Of Gold & Silver

You can buy gold online, often for better prices than you can find locally (if you can even find gold bullion locally right now), but you need to be sure to buy from a reputable dealer.

You do need to decide whether you want your gold sent to your home so you can have physical possession of it or whether you want to buy your gold and have it stored inside or outside of the country (both are possible, but there are fees involved).

Some reputable online sites where you can buy gold are:

• Kitco
• American Gold Exchange
• Blanchard
• USA Gold

Don’t buy from eBay (people bid up to amounts ridiculously over spot) and be leery of folks on Craigslist or whatever who want to meet you and trade their gold for your cash.  For all you know, you’ll get robbed.

In most cases, you’ll need actual cash (check, bank wire, etc.) to buy gold.  I’ve yet to see a dealer that accepted credit cards.

If you’re just going for straight investment purposes to save your money from inflation, you’ll get a better deal buying larger bars than coins.  Do get bullion that is stamped from a well-known mint, though, as that makes it easier to sell or trade later.