The Worst 5 Ways to Buy or Store Gold and Silver

I am often asked, what is the best way to store/invest in gold and silver? I have studied this question for years and have decided that it is best to answer this question in two parts. In the first part, which is this article, I am going to briefly cover the worst five ways to buy and store gold and silver. In a later article, I will cover the best ways I have found to buy and store gold and silver. So lets cover what I consider to be the worst ways to invest in gold and silver below.

The worst ways to store/invest in gold and silver and should be absolutely avoided:

1. Avoid the SLV and GLD ETFs

I believe the SLV and GLD ETF funds are counterproductive for gold and silver investors. The GLD, SLV ETFs are considered fraudulent by many prominent gold and silver investors due to their gold and silver is: 1) very likely not fully backed by physical metal. 2) probably unallocated. 3) believed to be encumbered. 4) very likely to be used to aid in ongoing gold and silver price suppression schemes on the Comex. For more information on this, see recent article by JS Kim at theundergroundinvestor.com .

2. Avoid All Unallocated Bullion Accounts

Avoid all unallocated bullion accounts with any bank or investment firm. Some respected banks and other firms have already been caught and sued for scamming customers with unallocated silver and gold accounts. Basically they charged their customers for buying and storing precious metals when their vaults had no metal at all. Dont fall for this.

3. Avoid Fraudulent Firms and Online Schemes

You cant look too far without coming across another great  scheme involving online gold or some other type of digital currency scheme. Bitcoin and e-Bullion.com are two that come to mind. There is no shortage of places to waste your money online so be careful. Do what I call the time, management, and reputation test.

To pass the time test, a company must be in business for a certain amount of time before I will take them seriously, the older the better. Since the time test is not fool proof, you also want to do a management test. Who manages/owns the company? Do they have the necessary qualifications and credentials? Do you believe them to be honest and worthy of your trust? Since the management test is also not fool proof, also do a reputation test to see what others think of the company and management. There is no shortage of reviews and complaints on the internet. Try the BBB to see what complaints have been filed against the company, also check wikipedia.org as it often reports some critical feedback.

4. Avoid Bank Safe Deposit Boxes

I would avoid all safe deposit boxes at banks, or doing anything relating to gold and silver with banks. With all the financial banking scandals happening why in the world would you trust the bank to hold one of your most valued assets? You dont want your gold and silver anywhere near a bank if you value your holdings. Most banks are not even solvent and some banks like JP Morgan are even being sued for their fraudulent actions in the silver futures markets. Also there have been reports of some people having their gold stored in safety deposit boxes being confiscated! There are better alternatives.

5. Avoid Trading Futures Contracts and Leveraged Trading

In my follow-up article, I will directly answer the question on the best ways to own, invest, hold precious metals. I will cover how to protect yourself against any single point of failure. I welcome your comments on any additional ways that should be avoided  when buying or storing gold and silver.