Frequently Asked Questions

Which product you should buy is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong answer for this question. All of our bullion and coin products are from well respected Government mints or reputable institutions. In general, we recommend investors to buy the most liquid items (meaning the most commonly bought/sold) that also have low premiums (how much you pay above the spot price to buy it) and tight spreads (the spread is the difference between the buy and sell price).

When we ship outside of California, there are no taxes that we collect. Within California, bulk sales of silver and gold in excess of $1500 are not taxed. Monetized Platinum and Palladium bullion sales in excess of $1500 are not taxed. All Non-monetized platinum and palladium bullion is taxable in the state of California, i.e. Platinum and Palladium bars.

Yes, there are shipping charges associated with sending you your bullion. The price will depend upon the total value in the package as it affects our insurance coverage along with the weight of the package. 95% of our packages ship for between $15-$40. Expedited shipping is also available for an additional fee. Our shipping charges are simply there to capture our costs of packing, shipping, and insuring your bullion.

We ship your products usually within 1-2 business days of having cleared money from you if the items are in stock. Wire transfers received after 12 noon PST will be deemed to have been received the next business day. Your product would then typically take 1-7 days to get to you.

When you purchase bullion or coins from FS Metals and you have received a confirmation from us that the order is live, the price is locked in for you and the transaction may not be cancelled, but only offset at our current ask price. We will either record your telephone order, require you to send an email with a confirmation of your order, or have you confirm the order online if that feature is available. Any deficit between the price at which we sold to you and the offsetting purchase price and/or prices, is your responsibility only if your item(s) is cancelled or returned. That amount will be charged to you, plus a $95.00 cancellation fee.
When you sell bullion or coins to FS Metals and we have issued a confirmation number, the price is locked in for you and the transaction may not be cancelled, but only offset at our current buy price. Any deficit between the price at which we purchased from you and the offsetting purchase price and/or prices, is your responsibility only if your item(s) is cancelled or returned. That amount will be charged to you, plus a $95.00 cancellation fee. This is our Market Loss Policy. Any market gain on cancellations shall remain the property of FS Metals.

We send your coins and bullion using the carrier of our choice. In all cases, it will be sent insured and with signature required. Should anything happen while your package is in transit to you it will be covered by our insurance policy. However, we will not accept responsibility, nor will the shipment be covered by insurance if you have left instructions with any carriers or delivery service to leave parcels un-attended for you without the need for a signature. In addition, if you have given the carrier instructions to leave your package with someone else such as a building manager, neighbor, or use a third party mailing address or drop-off location such as Mail Boxes etc., The UPS Store, etc., YOUR PACKAGE WILL NOT BE COVERED. When we ship to you, if metals are lost or damaged in transit, it is our responsibility to pursue any claim with the insurance company. If we determine the package is lost or damaged, we file a claim. Once the claim is filed, we reserve the right to re-ship your items or refund your money at our discretion. You will need to sign for the package when it arrives. For large quantities, we will discuss other methods, such as armored vehicle delivery.

For items we have in stock, we lock in your price when you place the order, but the locked in price must be guaranteed by credit card. Payment must be received within 1 business day of lock in or the order will be cancelled. If a decline in the market price occurs and we do not receive your payment on time, you will be liable for any market loss we incur for locking in and accepting your order. See separate FAQ on our Market Loss Policy. You will be charged the difference between your confirmed price and the market buy price when your order is officially cancelled. Any market gain on cancellations shall remain the property of FS Metals. Orders can not be cancelled by the customer once placed and accepted. FS Metals reserves the right to cancel orders at any time but will normally only cancel orders if payment is not received. For items we do not have in stock, a price estimate is made and the price is not locked in until payment is received. As such, there may be a small discrepancy between the estimated price (which equals the received amount) and the locked in price. Should the locked in price be higher than the estimated price, we will require cleared funds before delivering the metal to the customer. In the case where the estimated/received amount is greater than the locked in amount, then a check will be mailed to the customer for the difference along with the metal.

We accept cashiers checks, wire transfers, personal checks, and cash. We do not accept cash in excess of $10,000. Cashier checks and personal checks can be dropped off at our storefront, mailed to us, or direct deposited into our customer dedicated incoming payment bank account. Click here for our mailing address. We highly recommend wire transfers for orders greater than $10,000 as there will no holding period. Orders using cashiers checks or personal checks will be held by us until the check clears the banking system, which ranges from 3-17 days. For wiring instructions, please call us on 1-877-471-7528 or 1-415-383-7411. We highly recommend wire transfers.