Many who buy gold coins online have trusted sellers or dealers they go to and sometimes they pay a premium for this service.  Others are willing to risk eBay, Craigslist and other online auction sites to get what they’re after.  Online gold coins aren’t always risky, though, and if you’re not after anything particularly rare or unusual, you can probably find online gold coins reasonably safe.

The biggest deterrent to those who buy gold coins online is shipping costs.  Gold is heavy, so mailing it securely is not very cheap.  Even if you’re justing buying a couple of online gold coins in rounds or $20 pieces, you’ll find that the shipping can be a significant percentage of the overall cost.  As with any investment, this means it takes longer to recoup those costs to make a profit.

When buying gold online, watch for two things from established dealers: promises of free shipping (common) and higher markups (also common) to make up the difference.  With gold’s price being well over $900/ounce, though, the percentage of shipping:cost is lower, but the chances of recouping those costs are still longer-term.

For instance, if you puchase a $950 gold round and pay an additional $20 to ship it, you’re total investment is $970: the minimum you have to make on sale to break even.  Given the values of gold versus the Dollar, of course, this is a pretty easy return to get over the mid or long term.

Whatever you do when buying gold online, make sure that you’re buying from an honest seller or a well-known dealer who’s established in the market.  You should have, at minimum, a telephone number (that works) and a hard street address (no PO boxes) confirmed for the seller if you plan to make a sizeable investment with them.  The shipping should also include loss insurance and tracking so you can keep track of it from start to finish as well.

Finally, be sure of the seller’s guarantees, refunds, and other polices.  Be safe when you buy gold coins online and you’ll find it a great way to build your collection and investment.