What to Know About Miles Franklin?
Miles Franklin was founded by David and Andrew Schectman. The vision that they brought to the table was to offer a wide variety of precious metal products, extensive broker expertise, and of course, fair pricing.
Miles Franklin is what you call anything but your average old ordinary gold and silver coin company. They are both a full-service company and also a low overhead discount broker.
Their approach has been centered around a creative strategy for expanding personalized assets with precious metals. Thanks to this strategy, Miles Franklin has been brandishing positive results for clients across the nation since 1989.
Currently, they have two locations; Wayzata, Minnesota, and Delray Beach, Florida.
The Company Mantra
If you want to hear it from their mouths, on their website, Miles Franklin claim a list of qualities that the company builds its foundation around.
Integrity, reputation, knowledge, experience, service, products, relationships, and last but not least, resources.
When combined, these illustrate the basis of why Miles Franklin was founded and what kind of mentality it runs on.
What Kind of Wares do they Sell?
Boasting a rather impressive stock of coins and precious metal bars, Miles Franklin should be a stop on anyone’s list who is looking to get into collecting. Even if you are already collecting, these guys should be on your radar.
Gold, silver, palladium, platinum, they specialize in it all. I also have to say I like the added touch on their website of the current world prices of the metals I just listed. So aside from selling a large assortment of coins and bars, they also have safe-deposit options available for purchase.
Coins like 2354 Ounce Gold British Sovereigns all the way to a 10 Ounce Silver Eagle Bar, are sure ones to have something to spark your interest.
Also, note that they offer offshore storage!
Tell Me More About Offshore Storage
Alright, let’s get into it then. First, your precious metals are completely isolated with your name and account number right on your own box. It goes without saying that transparency is the most important quality of any great storage program.
Miles Franklin recognizes this, which is why they offer their clients the ability to ship in, drop-off, or pick up their Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Palladium. Realistically, you can even sell your holdings and get paid in just a few days.
What’s the Price Range Like?
In my time working with them as well as working with others who had done business with Miles Franklin, I find their prices to be more on the respectable-low side. Granted you should take this information lightly due to the fact that the prices of these metals change regularly.
So, to put it plain and simple, if you were to ask me if I thought they rip off their clients, I would answer with ‘absolutely not.’
But You Said, “Prices of These Metals Change Regularly…”
I did. Most people would be concerned about purchasing gold for $1000 one day, to find out that the next day the company charged them $1500 instead. Why? Because the price went up.
With Miles Franklin, you definitely don’t have to worry about that. The price that they confirm with you during your checkout process is a firm and binding commitment to buy or to sell the product listed on your order at the prices agreed to at that time.
Aside from that, payment is then expected within three business days from placing an order.
This also stands true for online orders as they are also binding. The price that they confirm with you will be accompanied by an email that holds a confirmation number.
I should note, while we are on the subject, it is possible to cancel orders if you need to, although it could tend to be rather pricey. You are responsible to cover any market losses should you choose to cancel, so make sure you actually want to do what you’re planning to do.
There are no minimums or maximums for ordering, so you should be able to find exactly what you’re looking for, or to spend exactly what you set out to spend.
Ok, So, How Do I Pay?
As you would imagine, a lot of us don’t have credit card limits that could purchase multiple gold bars on. Well, at least I don’t anyway. Due to this factor, the following payments are accepted by Miles Franklin.
- Bank Wire
- Certified check
- Cashier’s check
- Money order
- Personal check
They do make it a point to hold all certified, cashier’s, and personal checks for 7 business days.
If I had to recommend a form of payment, wire transfers would be the fastest, as they allow the funds to reach your account sooner than any of the other methods. In my experience with wire transfers, it should run you well under $50 if anything at all. Depends on your bank.
Will they Report my Purchase to the Government?
In today’s day in age, you really can’t fault someone for wanting to stay under the government’s radar. Some folks just don’t like it to be known what kind of money they’re sitting on.
Whether it's legal or illegal reasons, typically your purchases are NOT reported.
Only if your purchase is over $10k and you pay with cash. At that point, Form 8300 is required, and that, of course, goes to good ole’ Uncle Sam.
How Is Shipping Handled?
Most orders are shipped via UPS or USPS. Each and every package is fully insured and they always require a signature upon delivery.
Domestic shipping and insurance are offered up for free on all precious metal orders of at least 10 ounces of gold, platinum, or palladium.
Domestic shipping and insurance are also free on all regular orders of at least 500 ounces of silver.
If you aren’t dropping that kind of cash on your order, you could expect shipping costs and insurances to be around $15.
If you would need to know more along these lines, or have some questions about shipping that I didn’t answer, it’s probably best that you contact a broker for any other international shipping questions.
It’s Sounding Pretty Good, What’s Their Ratings Like?
Excellent question! The BBB (or Better Business Bureau) scores them with an astounding A+.
You don’t have to worry about them being scam artists or anything like that. I’ve personally used them myself.
Their social media reviews are mixed, but mainly because they don’t have a lot.
On ‘Yelp!’ they stand with a 50/50 rating of only 2 reviews.
On social media sites, such as Facebook, they do retain substantially more reviews and they hold a 4.9 out of 5. Click here for those reviews.
Their Customer Support is On Top of the World
These guys offer support via phone or email. There are a couple of precious metals specialists that you can contact by snail mail if you would like to take that approach, but if you’re reading this review on your smartphone or PC, chances are you should just email or call.
There is also a pretty impressive blog on the website that is updated regularly with assorted topics about precious metals.
I’ve personally only ever done 1 transaction with them, and it was easy and carefree every step of the way. They talk to you like you matter (because you do matter 😊) and they really make you feel like the transaction is just as important to them as it is to you.
I’ve also scoured over some reviews prior to writing this one just to see what others think about their support. To my findings, most people claim it to be a very positive and easy experience.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- They are very legit, been in business for nearly 30 years.
- Great customer service, friendly and prompt.
- Great for beginning collectors and also for experienced ones as well.
- No Red-Flags (ie: Trustpilot, ripoffreport, etc.) It’s all good!
Cons
Not much to go on here really.
- Lack of online customer reviews.
With lacking online customer reviews, you kind of have to do your own searching here and put together your own opinion if you select purchasing from stores that only have positive reviews.
Closing Thoughts
I haven’t dealt with a ton of companies that specialize in precious metals like this. In fact, I could count them on one hand. Miles Franklin, however, does not fall short of expectations.
Prices in this field are always fluctuating and always changing. Personally, I feel that these guys give you a pretty honest break. The costs are respectable, I didn’t encounter any hidden fees or unpleasant surprises throughout my process of dealing with them.
In short, would I deal with them again? Absolutely! I would have no reason to tell you otherwise, aside from the fact that it’s always a good idea to shop around.
Just make sure these guys are one of your stops on your way to finding a precious metals dealer that’s right for you.
