Ainslie Bullion review: is it a good place to buy gold?

Ainslie is the dealer that kept undercutting the mint that makes its bars. Across two days of automated checks, the identical Perth Mint Swan bar cost less at Ainslie than at the Perth Mint itself or at Jaggards. Below is what else you get, and give up, when you buy from it.

See Ainslie's live prices

How Ainslie Bullion scores on our checks

Every dealer is assessed against the same published criteria, using its own policy pages, company records, our automated price checks and independent review sites. There is no star rating and no testimonials. Read how we review gold dealers for the details.

How much does Ainslie Bullion charge?

A bullion price is the spot price (the wholesale value of one ounce of pure gold) plus a premium. Because Ainslie, the Perth Mint and Jaggards all sell the same Perth Mint Swan 1oz minted bar, it makes a fair like-for-like test. We captured each price automatically from the product page.

GoldVetted automated price checks. 11 October 2026: Ainslie and Jaggards at about 16:08 UTC, the Perth Mint at 10:47 UTC. 12 October 2026: all three at 07:51 UTC. Spot from gold-api.com. Premium = price ÷ spot − 1 (each bar holds one troy ounce of 99.99% gold). Delivery excluded. ABC Bullion's site does not allow automated price checks, so it is not shown.

Buying more: on 11 October, Ainslie's page priced the same Swan bar at A$6,180.24 each for 10 and A$6,175.24 each for 25, so a 25-bar order saved A$250 against buying singles.

What about Kangaroo coins?

Coins cost more than bars. On 11 October, Ainslie listed the 1oz Gold Kangaroo at A$6,240.24 (3.78% over spot) for mixed years and A$6,245.24 (3.87%) for the 2026 coin. Ainslie describes the mixed-year coins as mostly buybacks, which may have marks on the capsule. If you want a coin rather than a bar, the extra A$55 is the price of the Kangaroo's legal tender status and design. Our Gold Kangaroo guide covers the coin's specifications.

What this means for you: on a single bar, Ainslie saved A$24.85 against the Perth Mint on 12 October. That is real but small. Delivery can wipe it out: Ainslie's gold delivery charge for that bar works out at about A$52, while the Perth Mint charges A$17.50 plus optional cover. Collecting in Brisbane, Melbourne or the Gold Coast avoids the fee entirely.

Payment, delivery and collection

An online order becomes binding when you click "Send me an invoice". Ainslie's terms then require you to start payment the same day and have cleared funds in its account by the next business day, by bank transfer, PayID, cash deposit or cheque (bullion is released only once a cheque clears). Check your bank's daily transfer limit first: the terms warn that if you go over it and cannot pay on time, your deposit is forfeited. Cards are accepted only in person, up to A$10,000. Late changes to an order may cost a A$104.50 amendment fee.

Ainslie's help centre sets gold delivery at a A$15 base charge plus 0.6% of the order value, minimum A$31, with transit insurance included. PO boxes cost A$10 more. Each package is insured up to A$50,000, so larger orders are split. Orders ship within five business days of cleared funds, or up to ten for large orders, and only to Australian addresses.

Collection is free for 30 days. After that, Ainslie charges A$10 per ounce of gold per week. It also delivers free to Reserve Vault in Brisbane or The Melbourne Vault if you rent a box there.

Selling gold back to Ainslie

Ainslie runs a live buyback estimator on its sell page. Its help centre says the price is spot minus "a small margin below spot that covers our costs of handling and reselling", and that the margin varies by metal, product and market.

GoldVetted automated capture: Ainslie at 07:40 UTC, Jaggards at 07:38 UTC; spot from gold-api.com. Ainslie's figure equalled 98% of the A$5,997.56 spot shown on its own page. Ainslie says estimates are indicative and confirmed only after the metal is received and tested.

There are four ways to sell: in store (paid by cash or bank transfer), by post, from an Ainslie storage account (paid the same day), or from Reserve Vault or The Melbourne Vault, where vault staff verify the metal. Postal sellers must verify ID online first, keep each parcel under A$25,000 and use Express Post with signature on delivery. Ainslie insures the parcel, and the price is locked when it arrives, not when you post it.

The round trip: buying the Swan bar at A$6,170.87 and selling at A$5,877.61 on the same morning costs A$293.26, about 4.8% of the purchase price, before delivery. Gold would need to rise by roughly that much before a sale breaks even. More buyers are compared in our guide to selling gold in Australia.

Ainslie storage: what it costs

Ainslie charges allocated storage by weight, not value: A$15.50 per ounce of gold a year, including GST and insurance. On a 1oz bar worth about A$6,000, that is roughly 0.26% a year, and the percentage falls further as the gold price rises. Allocated metal is held in Ainslie's facilities within Reserve Vault in Brisbane or The Melbourne Vault, with a A$10,000 minimum per buy or sell. Loading your own bullion attracts a fee quoted by staff.

Unallocated storage (a share in a pool of bullion, not specific bars) has no ongoing fee and a A$5,000 minimum. The Ainslie Saver plan uses the same pool and accepts regular payments from A$50 to A$20,000, but taking delivery costs a A$250 redemption fee. For comparison, the Perth Mint charges 1% a year for allocated gold, and ABC Bullion 0.55% for its own bars. Our guide to allocated vs unallocated gold explains the ownership difference, and trustees can read about gold in an SMSF.

What customers say

We do not publish testimonials or invent scores. Google figures come from Maps listing data retrieved on 12 October 2026; Trustpilot was viewed the same month.

Google reviewers most often mention an easy process, professional staff and competitive pricing. The Trustpilot sample is too small to read much into; its one middling review complains about delivery fees on a small silver order and wider buyback spreads, and another mentions waits during school holidays.

Who Ainslie suits, and who should look elsewhere

Good fit: buyers of Perth Mint minted bars who pay by bank transfer, people in South East Queensland or Melbourne who can collect and sell in person, and holders who want low-cost allocated storage at an independent vault.

Look elsewhere if: you want to pay by card online, are buying a single bar for delivery (the Perth Mint's cast bar plus its cheaper freight may work out lower), or live overseas. Compare more sellers in our guide to the best places to buy gold in Australia.

Alternatives to Ainslie Bullion

• The Perth Mint review: the cheapest 1oz cast bar in our checks and free unallocated storage.
• ABC Bullion review: own refinery and showrooms in four cities.
• Jaggards review: second-lowest Swan bar price by bank transfer.
• Ainslie vs ABC Bullion: fees and policies side by side.

Gold prices go down as well as up. This review is general information, not financial advice.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.