspected.
The company will provide a lower quote if your precious metals are in poor shape. This is true if the metals are damaged as well. The company supplier is the one who determines the quality of the metals, so keep this in mind.
Colorado Gold tells their customers to ship their precious metals using USPS Registered Mail. And each of these boxes must contain Postal Form 3806. Customers can pick up this form at your local post office and fill it out. They also recommend putting your metals in two boxes to make sure the package doesn’t get ripped or damaged during shipping.
Is It a Scam to Buy from Colorado Gold?
I can say with absolute certainty that Colorado Gold is not a scam organization whatsoever. This is a legitimate business that has been around for more than 40 years and counting. They have Better Business Bureau aggradation and the watchdog group has given them an A+ rating, which is the best rating that they can possibly give.
Nevertheless, even though this company is considered wonderful and they’ve been around for so long, it’s actually very hard to find online information and customer reviews shared from previous customers on the Internet. Many of their customers just do not leave reviews on third-party websites including the Business Consumer Alliance website or Trustlink. Additionally, and this is really weird, but there aren’t any complaints or reviews regarding the company on their Better Business Bureau page either, which definitely makes me wonder.
Ultimately, it’s really difficult to find reviews and other information about this company online, which seems a little suspect at best. But at the same time, they would not have made it in this industry for the past 40 years and counting while maintaining an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company has to be legitimate as you can already understand. But at the same time, there are a wide range of other legitimate businesses in this industry that have data that’s a lot more reliable.
Lacking reviews online doesn’t necessarily signify a red flag. Especially with the company in business for roughly 45 years. They have been around since 1977 and it’s currently 2022 at the time of this writing. They started out without using the Internet as part of their business model and they can continue thriving in succeeding without it. They may have an older clientele that is more into brick-and-mortar and word-of-mouth recommendations instead of checking out online review sites to find out more information.
Unfortunately, without the online reviews it’s hard to come up with the best incentives to purchase from them. Then again, the company is easily accessible and has lots of resources online, so it might be worth it.
Colorado Gold Pros
- Excellent customer support team in place
- The shipping and delivery process is quick and easy
- In business for 45 years and counting
Colorado Gold Cons
- Third-party websites do not have any reviews or ratings
- Precious metals IRAs are not their specialty
Bottom Line
It’s my pleasure to say with absolute certainty that Colorado Gold is a legitimate company and a good business. They have survived for 40 years and counting and this isn’t easy to do in the precious metals industry. But they got involved right away and even started in the precious metals IRA space in the 1990s.
Unfortunately, many old companies get left in the dust in the information age. They do not necessarily take to the Internet as well as some other organizations might. It looks like this company is being left in the dust.
Overall, they are a family-owned and reliable small business, which is a good thing for customers looking for a smaller, more personal touch. But the lack of online reviews and complaints makes it difficult to learn about previous experiences from happy or unhappy customers.
If you’re ready to set up a precious metals IRA, you may prefer to deal with a company that specializes in this opportunity. It’s a lot easier to go to a different company who focuses on gold IRAs as opposed to setting one up with Colorado Gold. But the choice is yours, so keep that in mind.