How We Research and Review

Who publishes this site

This site is published by Augusta Precious Metals Reviews — Independent Affiliate Research. We are not owned or operated by Augusta Precious Metals, and we don't publish under an individual byline. The editorial voice is the publisher's, and the publisher is accountable for what appears here.

Where our information comes from

We try to be explicit about where every fact on this site comes from. For company details such as fees, history, services, and policies, we begin with Augusta's current official website and company materials.

For reputation, ratings, and recognition, we check the original third-party source — such as the Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance, Trustpilot, Money, or Investopedia — rather than repeating another site's summary. Comparison pages use each competitor's own website, disclosures, and third-party records for that competitor's information.

We supplement those primary sources with our own analysis. GoldRetirePro, a related site we also operate, may provide background reading but is not treated as a primary factual source. Reddit discussions, including r/AugustaGoldIRAReview, can surface useful questions and experiences, but they are discussion rather than verified fact.

When reliable sources disagree or a detail cannot be confirmed, we say so rather than presenting an uncertain claim as settled.

We don't invent scores

You will not find a made-up "9.2/10" or "Our Rating: A+" on this site. A single blended number hides more than it reveals, and there's no honest way for an independent affiliate to calculate one.

Instead, where we cite a rating — a BBB grade, a Trustpilot score, a BCA rating — we show it as that platform's own number, with a link to the live page and the date we last checked it. We don't average these together or convert them into a house score. If a platform's rating changes, our citation will look outdated until we update it; that's why every rating we cite carries an "as of" date instead of an implied promise that it's current forever.

How we build comparisons

When we compare Augusta to another company — Goldco, American Hartford Gold, Birch Gold Group, and others — we research each competitor from that competitor's own primary sources: their official site, their own disclosures, and their own third-party ratings. We don't rely on Augusta's marketing claims about competitors, and we don't rely on competitors' marketing claims about Augusta. Each side of a comparison is checked against its own record.

How and when we update pages

Every page on this site shows a "last reviewed" date. That date only changes when we've actually gone back through the page, checked the facts against current sources, and made any needed corrections. We don't bump the date automatically on a schedule or as part of routine site maintenance — an unchanged date means the content hasn't been re-checked, not that it's been silently confirmed.

We are not financial, tax, or legal advisors

Nothing on this site is financial, tax, or legal advice, and nothing here should be read as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular asset. We are not licensed to give that kind of advice, and neither is Augusta. If you're deciding whether a gold IRA — or any other retirement move — is right for you, talk to a qualified financial, tax, or legal advisor who knows your full situation.

Our affiliate relationship

We may earn compensation when a visitor contacts Augusta through the links or the phone number on this site. That relationship doesn't change what we publish: we include Augusta's disadvantages and note who it's probably not a fit for, because a review that only ever points readers toward a purchase isn't a useful review. See our Affiliate Disclosure for the full details.

Questions about our methodology

If something on this site looks wrong or out of date, we want to know. You can reach us through the contact information on the site, and we'll look into it.