Bullion Shark Review
Some precious metals companies focus on all precious metals, like gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, and rhodium, as well as items like diamonds, jewelry, watches, pens, and even dental metals. Then there are companies that specialize in just a few of the metals and nothing more. Neither type of company is “good” or “bad”, it will just depend on what you’re looking for as an investor.
Bullion Shark is a company that falls in the latter category. Rather than include a huge variety of metals and products, they’ve focused on just gold, silver, and the occasional rare coin. They have coins and bullion available for purchase from their website, but you can also utilize their auction platform where customers sell their items and buyers look for some major deals.
This all sounds really great, but is Bullion Shark the company for you? Are you getting a legitimate precious metals company when you work with them, or are you facing a possible scam? Keep reading to find out if you should consider Bullion Sharks or avoid them altogether.
Who is Bullion Shark?
Bullion Shark is an online precious metals dealer of gold and silver that operates out of New York. They claim to be family-owned and operated, but their website has no real information on their background. While not a huge red flag, it does make you question who is running the company and what experience they have in the precious metals industry.
Their website is easy to use and fun to browse, and they have many interesting products for collectors, including bullion, coins, and items to display your treasures.
Bullion Shark Rewards Program
The first thing you’ll likely notice when you visit their website is that they are very big on their rewards program. This is an incentive for consumers to accumulate points, which you will save up to redeem for coupons. You can earn additional points for things like your birthday, creating an account, and following Bullion Shark on social media platforms.
This type of program isn’t generally found with precious metals dealers, so it is definitely a unique way to draw in and keep customers loyal to the store. Like the rest of the site, the rules are a bit vague, and you don’t really find out how many points can be redeemed for coupons.
Whether you are a member of the loyalty program or not, if you purchase at least $99, your order will ship for free to anywhere in the continental U.S. This is also unique, as most precious metals dealers use the package weight to determine your shipping.
Placing an Order with Bullion Shark
Shopping with Bullion Shark is easy. First, you’ll create an account with your pertinent information, like name, address, email, phone number, etc. You can browse the website and put items into your cart that you’d like to purchase. Once you’ve paid, your order will ship within three business days. If they suspect that there is going to be a delay, they will let you know before you checkout.
Bullion Shark has no minimum order amounts, but if your purchase total comes below $50, you will not receive a tracking number and your order will be shipped with the USPS, which could take up to five business days to receive.
For orders over $50 and up to $500, your order will be shipped via First Class Mail and you will receive it within two to five business days. For orders over $500, Bullion Shark will ship with USPS Priority Mail, which is the fastest method from the USPS.
Regardless of your package value, you will receive an email letting you know when your order will be shipped.
Please keep in mind that orders of $250 or more will be sent insured, which means someone must be home to sign for the delivery. No signature means no package delivery. And, if the package value is under $250, you won’t get the option for insurance, which means your package could end up lost with no way for you to get your package or your money back.
It is also important to know that there are no IRS-approved products available for purchase. If you’re looking to buy IRA precious metals, you won’t find them with Bullion Shark.
Bullion Shark Policies
Returning a purchase with a precious metals company can be difficult, if not impossible, but not with Bullion Shark. You have two weeks to decide if you like your purchase and if you don’t, you can still return it to the company. Your items must be in the exact condition it was when it was sent to you and you cannot remove any coins from their certified special packaging.
Bullion Shark sells both graded and non-graded coins, but most of its inventory is certified by the NGC or PCGS. They have a money-back guarantee that the coins will meet or exceed your expectations of authenticity and quality.
If you decide to make a return, Bullion Shark will take approximately two business days to get your refund to you (after they’ve inspected the package). All of these policies are some of the most flexible in the industry and really give you confidence that Bullion Shark backs its products.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good selection of products
- Flexible return policy
- Free shipping on orders over $99
- Solid company with a large online review presence and many positive reviews
Cons
- No platinum or palladium products
- Shipping is mainly USPS, which can be problematic
- No IRA-approved products
Final Verdict on Bullion Shark
For the most part, Bullion Shark is a decent option when looking to purchase gold and silver bullion and coins. They get consistently high ratings from consumers on places like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website and it seems that most of these consumers are quite happy with the items they’ve received.
However, if you’re looking for precious metals for your IRA portfolio, or you want a product that is something other than gold or silver, you may be disappointed with Bullion Shark. You may also be disappointed in the lack of transparency that they have - for example, the inability to find out more about the company or what their experience is.
I would say that choosing to work with Bullion Shark is a good start and once you’re more experienced, you may decide that you need different products from other precious metals dealers who offer more inventory and IRA services.
