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GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) Reviews 

371
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.3

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 265 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the knowledgeable and courteous staff for providing exceptional support and making every interaction pleasant and productive. People also find the asset purchasing process remarkably simple, reliable, and easy to manage directly online. Users appreciate the clear reporting and the overall efficiency of the platform when handling their transactions. Some reviewers were not happy with the pricing details, highlighting that storage and selling costs are a bit high. A few customers also noted that the return amount upon selling gold or silver can sometimes feel lower than expected compared to market spot prices.

What people talk about most

User experience

Reviewers highlight positive aspects of user experience, consistently praising the platform as simple,... See more

Customer service

Customers consistently note positive experiences with customer service, praising the fast, efficient, and... See more

Service

Customers report extremely positive experiences with the service, highlighting professional, efficient, and... See more

Staff

Consumers find staff to be positive, helpful, and exceptionally professional across interactions. Reviewers... See more

Price

Clients share ambiguous opinions on price, with reviewers highlighting both fair costs and expensive fees.... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Prices on silver coins are consistently cheaper than other large dealers like APMEX or JM Buillon. Usually $1-2.5 cheaper retail price even when these dealer offer lower prices when one is buying larg... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Samantha was fantastic and furthered my education on what the words on line during market closed hours really mean regarding what can reasonably be expected for the price when markets open. I Greatly... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

After spending some time yesterday with one of your most patient representative along with the two other representatives who helped me earlier. When I tried to login today I was successful. No more... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The purchase process is simple and problem free. Buy prices are above going rates, however, the mark-ups may be typical. Have not experienced the selling process yet.


Company details

  1. Gold and silver trading company

About GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

Written by the company

GBI Direct, formerly Hard Assets Alliance – Precious Metals Investing Made Simple

Whether your goal is to preserve wealth, protect against currency risk, or build long-term stability, GBI Direct delivers a secure and convenient way to invest in physical metals—backed by technology, transparency, and a customer-first approach. Our leading online platform is used by some of the world's largest financial institutions and is available to individual investors aiming to diversify their portfolios with tangible assets like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

We understand the critical role that precious metals play in investment strategies as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. That's why our platform allows investors to easily browse, compare, and purchase a wide selection of bullion products from reputable global dealers who bid against each other to give you the best price.

Through our trusted vaulting partners, we offer secure storage options in multiple international locations, giving you peace of mind that your assets are safe.

Transparency and trust are at the core of everything we do. With real-time pricing and a straightforward fee structure, investors can make informed decisions without worrying about hidden costs or surprises.

GBI Direct is committed to educating and empowering investors through expert research, market insights, and in-depth educational content. Our team regularly publishes articles, guides, and reports to help you navigate the precious metals market with confidence.

We strive to make your precious metals investing experience the best it can be and welcome your feedback—leave a review at GBIDirect.com and let us know about your experience.


Contact info

4.3

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

371 reviews

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1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative

Replied to 70% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 2 weeks

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4.3

All reviews

(371)

266 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The Bottom Line

The decision to do business with your company has been an excellent choice.

While the bottom line counts, it is not the only criteria for measurement. Your team of professionals is obvious.
Customer Service and the customers are number one. We really appreciate your company as they are hard to find.

Hard Assets and Harder to Find should be your Motto! One of a kind.

Thanks
Richard Edmisten
E.J. Tanner

12 January 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

WebSite Login

I would like to acknowledge the help and support that Lindsey provided me with during a problem, of my own making, that I had logging on to the HAA website. For some time, I was getting nowhere leaving me very concerned with regard to the security of my investments.
Once I had contact with Lindsey she took ownership of the problem and the issue was resolved to my relief and satisfaction.

12 November 2025
Unprompted review
GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) logo

Reply from GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

We’re very glad Lindsey was able to step in, take ownership of the issue, and get everything resolved for you Barry!

We understand how concerning access issues can be, especially when it comes to the security of your investments, and we’re happy to hear she was able to put your mind at ease.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great to work with

Hard Assets Alliance provides a great service. When my father passed away, the estate required a lot of structural changes and they were very communicative and easy to work with through the entire process. And working through their online portal makes purchasing, selling and shipping metals so straight forward.

12 November 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

This is an overall review of my…

This is an overall review of my experience with HAA. First of all, my main issue is about the very high round-trip costs, especially for metals like silver. This is something that is rather transparent and I kind of knew when opening my account, but it helps to remind: the round trip costs for buying silver are around 20% because of the enormous spreads charged. This is nothing too uncommon in that buisness, but it still hurts a lot - despite good recent gains, especially if one needs access to one's funds. For a very long-term investment, it might be less of a big deal, but anything below say 5-10y holding period is IMO simply not worth it. So about my recent experience: for the privilege of having sold 400 oz of silver this week at a 12% discount to spot I'm now asked to wait more than 3 days business days until I can withdraw my funds (from the site: "rades take two full business days to settle. … funds cannot be withdrawn until 2 full business days after the trade has been placed and after 5:15 PM EST."). I just added a new bank account and of course I'm not gonna wire $18k out of the blue when I've had so many issues already with HAA - manly funding my account (with exactly the account I'm trying to withdraw from now, I tried with something like $50 in the past, luckily the money went back to my Revolut account and didn't disappear into the nirvana). So yeah, just I withdrew $26 with a $25 fee, a nice little touch after having lost around $4k in total on the round trip (despite still satisfying gains overall of course).

Dealing with customer service in the past has also not yielded satisfying results.

I guess the only positive thing is that despite all the fees, at least the metal and money seems to be safe.

I've updated my rating to 3 stars as HAA has offered to kindly refund the transaction cost for the wiring. I still keep a 3 star rating as I think it's important to highlight the high fees in every step of the investing process.

24 October 2025
Unprompted review
GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) logo

Reply from GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback — we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to clarify a few important points.

We understand that transaction costs can feel high, especially for silver. Silver carries unique physical handling and storage requirements, and as you noted, the larger spreads are an industry-wide factor rather than specific to HAA. Our goal has always been to provide secure, fully allocated ownership of REAL, vaulted metal, which includes insured storage, audits, and liquidity through global partner vaults. For clients with longer-term horizons, this model offers significant transparency and security benefits compared to purely digital or unallocated platforms.

Regarding the withdrawal timing, the settlement period you referenced (two full business days after trade completion) is a standard financial control to ensure accurate reconciliation and fraud prevention, particularly when a new bank account has just been linked. Rest assured your sell transaction was locked in of course. We know waiting can be frustrating, but this process exists solely to protect our clients’ assets.

The wire fee is a pass-through charge from our banking partner — we don’t profit from it, and we disclose all fees clearly before withdrawal, but I will say that if our service team knew your intention was to "test", we would have happily accommodated.

We do appreciate that you recognized your metals and funds remained safe — security and integrity of ownership are our top priorities. Your feedback helps us improve the balance between protection, accessibility, and transparency.

If you’d be open to discussing your experience further, we’d truly value the chance to make things right. You can reach our Client Services team directly at support@hardassetsalliance.com
for personalized follow-up.

Thank you again for sharing your honest experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Plaudit: Samantha A Gold Asset in A Woldclass Company

Samantha's product knowlege added a lot of value to the Hard Assets Alliance services I currently use. Notably, she proceeded with measured efficiency to resolve my issues, clarify my concerns, and simplify my website interaction. All of this delivered with much appreciated interest and empathy. What I appreciate most about Hard Assets Alliance is the streamlined website (no marketing impositions) with a winning commitment to improve both services and customer care.

3 September 2025
Unprompted review
GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) logo

Reply from GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

Thank you Francis!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Lindsey is awesome!

Ooooh my goodness, Lindsey was fantastic!!

Knowledgeable, intelligent, quick, fun, fast and made my father and me so comfortable!!!

She helped us so much and we would ask for her every time!!!

Don’t lose her because you’ll be making a big mistake!!!! She is absolutely amazing!!!!

Btw, I don’t remember the date we talked to her but it was last week….so I just put last Friday.

31 July 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Hard Assets - a great resource

Lindsey was knowledgable and courteous, a perfect representative for a company concerned about public relations. She dealt with my weak hearing and my lack of knowledge about procedures with patience and understanding, never giving the impression that I was an impediment to her day. She helped me to sell and place an order and split the proceeds so that I understood the requirements for the different parts.
Hard Assets is a prime resource for metals investment, because the company is staffed with people like Lindsey who know the business and have great understanding of the people they deal with.

27 May 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Easy to enter, difficult to leave.

Easy to enter. Difficult to leave. Cheaper storage available at competition. They claim "on-demand delivery" but it's not a simple process, nor do they provide good service re transfering out your holdings.

15 April 2025
Unprompted review
GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) logo

Reply from GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

Thank you for your feedback — we're genuinely sorry to hear you had a frustrating experience Gary!

Our goal is to make storing and accessing your holdings as seamless as possible. To clarify, on-demand delivery is designed to be straightforward: fees are deducted from your balance, shipments are signature required and fully insured, and we aim for prompt turnaround.

Where we have seen some delays is with international deliveries, which are currently being affected by customs and tariff regulations — unfortunately outside of our control.

We’d really appreciate the chance to speak with you directly and see how we can make this right. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team so we can help resolve any outstanding concerns.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Easy to enter, difficult/expensive to get out.

Easy to enter. difficult to leave.

Getting my money out is difficult. (the account I funded account with was closed many years ago--they would not send to new bank account without additional documentation--but they had accepted additional money from new bank account recently!)

and there is a substantial 10% sales commission.

3 March 2025
Unprompted review
GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance) logo

Reply from GBI Direct (Formerly Hard Assets Alliance)

We really appreciate you sharing your feedback.

When it comes to fund withdrawals, our priority is security — for that reason, if the original funding account is no longer active, we may require additional documentation to confirm identity and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. While we know this can be frustrating, these safeguards are in place to protect both our clients and the integrity of the process.

We also understand there may be questions around our pricing structure. The buy and sell prices are based on the supply and demand in the wholesale market, and we always strive to remain competitive and fully transparent.

If you'd be open to a conversation, we’d love the chance to speak with you directly and help resolve any outstanding concerns. Please reach out to our support team — we’re here to help.

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