THE BUYING AND SELLING PROCESS
What is the process for buying precious metals from Texas Precious Metals?
You may place an order online 24/7/365, or by phone at 361-594-3624, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST. There is no difference in price when ordering online or by phone. We do not employ salespeople at our company, and there are no commissions or sales pitches. Our staff exists to facilitate a low cost, friendly, and efficient purchase or sale. No one will ever pressure you or make a sales call. As of September 23rd, 2017, there are no minimums when placing an order.
When you purchase by credit card, your order is processed immediately. When purchasing by bank wire, personal check, bill pay check, or cash (in person only), we will require a 5% credit card hold. This is a hold, NOT A CHARGE. When we receive full payment for your purchase, we will release this hold on your credit card. (This process is similar to when a hotel takes a credit card hold at check-in for incidental expenses or room damages. The hotel will subsequently release the hold when you check out.) Our process is the same, only we release the hold upon receipt of payment. We also require a 5% credit card hold when selling to us.
Why the hold? We hedge all of our bullion. When you place an order or sell to us, we either hedge or unhedge a position in the market, exposing us to price movements in the precious metals markets. The credit card hold protects us against any market losses in the event of non-payment (purchase) or non-delivery of metals (sale).
Please note that once an order has been executed, it cannot be reversed. Should you cancel your order or fail to remit payment, you will be subject to a cancellation penalty of $350 as well as market losses.
How do I remit payment?
You will receive an invoice by email when you place your order. Payment instructions are located at the bottom of the invoice. You are locked in to a price the moment you place your order, and all orders are final, per our terms and conditions. For orders not placed by credit card, we request payment within one business day. (If paying by check, mailing within one business day via regular post is sufficient). We recognize that certain customers might need additional time for various reasons, such as rolling money from money market funds, etc. Please call or email us to request an extension. We are happy to accommodate extensions (within reason). We will never cancel an order without first contacting the customer. We do not accept international orders or payments from international countries.
We do not accept payment by bank check or cashier’s check. We treat electronic bill pay checks the same as personal checks. We limit cash transactions to $10,000 per calendar year. Upon receiving your payment, we will send you an email confirmation, which acts as your payment receipt. There is no sales tax on precious metals purchases.
The U.S. government does not require bullion dealers to report any transactions, unless:
A. You pay with more than $10,000 in cash (or cashier’s checks, which we do not accept). This would require a Form 8300 filing. We do not accept cash transactions greater than $10,000. NOTE: This rule does not apply to payments by bank wire.
B. You are a drug dealer, terrorist, or otherwise in violation of the USA Patriot Act or Texas Precious Metals AML policy.
There are no 1099-B reporting requirements on the PURCHASE of bullion. However, there are certain reporting requirements on the SALE of bullion by an individual to a dealer.
What is your shipping policy?
Every product we sell is in stock and available for immediate shipment. Unlike most dealers: “If we don’t have it, we don’t sell it.” You will not wait three months for an order like you do with other companies! We strictly observe our policy of shipping all orders within three business days of receipt of payment. (If for some rare and unexpected reason we miss this window, we will do everything in our power to correct and amend.) When your order ships, you will receive an email with a tracking number.
All packages ship for FREE domestically via UPS or FedEx, fully insured. Packages >= $1,000 ship via UPS Next Day Air® (or FedEx equivalent). Packages < $1,000 ship via Ground with UPS or FedEx. If a package is lost or stolen in transit, it is our responsibility to file a claim and issue you a new package. We will ship to homes, offices, banks, depositories, or UPS Customer Centers. We will not ship to mail forwarding companies, PO Boxes, APOs/FPOs, or U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico.
We use three vaults for inventory diversification. Our main vault is located in South Texas. We also store at vaults on the East Coast and West Coast. Depending on your location, inventory levels, product choices, or other factors, we will ship from any of our three vaults. Be advised that you might receive a tracking number before our carriers actually scan the package, so if your tracking number does not display tracking information the moment you receive the tracking number, please try again after 5 p.m. CST.
Please note that, for security reasons, we restrict clients from contacting UPS or FedEx to change delivery instructions. If you need to change your delivery address while the package is in route, please contact our logistics department.
All packing operations are videotaped. In the rare event that we make a mistake, we will review our video logs. We will happily correct any shipping mistakes. Upon completion of your order, you may receive a follow-up phone call to ensure delivery completion.
What if I want to pick up my purchase at your facility?
We welcome clients to pick up orders in person at our facilities in Shiner — “the Cleanest Little City in Texas.” We are open Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CST for client pickup. Please make an appointment. We request at least 24-hour advance notice of your arrival. We do not have a showroom, and for security reasons, our vault is not located at our administrative address. Therefore, your advance notice is greatly appreciated. If you are picking up in person, be advised that we are Texan, so the entire staff is armed.
What is a “limit order”?
A limit order is a standing order with a “commitment to buy” if the gold or silver price reaches a buyer’s desired value. For example, if gold is trading at $1,500, and a client wishes to buy gold at $1,490, we can create a limit order for our clients that is automatically executed and placed as an order if the price reaches $1,490.
1. Limit orders are good for client-specified lengths of time and cancel automatically at 4:45 p.m. EST on the day specified.
2. We input limit orders using third-party hedging software. We can make no guarantees on behalf of the trading platform, and we cannot guarantee that a trade will be executed even if your desired value is met. Once a limit order has been created, we are equally beholden to the trading platform as our clients.
3. A limit order can be changed at any time at no charge as long as the trade has not been executed.
4. A limit order is a firm order. If the limit order is executed, the order cannot be reversed.
5. We confirm all limit orders with a credit card.
NOTE: The commodities market is a 24-hour market trading Sunday night through Friday at 5 p.m. EST weekly. Many limit orders execute in the middle of the night.
What happens when I want to sell?
The process is simple. Call us Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CST to lock in your sell price (major credit card required). You will need to ship your bullion to us within 24 hours of “lock in.” Customers have the option of selecting their own shipping and insurance provider. However, we offer door-to-door pickup and delivery via UPS for your convenience. If you would like us to arrange shipping, we will e-mail you a shipping label for overnight shipment, and we will schedule a pickup for the following day.
We publish our buyback price on each product page. We also repurchase products we do not sell.
When it comes time to sell your products, the government does requires bullion dealers to file reports where applicable. The IRS report is the 1099-B form.
You might wonder why sales of these specific objects are reportable. These reporting requirements are related to the regulations that require brokers to report all proceeds from stack and commodity transactions. These specific objects are currently traded (or used to be traded) on commodity exchanges.
Form 1099-B reporting requirements do not apply to any other coins. They do not apply at all to American Gold Eagles, American Buffalo, Austrian, Australian (Perth Mint Coins), Chinese or any fractional bullion gold coins. Also, they only apply if you sell at least the minimum quantity that is equal to the quantity of a commodity contract for the object.