Bullion dealer due diligence: checks and records

What to take away

Bullion dealer due diligence starts with identifying the seller and separating product risk from counterparty, payment and delivery risk. A familiar coin says nothing about an unfamiliar seller. The work is deciding who owes what, when each duty starts, and which record proves it was performed.

The Postal Inspection Service's page on mail fraud advises getting every term in writing before you agree to buy, refusing pressure to decide immediately, and checking a company through a state attorney general's office or the FTC. Those checks apply to bullion even when the listing looks routine.

Identify every party

Write down the seller's legal name and trade name. Also write the seller's street address and working phone number. Also write the seller's email domain and state of organization. When a platform hosts the listing, find out its role. Does it take payment, hold funds, authenticate the item, or guarantee delivery? Or does it only introduce buyer and seller?

Search the Secretary of State’s business-entity records in the state where the dealer is organized and, if applicable, where it operates. Match the legal name and status against the invoice and payment recipient. Check the relevant state regulator’s precious-metals dealer license lookup where licensing applies; requirements vary by state, and there is no single national dealer-license registry.

For additional signals, review the Better Business Bureau (BBB) business profile and verify claimed memberships through the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) and Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA). Membership and complaint profiles are not guarantees. The FTC’s ReportFraud portal and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) accept reports of suspected fraud; they are not dealer-license checks.

Dealer-side rules are conditional, not a consumer credential: FinCEN’s anti-money-laundering requirements cover certain precious-metals dealers, and IRS Form 1099-B reporting applies to reportable sales, not every bullion purchase. State licensing and recordkeeping rules vary, so confirm a dealer’s claims with the relevant regulator or agency. These rules do not replace your own invoice and payment records.

A marketplace logo is not a promise that your order is covered. Read the exclusions for coins and precious metals. Also read the exclusions for high-value goods, local pickup, off-platform messages, and payment methods.

Freeze the product description

Save the listing as a PDF or a dated screenshot. A page edited next week should not replace the description you bought against.

Price the whole transaction

Add insurance, handling, storage, and any cancellation charge. Note the price-lock window and the event that binds the order. A dealer may treat an accepted trade as final before your funds land.

Match controls to the payment

Payment methods are not interchangeable. Compare fees, settlement time, reversibility, identity checks, purchase limits, and written dispute rights. The FTC's advice on how to avoid a scam says never to pay someone who insists on cryptocurrency, a wire service, a payment app, or a gift card, and that being told to withdraw cash or buy gold and hand it over is itself a scam. When a wire destination changes, confirm it through a channel you obtained independently.

Specify fulfillment before paying

Ask whether the item is in stock, allocated, presale, or sourced after payment. Get the ship-by date, carrier, service level, and declared value in writing. Also get the signature requirement and package description in writing. Ask who files a carrier claim, and whether you get a refund or a replacement while that claim is open.

Receive with a record

Inspect the outer package before opening it. Photograph every side, the label, the seal, and any puncture or wet area, with a scale in frame. Open on one continuous video when the value justifies it. Keep the packaging until quantity, identity, condition, and authenticity are settled.

Escalate by deadline

Write to the seller first, name the remedy you want, and set a response date. Then use the marketplace, payment provider, carrier, insurer, or regulator process that applies. Calendar every filing window. A long email thread should not eat a formal dispute deadline.

Worked example: a shorted order

You buy five 1 oz silver coins and four arrive. Photograph the sealed box, the packing slip, and the four coins on a scale. Email the seller the same day, ask for the fifth coin or a refund of one-fifth of the merchandise price, and give a response date.

If that date passes, file with the marketplace or payment provider inside its window, and keep the thread as evidence. Do the same arithmetic for a substituted year or a bar that fails a weight check.

Common questions

Does a long business history prove a dealer is safe?

No. It is one signal among several. Current identity, written terms, inventory claims, payment controls, and recent complaint patterns still need review.

Is marketplace checkout always safer than paying the dealer directly?

No. Read the platform's coverage, exclusions, deadlines, and eligible payment methods for that specific listing before you rely on them.

Should I accept a comparable substitute?

Only after you receive the full specification and price in writing and choose to accept it. Silence is not consent.

What is the minimum record to keep?

Keep the listing, invoice, payment proof, and messages.
Keep the tracking, delivery record, package photos, and inspection notes.
Keep any claim documents. Store them together.

Also keep the invoice or order confirmation showing the seller’s legal identity, the metal and product description, weight, fineness, quantity, price, added charges, and delivery terms. Retain the purchase and inspection file while you own the metal; if you sell it, keep the purchase and sale records long enough to substantiate your cost basis, proceeds, and tax reporting. Keep any tax forms and dispute records with them; there is no single retention period that applies to every buyer’s bullion records.