Based out of New York, Schiff Gold is a top-rated company that sells precious metals including coins, bars, and bullion. They also provide important services for investors. Before the year 2014, they used to operate under the name Euro Pacific Precious Metals and then they changed it to Schiff Gold. The company was founded all the way back in 2010, but they initiated their rebranding in 2014.
Company Ownership
Financial expert and investment broker Peter Schiff is the owner of Schiff Gold. He has been in the investing game since the early 90s when he became a stockbroker at Shearson Lehman Brothers.
He’s a fairly knowledgeable guy because in 2008, he was the first person to predict the economic crash. This unwanted financial scenario left many people devastated. Around the same time, he decided to open a precious metals brokerage. This was created to help investors begin purchasing valuable inflation busting assets including silver and gold. You can also find him in the news quite frequently because he’s constantly talking about investments and he isn’t afraid to criticize the government and some of the foolish things that they do.
Schiff believes that it’s a really good idea to secure your wealth by purchasing precious metals. Why? When inflation starts rearing its ugly head just like it is right now, gold and other precious metals tend to act inversely. This means they gain value while the US dollar and other investments tend to lose value in volatile markets, just like the real estate market is seeing right now.
Many people experience uncertainty as far as precious metals are concerned because they do not know who to trust, or the best metals to buy, or the best time to buy precious metals as well. Peter Schiff and Schiff Gold would like to provide clarity to their customers. And using his name is a huge part of the business branding since he possesses a wealth of knowledge and financial expertise.
Peter Schiff didn’t develop a solid reputation in the industry by accident. His company offers excellent advice, honesty at every step of the way, and fair prices as well. A number of people even give him credit for helping them overcome financial destitution during the stock market crash, since they purchased gold and added stability to an otherwise unstable portfolio.
Executive directors Jonathan Sosnay and Matt Malleo also employed by the company. The company’s technology director is named Fabian Gambino, who also happens to maintain the company website. Each of these three individuals are some of the top precious metals experts and specialists in the organization.
Two of their other specialists are named Joel Bauman and River Allen. They possess a wealth of knowledge including information about market factors that have a huge influence on the price of precious metals. The company also has an accountant name Valeria Alikakos.
Or, I invite you to continue on to read my Schiff Gold review.
Products & Services
Schiff Gold sells a wide variety of products and offers a number of different services as well. They typically deal in coins, bars, and bullion.
They do not sell numismatic coins for many different reasons. But ultimately, buying numismatic coins is a fool’s game and an investment that they do not advise due to factors that include:
- They sell at a significant markup
- The overall market is fueled by sales commissions
- It’s nearly impossible to sell numismatic coins for a profit in the future
Many collectors prefer to own numismatic coins for their own reasons, but as far as a diversified investment portfolio is concerned, they aren’t the wisest choice. That’s why Schiff Gold doesn’t sell them at all.
A few of the products and precious metals that they have available include:
- Barter metals
- Platinum
- Palladium
- Limited edition bullion
They offer competitive prices that fluctuate in a changing market.
One thing most appealing about Schiff Gold is how simple they make it to buy precious metals. The experts at the company will guide you through the entire process and provide professional recommendations based on your wants and needs for your portfolio.
Getting Started: Step-By-Step
To complete the buying process, it’s only going to take a simple four steps.
The beginning step is to contact Schiff Gold and let them know that you’re interested in buying precious metals. This is the simplest thing to do of all because they have a handy chat feature on their website. You can begin to chat on the web or you can dial the phone number shared online and immediately get into a conversation with a precious metals specialist.
Once you’re on the phone or chatting online, the specialist will tell you about the company, their purpose, investing benefits, and the overall look of the precious metals market at the time. They’ll discuss your current investing strategy and portfolio, your goals over the long term, and your existing budget. Using this information, they can provide their customers with the best recommendations.
Placing an order is step two. Your expert specialist will walk you through the entirety of the transaction and handle everything each step of the way. They’ll help you make your final choice and then complete the transaction. They’ll even send you an email with all of your order details once the order is placed.
Within the email, the main details include:
- Payment instructions
- Shipping info
- Information about insurance for the package
- The final cost
Once the confirmation email is received, you’ll move on to the third step, which is simply paying for your order. The quickest and easiest way to pay for your order is via bank wire transfer or check. Once the payment is received, Schiff Gold will then ship the metals to the desired location. It takes five business days to process checks. And if you pay via wire transfer, the money typically clears in 24 hours.
The fourth and final step lands squarely on Schiff Gold’s shoulders. This step is all about shipping the product directly to your door. Basically, your only job is to choose who ships the product to you. Your options are USPS, FedEx, and UPS. Each package is insured for the full value and they use Lloyd’s of London for their insurance, so if the package is lost in transit for some reason or another, you’ll definitely get a full refund.
Typically speaking, to process an order it usually takes 1 to 2 days. But once the order is finally shipped, it usually takes around 2-5 business days for your order to arrive, but this is all contingent upon your location.
You can also buy precious metals from Schiff Gold using cryptocurrency, but the buying process is slightly complicated. Although, they started accepting crypto in 2014, and they are one of the first companies to do so. You can pay using Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.
To pay for your precious metals with cryptocurrency, you must have a BitPay compatible wallet. They will lock your order price for 15 minutes, in which time you must pay for your order with crypto. Your order confirmation is sent after the payment processes.
Additional Services
- Precious metals storage – $150 per year
- Precious Metals IRA Rollovers
Selling Your Gold and Other Precious Metals
There are numerous companies online looking to purchase gold and other precious metals from those who need to sell them fast. Schiff Gold also buys precious metals from anyone whether they bought them from their company or somewhere else.
Call a sales rep at Schiff Gold if you’re attempting to sell them something that you cannot find in their marketplace.
Selling Precious Metals: Step-By-Step
First, you have to contact Schiff Gold to let them know about the product you’re selling. You can contact them using live chat, their phone number, or their email address.
Next, you’ll speak to a company employee however you prefer to communicate with them. They will guide you through the rest of the selling process and provide a precious metals price quote. Or they may tell you that it isn’t the right time for them to purchase your investment.
Moving forward with the third step, you’ll package your precious metals and ship them to Schiff Gold. It’s best to insure the package for the full amount to get compensated in case it’s ever lost in transit. You can also drop them off in person at a number of international and national locations.
Once your precious metals arrive, Schiff Gold will mail a check or send a wire transfer with the quoted amount.
Schiff Gold Standards & Practices
A wide majority the content on their website is created by Peter Schiff. The company is run using his investment principles and the personal principles that he believes in. His claim is that he wants to provide customers with reasonably priced precious metals used to hedge their bets against inflation.
Company specialists are committed to treating their customers with the utmost respect, no matter how big or small their purchase size happens to be. They also guarantee purity level and authenticity during the purchasing process.
The company standard is to provide competitive pricing, even though it’s hard to tell because they do not list prices on their website. Spoken directly by Peter Schiff himself, he keeps his costs low by using the following practices:
- They do not advertise their products and services anywhere, and use the social media presence and reputation of Peter Schiff to gain customers.
- They buy discounted precious metals in bulk, and they’re able to pass this savings along to the customer by selling product close to market value.
Product trustworthiness is another company standard. They would never sell risky investments or products that they do not believe in. So, they avoid selling collectible coins and other precious metals collectible items, because this market is potentially problematic.
Schiff Gold is in direct opposition to high-pressure sales tactics. The representatives never upsell products in an effort to earn bigger commissions. In lieu of that, they provide their customers with a wide selection of products perfectly suited to their goals and budget. And the team is happy to answer any and all questions that you may have regarding the precious metals market.
Peter Schiff states that his staff is made up of passionate and knowledgeable gold and precious metals investors. His company is committed to the diversified portfolio model and they aren’t trying to chase high commissions. Even more important, they provide customers with valuable advice and information regarding their potential purchases.
All team specialists highly emphasize developing client relationships that will last for the long term. They attempt to develop one-on-one relationships that last for many years to come. Whether the customer is procuring gold for the first time or the 20th, you’ll have a specialist there to guide you along the path.
Likewise, if you open a precious metals IRA, they will have an account specialist walk you through the process step-by-step. They will streamline the setup and make it as easy as humanly possible. And then you’ll pay a $150 annual storage fee to keep your metals protected according to the rules set forth by the IRS.
Lacking Reviews
One odd thing about this company is that it’s difficult or nearly impossible to find reviews about them on the Internet. They are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and Trustlink doesn’t have any reviews either.
This is really puzzling because the company has been around for more than a decade and they changed their name to Schiff Gold in 2014, which is more than seven years ago at this point. Even with the lack of reviews, Peter Schiff and his excellent reputation means it’s a trustworthy organization.
You can find some customer testimonials published on their website. But third parties haven’t generated any reviews about their business practices at this point.
It’s also odd that they do not share their prices on the website. You have to contact a precious metals specialist to find out the prices before making a purchase. They may have limited inventory, which is a valid reason for keeping prices off the website even though it’s still a little strange.
Because of these oddities, it’s hard to compare their prices against other precious metals brokers. So, I cannot tell you definitively that Peter Schiff and Schiff Gold offer the lowest prices since making a comparison is impossible. Other brokers are much more transparent about their product pricing.
Bottom Line
Peter Schiff is the major driving force behind Schiff Gold. He’s a well-known expert investor who publishes lots of pieces about the economy, his investment advice, and he’s constantly ragging on the government. His company Schiff Gold follows his investment strategy and only sells precious metals that are considered the most reliable.
Unfortunately, there is very little transparency within this company. They do not share pricing or have an online marketplace to price goods. They don’t even let you pay for a product until you speak with one of their representatives to confirm the order.
So, comparing their pricing becomes nearly impossible with the rest of the market. Additionally, they don’t share too much information about their buying practices. You’ll receive a quote from a representative, but whether or not its fair market value is hard to determine.
To quickly liquidate your precious metals, you can find greater transparency by dealing with other precious metals dealer’s online. The same holds true for buying precious metals as well. Even though Peter Schiff is definitely knowledgeable and brimming with expertise, the lack of transparency by his company means it’s too hard to evaluate Schiff Gold against the rest of the competition.
About Tim Schmidt
Tim Schmidt is an Entrepreneur who has covered retirement investing since 2012. He started IRA Investing to share his expertise in using his Self-Directed IRA for alternative investments. His views on retirement investing have been highlighted in USA Today, Business Insider, Tech Times, and more. He invested with Goldco.
