Royal Gold has always recommended holding 10-20% of an investment portfolio in physical precious metals. But how much of that percentage should be in gold and how much in silver?

Generally speaking, Peter advises holding about 2/3 of precious metals holdings in gold and about 1/3 in silver. This provides a stable foundation in the resilient yellow metal paired with the strong upside potential of silver.

Many of our clients are interested in better performance in their metals investments, and therefore buy a larger share of silver. They are willing to endure silver’s short-term fluctuations in exchange for its long-term growth prospects. Silver’s ever-expanding industrial applications and apparent undervaluation relative to gold both indicate silver is likely to make big moves in the future. You can read all about silver’s bright future in the Royal Gold Special Report, The Powerful Case for Silver.

Generally, defensive investors prefer to stick with the more conservative 2:1 allocation of gold to silver. It’s ultimately up to the individual investor how to allocate his or her precious metals holdings. For some, this also includes a consideration for platinum and palladium.

When Exactly Does My Price Get “Locked In” When Buying Precious Metals Over the Phone?

With the current volatility in the precious metals markets, many customers worry about locking in a price when buying metals remotely. When buying from Royal Gold, your price will be locked in the moment you and your metals specialist verbally agree to the terms of the transaction, including the quantity and type of product. Within about five minutes of making this agreement, we will email you a confirmation and invoice with the agreed upon price.

Generally, we ask that clients send payment the same day via wire or electronic check deposit. However, once we have established a relationship with a client, we are flexible with this timeline and will happily extend a grace period of an extra day or two. We even accept paper checks in the mail from our longtime clients.

Royal Gold is unusual in that we will almost always lock in a price without having received a down payment on the purchase. Most major precious metals dealers require partial or even full payment before the purchase price is locked in.

It should come as no surprise that our clientele is extremely trustworthy, and we are proud to report that we have a less than 0.1% renege rate on our sales. Customers appreciate the trust we extend to them and likewise extend theirs to us.

Does Royal Gold Accept Credit Cards for Purchases?

In order to maintain our low prices, we do not currently accept credit cards for payment.

Competitive dealers like Royal Gold operate on very low margins. Unlike a traditional retailer that can afford to absorb the cost of credit card fees, a 3% credit card surcharge would eat up most of our profit on a sale.

To avoid this problem, many dealers often pass along the fee to their customers. However, a 3% surcharge becomes a significant expense when purchasing precious metals at our minimum transaction amounts. We simply do not advise our customers to pay this much extra for their metals.

It’s for this reason that we encourage clients to avoid using a credit card to buy precious metals, no matter where they shop.

Our most common payment method is by bank wire, which we usually require to be completed within 24 hours of placing an order. We also accept personal checks, though this may delay your transaction if the check is sent in the mail. Alternatively, personal checks can be deposited directly into our bank account at your local Bank of America.

Does Royal Gold Charge Sales Tax?

Because we are not a brick-and-mortar gold dealer and instead conduct our sales via phone and mail, we are not required to charge sales tax. This can lead to significant savings, depending on the laws where you live.

Many of our competitors and even your local coin shop may be required to tax your gold and silver purchases. These fees can vary dramatically from state to state. Before making a large precious metals purchase, speak with a tax professional about the laws in your area. You might be able to save yourself a lot of money by buying with us.

Going into 2014, remember that the Marketplace Fairness Act has yet to be considered by the US House of Representatives. It was approved by the Senate last May and, if passed, could force online and mail-order retailers to charge their customers tax.

If this bill becomes law, exactly what and how online sales taxes would be levied on gold dealers is still unknown. However, it could change the way companies like ours are allowed to do business, and you might find yourself paying an extra, government-imposed premium on your gold purchases next year.