Here are the steps:
1) Figure out your budget. Take a look at your finances, and consider first paying off any debts. I recommend you put 20% to 25% into PHYSICAL gold, silver, palladium and platinum coins.
Buy silver coins first; then gold coins; and then platinum and old U. S. gold coins (such as $20 Gold Pieces). Consider one of the suggested portfolios – based on your budget – Model Precious Metals Portfolios. Note: There is NO Washington State Sales Tax on investment coins since the legislature eliminated it in 1985.
2) Physicals, not paper receipts: We emphasize that you take possession of real coins, rather than pieces of paper that represent precious metals. Our research on “paper gold” and “paper silver” ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) supports the idea that there is NOT ENOUGH metal to back these investments. In fact, the gold ETFs may be leveraged at 100 to 1 and the silver ETFs at 150 to 1.
3) Call or email Craig Rhyne at WGE with the budget you have in mind, whether it’s $5,000, $50,000, $500,000 or $5 million ($3,000 minimum). Then, we will make a proposal to you with recommendations about which metal to start with, the type and size of coins, where to store. We can send this to you via email, FAX, or review it in person or over the phone.
4) Pricing: The commission we charge ranges from 1% to 4%, depending on the order size. For example, the commission on an order for $1 million in gold would be 1%. Our prices are competitive with any dealer in the country, yet we provide an excellent advantage; we provide personalized service. After an order is placed and paid for, we deliver the goods to you in person (in Washington and Oregon; otherwise, we ship them registered, insured mail, which works just fine).
5) Confirming the prices / order: Since the commission is low, and gold and silver fluctuate from day-to-day and during the day, you must understand that the final price has to be “locked in.” For example, if I charged 2% on a gold coin, that would be about $32. If I took an order from you -without locking in the price before I “covered” the order- I would lose money on the coin if gold went up more than $32 (I couldn’t stay in business that way). So, my clients must understand two things: 1) The final price of your order has to be “locked in”, where I have either confirmed it based on my own inventory, or “covered” the order with a wholesale distributor; and 2) Once we lock in a deal, we are both committed to it.
If you buy coins, and then the price goes up (even before you have paid me), you make the gain. Conversely, if you buy the coins and then the price goes down, you take the loss. (You can see how important it is that we know our clients and trust them, and that they trust us.) Note: when I commit to a price, the cost to deliver it personally or via registered, insured mail is included.
6) Payment: Payment is due at the moment you lock in an order. If you pay with a check (personal or cashier’s check), it must be mailed or delivered within 24 hours. If paying with a bank wire, it must be initiated within 24 hours. Orders less than $100,000: check received within 48 hours (by mail). Bank wires are preferred because the funds clear more quickly. Orders $100,000 or larger: Payment by bank wire is due within 24 hours. Note: orders $100,000 or larger require 10% deposit by check or bank wire before locking in the prices. Note: we do not take credit or debit cards at this time.
To send a bank wire, contact your banker and have them send the funds to:
JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase)
10550 NE 8th Street Bellevue, WA 98004Account of Washington Gold Exchange LLC [WGE]
Bank Wire Details: Call Craig Rhyne for routing and account number
Phone: (206) 719-6368Chase Bank Telephone: (425) 590-4243
Chase Bank FAX: (425) 590-4257
7) Currency Transactions: WGE accepts cash – actual green currency – for smaller orders; but we do not like to fill out IRS 8300 forms (cash reporting to the IRS on clients [$10,000 -or close to that] and on “related transactions.”) Really, with the millions of checks changing hands every day, and since the government assumes that large currency transactions are suspicious – not checks – we recommend checks and bank wires.
8) Delivery of your order: For small orders, this may be at the time of the order (depending on type of payment). On medium to large orders: Allow 10 to 15 working days for delivery. This allows for your check to reach me (if mailed), depositing the check, clearing the check, then for WGE to pay the wholesale distributor for the goods (either by check or bank wire). Then, the wholesale distributor ships WGE the order(s). If they are shipped to me from Texas, for example, this can take a week (because registered, insured mail takes longer than regular first class mail). Once we have the coins, we contact you to plan for delivery per your availability. The whole process takes 10 to 15 work days (in an orderly precious metals market), but will probably take much longer in the next big move up out of the current trading ranges.
9) Selling coins / bars back to WGE: I am just as happy to buy back items at current market rates as I am to sell at spot prices (since I charge a commission whether you buy from or sell to me). In other words, we “make a market” on most precious metals items, unless wholesale markets are closed (after regular business hours / weekends / holidays). Just as if you were buying from us, it’s the same process to lock in the price, yet in reverse.
Once you are given a confirmed price, we meet and you deliver the coins / bars, or you send them to our P.O. Box or to a specified address via registered, insured mail. Then, once we receive them and get paid for them by the major distributor, we mail you a check in a week. (Small orders are usually paid within two business days.) Note: There are approximately 7,000 gold / silver / coin dealers / shops all over the United States that buy and sell coins and bars, so if you are in a hurry, and cannot contact WGE, you always have local dealers to sell your items for green currency or a business check.
Call (206) 719-6368 to place an order, for current prices, or if you have questions.
email: craig@washingtongoldexchange.com.
Mailing address: P.O. Box 368, Bellevue, WA 98009
My customer purchased this gold for portfolio insurance. Physical gold is money. If you take delivery, you do not have third-party risk.
Gold, Silver, Platinum Coins and Bars:
Why Do I Have To Pay More Than Spot Prices?
Weights, Measures & Balancing Scales
Why invest in gold coins?
The Charles Dupont Story
