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You have many choices when it comes to diversifying with alternative investments, and it can be challenging to select a firm you can trust.
Unfortunately, the internet is full of bold claims and misrepresentations.
So where can you turn to find reliable information?
At GSC, our goal is to provide unbiased and trustworthy reviews of all your options, not just the companies we recommend.
Today, we’re comparing Money Metals Exchange vs. Augusta Precious Metals.
Even though APM has been our top choice, that doesn’t mean it’s above review. If there’s a better option, we want to make sure you know about it.
So we’re going to see how these two stack up on some key criteria:
- Gold IRA Fees and Costs
- Products Offered
- IRA Account Assistance
- Education Provided
- Order Process
- Customer Service
- Buyback Programs
- Customer Reviews and Complaints
By the end of this article, you’ll see how each compares, their strengths and weaknesses, and whether Augusta continues to be our #1 choice.
After all, when it comes to your money, you can never be too careful.
Fees and Costs
When choosing who to go with, fees play an important decision.
While high costs can impact your returns, if a company boasts fees well below market rates, it may indicate a lower level of service.
Ideally, you want one that provides excellent customer service at a fair price.
Money Metals Exchange
Their preferred IRA custodian is New Direction Trust Company, and they state that gold IRAs can start as low as $75/year.
However, further research on the New Direction website shows that they charge the following:
- a one-time online setup fee of $30
- a processing fee of $50
Annual account maintenance fees are:
- $130/year for accounts up to $100,000
- and $180/year for accounts greater than $100K
In addition, this precious metals provider offers an in-house secure storage facility for IRA accounts and those customers looking to store their physical investments outside their homes.
Money Exchange Depository annual fees will depend on the value of your holdings:
- $96 for up to $15,999
- $16,000 – $99,999: 0.59% of the value
- $100,000 – $999,999: 0.49%
- $1 million – $2.9 million: 0.39%
- contact if the value of your holdings is over $3 million
Besides their preferred providers, MME will work with any IRS-approved custodian or depository, and those fees will vary by company.
Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta’s preferred custodian is Equity Trust.
They charge a one-time setup fee of $50. After that, custodian annual fees run $100.
Their preferred storage facility is Delaware Depository, and they list an annual fee of $100. However, they offer other storage options nationwide, and costs will vary by company.
Conclusion
Both of these firms charge competitive fees, though Augusta has a slight edge.
Products Offered
There are 2 factors to consider when it comes to this topic:
First one is whether the company has the products you want.
Second is that since the IRS imposes strict purity standards on the metals allowed in IRA accounts, you want to ensure that the offered coins and bullion meet the requirements.
Money Metals Exchange
We were impressed with the large and diverse product line Money Metals Exchange offers.
They sell both high-quality IRA-approved precious metals and more affordable lower-quality products.
They currently offer over 50 gold coins, including:
- Gold American Eagle
- South African Krugerrand
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- British Gold Sovereigns
Or, if you prefer silver, they have 40 unique styles, including:
- Silver American Eagles
- Silver Krugerrands
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- America the Beautiful series
In addition to coins, they have a wide selection of gold and silver bullion, whether you’re looking for bars, rounds, or bullets.
You can even buy gold jewelry and silver statues.
It gets better:
MME also offers platinum and palladium options.
They even have a selection of copper and rhodium products, though these aren’t approved to be held in an IRA account.
Augusta Precious Metals
Rather than focus on quantity, Augusta strives to provide the highest quality gold and silver products.
To that end, they work closely with mints worldwide to ensure that the coins and bullion they offer are eligible for IRA accounts.
They currently offer over 25 gold coins, including all the most popular ones like:
- Gold American Eagle
- American Buffalo
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- Austrian Philharmonic
In silver, you’ll find about 20 options, including:
- American Eagle
- America the Beautiful series
- Silver Soaring Eagle
- Canadian Silver 5 Blessings
In addition to coins, Augusta has gold and silver bars and rounds in various sizes.
Conclusion
Money Metals Exchange has a lot more options, while Augusta focuses on high-quality gold and silver coins and bars which are eligible for IRA accounts.
IRA Account Assistance
Opening a gold IRA may seem daunting to the average investor.
For this reason, you want to ensure that your chosen company has extensive experience and a dedicated team that will help you throughout the process.
Money Metals Exchange
From the MME website, you can start the process online with their preferred custodian.
Though they state you can call their 1-800 number for assistance, you still have to work directly with the custodian to open and fund your account.
They make no mention of a dedicated IRA team available to assist you.
They also provide a list of allowed bullion and coins. Still, it’s your responsibility to confirm that the products you select are eligible for your account.
Augusta Precious Metals
Look:
There’s a reason that Money Magazine named Augusta the Best Gold IRA Company Overall in 2022.
This business has streamlined the process of opening and funding your account.
Working with their preferred custodian, their IRA specialists act as your liaison and are with you every step of the way.
Augusta will handle 95% of the required paperwork, from opening to funding, and will answer all the questions you may have.
And when you’re ready to buy, their order specialists will work closely with you to ensure the precious metals you select are eligible for your IRA.
Conclusion
Augusta is the clear winner in this category.
Their dedicated IRA team makes the process straightforward, transparent, and easy to navigate.
Education
Diversifying with alternative investments may seem foreign to many people, so it’s vital that you have the resources available to make the best decisions.
The quality and amount of education provided should be a top consideration when selecting a gold IRA company.
Money Metals Exchange
On their website, you’ll find an extensive library of free guides on physical metal investing.
In addition, the company hosts a weekly podcast called Money Metals Market Wrap. You can subscribe to it and access older recordings online.
You can also order a free information kit and subscribe to Money Metals Insider, their seasonal newsletter.
And if you’re looking for up-to-minute price quotes, MME offers live price charts for different metals and even major cryptocurrencies.
Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta’s education department is led by an on-staff Harvard-trained economic analyst.
Their mission is to provide educational resources you won’t find anywhere else.
They feature an extensive video library on diversifying with gold and silver.
In addition, you’ll find market news articles, online calculators, and even videos on how to avoid high-pressure sales tactics, lies, and gimmicks used by other companies.
You can also request a free gold IRA guide, schedule a one-on-one web conference, or call them at (833) 989-1952 to get more info.
Conclusion
When someone provides top-notch education, it demonstrates the dedication to help people understand the world of alternative investments, rather than just focusing on making a sale.
What we see here is Money Metals Exchange’s focus on quantity, meanwhile Augusta’ focus is on quality.
We like that MME offers a variety of mediums to learn from.
And we love that Augusta has a more targeted approach and goes above and beyond to ensure future and existing customers have free access to the best information available.
Order Process & Contribution Amounts
Let’s face it:
Pricing transparency and a secure order process should be a top concern when working with a precious metals company.
When you can see spot prices in real-time, you can quickly determine if the premium you’re paying is competitive.
Money Metals Exchange
This firm has put a lot of thought into their online pricing and order system.
They provide real-time pricing for all the products.
In addition, they provide live spot prices on the same screen so you can easily compare premiums on different offerings.
Each product features a dropdown option to see bulk discounts.
Orders are placed online. And besides checks, wire transfers, or credit cards, you can even make purchases with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
A special section lists overstock, discounted, and unique items that they are removing from their inventory.
They don’t list any minimum order sizes, but they do offer a monthly investment program for as little as $100/month that will ship your products directly to the Money Metals Depository.
Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta doesn’t list any online pricing, and all orders are made on recorded phone lines for added security.
Their minimum investment amount is $50,000, which may be high for smaller investors.
There are 2 upsides to it though:
First, it doesn’t have to be a cash purchase, you may rollover your funds from your other retirement accounts to your new gold-backed IRA.
Second, because of Augusta’s higher requirements, the team is able to focus on each customer individually and provide white-glove service to them for the life of their account.
In fact, this is a big reason why they are so successful.
Conclusion
Money Metals Exchange caters to customers looking for convenience.
They provide a flexible and price-transparent buying experience that may appeal to younger investors.
On the other hand, Augusta provides a hands-on approach and is better suited to higher net worth investors who would like to open a Precious Metals IRA account.
Without a doubt:
Augusta’s personalized, white-glove customer service is a big reason for their success.
Speaking of…
Customer Service
Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to reach the company you’re dealing with.
Therefore, excellent customer service and response times should be at the top of your list.
Money Metals Exchange
Their customer service department is open from 7 am – 5:30 pm Mountain Time Monday through Friday and from 7:30 to 5:30 Saturdays.
Their website features a 24/7 live customer service option.
However, when I used it, I was directed to fill out a form and was told they would get back to me by email. Unfortunately, I still had yet to receive an answer 48 hours later.
Augusta Precious Metals
When you visit their website, the first thing you’ll notice is a 24/7 chat option featuring a live person ready to answer any questions.
If you don’t have any, it’s easy to minimize the chat box.
They also provide phone customer service from 6 am – 5 pm PST, Monday through Friday. Or, if you prefer, you can email them.
In addition, they offer a one-on-one video conference call for all new customers, during which they will answer all your questions without any pressure to buy.
And after the sale, you’re provided access to their account lifetime customer support.
Conclusion
I’ve already mentioned this earlier, but white-glove customer service is what sets APM apart from its competitors.
Their trained professionals provide pretty quick responses to all inquiries, even after the sale, making Augusta the clear winner in this category.
Buyback Programs
If you ever decide to sell your physical goods in the future, a buyback program makes this process easier.
Rather than having to locate a buyer on your own, you can contact the company for an offer, and they handle all the details.
Money Metals Exchange
Besides offering a buyback program for their own products, they will even buy back precious metals purchased from other sources.
You need to call for a quote, and they don’t provide any guarantees — however, their website states they pay well above virtually all their competitors.
Augusta Precious Metals
Also offers a buyback program.
Though there are no guarantees, they state that their buyback prices are fair and reasonable.
Conclusion
Both companies offer buyback programs but don’t provide any guarantees or specific details.
We give this category to Money Metals Exchange for their flexibility in buying back metals purchased from other dealers.
Customer Reviews and Complaints
What customers say about their experiences provides excellent insight into how someone does business.
While we always like to see positive reviews, numerous negative complaints can be a red flag that the company we’re considering may not be trustworthy.
So, let’s see what happening here.
Money Metals Exchange
On Better Business Bureau, MME got 4.21/5.0 based on 154 reviews.
They have been accredited with the BBB since March 2011, and maintain an A+ rating.
However, there have been 41 complaints in the past three years, with ten coming in the last 12 months.
Though the firm has a 100% response rate, their responses are short and direct and typically blame the customer for the issue. Therefore, many responses were rejected by customers.
On TrustPilot, they have 2 out of 5 stars based on 46 reviews.
It gives MME a poor rating, with 74% one-star reviews and only 17% five stars. There are no company responses to the poor customer reviews.
Augusta Precious Metals
Better Business Bureau shows that APM has 4.96/5.0 based on 113 reviews with zero complaints.
They have been a member since February 2015, and maintain an A+ rating.
In addition, the CEO took time to respond to most of the reviews, thanking the customer for the kind words and letting them know they could contact APM for any further questions.
Business Consumer Alliance also shows five stars based on 96 reviews with no complaints.
Augusta been a member of the BCA since November 2013, and have a AAA rating.
Lastly, Trustlink shows a perfect 5-star rating based on 284 reviews.
Conclusion
Augusta Precious Metals is the clear winner, with zero complaints and a nearly perfect 5-star rating on numerous consumer watchdog websites. It’s as legit as they come.
Money Metals Exchange or Augusta?
So, which Gold IRA company is best?
Let’s be honest:
No business will ever be perfect, and some may be a better fit than others.
Money Metals Exchange caters to customers who prefer convenience over customer service.
Though they don’t appear to be a scam, due to the large number of negative reviews and complaints, we recommend you exercise caution if you decide to work with them.
On the other hand, though Augusta Precious Metals may not have the same extensive product selection as MME, they are dedicated to providing outstanding customer service.
Their excellent reviews and zero complaints speak volumes about the experience you can expect working with them.
And with account lifetime customer support, you’ll have access to trained professionals to help you with any questions or concerns that may arise long after the sale.
For these reasons and many more, Augusta Precious Metals continues to be our #1 choice for all your gold and silver needs.
