7K Metals has become a significant success for its founders, but that’s not necessarily true for its members. This company isn’t like other gold dealers or investment firms; instead, it’s a multi-level marketing company that lives and dies by bringing in new members. As you might expect, that makes it quite different from the companies we recommend for those looking to invest in precious metals.
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About The Company
This Idaho-based company first came onto the scene in 2016, and it has made no claims of being anything other than a multi-level marketing company. Though the company itself claims that it chose this structure to motivate its sales force better, the truth is that it’s also a money-making arrangement. If you want to sell anything this company offers, you’ll have to pay a membership fee and hope you recoup your investment in time.
So, what is 7K’s goal? If you ask the company, it’s to make more people financially secure worldwide by investing in precious metals. The thought is that these metals are a stable source of value and a good store of wealth, making them a good investment because they can withstand all of the variances that come with economic uncertainty.
7K isn’t about investing, though. Instead, the company is mainly about making sure that its clients can sell its various products. Joining the company gives members access to a precious metals marketplace that is supposedly run without any markup.
What Do They Offer?
7K has two primary revenue streams. The first, and the one that tends to be most relevant to investors, is the sale of precious metals. The other is the sale of memberships to those who want to work as sales representatives.
Precious Metals
7K Metals currently offers a few different precious metals products. The first is what the company refers to as the ‘Selected’ collection. As the name might suggest, this is a collection of products that’s been put together by 7K to provide would-be investors and collectors a selection of metals that will bring a good return on investment in the future.
In addition to their collection, 7K also offers jewelry. Priced relatively competitively with what you would find in the average jewelry store, these products come in many different shapes and forms. Commonly found for sale items include bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings, and even watches.
The company also has a unique program for members called the Direct Dealer Program. This program allows members to get access to discounted items available on the marketplace, but it tends to have the most value for those who are going to buy in bulk. Given the deep discounts, this can be a good deal for many investors.
Finally, there’s a category of goods that advertise the company called 7K Gear. From t-shirts and sweaters to backpacks, you’ll find plenty of items emblazoned with the company’s logo here.
Memberships
7K Metals offers two different tiers of membership. Regardless of which one you choose, you’ll have to start by paying for a travel savings plan. As you might imagine, the cost here does depend on the level of membership that you choose to purchase.
So, how does membership make a member money? Simply put, members make money by recruiting through a company affiliate program. If a new member signs up on your referral, you get paid.
How The Company Works
Buying a membership with 7K is how members get access to the company’s precious metals marketplace. Once you get access to the market, you can purchase precious metals as you wish and sell them to others at an increased price at a profit. With discounts for bulk purchases and theoretically no markup on the marketplace, members can get a good start on building their own inventory.
All members start their sales process by buying a starter pack. There are three levels of the starter pack, each of which appeals to members in different financial situations. It’s possible to choose a pack based on what you have today or your goals for the future.
Once you get a starter pack, deliveries will start. You can choose deliveries of silver or gold, but from here, you’ll begin to receive some metal each month. You’ll also need to sign up for an account with AutoSaver, which will automate the process of purchasing metals every month without requiring you to spend time on the marketplace.
When the precious metals arrive, they are yours to do with as you wish. If you want to invest, you can hold onto the metals at your home. If you're going to sell, though, you can figure out the most attractive price at which you can market the items.
Fees to Join
One of the biggest questions most will have about the company is the membership fees. If you choose to sign up as a primary member, you’ll pay two hundred fifty dollars per year. If you decide to sign up for a premium membership, which gives you access to more discounts, you’ll spend four hundred fifty dollars per year.
While the discounts can be nice, it’s worth noting that many other dealers offer similar discounts without charging any membership fees. However, the premium membership will also give you a few extra bonuses like a medallion, a word coin, Business Builder credit, and a pair of silver coins. While the rewards are okay, they’re not exactly enough to justify the cost of paying for the membership.
Every member is also required to sign up for a travel savings plan, which is exactly what it sounds like – a plan that allows you to reduce your travel costs. The plan also plays a role in setting up your monthly purchases, but your savings here won’t outweigh the fees. Regular members will pay another two hundred fifty dollars for this plan, while premium members will pay another five hundred dollars.
In short, you’re going to end up paying somewhere between five hundred and nine hundred fifty dollars to join this company as a member.
Compensation Plan
7K Metals is a multi-level marketing company, so you are probably already prepared for the company’s compensation plan to be complex. We’ll simplify it as best we can, but even then it’s may be more trouble than it is worth for many.
Members earn money through a system that is based on points. If you recruit a new member to the club, you get one hundred points. If you sell a coin you bought from the company to someone, you get twenty points. How much are the points worth in terms of real money? It depends on your rank in the company. The higher up the chain you are, the more your points are worth.
How do you move up the chain, then? You sell more coins and memberships.
The breakdown of points to dollars rises pretty quickly. If you are at the bottom level as an Associate, you get a dollar for every point. If you rise to the Copper level, you get two dollars per point. Bronze members get four dollars per point, Silver members get seven dollars per point, and Gold members get fourteen dollars per point.
Problems with Multi-Level Marketing
The term ‘multi-level marketing’ is a rather polite term that describes a system that allows the people at the top of the pyramid – or company – to make a profit. At the same time, those who have been recruited are more likely to suffer losses. The only real way to make money in this structure is to get to the top, and the only way to do so is to recruit more people.
The real problem with this structure is that, ultimately, someone has to lose money. Not everyone can be on top, so your only way forward is to build levels underneath yourself by bringing in new members.
To be fair, 7K Metals is perfectly usable by those who don’t buy into the company’s referral program. If you want to make money, though, it’s much faster to use this program. If you don’t, you’re left competing against major players in the precious metals field without much support.
It ultimately doesn’t make much sense for most people to work with 7K if they aren’t interested in the referral program. If you’re seeking to invest in precious metals, for example, you can do that with many other companies without having to pay for a membership.
The average person who joins this company is not going to turn a profit. At the very least, they will lose the money they spent on membership while the person who recruited them will make at least some money. If your primary interest is in buying and selling gold, you will be better off working with dealers who don’t require a membership fee and who can sell you metals at a fair cost.
Rarity of Success
The vast majority of people who join any multi-level marketing company will never turn a profit. In fact, research has shown that around ninety-nine point nine percent of those who join similar companies will end up losing money.
Unfortunately, we can’t tell you how accurate those statistics are for this company. 7K Metals doesn’t release any kind of financial data concerning its members, so we can only go by averages. What we do know, though, is that many people have lost money with this company.
It’s harder to make money with 7K than you might think. Even if you ignore the fees, you must realize that you will face a great deal of competition in the precious metals industry. Most people buy metals from dealers who they already trust, which may leave you without a potential customer base.
This isn’t a market like diet supplements or cosmetics; rather than having items that are always in demand or easy to market, you’re dealing with a small group of relatively educated investors.
The level of competition in this market also means that the profit margins will be pretty slim. You aren’t going to be able to sell metals for much above what you paid for them, which means that you’re going to have to sell quite a bit to make any real money. With membership fees eating away at your profits, you’ll be unlikely to make significant money just by making sales.
How to Make Money
So, can you really make money by selling precious metals after you’ve bought them from 7K? The company indeed claims that people can do so, but you’d have an easier time making a profit if you just bought your metals from a company that didn’t charge you a yearly fee.
If your goal is to make money, you have to start selling memberships. This means learning how to convince other people in your life to not just look at the company, but to pay a membership fee so that you can get some compensation. Most of these people will lose money, so you’ll need to feel comfortable with that when you’re making your pitch.
If you want to start selling memberships, there are a few key ways to do so. You can use social media to get new customers, you can start trying to convince people in your life that you’ve made a fair bit of money from the company, or you can even run online seminars. Once you get members, you’ll need to encourage them to sell their own memberships and buy products from the company to keep getting paid.
Your initial payments will come from getting recruits to sign up, but you’ll also get paid when your recruits start to make purchases and sales of their own. You’ll have to manage your recruits like they’re your own sales force, as their profits really are your profits. At the end of the day, though, it’s always going to be the people at the top that make the real profits.
Alternatives for Purchasing Precious Metals
If your primary goal is to purchase your precious metals, you don't have to go through complicated memberships to do so. In fact, you can look at one of the companies we listed as the top 5 precious metals organizations. Each of these companies not only has an excellent reputation, but they all have many great reviews from real customers.
Final Thoughts
At its heart, 7K Metals is just another one of the many multi-level marketing companies that's competing for space. Unlike most of its competition, though, it's trying to work in a market that's already a hard sell for most.
In truth, it's hard to say that 7K Metals really feels a necessary market niche. It's already quite possible to sell the precious metals you own to a reputable supplier, and doing so won't cost you a penny.
Making money with 7K, on the other hand, requires constantly recruiting new people into the company's structure. You're going to end up paying a membership fee and annual dues, and even then, you won't necessarily make the kind of money you could make with intelligent investments.
In short, 7K investments is an excellent deal for those on top of the pyramid and not so great for those who came in later.