Purchasing gold, silver, and other precious metals online is a fast, convenient way to gain ownership of these products. However, choosing a reputable, authentic online dealer is essential to having a positive experience throughout your gold purchase.
Birch Gold Group is an online precious metals dealer with almost 20 years of experience. This company partners with big names like Ron Paul and Ben Shapiro and has gained a positive reputation from consumers.
This guide will review Birch Gold Group’s products, services, customer experiences, and more. Read on to learn our in-depth Birch Gold Group review and determine whether this online precious metals dealer is right for your needs.
How Did Birch Gold Group Start?
Birch Gold Group has been empowering customers to reach their lifestyle and retirement goals since 2003. In its almost 20 years in the precious metals industry, this group has become a leading dealer across the United States.
Birch Gold Group consists of a team of financial advisors, former wealth managers, and commodity brokers committed to helping customers diversify their investment portfolios. This dealer has helped more than 13,000 customers since its inauguration.
Birch Gold Group is headquartered across the street from Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank, California, and is frequently featured on major news outlets and media platforms. You may recognize this company from the Ben Shapiro Show, as representatives frequent the show to discuss market instability and cycles of growth.
Despite its California headquarters, Birch Gold Group offers precious metals products in all 50 states. You can purchase gold, silver, platinum, and palladium through this organization. Additionally, you can transfer tax-deferred IRAs, 401(k) plans, and mutual funds to gold and silver IRAs through Birch Gold Group.
Birch Gold Group Products
Birch Gold Group sells precious metals for physical possession. Once you purchase gold, silver, platinum, or palladium through this company, you can control where you store it, how long you keep it, and how much you sell it for.
This company offers an impressive selection of physical precious metals:
Gold
Gold is one of the most popular precious metals for investors. This rare metal can act as a hedge against inflation and deflation, as the price of this product often increases when the value of the dollar decreases.
Birch Gold Group sells a wide range of gold coins, including:
- American gold eagle (bullion)
- American buffalo
- Canadian gold maple leaf
- Gold twin maples
- Australian gold florin
- South African krugerrand
- Gold rose crown guinea
- Saint-Gaudens double eagle
- Liberty head double eagle
- Gold Indian head eagles
- Gold gyrfalcon
- Gold polar bear and cub
These collectible coins hold value within their gold content and their aesthetic quality. As collectible items, people buy and trade gold coins the same way they do antiques and watches. The American gold eagle coin is one of the most popular to trade within the U.S.
You can also buy physical gold bars and rounds through this dealer. These gold products are some of the simplest forms of gold, and they hold value purely in their gold content. Unlike gold coins, gold bars and rounds carry no legal tender.
You can get gold bars in several sizes through Birch Gold Group, including:
- One kilogram
- 100 grams
- 50 grams
- 20 grams
- 10 grams
Meanwhile, gold rounds come in sizes like:
- 1/10 ounce
- 1/4 ounce
- 1/2 ounce
Birch Gold Group carries a rotating selection of gold bars and rounds, but you can talk to a representative to learn the company’s current inventory.
Finally, this company sells Valcambi CombiBars. These bars are manufactured by Valcambi Suisse, one of the top gold refiners globally.
CombiBars have perforated edges that allow you to break them into small increments to trade or gift others. One of Birch’s most popular CombiBars is the 50 x 1 gram bar, which is about the size of a playing card. You can easily break it into 50 one-gram pieces.
Silver
This dealer also offers an impressive selection of physical silver products. The dealer’s silver coin selection includes:
- American silver eagle
- Silver twin maples
- Silver Australian Florin
- Silver Napoleon bee coin
- Silver standing lion guinea
- Canadian silver maple leaf
- Morgan silver dollar
- Peace silver dollar
- Walking Liberty half dollar
- Silver polar bear and cub
- Silver gyrfalcon
These coins have a legal tender and collectible value.
Additionally, this dealer sells silver bars and rounds that hold value incredibly close to silver’s spot value. Private mints create these silver products instead of government mints, giving them lower premiums than products from government mints.
Silver rounds and bars are both available in several sizes.
Platinum
Platinum is a precious metal commonly used in fine jewelry. This metal is 30 times rarer than gold and has numerous functional uses due to its malleable, dense makeup. The price of platinum fluctuates more than gold, making it best suited as a long-term investment.
Platinum products must meet strict production guidelines to ensure their purity and authenticity. Some of these guidelines are stricter than those for producing gold and silver, leading many investors to choose platinum instead of other precious metals.
Birch Gold Group sells platinum coins, bars, and rounds. The company’s coin selection includes:
- American platinum eagle
- Australian platinum florin
Meanwhile, its bars come in sizes such as one, five, and ten ounces, and rounds are typically one ounce. Platinum bars and rounds are manufactured by privately-owned mints instead of government mints.
Palladium
Finally, Birch Gold Group sells a handful of palladium investment products.
Palladium is within the same precious metal family as platinum. This metal is about 15% denser than silver yet less dense than gold. It has a range of commercial and industrial uses, such as within catalytic converters, dental products, electronics, and jewelry. It’s gotten more attention from investors in recent years due to these innovative uses.
This dealer sells one palladium coin: the Canadian palladium maple leaf. You can also purchase privately minted palladium bars and rounds through Birch Gold Group.
How to Purchase Physical Precious Metals From Birch Gold Group
Whether you’re new to investing in precious metals or have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into these investments, Birch Gold Group will make the process as straightforward as possible for you. Every customer receives personalized assistance from a Precious Metals Specialist, who can walk them through the purchasing process.
You can follow these steps to invest in precious metals through Birch Gold Group:
- Choose your precious metals: First, your specialist can help you determine the right precious metals to purchase based on your budget and savings goals. Your specialist will present a range of options that can include several types of metals, allowing you to diversify your investment.
- Send payment: Once you’ve chosen your metals, you can send payment to the company through a personal check or a wire. Wiring the funds allows you to transfer them quickly and securely, streamlining your investment process.
- Wait for your delivery: Finally, the company will ship your precious metals to your door. Your shipment will be fully insured against damage and loss, and the package will be discreet.
Once you receive your precious metals from Birch Gold, you can do whatever you’d like with them. However, the company states that it appreciates the first right of refusal to buy back if you ever decide to sell your metals.
You can also stay in contact with Birch Gold Group to ask questions, speak with a specialist, and purchase more precious metals down the road.
Benefits Of Using Birch Gold Group Services
Birch Gold Group is just one of the dozens of reputable precious metals dealers across the industry. As a result, you may be wondering what sets this company apart from the rest.
Here are a few benefits of using this company’s precious metals services.
Low Fees
Purchasing physical precious metals through an online dealer always involves paying a few fees. However, Birch Gold Group tends to have lower costs than other dealers, making the company’s precious metal investments more affordable for consumers overall.
Birch Gold Group also waives fees in some cases. For example, IRA transfers of over $50,000 do not include any fees for the first year.
Positive Industry Reviews
Birch Gold Group has primarily positive reviews among consumers. This company has received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and an average customer rating of 4.84 out of 5 stars. In addition, the company actively responds to any complaints it receives on the BBB website.
Additionally, Birch Gold Group has 4.9 out of 5 stars on Google Reviews, an impressive score accumulated from almost 700 reviews. These Birch Gold reviews indicate that the average customer is satisfied with their experience purchasing precious metals and gold and silver IRAs through this company.
Educational Resources
Birch Gold Group provides numerous educational resources to help investors make intelligent purchasing decisions.
You can find an “Education” tab on the Birch Gold website with links to resources about precious metals investing. You can learn:
- The benefits of investing in precious metals
- How to purchase precious metals through Birch Gold
- The current spot prices of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium
This dealer also sends out free information kits to anyone interested in precious metals investing.
Because of these resources, investing in precious metals through Birch Gold Group is suitable for beginner, intermediate, and seasoned investors.
Birch Gold Group Customer Service
After reading Birch Gold Group reviews from customers, we found that most customers are satisfied with the company’s customer service. Customers state that their phone calls with Birch Gold representatives are personal and informative. Specialists answer all questions thoroughly and do whatever they can to help customers.
Birch Gold matches every customer with a specialist who can walk them through the buying process and answer any questions that arise. This specialist can provide personalized assistance that you wouldn’t get through many other precious metals dealers.
Altogether, you can expect to have an exceptional experience interacting with Birch Gold Group representatives throughout your investing process.
Storage Options
When you purchase precious metals through Birch Gold, you have a few options to store your metals. You can keep them in the Delaware Depository, Brink’s Global Services, or a personal storage location.
Delaware Depository
First, Birch Gold Group works with Delaware Depository to provide precious metals storage for customers.
The Delaware Depository is a vault storage facility with locations in Wilmington, Delaware, and Seal Beach, California. This company uses cutting-edge security to keep customers’ precious metals safe for as long as necessary.
When you choose to store your metals with Delaware Depository, you will be the legal owner throughout their storage. However, Delaware Depository will take responsibility for any theft, loss, or damage that could occur. While these instances are rare, you can trust this storage facility to pay you back if anything happens to your metals in their possession.
Brink’s Global Services
Brink’s Global Services is a storage company with over 1,000 facilities globally. This company stores precious metals for a wide range of entities, including banks, jewelers, and some government departments.
Brink’s offers exceptional customer service and top-notch security, allowing you to feel confident leaving your precious metals in the hands of this company.
Personal Storage
If you are purchasing precious metals outside of an IRA, you can choose to store them yourself. Birch Gold Group will ship the precious metals to your door, and then you will be responsible for transferring them to your storage facility.
Many precious metals owners choose to store their metals in bank safe deposit boxes. Others keep them in at-home safes or hidden locations around their properties.
You can also store your precious metals in a vault storage facility near you. However, if you’d rather Birch Gold take the storage responsibility off your shoulders, you can rely on the company to store your metals through one of the above methods.
Complaints From Customers
Like any company, Birch Gold Group has received some complaints for customers throughout its 20-year history. Reviewing these complaints can help you know whether to choose Birch Gold for your investment needs.
This company currently has 11 customer complaints on the Better Business Bureau and has resolved and closed all of them.
Several of these complaints involve customers not understanding the processes involved in their transactions before beginning a purchase with Birch Gold. For example, one Birch Gold review complained that the investor did not know Birch Gold has a minimum investment of $10,000, leading them to waste time.
Other customers have complained that the buying process is too involved for their liking. Unlike many online retailers, Birch Gold does not use a shopping cart buying method. Instead, you must purchase your precious metals through an account representative.
This process is in place to prevent any accidental purchases. Precious metals aren’t cheap, and with the company’s $10,000 minimum requirement, every transaction through this company is sizeable. Purchasing through an account representative can ensure that every customer has a positive purchasing experience.
Birch Gold IRAs
If you’re looking for an effective way to grow your retirement savings, you can consider investing in precious metals IRAs through Birch Gold. The IRS recognizes four precious metals allowed in IRAs: gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. Birch Gold offers all of these metals in its retirement account investments.
How They Work
You can invest in precious metals IRAs through Birch Gold Group by following these steps:
- Choose a retirement account to transfer: In order to get a precious metals IRA through this dealer, you’ll need to transfer the funds from an existing account. You can transfer an IRA or roll over a 401(k) account into a self-directed IRA that will use precious metals instead of cash.
- Choose your precious metals: Once you’ve transferred your accounts, you can choose the precious metals you’d like to purchase with your account funds.
- Make your purchase: Next, your specialist will help you purchase the precious metals you’ve chosen. Birch Gold will walk you through your storage options, and many investors choose to store their gold IRA metals in secure storage vaults.
Then, you’ll be all set to watch how your gold or silver IRA performs over time.
Birch Gold IRA fees
Birch Gold Group works with one of the top gold IRA custodians to ensure reasonable fees. Other precious metal IRAs have steep fees that almost outweigh their benefits over traditional Roth IRAs and 401(k)s. However, Birch Gold Group’s gold IRA fees are straightforward.
First, you’ll need at least $10,000 in retirement funds to open a precious metals IRA with Birch Gold Group. You can transfer retirement funds from several retirement accounts if needed.
When you first open a precious metals IRA, you’ll need to pay the following one-time fees:
- Account set-up fee: $500
- Wire transfer fee: $30
Then, you’ll need to pay the following annual fees to keep your gold IRA running:
- Storage/insurance fee: $100 per year
- Management fees: $100 per year
These are the fees for the gold IRA depository and custodian (Equity Trust Company) that most Birch Gold Group customers use. If you use a different gold storage company or custodian, you’ll be subject to different fees.
Investing in an IRA through the company’s gold IRA custodian Equity Trust Company allows you to save on annual fees. First, when you make an IRA transfer of $50,000 or more, Birch Gold Group will cover your fees for your first year.
Additionally, you will not need to pay any percentage fees under the custodian, ensuring that your annual fees are always just $200 per year.
Is Birch Gold Group A Legitimate Company?
Birch Gold Group is a legitimate, trustworthy company that enables you to buy precious metals.
You can feel confident that Birch Gold Group is legitimate because of its outstanding Better Business Bureau rating. The BBB is a reliable source to determine a company’s honest business practices, and these Birch Gold Group ratings signify that most customers have fair, trustworthy transactions with the company.
Additionally, reading Birch Gold Group reviews outside of the BBB showcase’s the company’s positive reputation with actual customers. You can trust that because other investors have had good experiences with Birch Gold Group, you will as well.
Is There a Minimum Investment Requirement for Birch Gold Group?
Birch Gold Group has a minimum investment amount of $10,000 for physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium purchases, along with IRA investments.
This precious metals investment minimum is low compared to many dealers. Typically, dealers of precious metals require at least $50,000 to purchase physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium through their companies.
However, if you do not want to spend $10,000, you can always find a smaller precious metals dealer with no minimum purchase amount.
Other Gold Company Alternatives
Birch Gold Group isn’t the only company that allows you to buy gold and silver. We’ve reviewed several other reliable gold dealers and gold IRA companies offering precious metals investments and gold IRA investments.
Here are a few other precious metals and gold IRA companies to consider:
- AdvantageGold
- JM Bullion
- Oxford Gold Group
- Patriot Gold Group
- United States Gold Bureau
- Regal Assets
- Noble Gold
- Rion Metal Exchange
Many of these companies offer precious metals purchase options and gold IRAs like Birch Gold Group. However, they charge varying fees. We recommend comparing a few options before choosing a dealer in the precious metals market.
Conclusion
Birch Gold Group has a long-standing reputation amongst consumers and public figures for a reason. This reputable precious metals dealer offers a wide precious metal investment selection, including gold, silver, palladium, and platinum products for purchase and for use with a precious metals IRA.
After conducting a thorough Birch Gold Group review, we would highly recommend this precious metals dealer. Birch Gold Group offers all the products you would look for in a precious metals dealer, with excellent customer service and fair prices.
The only major downside of this company is that there is a minimum purchase amount of $10,000 for physical investments and gold IRAs. While this minimum may not be an issue for some, it deters investors who only want to invest a small amount in precious metals or who do not yet have $10,000 to transfer to a gold IRA.
However, we still recommend this dealer overall.
