How our pricing works
Every Ounceo price is computed live from the COMEX gold/silver feed: price = spot × weight × (1 + premium), then a payment-method discount, insurance, and FedEx shipping are added. Spot refreshes every 60 seconds. When you submit a quote, the USD total is locked for 30 minutes regardless of spot movement after that.
Last updated: . Live spot at the time of this page render: $4,514.50 /oz gold · $76.07 /oz silver · source: yahoo-finance.
The full formula
For each product in your basket:
unit_price_usd =
spot_usd_per_oz(metal) // live, refreshed every 60s
× weight_oz(product) // fixed per SKU
× (1 + premium(product)) // SKU-specific, 2.5%-25%
subtotal = unit_price × quantity
discount = subtotal × payment_method_discount // 0.5-1.5%
insurance = min((subtotal − discount) × 0.4%, $200)
shipping = zone_flat_fee(destination) // $80-$250
total_usd = subtotal − discount + insurance + shipping
total_crypto = total_usd / live_rate(crypto) // locked for 30 minThe four levers explained
1. Spot — the wholesale floor
Spot is the live wholesale price for one troy ounce of pure metal. We pull it from COMEX front-month futures (GC=F for gold, SI=F for silver) via Yahoo Finance, with a 60-second in-process cache. The COMEX-vs-LBMA basis is small for the front month, so our quoted spot tracks LBMA reference within ~$1/oz under normal conditions.
See the live ticker at the top of every page for the spot value we're currently using.
2. Premium — the cost of making the product
Premium is the markup over spot that covers minting, refining, packaging, assay, dealer margin, and reasonable profit. It is fixed per SKU and visible on every product page.
| Product type | Typical premium (our catalog) |
|---|---|
| 1 kg gold bar (LBMA refiner) | 2.5-3.0% |
| 500 g gold bar | 2.6-2.8% |
| 100 g gold bar | 3.0% |
| 1 oz cast gold bar (PAMP) | 4.0% |
| 1 oz minted gold bar (Lady Fortuna) | 4.0-5.0% |
| 1 oz sovereign gold coin (Maple, Britannia, Philharmonic) | 4.5-5.0% |
| 1 oz gold American Eagle / Buffalo | 6.0-7.0% |
| 1/2 oz sovereign gold coin | 6.5-7.5% |
| 1/4 oz sovereign gold coin | 8.0-9.0% |
| 1/10 oz sovereign gold coin | 10.0% |
| 1 g minted gold bar (Lady Fortuna) | 12.0% |
| 1 kg silver bar (RCM) | 8.0% |
| 10 oz silver bar (PAMP cast) | 9.0-12.0% |
| 1 oz silver Maple Leaf | 18.0% |
| 1 oz silver Britannia / Philharmonic | 20.0% |
| 1 oz silver American Eagle | 25.0% |
3. Payment discount — what we save on crypto rails
Paying directly in crypto saves us card-network and processor fees. We pass that saving back as an automatic line-item discount on the quote, applied before insurance and shipping.
| Payment method | Discount on subtotal |
|---|---|
| BTC Lightning | −0.5% |
| Monero (XMR) | −1.5% |
| USDT TRC-20 / Solana | −0.3% |
| BTC on-chain / ETH / USDC / USDT ERC-20 | 0% |
The Monero discount is the largest because XMR settles finally with no reorg risk and no reconciliation overhead — it's the cheapest payment rail for us to operate.
4. Insurance and shipping — passed through at cost
Every shipment has FedEx Declared Value Coverage at the full retail value, plus supplemental Lloyd's coverage above $25,000. Insurance is 0.4% of the declared value, capped at $200. Shipping is a flat fee per FedEx zone (see shipping page).
Is this how every bullion dealer works?
Yes — every legitimate bullion dealer prices off live spot plus a premium. The differences between dealers come from:
- Operating cost embedded in premium. Dealers with expensive physical retail or payment processors charge higher premiums. Crypto-native operations like ours embed less and pass the saving through.
- Spot source. Some dealers use LBMA AM/PM fixing (twice daily), others use Kitco, others use COMEX. The differences are small for retail-sized orders.
- Quote lock duration. 5 minutes (most US dealers) to 30 minutes (us, longer because crypto settlement takes longer than card swipes).
- How VAT and shipping are quoted. Some dealers hide shipping in "above $99 free" deals (the premium is just higher). We line-item it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the spot price?+
The spot price is the live wholesale market price for one troy ounce of pure gold (or silver) delivered immediately. It is set continuously by the LBMA and COMEX futures market. Retail bullion always trades above spot — the markup is called the premium.
Why do prices change every minute?+
Because gold and silver have continuous global markets. Spot moves on every trade. Our backend re-fetches the COMEX front-month price every 60 seconds and recomputes every product price from `spot × weight × (1 + premium)`. When you submit a quote, the USD price is then locked for 30 minutes so the spot move during your payment window does not affect what you owe.
Why is the premium higher on small items?+
Minting, packaging, assay, and handling costs are largely fixed per item. Spread across 1 g, they're 12% of the metal value. Spread across 1 kg, they're 2.5%. That's why fractional coins always cost more per gram than kilo bars.
Why does silver have a higher premium than gold?+
Silver is bulkier per dollar of metal. Per dollar of value, silver weighs about 100× more than gold, so minting, packaging, storage, and shipping all cost relatively more. Expect 18-25% on 1 oz silver coins vs 4-6% on 1 oz gold coins.
Is Ounceo' premium fair?+
Yes — our premiums sit at the low end of the typical retail range because we operate crypto-native: no card-network fees (≈2%), no payment-processor margin (BitPay-style 1%), no expensive physical retail. Lightning and Monero discounts pass operational savings back to the buyer.
Does the quote include shipping and insurance?+
Yes. Every quote is all-in: metal + premium + payment discount + insurance (0.4% of declared value, capped at $200) + FedEx International Priority shipping (flat fee per zone). No surprises at the end.
What if spot moves between quote and payment?+
It doesn't matter — the USD amount on your quote is locked for 30 minutes regardless of spot movement. The crypto amount we ask for is computed at quote time at the live USD/crypto rate, and that locks too. Pay within the window and the price is final.
What spot feed do you use?+
COMEX gold front-month futures (GC=F) and silver front-month futures (SI=F), via Yahoo Finance's public market data, refreshed every 60 seconds. COMEX futures track spot within roughly $1/oz on the front month — the carry-cost basis is small.