Frequently Asked Questions

ACCOUNTS

How do I open an account with ABC Bullion?

Online
Simply complete the appropriate online application. It takes only a couple of minutes to complete. You may need to enter details found on your:

  • Driver's Licence OR

  • Passport

ABC Bullion verifies your identity via an external company, Trulioo. ABC Bullion is advised within seconds of the result of your verification and will instantly notify you that your account is open; or if required, request further identification documents.

In Store
We can open an account for you at our offices. Please ensure that you bring at least two of the following forms of identification with you:

  • Driver's Licence

  • Passport

  • Medicare Card

If you have any concerns about how we manage your personal information, please check our Privacy Policy.

How to make your first purchase
You can make your first purchase by logging into your account via the ABC Bullion website, with your Client Code, email, and password.  Once logged in, choose a product, and enter the desired quantity.  Your selected products will be added into your shopping cart. 

When you have completed the shopping cart check-out process, your order and price is locked in and you have entered a legally binding contract with ABC Bullion.

Note: We are unable to amend or cancel orders after they have been placed, as per our Terms and Conditions.

I have forgotten my client code, how can I find it?

ABC Bullion takes its privacy obligations seriously.  To ensure compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles and to maintain a high level of security for your investment, please email us or phone us on 1300 361 261 and after verifying your ID, we can provide these details to you.

I created an account with ABC Bullion but did not receive a client code?

This sometimes happen when our website identifies that you have been inactive for a while. Please email us a copy of your ID and after verifying, we can provide these details to you.

How do I update my personal details?

We will ask you personal details over the telephone to ensure security of your account and investment.

I am not based in Australia; can I still trade with ABC Bullion?

ABC Bullion is currently only able to service clients located in Australia and New Zealand.

How do I subscribe to your newsletter?

You can subscribe by filling in your details here.*

*To unsubscribe from receiving our newsletter, you can either follow the link in any email newsletter, or alternatively, send us an email and we can ensure you are unsubscribed.


BUY & SELL

Can I purchase metal from your offices?

Yes! You don't need an appointment or an account prior to visiting our offices. If you make a purchase in excess of AUD $4,999 you will need to open an account online.

Do I need any forms of identification to make a purchase?

If you attend our office and purchase metal up to $5,000, personal identification is not required. There is a limit of $4,999 per person per 24 hours.

If your purchase is $5,000 or more we require you to have an account, and therefore, require personal identification.

Know Your Customer (KYC) is about meeting domestic and international anti-money laundering requirements by using government issued photographic documents (driver’s licence/passport) for all client accounts we open.

Can I lock in a price for metal?

Buying: 

As an account holder you can lock in a price online 24/7, 365 days a year online, or during our business hours by calling our office.

Selling: 

As an account holder you can lock in a price online 24/7, 365 days a year online for metal in ABC Bullion storage. For metal in your possession you can bring the metal to one of our offices during business hours to conduct your trade. 

Once you have locked in the price and confirmed your purchase or sale you are then bound by the Terms and Conditions.

How do I sell my metal to ABC Bullion?

More info on selling your metal to ABC Bullion available here.

How much should I allocate to precious metals?

ABC Bullion can’t advise you how much you should invest in gold or silver as we do not know your specific financial situation and objectives.

Due to their low correlation to most mainstream assets, many of our clients use gold and silver to diversify their investments. Others use them as a store of wealth or for protection against inflation.

Research by the World Gold Council in various countries shows that adding between 2% and 10% in gold to a portfolio over the past decade would have resulted in higher risk-adjusted returns.

We recommend that you obtain professional financial advice about the percentage allocation that is appropriate to your personal circumstances before making any decision.

You can use the World Gold Council research, as well as year by year historical returns for gold, silver and platinum in Australian dollars, available from our Market Statistics page as a starting point for discussions with your financial advisor.

Should I buy gold or silver, or both?

Gold and silver tend to move together but as they have different supply and demand drivers. One can outperform the other at times - as demonstrated on our Market Statistics page – which shows the year by year historical returns for gold and silver.

It is difficult for us to recommend which metal to buy as we do not know your specific financial situation and objectives, but we have found that ABC Bullion clients tend to favour one metal or the other:

  • 63% of our clients only invest in gold

  • 19% of our clients only invest in silver

  • 13% invest in both and of those, the average allocation is 80% to gold and 20% to silver

How should I store my bullion?

The majority of our clients prefer to store their metal with us as they do not want to worry about their gold or silver being stolen. Other clients prefer to have bars and coins under their control and immediately accessible.

For those choosing to store with us, the majority go with pool allocated as it has no storage fees and has a cost effective price but you can also store bars and coins with us for a small fee.

If you are after a physical product, generally cast bars are cheaper than minted tablets, which are cheaper than coins. All the products we sell are equally tradable and it comes down to personal preference for aesthetics, potential for collectability and price.

Regarding sizes, generally the larger the weight of the product the cheaper it is on a per ounce basis.

However, if you are likely to want to sell part of your investment over time instead of in one lump sum then breaking up your purchase into smaller sizes gives you flexibility when it comes to liquidating your investment.


COLLECTION, DELIVERY & STORAGE OPTIONS

How do I know when my order will be ready for collection?

Collection of order(s) can only be facilitated once payment has cleared into our account. You will also be emailed a remittance advice confirming this. Your remittance advice will contain information of when your product will become available for collection. When collecting at our state offices (VIC, QLD, WA), please call prior to arrival to confirm stock availability.

Can I send someone to collect an order on my behalf?

Yes, if that person is an operating authority on your account OR if they have been added to your account as a collection authority. Your nominated collection agent must bring their ID for verification purposes at the time of collection. These forms are downloadable from within your account.

How long will you hold my metals after payment?

ABC Bullion will hold your metal for 14 business days from the date that your payment clears. We ask that you arrange to collect your metal at your earliest convenience.

Storing your metal adds additional costs but we can also arrange for delivery (at a fee) or assist you with moving it into a safety deposit box. You may like to look at our sister company Custodian Vaults when considering your storage options and charges.

How is my purchase shipped?
Your purchase is delivered to you by courier.  For all deliveries a signature is required, to ensure the secure delivery of your precious metal purchase.
Where the value of the purchase is $5,000 and over, delivery is made via a premium hand-to-hand carrier service to your nominated physical shipping address.  You will receive a SMS message from ABC Bullion to nominate your delivery day and only the addressee / ABC Bullion account holder is able to accept delivery. If the nominated addressee is not available to accept delivery, an alternative day will need to be arranged by the carrier.  Please note, this may result in additional charges.

For purchases under $4,999 the courier will require a signature from the person accepting the delivery, it will not be left unattended at your shipping address, if no one is available to accept delivery your purchase will be taken to the nearest post office or depot for you to collect in your own time.  Note, you are required to collect your purchase from the post office or depot within 3 business days, failure to complete the collection within this timeframe may result in your items no longer being insured (where you have paid for insurance as part of your purchase).
For all deliveries you will receive a tracking number and tracking link once your order is on its way to you.

Only purchases under $4,999 can be delivered to a PO Box address.  Purchases over this value need to be delivered to a physical address.

How much is shipping/delivery charge?

In Australia, cost of shipping is calculated as follows nationwide.

Purchase Value Under $4,999
Under $4,999Minimum fee of $50 (including GST) for the first kilogram and $15.00 per kilogram (including GST) thereafter.

E.g for an order of 4 kilograms of metal valued at $4,200. The shipping cost will be $95. This is made up of the $50 minimum fee which includes 1 kilogram and $45 ($15.00 x 3 kilograms) for the remaining 3 kilograms.


Purchase Value Over $5,000
Minimum fee of $100 (including GST) for the first kilogram and $15.00 per kilogram (including GST) thereafter.

E.g for an order of 10 kilograms of metal valued at $10,600. The shipping cost will be $. This is made up of the $100 minimum fee which includes 1 kilogram and $135 ($15.00 x 9 kilograms) for the remaining 9 kilograms.

ABC Bullion utilises top tier secure couriers for the delivery of your precious metals.

Insurance
For your peace of mind, all parcels we deliver include full insurance cover, to protect your investment, however far it needs to travel.
This is calculated at 1% of the purchase price of your product.

Do you ship internationally?

Please contact us for a personalised quote on availability of this service.

How do I track my ABC Bullion order?

All parcels are sent via a third-party supplier. You will be emailed a tracking number so you can track your order through the supplier’s website.

How long will my order take to arrive?

ABC Bullion dispatches orders within a after your payment clears. You will be sent a tracking number via email once your order has been dispatched. Current time-frame for dispatch is 5 to 10 business days following payment.

Can my parcel be left on my doorstep if I am not at home?

Parcels are delivered straight to your door by secure courier, and a recipient’s signature is required. If no one is available to sign for the parcel, the courier will leave a note and the package will be taken to the nearest post office or depot.

How do I change my delivery address after I have placed my order?

Provided that the products have not been dispatched, please contact us to arrange an alternate delivery address.

What happens if my parcel goes missing?

If your package has been 'stuck in transit' for longer than expected please let us know so we can lodge a 'missing package investigation' with our third-party courier. Every missing package will be assigned a unique case number by our third-party courier and can take up to 8 weeks to locate.

If the package was delayed due to an incorrect or incomplete address, the item should be returned to us. To have this package resent to the correct address, there will be additional postage fee.

Can you combine my orders and refund my shipping?

Unfortunately, due to the nature of being an e-commerce store with 24 hour purchasing ability, our orders are immediately processed through to the warehouse system. We want to get your metals to you as fast as possible, so our warehouse processing times are very strict! Once an order has been processed through our system, we are unable to make any changes or provide shipping refunds.

What are my storage options?

We have four different storage options available to you.

How often do you send out storage statements and independent assurance reports?

Storage statements and storage invoices are automatically sent out to clients at the end of each quarter (every three months).

Independent assurance reports of our physical metal holdings are conducted every six months and the reports are uploaded to our website. ABC Bullion has appointed William Buck Chartered Accountants, to independently conduct assurance reports of ABC Pool Allocated Products, ABC Secure Products and ABC Premium Products.

 How do I pay for my storage fees?

Clients can pay their storage fees by BPAY, PayID or Credit Card, with each storage invoice containing the details of how to pay by one of these options.

What happens if I don’t pay my storage fees on time?

ABC Bullion charge late payment as per our Terms and Conditions. If storage fees are overdue for more than 90 days, ABC Bullion reserve the right to convert your metal holdings to an equivalent weight in pool allocated bullion. Pool allocated bullion incurs no storage fees.

Can I store metal with ABC Bullion if I do not have an account?

Whilst you aren't able to store your metal with ABC Bullion without an account, we do have a storage solution for you. Our sister company Custodian Vaults offers a secure, discreet and affordable storage solution.


ORDERS & PAYMENTS

How do I place an order with ABC Bullion?

You can simply login to your account with your client code, email and password - once you have an account. Once logged in, choose a product, enter the quantity desired and click Buy Now or Pre Order. Your products will be added into your shopping cart located on the top right corner.

Please note that your order/price is not locked in until the checkout process is complete.

How does "Pre-Order" work?

Pre-ordering means the particular product is not currently available for immediate collection/delivery. Pre-ordering your bullion products with ABC Bullion allows you to lock in a trade at the current market price and secure your place in the allocation queue. Each product may have slightly varied availability date - you can check this by clicking on the individual product.

Why doesn't my online portfolio show my purchases?

Your metal holdings or portfolio summary includes only those transactions that resulted in metal either being added or withdrawn from your metal stored with ABC Bullion. It does not show purchases for collection and/or delivery as we do not know if you have sold them privately or elsewhere, in which case your portfolio summary would be incorrect.

What are the methods of payment available?

General:

Preferred payment guide

  • ABC Bullion’s preferred payment channels are PayID and BPAY. Our preferred payment guide provides detailed instructions on the security and reliability of these two payment channels, and how clients can use these two payment channels.

Online Payment (An invoice will be emailed to you after you have confirmed an order online or over the phone):

  • BPAY: When transferring funds by BPAY , you must transfer to us from a bank account in the name specified in an invoice.  Funds must clear in our bank account before metal can be collected/delivered (this can take up to two business days).  Please note that ABC does not accept as payment of an invoice, cash deposited at a bank branch in favour of ABC Bullion.

  • PayID: When transferring funds by PayID , you must transfer to us from a bank account in the name specified in an invoice. Funds must clear in our bank account before metal can be collected/delivered (this can take up to two business days).  Please note that ABC does not accept as payment of an invoice, cash deposited at a bank branch in favour of ABC Bullion.

  • Credit Card (VISA or MasterCard):  When transferring funds by credit card, the name on that credit card must be the same as that specified in an invoice.  Payments are processed via BPoint (a credit card surcharge of 1.9% is charged). Conditions below:

    • Australian issued cards that are 3D Secured.

    • Payment from Australian IP addresses only.

    • No payments from behind a VPN. 

In Store Payment:

  • Cash:  Australian Dollars only up to A$5,000 daily per client per day.

  • EFTPOS:  Note that cards often have a $1,000 daily limit, please check limits before payment.

  • Credit Card:  Visa, MasterCard, or American Express in the name specified on the invoice.  There is a 1.9% surcharge on all credit card payments.  For security reasons, please also provide photographic ID.
    Gift card:  Not accepted.

  • Cheque:  Pay field, Australian Bullion Company (NSW) Pty Ltd.  No endorsed third-party cheques.  Please note that cheques can take up to 4 business days to clear (including bank issued cheques) and that funds must be cleared before metal is available for collection/delivery.

Cash Deposits not accepted:

  • Please note that ABC does not accept as payment of an invoice, cash deposited at a bank branch in favour of ABC.  Any funds so received by ABC do not constitute payment in respect of a relevant invoice.  Accordingly, the relevant invoice will be deemed to have been cancelled and any funds received by us will be returned to the bank from which they came.  It is the responsibility of the depositor to liaise with the relevant bank to arrange repayment of funds so deposited.  You may be liable for any costs incurred by us in relation to such invoice cancellation. 

How do I know if my order was successful?

If you have submitted an order and are unsure if it was successful, please check your email for ABC Bullion’s invoice. This email will be titled .ABC Invoice - XXX. If you are still unable to find this email, please check your junk or spam folder. If you are still unsure, please feel free to contact us.

I need to change/cancel my order, how do I do this?

We are unable to amend or cancel orders after they have been placed as a legal and binding contract is formed. We strongly recommend you read and understand our Terms and Conditions.


OUR PRODUCTS

What is the difference between ABC Bullion and other brands?

ABC Bullion is our own brand of precious metals, refined in Australia and stamped with our ABC Bullion logo. ABC Refinery, the exclusive manufacturer of ABC Bullion branded products, is the only independent London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited and Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) accredited gold refinery in Australia.

ABC Refinery has also been awarded the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation. These are all world recognised accreditations, attesting to the quality of all ABC Bullion product.
Accreditation by LBMA and/or SGE gives you assurance that the product you are buying is investment grade and made to the highest standard and is of its stated purity. It also makes the product tradable domestically and internationally without additional cost for assaying.

ABC Bullion also sells products from other internationally accredited manufacturers like PAMP or Royal Canadian Mint.

You may find other bullion dealers selling as .locally produced. or stamped with their own name, often at cheaper prices. In most cases these are made by non-accredited manufacturers and are likely to only be bought back by the dealer who sold them to you. Other dealers are likely to buy them back at a discount as they would require assaying and refining.

Do your products come with a certificate?

ABC Bullion
ABC Bullion offers individual certificates of authentication with all 1kg ABC Bullion gold and 1kg silver cast bars, which are also serialised. These certificates, which specify the individual bar numbers, weight, origin and metal fineness, give you even greater certainty regards the purity of investment grade precious metal bars.

ABC Bullion Gold Minted Tablet Range is sealed in protective ABCeal™ tamper-proof packaging, guaranteeing origin, assayed fine previous metal content, weight and quality.

PAMP
PAMP bars are individually numbered and come with assay certificates. Certificates can be separate to the product or as part of the packaging. Most smaller PAMP minted bars are supplied in tamper proof packs known as CertiCards.

What is the 'barring premium' for ABC Pool Allocated Product?

Barring premiums cover the costs of fabricating our ABC Pool Allocated Products into a specific bar, coin or tablet at the election of a client.

The barring premium is only charged if you want to convert ABC Pool Allocated Product into physical metal for you to take out of storage. If you elect to sell back to ABC, no barring premium will be charged.


OUR PRICES

Why are the selling and buy back prices different?

The difference between the sale and buy back price is called a 'spread'.

These prices are different to allow for different trading and handling costs associated with selling and buying precious metals. Like any trader, ABC Bullion makes a small margin on sales of bullion, and a small margin on any bullion bought back.

What is the spot price?

Our pricing is based on current selling (ask) spot prices in international markets sourced from independent pricing sources, primarily FastMarkets, a globally recognised provider of precious metal pricing information.

The spot price is a wholesale price for multi-million dollar sized orders of bullion and doesn't take into account the cost of making the metal into coins or bars, transporting it, storing it or retailing to the investor.

Precious metals are priced in troy ounces which differs slightly from normal ounces. A troy ounce is an imperial measure and there are 31.1035 grams in a troy ounce, and 32.15 troy ounces in 1 kilogram.

Are online prices applicable for all clients?

Prices advertised online are for registered clients of ABC Bullion. ABC Bullion offer volume-based pricing for most products. ABC Bullion update both its sale and buyback prices for registered clients every 5 minutes, with these prices visible via our full product price list. For non-registered clients paying by card or cash in store, prices for some products may be higher than those advertised online. To register, please create an account here. There is no charge. Once registered, you are welcome to trade online 24-7, over the phone from 8.30am-6pm AEDT Mon-Fri and 10am-3pm AEDT Saturday, or in-store at one of our four trading locations nationwide.

How often do you update your prices?

Our prices are live and updated on a continuous 5 minute cycle on our website we have a countdown timer until the next cycle. Live prices are available on all products.

Why is the price spread more on silver than gold?

There are three key factors that affect all dealers in precious metals:

  1. Logistics
    It costs significantly more to transport and vault silver than it does gold. With silver being approximately 50% less dense than gold and less than 1/50th of the price, silver takes up over 100 times more space than gold for the same dollar value. A million dollars of gold fits in a briefcase. A million dollars of silver fits on a pallet.

  2. Refining costs
    Most silver is from mines that are predominantly copper or lead/zinc mines. Silver in its raw state forms compounds with these other metals and it takes a significant amount of energy and chemicals to separate the relatively small amount of silver. With silver being over 50 times less valuable than gold the percentage cost of refining silver is higher than gold, which tends not to form strong bonds with other metals.

  3. Market forces
    The gold market is significantly larger and more competitive than silver and one has to meet the market. The market for silver is less competitive, and this does factor into the price spread to a small degree. Because of our scale, ABC Bullion offers highly competitive pricing.

Help me understand the value of my portfolio

Your portfolio value is based on wholesale buyback (bid) spot prices at close of business Sydney time each day.

Note that the value is an approximate value only – the actual value if you go to sell your metal will be different depending on the current buyback prices for the specific products you have.

Do you pay GST on precious metals?

When purchasing investment grade gold and silver bullion, there is no GST, but the definitions of ‘investment grade’ for precious metals are very specific. Here are the standards:

  • Gold must be 99.5% pure or greater

  • Silver must be 99.9% pure

  • ​Platinum must be 99% pure

According to the ATO, ‘No regulations have been made to specify any other substance. To be precious metals for GST purposes, the metal must therefore be gold, silver or platinum’. By this definition, you may be required to pay GST on palladium products.

To be considered investment grade bullion, the precious metal product must be tradable on the international bullion market as a bar, coin, tablet or wafer.

The product must be stamped with a manufacturer’s mark to guarantee its purity and quality.

ABC Bullion is the Australian market leader in producing physical precious metal products that are exempt from GST. This includes our physical cast bar range, which is marked with our ABC Bullion logo, and produced at our very own LBMA accredited ABC Refinery.

Is there tax on selling gold in Australia?

You may be required to pay capital gains tax if your investment grade bullion has a greater value at the time of sale compared to the value at the time of purchase. However, sales of investment grade bullion do not attract GST.

Is there GST on numismatic and collectible coins?

To be exempted from GST, precious metals items ‘must have the character of the metal rather than the character of a thing made from the metal’, according to the ATO. Most bullion coins and tablets traded by ABC Bullion are exempt from GST because they are investment grade bullion. Numismatic coins generally attract GST.

Is there GST on gold jewellery?

Yes, jewellery usually attracts GST.

For further information, please refer to the original precious metals ruling from the ATO.


OUR OFFICES

You can find our office locations on our 'Contact Us' page.