Buy · online or in person
What an online bullion order costs by the time it arrives.
Online bullion dealers advertise their premium at the price for paying by check or bank wire. Most people buying a few coins pay by card and spend less than $199, and both add to the bill: a card surcharge on every item, and a flat shipping fee on the order.
Bullion Reserve is a walk-in counter in Madison Heights, a mile off I-75. It takes cash, so there is no card surcharge, and the metal leaves with you, so there is nothing to ship. Below is how an online price is built, and what each way of buying leaves on record.
Buying online
How an online price is built.
The price on an online product page is the price for paying by check or wire. Card and PayPal cost about 4% more, and orders under about $199 add a flat $7.99 to $9.95 for shipping and insurance. The order goes out once payment clears, then spends days in transit.
Those two charges weigh most on small orders. When we checked three of the largest online dealers in September 2026, one Silver Eagle paid for by card cost 27% to 32% over the spot price once delivered, against a listed premium of 10% to 11%. On a single gold coin, the card surcharge alone added about four points.
- About 4% more on every item when you pay by card or PayPal
- A flat $8 to $10 shipping fee on orders under about $199
- Shipping only after payment clears, then days in transit
- A listed premium that is the check or wire price, not the card price
Buying here
Cash, in hand, the same visit.
The counter takes cash, so there is no card surcharge, and the metal is handed across the counter, so there is nothing to ship.
The fair comparison is the delivered total. Take an online price for the piece you want, add the card surcharge and the shipping fee if they apply, and set it next to the counter's quote for the same piece. The live spot price is at the top of every page on this site, so you can check both against it.
- Paid in cash, so there is no card surcharge
- No shipping fee and no wait
- Checked and weighed in front of you
- The premium over spot quoted before you pay
Privacy
What each way of buying leaves on record.
The government reporting rules for bullion are the same whether you buy online or in person. The difference is how many companies end up holding your name, address, card number and delivery details.
An online order cannot ship without a name and address, and a card payment is recorded by your card issuer and the dealer's payment processor. The large dealers' own privacy policies describe sharing customer data with service providers for payments, shipping, fraud checks and email, and with affiliated companies. One says it may share data with advertising partners for targeted ads; another says it may add information from outside sources, such as demographic and income estimates, to what it holds.
Those databases can leak. In 2020, one of the largest US online bullion dealers disclosed that code planted on its checkout page had captured customers' names, addresses and card details for five months.
The questions below cover larger purchases and trades.
An online order
- An account with your name, address, email and phone
- Your order history, kept by the dealer
- A charge on your card, recorded by the issuer and the processor
- A shipping label and tracking held by the carrier
- Customer data shared with the dealer's service providers and affiliates
A cash purchase at the counter, under $10,000
- No account to create
- No card or bank record of the purchase
- No shipping label or tracking
- No name kept on file
Straight answers
Questions about buying online or in person
- Is it cheaper to buy gold online or from a local dealer?
- It depends on the order. Online listed premiums are lowest on large orders paid by check or wire. On small orders paid by card, the card surcharge and the shipping fee can add more than the premium itself. Compare the delivered total for the same piece, not the listed price.
- Why does paying by card cost more online?
- The large online dealers set a cash price and charge about 4% more for card and PayPal payments, which they describe as a 4% discount for paying by check or wire. The counter takes cash, so there is no surcharge to add.
- Do online bullion dealers charge shipping?
- On small orders, yes. The dealers we checked in September 2026 charged a flat $7.99 to $9.95, insurance included, on orders under about $199, and shipped free above that. The order ships after your payment clears and then spends days in transit.
- Is buying gold with cash private?
- A cash purchase under $10,000 at this counter involves no account, no card and no shipping label, and no name is kept on file. Above $10,000 in cash, in one purchase or in related purchases, federal law requires the counter to take your identification and taxpayer identification number and file Form 8300 with the IRS; you receive a written statement of what was reported by January 31 of the following year. Splitting a purchase to stay under that line is itself a federal crime, and the counter will not take part in it.
- What happens if I trade something in?
- A trade is a sale of what you bring in and a purchase of what you take home. Michigan law requires a dealer who buys jewelry or other items containing gold, silver or platinum to record the seller's name, date of birth, driver's license or state ID number, address and a thumbprint, and to send a copy to local police within 48 hours. Madison Heights applies the same rule to coins; standard bullion bars fall outside it. Those records are not open to the public. Certain larger sales of bullion are also reported to the IRS on Form 1099-B, depending on the metal, its form and the quantity, and for tax purposes a trade counts as a sale.
- Do I pay sales tax on bullion in Michigan?
- Not on investment coins or on gold, silver and platinum bullion. Michigan exempts both from sales tax whether you buy online or at the counter. Palladium bars are the exception and are taxable.
- Can I buy gold at the spot price?
- No dealer sells at spot. Spot is the price for large wholesale lots, and every coin and bar sold to the public carries a premium for minting, distribution and the dealer's margin. What you can do is see that premium as a number before you pay, which is how the counter quotes it.
Priced off the live market
See what's in the case, or call for a quote on what isn't.
Call (248) 247-9240 · 337 E 11 Mile Rd, Madison Heights, MI, 48071