Metalsmart Review

4.55 Stars

Updated:

Retirement Living takes an unbiased approach to our reviews. We may earn money when you click a partner link. Learn More

Metalsmart is an online platform that connects consumers to reputable precious metals dealers. Its quote comparison feature promotes fairness and transparency by helping consumers make well-informed decisions about buying and investing in gold, silver, and other precious metals.

Editorial Breakdown

Customer Care

4.5 Stars

Price

4 Stars

Reliability

4.9 Stars

Ease of Purchase

4.7 Stars

Overall Rating

4.6 Stars

Bottom Line

Metalsmart’s online platform connects investors to reputable precious metals dealers without high markups, obscure pricing, or unethical sales tactics.

Metalsmart is an online platform that helps consumers find the best precious metals dealer to work with. Through its free quote comparison tool, Metalsmart allows precious metals dealers to compete for your business, which ensures that you get better deals on gold and silver. The company will also recommend an investment portfolio based on your desired investment amount, investment goals, and risk tolerance.

After 15 years in the business working for other precious metals dealers, Metalsmart founders realized the industry needed more transparency and ethical business practices. So, they built an online marketplace that allows dealers to compete for consumers’ business and allows consumers to compare “apples to apples” pricing. Metalsmart claims that its business model built around dealer competition helps consumers save 15% or more on gold and silver.

Pros:

  • Free to create an account and compare dealer proposals
  • Transparent pricing
  • No sharing of your contact information with dealers unless you request it
  • Strict dealer vetting process

Cons:

  • No online reviews (yet)

Gold and other precious metal IRAs are an investment and carry risk. Consumers should be alert to claims that customers can make a lot of money in these or any investment with little risk. As with any investment, you can lose money and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance results. Consumers should also obtain a clear understanding of the fees associated with any investment before agreeing to invest.


How Metalsmart Works

Just as you might compare loan offers from multiple lenders in an online lending marketplace, you can compare gold and silver prices on Metalsmart and choose the best option for you. Metalsmart works with multiple gold dealers, so you can easily compare prices and deals from several companies that meet your needs. All that you need to do is create a free Metalsmart account to view dealer pricing. The company promises not to share your information with dealers until you request contact. 

Metalsmart is unique in that it will also create a free recommended investment plan based on your goals. Just tell its tool how much money you want to invest, whether you want an IRA or cash account, and what your risk tolerance is. For example, they might recommend a strategy that only includes gold for those taking a conservative investment approach, or they might recommend a portfolio heavily allocated in silver for those comfortable taking a more aggressive approach.

To test the Metalsmart comparison tool, we created a personal plan using a $50,000 investment and a balanced risk tolerance for a precious metals IRA account. Metalsmart instantly populated a recommended portfolio allocation for us based on historical price data and statistics.

You can add or remove specific products based on Metalsmart suggestions and search for additional precious metals to further customize your plan. We appreciate that Metalsmart lists real-time pricing data based on the current market as you navigate its plan tool; however, actual prices at purchase may vary by dealer. 

When you’re ready to explore pricing, click “request pricing” to compare offerings from several dealers.

To further test the Metalsmart tool, we created a free account. Each time a dealer submitted a proposal, it was added to our dashboard so we could easily compare offers. It only took 15 minutes for several dealers to submit proposals that were automatically added to our Metalsmart dashboard for review. 

For offers we wanted to learn more about, we had the option to request that Metalsmart share our contact information with dealers.

Metalsmart logo
4.6 Stars

Metalsmart

  • Free online comparison tool
  • Product suggestions based on data, statistics, and algorithms

The Metalsmart Dealer Vetting Process

Because of Metalsmart’s commitment to honesty and transparency, the company is very selective about the dealers it partners with. All dealers are prescreened. Metalsmart currently works with four dealers, and it has a large pipeline of reputable dealers who are slated to join the platform soon. 

Metalsmart told us that they interviewed and declined to work with several dealers because they were not a good fit for Metalsmart customers. (Think: companies that implement higher markups on precious metals, use high-pressure sales tactics, and obscure prices on the website and during consultation calls.)

Metalsmart Costs

Customers can use Metalsmart for free. The company is paid by a dealer when a consumer selects that dealer to talk with, which means you can use Metalsmart to compare prices from multiple dealers at no cost to you. (You are responsible for fees incurred by the gold dealer you choose to work with, of course.) 

Metalsmart does all the research for you, so you can compare the prices of the exact same product across different dealers. However, prices for gold and silver fluctuate daily, and dealers will also add their own markups to each product.

Metalsmart’s estimated prices are just that: estimates. Be sure to compare quotes from each dealer with the understanding that the quoted price is based on the price at the time of your request; your final price may be higher or lower than your original quote. 

Metalsmart Complaints

Metalsmart customer reviews are hard to come by—and, according to the company founder,  this is intentional. At the time of publishing our review, Metalsmart does not have a Better Business Bureau page or a Trustpilot page we can evaluate to determine customer satisfaction. 

Typically, we analyze customer reviews during our review process to identify the best gold dealers; however, Metalsmart is purposefully rewriting the script. Here’s what Metalsmart founder, Steve Pelletier, told us about Metalsmart’s online reputation and why they don’t have a verified presence on popular online review sites:

“We are not a precious metals dealer so we don’t want to be compared to them. Plus, many of the ‘review’ sites are pay-for-play—so they are not a valid resource to get the truth. We plan to have dealer reviews on our site that are honest feedback from our customers. No pay-to-play. Just the facts.”

Our Experience With Metalsmart

We used Metalsmart to compare pricing from several precious metals dealers and found their online comparison tool easy and intuitive. The website also has a video tutorial showing customers how to use the deal dashboard.

Most importantly, we appreciate that Metalsmart will only share our contact information with companies we want to explore further. This is a welcomed benefit for investors who are still learning about investing in gold and shopping around for pricing. 

The Metalsmart process is transparent and helpful at every step. While high-pressure sales tactics are a common complaint among gold dealers, we found Metalsmart’s matchmaking process to be informative, educational, and low-pressure. Plus, the company offered us tailored product recommendations based on data, statistics, and algorithms. 

FAQs

Can you buy gold and silver from Metalsmart?

No, Metalsmart is not a precious metals dealer; they are a precious metals marketplace that connects you to reputable precious metals dealers. Through their comparison tool, you can find the best dealer to work with to buy gold and silver products. 

Does Metalsmart also work with investors who want to buy platinum and palladium?

Yes! The company told us that they don’t include these metals in their initial recommendations because over 80% of buyers focus on gold and silver. However, you can select both platinum and palladium to add to your plan using the portfolio recommendation tool. 

How much does Metalsmart cost?

Metalsmart is free for consumers to compare proposals from top-rated, reputable precious metals dealers.

Does Metalsmart offer investment advice? 

No, Metalsmart is strictly an online comparison tool connecting consumers to precious metals dealers. They are not investment professionals. However, Metalsmart uses data, statistics, and algorithms to create product suggestions that are a good fit for you based on your investment goals. Because they are not a dealer themselves, Metalsmart can suggest products honestly and without bias, which allows you to compare dealer offers impartially.

Conclusion

Metalsmart offers consumers a new way to find the best gold dealers to buy precious metals. Through its online comparison tool, buyers can compare prices of the same product offered by several gold dealers. Metalsmart aims to empower buyers and transform the way people invest in gold and silver.

While it is new to the industry, we feel Metalsmart’s business model is transparent, honest, and fair. To learn more about Metalsmart, try its comparison tool.

Metalsmart logo
4.6 Stars

Metalsmart

  • Free online comparison tool
  • Product suggestions based on data, statistics, and algorithms

No Customer Reviews Yet For Metalsmart

Write Review

Advertising Disclosure

We may earn money from our partners when you click a link, complete a form or call a phone number.

We believe everyone deserves to make thoughtful, informed purchase decisions. As a result, we provide our buyers guides and local guides free for consumers. We may receive compensation from our partners. However, Retirement Living independently researches companies, and the compensation we receive does not affect the analysis of our staff. Retirement Living will not include companies on our guides that do not meet our quality standards. The compensation we receive from our partners may impact how and where companies appear on our site, including the order in which they appear. As an Amazon Associate Retirement Living earns from qualifying purchases.

Retirement Living independently researches companies, and we use editorial discretion to award companies with special recognition (i.e. Great Value) based on our staff’s judgment. We do this to help you identify companies that will meet your specific buying needs, and we do not receive compensation for these designations.