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The demand for bullion and other precious metal products is soaring, especially in these uncertain economic times.
As investors seek stability, the range of options for purchasing bullion has expanded significantly, providing consumers with more choices than ever before.
One notable option in this market is American Bullion.
This company stands out by offering an extensive selection of bullion and precious metal IRA products, giving consumers the flexibility to choose the exact type of precious metals that suit their investment needs.
Keep reading to discover why American Bullion might be the right choice for your precious metal investments.
Before we get started, investing your savings is a serious task. When it comes to adding precious metals to your portfolio, how do you know which companies to trust?
That is why we have researched every company in the industry and selected the very few with the highest customer service standards.
This way you can easily compare the best companies in the business, and choose one that fits your needs and investment goals.
Read the list to see if American Bullion passed our strict customer service standards to become one of our top recommendations.
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About American Bullion
American Bullion lists ample information about their company's founding, history, and founders on their website.
This isn't a small thing: Far too many companies are not quite as public with this information, which creates a very negative impression that the organization has something to hide. Fortunately, that's not the case with American Bullion.
According to the website, the company was founded in 2009 by Orkan Ozkan and Nevtan Akcora, both of whom were commodities traders who wanted to create their own businesses. They expanded their product offerings over time, creating more products and winning numerous awards.
Precious Metal IRAs & 401(k)
American Bullion offers many different products and services. One example is precious metal IRAs. These are IRAs that specifically contain precious metals and have certain tax-advantaged properties that may make them advantageous for individuals to purchase.
You can do that directly from the American Bullion website, as they offer many different precious metal IRAs, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Their website lists a variety of information on how you can make such a purchase.
It's a small thing, but their website contains some minor formatting issues. For example, their Palladium IRA page has multiple instances of "I am a text block" and format text that has never been proofed or adjusted. This does not speak well of a company that you expect to be careful with your money.
That being said, the website does contain a robust series of information on how to invest in a precious metal IRA, including how to start one, its benefits, and how to roll over an IRA. This should leave potential investors with some comfort, as it's clear the company understands what an IRA is and how to make it work for many different types of investors.
Interestingly, American Bullion also contains information about a Gold 401(k), which they quickly note doesn't exist. Instead, American Bullion lists information about how employers or individuals can take their 401k and roll it over into a Gold IRA. This is a different attempt to market, albeit a slightly misleading one.
Bullion for Purchase
You can purchase a variety of gold and silver products for direct delivery. Like most companies in this industry, American Bullion will ship a precious metal directly to your house or a 3rd party storage facility. You can then access that gold or silver at a time and place of your choosing. All metals are fully insured, so you can make these purchases with ease.
The website does list a vast array of potential bullion that you can purchase for personal investment or collection.
This includes numerous types of coins and bars. However, the website is somewhat awkward and not as intuitive as others in this arena, and it can be difficult to navigate to the section of the website that will allow you to check out these purchases and act accordingly.
The company does sell a vast array of products for users to have shipped. This includes many rare coins, bars, and more.
The items you can buy are listed in-depth on the company's website, along with a series of very detailed specifications about each item and the potential benefits of purchasing that item. You cannot order the item directly from the website; instead, you have to call a phone number that is listed online.
American Bullion Pricing and Fees
American Bullion does have a Terms & Conditions page that lays out some basic information about pricing and fees - at least, it lays out that information where it is possible to do so.
As the website states upfront, they are not able to provide all of this information, as changes in fees and pricing can happen due to market conditions. However, they do list some fees and other information, including:
This information is not nearly as complete or comprehensive as many individuals would like, but this is a relatively consistent issue within the precious metal world: Fees are often difficult to find, given that they are constantly changing as a direct result of market conditions.
As a result, you may benefit from contacting the company directly and finding out how much you will spend on shipping, fees, and storage.
Starting an IRA Account
To their credit, American Bullion makes it extremely easy to create an account. They have a relatively simple start-up checklist on their webpage that is divided into three parts:
If you have any questions, a phone number is listed, making it easy for you to call and connect with the company. For users who may be new to opening an IRA, this process is relatively simple, making it easy for customers to open an IRA.
Resources
Every gold and bullion company should provide ample resources, enabling prospective buyers to get a better understanding of what they are buying, how they can buy it, and what the best ways to spend their money are.
Fortunately, to their credit, this is an area where American Bullion excels, as their website offers ample resources that can enable buyers to make a more informed decision.
That's not to say that the resources available on American Bullion's website are unbiased - they aren't. However, when viewed from that perspective, these resources can still help potential buyers get a better picture of what types of metals they can buy and how they can make the best purchases.
Included in these resources are:
Information on the various types of IRAs and how you can potentially buy precious metals or engage in a rollover. American Bullion is one of the few precious metal exchanges that does extensive work in the area of IRA rollovers, and this is absolutely something that helps set them apart from the competition.
Information on the Delaware Depository, the IRS-approved storage facility used by American Bullion to store the precious metals that individuals buy for their IRAs. This includes specific information about the storage facility, its insurance, and extensive security features.
A FAQ that answers many commonly-asked questions about American Bullion and investing in gold. Questions include investing-specific questions, information about purchasing, shipping, insurance, retirement accounts, the company itself, and more.
Investment guides lay out specific strategies that can be used by investors as they look to purchase precious metals. However, there is a challenge on this section of the website: The guides are all listed as being from 2016, which is obviously now seven years old.
This is not a small issue for American Bullion, and it's at least the second time that a review of the content of their website has found extensively dated information.
This may give investors pause as they look to make a purchase of gold or silver for their retirement account - after all, if a company can't be bothered to keep their investment advice current, what guarantees do you have that they will adequately care for your money?
The Next Wave is a document that lays out the growing debt crisis in America and how buying gold can help individuals prepare to manage a burgeoning financial crisis.
There are two ways to view a document like this. On the one hand, it does correctly note that America has a growing debt problem and that this issue may have real financial ramifications on all of our lives.
On the other hand, it uses extremist language to discuss a controllable fiscal problem, tending to veer into the area of societal collapse and how gold will be used to barter for goods and services at a later date. This may give some investors pause.
After all, why invest retirement money in a company that thinks civilization may face major future challenges as a result of printing money?
Other financial service-specific information, including how to invest gold with a pension plan, thrift savings plan, or tax-sheltered annuity.
Selling Gold
This gets somewhat confusing. American Bullion has a section on their website that they advertise as "Sell My Gold." However, clicking on this section doesn't contain information on selling gold. Instead, it has information on how to liquidate your IRA, including tax information and legal information on when such a liquidation has to occur under current tax laws.
It's not a bad thing that this information is contained on the website, but it can leave consumers with the wrong idea about an important product or service that American Bullion operates. It does not appear that they buy gold from private sellers, and the title of this website seems to imply that they do.
Reviews
Like most businesses that have been engaged in this arena long enough, American Bullion has a relatively robust profile on numerous review sites.
Incidentally, their website header shows off their Trustpilot review, which, according to the graphic, is "Excellent," with roughly 4.5 out of 5 stars. That is still accurate: The company currently has 4.4 stars out of 193 reviews.
However, other review websites were less positive, and the reviews for American Bullion were more wide-ranging. These included:
Google Reviews: 3.9 out of 5 stars, 41 reviews
Better Business Bureau: 4 out of 5 stars, four ratings. The business is listed as BBB accredited and has an A grade.
Yelp: 3.5 out of 5 stars, 19 reviews
As you can see, this is a wide range of reviews. A closer examination of reviews tends to reveal very positive experiences. Common positive threads include:
To be clear, an average of 4 out of 5 stars is relatively strong for most businesses, and there are far more positive reviews than negative ones.
However, other reviews have found vendors that are capable of consistently doing more for less and with fewer accusations of being rip-offs. The truth is that 4.9 out of 5-star ratings for many review companies is not uncommon, and this rating is a relatively low one.
Final Verdict
American Bullion exists in a relatively unique market space. They have ample resources and can be very helpful for some unique services, specifically when it comes to transferring one retirement account to another. Many customers had great experiences with the firm, and they can manage your money well.
However, the area of precious metal exchange and investing is highly competitive, and it simply appears that some firms can do a better job with your money.
Dated material, improperly formatted items, and some concerning company reviews give us pause before recommending American Bullion to others.
Remember to read out list of the Top Gold Companies to see if American Bullion made the cut.
>> Click HERE to read our Best Precious Metals IRA Companies list <<
Or, if you like what you read about American Bullion, you can visit their website below.
At Digital Financing Task Force, we provide research and analysis for people that want to take control of their financial future and protect the savings that they have.