America's Top Choice For Physical Precious MetalsOur reviews reflect the experience of our thousands of satisfied customers. Discover how you too can protect your savings.Request a Free Info KitBirch Gold Group helps Americans diversify their savings with physical gold and silver. Purchase precious metals for physical delivery, or rollover an IRA or 401(k) into a Precious Metals IRA.Our dedicated, in-house team will help you through every step of the process, so that you'll feel informed and educated about the decision that you make for your purchase. Following your purchase, our customer relations department is always available to answer your questions.Birch Gold Group is A+ Rated with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), AAA Rated with the Business Consumer Alliance, and has thousands of satisfied customers. Learn more about our company at the following links. Visit Birch Gold Group Request a Free Info Kit5-Star Customer ReviewsPrecious Metals IRAsWhy Precious Metals?
Birch Gold Group (birchgold.com) has 329 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.
Also known as
birchgold.com
Website
birchgold.com
Category
Investments & Wealth
Location
Des Moines, Iowa
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
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The company replied to 90% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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birch charged too much per coin to transfer money from fidelity sep ira to birch gold ira
Response from Birch Gold GroupMay 1, 2025
Hi Mr. Jones,
We’re sorry to be reading your feedback. We’ve called and emailed you several times but regrettably, we haven’t heard back. We take pride in our competitive pricing, so we’d love the opportunity to learn more about your concerns and address them. Please return our call at your earliest convenience.
CO
Coraliesbookcorner
What to you need to know before you buy
If you understand the market well and understand exactly what you need then the purchasing of gold or silver is a smooth process. However, for newbies who are looking to invest your 401K, be very careful.
My advice is to do your own research before engaging with Birch Gold and make sure you do not commit to any purchase until you know exactly what you are buying and for how much. There are many variations of the same coin that hold significantly different values. Therefore make sure to identify the exact coin you are purchasing.
I was mis-guided during my purchase and in hindsight I would never have invested into Silver with Birch Gold.
At the time of my purchase I was a newbie to purchasing coins and I was heavily reliant upon their guidance and advice. I was advised to purchase more silver than gold due to the potential increase in value of silver in the future. I later learned this was because they make significantly higher margins on silver than in gold.
In addition, I was told I would be buying the coins at the current market price. However, I later discovered that the actual market price was in fact not even close. I have spoken in detail about this with Birch Gold and through this discussion I later understood that I was given a 40% mark-up in price over what they paid for it. They claim this was due to market volatility. However, I could go out today and buy at the same price they paid for it. Don't get me wrong, I expect there to be some mark-up but 40% was not even close to the market price at the time.
After more discussion with Birch Gold and clarification on the coins I purchased, their internal paperwork mentioned a 25.5% mark-up over their purchase price, but this was evidently not the case and instead I was given a mark-up of 40% of their purchase price. Please note that 401K investors will never get to see the coins physically nor are you provided with a link to it's description.
I received a subsequent call from a Birch Gold representative who explained a very different way on how they calculate their mark-ups. This too was inaccurate and I thought this was very disingenuous of them to do so.
Their response has been that I had signed a contract and that nothing can be done to correct the oversight. They are aware that the paperwork says one thing and my final price was something different.
I have made the following suggestions to the organization and I hope this serves to help other folks who are looking to invest in precious metals.
1. Birch Gold needs to move away from 100% verbal communication with it's customers. Today everything is done over the phone and there is no visualization of exactly what you are buying and the prices they are offering.
2. To be a trusted advisor, they need to clearly explain their margins on the coins you are purchasing and why they are suggesting one coin over another. Again, this needs to be in writing.
3. They need to inform the buyer of the exact coin they are purchasing. Coins can vary wildly depending on where it was minted or if there is proof of authenticity or does it come in a presentation case. They all matter.
4. I would then advise the consumer to do your own market research on current market prices before committing to any purchases with Brich Gold.
5. They need to provide better communication to the customer on when they intend to call and "Make the Deal". If they wish to be transparent with their customers they need to start using email.
6. Customers need to double-check which organization will be managing the account. I requested a specific organization that suited my needs. However, this was later switched without my consent or being notified. I later discovered this was due to the high volume of business coming through and they were not able to set me up with the firm I requested.
I hope this helps other buyers to avoid the same pitfalls. I do not wish others to lose the value of their 401K like I have.
Response from Birch Gold GroupSep 24, 2024
Hello,
Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to speak with you back in July to address your concerns and ensure you had accurate information. As a friendly reminder, here are some points that we clarified during our conversation.
We want to reemphasize that your purchase did not incur a 40% markup. During our call, we went into depth about our cost to obtain the metal, your unit price, and the calculation of spread. We hope this was informative.
We agree, it’s essential for consumers to conduct their own research before making a purchase and to have full transparency regarding products and pricing. To ensure this, we communicated pricing clearly on at least two occasions prior to your commitment. First, in writing through our Shipping and Transaction Agreement that you signed, and then through our Voice Confirmation on a recorded line. We also have an in-depth precious metals educational segment in our process that covers the various metals available and their characteristic traits. Customers then choose what they want to purchase based on their goals and needs.
Customers with precious metals in their IRA have several options for viewing their metals. This can include a visit to the depository or request photographs of their items.
Education and transparency are fundamental to our process, and we look forward to continuing to be a resource for you. If you have any further questions or need assistance in the future, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
JA
Jimmy A.
I don't recommend BirchGold as a dealer…
I don't recommend BirchGold as a dealer so far. They marked up the buy price anywhere from 15% to 10% over spot and they don't offer significant discount over buying higher quantities i.e., 10oz bullion vs. 100oz. These dealers usually use a third party trust company which you allows you to switch dealers. The trust SDIRA companies use the melt value of the bullion in your account which may be lower than the buy price. So if you want to take a 10 to 15% haircut on your investment, then good luck. I might just switch dealers at this point. Never seen so high markups. Fidelity charged a % for buy and sale and their storage fees were higher, but 10 to 15% is way too high.
Response from Birch Gold GroupJul 22, 2024
Hi Jimmy,
We were grateful for the opportunity to speak with you in May to clear up any misunderstandings and resolve your concerns. A friendly reminder that your IRA custodian reports metal values solely based on spot price. However, because physical precious metals are always bought and sold at a value over spot price, this does not reflect true market value of your metals. If you ever have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You’re a valued customer and we want to ensure you’re getting the service you deserve.
DP
Diana P.
Birch Gold / Goldstar Trust - NO support After They Take Your Money
All Birch did was a broker the rollover and set me up with Goldstar Trust who has horrible reviews and service. I never got the legal docs sent to me as required by law to sign for. I got my first account statement 3 weeks after purchase and was down 35% on my investment. Despite rising gold prices, my account is hemorrhaging money. Good luck getting a human on the phone. Worst mistake ever.
Response from Birch Gold GroupMar 15, 2024
Hi Diana,
We have thoroughly reviewed our records in an effort to address your concerns, however, we did not locate you in our systems. Trust Pilot has also reached out to you on our behalf to request information that would help us identify you as a customer, but unfortunately, no information was provided.
We’re dedicated to ensuring 5-star experiences for our customers and kindly ask for your cooperation in providing information that would help us verify your identity as a customer. We look forward to hearing from you.
DH
Donna H.
Cant log into account
I was very proud of my decision to go to gold and silver and now I cant even find my account to check on it
Response from Birch Gold GroupFeb 16, 2024
Hi Donna,
We’re glad to hear that you’re proud of your decision to invest in precious metals. We apologize for any frustration you experienced in locating your account. We understand that the issue was with finding the URL to log into your online account with your IRA custodian. We were happy to provide you with that information again as soon as we were made aware of the issue. If you have any further needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly.
LW
Lori W.
Horrible First Time Buyer Experience
BG charged:
Over 18.6% fee charged over cost for Gold bullion
Over 69% fee charged over cost for Silver fixed mintage
Minimum deposit $10,000
KE charged:
Only 8% fee over cost for both Gold and Silver bullion
Minimum deposit $500
I was a first time buyer and called Birch Gold after hearing Steve Bannon talk about them in March 2022. The sales guy was impatient and dismissive of my questions and I felt rushed. I had to wire money to them before talking specifics of my purchase. I wanted bullion at the time but did not realize the difference between it and fixed mintage. I was persuaded to buy fixed mintage which is twice as expensive. I later found another company for my 2nd purchase at the beginning of 2023 but gave Birch Gold a chance again. Had the same sales guy and was told to send the money again before talking about what I wanted. I decided to call another company and I’m delighted with them. KE is more personable, friendly and they tell you all costs up front before sending money. They also made me feel that my questions and understanding mattered and I didn’t feel like just another commissioned sale for them. It pays to shop around!
UPDATE: Apparently BG says I was charged... "Your overall margin was about 14%" which was still almost twice as much as what KE charged me. Don't get suckered into the "rare" fixed mintage coins.
At the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024 I was offered to exchange the fixed mintage for bullion (double checked with KE if it was a fair trade off) with shipping paid both ways. In the end I am happy that I was able to fix this part of my transaction with BG but the overall sale still leaves me sour to ever doing business with them again. Gave a second star for the BG lady manager that tried to make it right with me.
Response from Birch Gold GroupSep 11, 2023
Hi Lori,
We’re sorry to hear you had anything less than a five-star experience with us. I hope our email communications have addressed your concerns and cleared your misunderstanding about our prices, as you were not charged 18.6% and 69% over our cost. We appreciate your feedback about customer service as it allows us review and identify areas where we can improve. We’re committed to making sure all your questions are answered and concerns are resolved so we encourage you to reach back out to us.
Hi Lori,
We’ve received your updated review. There can be a variety of reasons as to why some precious metals cost more than others. As mentioned in our previous communications, if your goals and needs have changed and you wish to have bullion products, we’re happy to assist you. Please return our call at your convenience. We look forward to hearing from you.