BGASC is one of many precious metals companies that offers services online. But it's important to make sure that when you choose a precious metals dealer, you're working with someone legitimate. Does BGASC have legitimate practices? What should you know about the company before making a decision?
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About BGASC
BGASC is among the largest precious metals dealerships located in the US, which is part of what makes them so popular. It's relatively easy to find customer reviews of the company's practices through third party organizations like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau.
The company prides itself on giving customers access to a large store inventory. It has also been well reviewed by companies like Investopedia.
According to the company website, their overall mission is to be the type of dealer that customers want to work with. They want to give reasonable pricing, have items consistently in stock, communicate well with customers, ship products out quickly, and operate with a high level of honesty and transparency.
BGASC is an official dealer of PCGS graded coins. They are also a member of the Numismatic Guild Corporation Collector's Society, indicating that they often have numismatic rarities in stock. They have a membership with the Certified Coin Exchange and are able to purchase non-bullion US Mint coins in bulk.
Packages are all sent with full private insurance. The company is staffed by a team of people who aim to provide high quality customer service. For the most part, they seem to succeed at this, at least as far as we can tell from their online reviews.
Over the last ten years, the company has sent more than 500,000 orders that total many billions of dollars in total precious metals value. They do not take on any debt and own all of their inventory, so you don't have to worry about running into issues with bankruptcy or ownership disputes.
Another somewhat unique aspect of the company is that they don't have any minimum purchase order. With many other companies, you need to reach a certain threshold before you can close a deal. But with BGASC, you can order as much or as little as you want at any given time.
IRA Services
Like many other companies, BGASC offers some precious metals IRA services. Since 1997, it's been legal to place precious metals into a self-directed IRA, as long as you comply with IRS regulations. These include strict rules about storage, custodianship, and the types of metals you hold in the account.
Unlike many other precious metals IRA companies, BGASC doesn't have any setup fee for their services. But they also don't have the same streamlined approach or in-house IRA team that you'll find with the top competitors. In addition, you need to make a minimum purchase of $30,000 to set up your IRA through the company.
If you already have a precious metals IRA and need a new dealer to add to your account, you can browse the company's website for IRS-approved silver, gold, and platinum products.
There are a few simple steps involved in setting up an account:
Contacting the Custodian
BGASC has several different custodians that they work with on a regular basis. Your IRA custodian is responsible for overseeing your account. You want to make sure that you choose whichever one has the most reasonable fee schedules for your purposes. If you want to work with a custodian that BGASC doesn't usually use, you can do that.
Some companies will handle all of the custodian communication for you. They will walk you through the application paperwork and speak to the custodian about what you want. That way, you only have to work with one company throughout the process.
But BGASC doesn't offer this specific service. Instead, they ask customers to talk to the custodians directly. The custodian is the one who will set up your account and help you decide which depository option is best for you.
Funding the Account
IRAs can be funded using the existing funds in your retirement account. They can also be funded with a personal contribution from your savings.
As with the previous step, you'll do this part with your custodian. There are companies that help you set up the rollover paperwork themselves, but BGASC isn't one of them.
After your account has been funded, the custodian will reach out to BGASC. They'll explain how much money is in the account. Then all you need to do is finalize the precious metals you want to purchase.
Making a Purchase
After you've done all of the setup and funding steps with your custodian, you'll return to BGASC. In order to lock in your purchase, you will need to call the company directly. When it comes to IRAs, you have to make the purchase over the phone rather than online in order to make sure that the items are handled properly.
As with all packages handled by the company, your IRA metals will be shipped in a fully insured package. They will then arrive at the depository of your choice.
The three custodians that BGASC works with most often are GoldStar Trust Company, New Direction Trust Company, and Strata Trust Company.
Shipping Information
One of the big selling points of the company is that they offer fast shipping to their customers. There are a few things you should know about the shipping before you get started.
Most orders ship within one business day after the payment clears. The company currently ships within the US, but they don't ship to mail drop locations or third party boxes. However, they will ship to these types of addresses if the customer makes a payment through a bank wire transfer.
The majority of packages are shipped using USPS Priority Mail or First Class Mail. But very large packages might be shipped using Fedex or UPS. If your order costs less than $5,000 in total, there is a flat shipping rate of $9.95. But every order that goes above this threshold ships for free.
The company does note that if a package is returned to sender because you never signed for it with the post office, they will charge another fee to ship it out again.
Every order is double checked before being shipped out. The items are all wrapped in protective packaging to prevent damage in transit. Each item is sealed. Since the return address label doesn't have the company's name or information about the package contents, you are less likely to experience a theft.
All of the packages are shipped with full insurance. However, once the package arrives at the address and is signed for, the insurance policy is concluded.
Is BGASC a Scam?
BGASC is not a scam. The company has an A+ and an accreditation with the Better Business Bureau. It has been in business for almost a decade, and has been accredited for more than five years. Most of the customer reviews online are largely positive.
There have been a few negative reviews, though most of these seem to be related to miscommunications. For example, one customer was upset that she was asked to provide her driver's license information in order to make a large first-time purchase. This is a fairly standard practice in the precious metals industry in the US.
Pros & Cons of BGASC
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Final Thoughts
BGASC is a legitimate company that has been part of the precious metals industry for over a decade. They maintain an excellent rating and an accreditation with the Better Business Bureau. Most of their customer feedback is positive, and the company makes an effort to respond to all of the negative feedback.
There are also no patterns of complaints. Most potential issues seem to have been related to miscommunication or to delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every precious metals business in the US has been affected by these kinds of delays in some way or another.
The company appears to have solid customer service and good management. People report that they don't feel pressured to make a purchase when they call with questions. There are multiple educational resources available on the website, along with many different services.
Just keep in mind that they might not be the best company to work with if you want services like a precious metals IRA. They do offer some IRA services, but their approach isn't particularly streamlined. While they can refer you to a custodian, you might want to work with a company that handles all of your custodian communication for you instead.
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