Real gold paydirt is a fun way to prospect at home! But watch out, because not all gold paydirt sold online is a good deal. Before you buy that bag, know what to expect.

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Mention the word paydirt to most people and they look at you a little strange.

When someone says he’s ‘hit paydirt’ they’re usually not talking about real paydirt, a term that was coined in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush. In popular culture the expression “hitting paydirt” means achieving a success after a hard, long struggle.

But to the adventurous treasure hunter or miner the expression is quite literal. They know that paydirt means one thing: gold, and the sense of discovery and freedom that comes along with it.

Talk to any gold prospector and they’ll excitedly tell you about the first time they felt that rush of seeing their first shiny flakes in the bottom of their gold pan or sitting on the bottom of a river under some rocks that hadn’t been moved in years.

Their eyes light up as they go into great detail about how they found the spot, the signs they saw of the precious metal, and how they got to it. Then, like a fisherman describing their latest great catch, they might exaggerate a touch about how much gold they really found.

The definition of ‘paydirt’

Paydirt is a mixture of organic material, like real dirt, clay, sand or even small gravel that contains placer gold.

More specifically, after gold-bearing material passes through a sluice box to remove all the larger rocks and debris, you’re left with what’s called concentrates, “cons,” or paydirt. That’s where all the gold is mixed in with tiny pebbles, dirt, sand and other heavy metals (called black sand). This is generally what people get when they buy paydirt online.

Thanks to the internet potential prospectors don’t have to go hiking through thick bush in remote places, or wade into ice cold creeks, to find gold. Now a simple search online will bring up dozens of websites where you can buy your own bag of gold paydirt to pan in the comfort of your own home. 

Buying real gold paydirt online is a great way for those who don’t have the luxury of living in a gold rich area to pan for their own gold or to practice their panning skills before taking that prospecting trip they’ve been dreaming about. It’s also a creative way to get the kids away from screens and do something fun together.

Before you hit that buy button though, there are a few things you should know before you buy gold paydirt online. Not all paydirt is created equal. Quality and quantity vary by seller and even the region the paydirt comes from matters.

Real gold paydirt purity

The gold in paydirt is placer gold which ranges in size from small nuggets that we like to call ‘pickers’ to very fine gold dust that we call ‘flour gold.’

Its gold purity – or the % of gold present vs. other metals and minerals – varies greatly from place to place. Natural placer gold is usually a mix of gold, silver, copper, and other less valuable impurities.

All of the paydirt we sell is real placer gold paydirt mined from the Bering Sea. At 89%-92% pure gold, the Bering Sea gold deposit has one of the highest levels of gold purity in the U.S.

To put that in perspective, Alaska has an average placer gold purity of 78.9%, and some regions in the US can contain placer deposits that are as low as 60-70% pure gold. Where your pay dirt is from matters when it comes to purity – even down to the specific creek within a specific region.

The type of material that’s mixed with the gold is going to be different depending on where it comes from, and even the way the gold looks varies greatly between different places. Gold found in rushing water is typically going to be smoother with rounded edges. The material it’s found with is more sandy with black and red sand filled with iron.  

Gold from the Bering Sea is smooth from the erosive effects of the ocean, which has the added benefit of removing impurities before we recover it.

Placer gold found in the rocky mountains and valleys of Colorado, for example, is going to look more rough and chunky because it hasn’t been smoothed over time by water. It’s usually found with dusty dirt and tiny gravel-like material.

Many people buy paydirt from specific places because it is so varied and they want the chance to pan the different types and materials. 

Is real gold Paydirt a good investment? What is the ‘ROI’ on a purchase?

Gold paydirt reviewers often mention ‘ROI’ or return on investment in their gold reviews. Which means, are you getting a good value for what you paid?

The way ROI is calculated in paydirt is this: let’s say you spend $100 on a bag of paydirt and you recover 1.4 grams of gold.

First, what is a gram of gold worth? Precious metals like gold and silver are priced in troy ounces, which is approximately 31.1 grams. That’s about 10% higher than the 28 grams in a traditional ounce.

So you would take the spot price and divide it by 31.1 grams in order to get a value of gold per gram. At $1,718.10 per troy ounce, one gram of gold is worth $55.15. So 1.4 grams is worth $77.21, which paydirt reviewers would consider a 77.21% ROI.

I wouldn’t count on getting anything like a 100% ROI from paydirt unless it’s very impure or you won something. Sometimes paydirt sellers will seed the occasional bag with extra gold so customers can feel like they have that chance of hitting the “motherlode” like a real prospector.

If you compare paydirt to physical gold alternatives like buying bullion, you’ll find you’re not necessarily getting a worse “ROI” there. Today an American Eagle 1 oz coin costs $2,001.97 on a popular website, yet the official price of gold today closed at an official spot price of $1,718.10. That’s about an 85.8% “ROI” on that investment.

The fact of the matter is that selling gold products on the internet costs money, and bullion dealers buy gold at a little under spot price and sell it for a little more. With that in mind, buying paydirt can actually give you a comparable value to gold bullion, with the added fun of panning real, natural gold in the form it came out of the earth!

Do paydirt sellers add gold to their bags?

The most popular way that sellers can guarantee a certain amount of gold in each bag is by seeding, or salting, the paydirt. This is the way we package our paydirt. We weigh out the amount of gold we promise for each bag and add it to the concentrated paydirt. There will be some variance in each bag as the paydirt itself will have some fine gold in it along with the gold added. This is the easiest way to ensure we deliver what we said and keep our customers happy.

This is perfect if you’re not the gambling type and want a guarantee on how much gold you’re going to get. There isn’t a risk of only getting a tiny amount of gold and it’s a great way to practice panning to make sure you’re getting it all. It makes it easy to figure out your ROI for each bag.

Another way is some gold sellers weigh out their concentrates and bag it without knowing how much, or how little, gold is in each bag. They seed some of their bags so that there are a few bags with really high amounts of gold but the majority have a much lower gold total. These types of paydirt bags are perfect for those who want that rush of not knowing what they’ll get, just like real prospecting.

There are gold paydirt sellers that add nuggets to their bags and sell at a higher price since nuggets are worth more and are pretty cool to find. Other bags of paydirt have more than just gold and contain things like gems or other precious metals.

Like Baskin Robbins’ 32 flavors of ice cream, there are gold paydirt bags to appeal to every type of person looking for a taste of gold prospecting. 

Make sure you read what type of paydirt you’re getting carefully, do they guarantee a certain amount in all bags or only a few? The best indicator of the quality of the gold paydirt you’re looking at buying is the reviews of those who have already bought it. What are the people who bought it saying? What did they like, what did they expect, what didn’t they like? 

We pride ourselves on have a rating of 4.7/5 stars or higher on all of our paydirt products!

Paydirt Scammers to Avoid

Unfortunately the gold industry is historically rife with scammers, and that is true to this day.

The folks over at MillerProspecting.com keep a list of the 25 paydirt sellers with the worst “ROIs” and outright scams to avoid.

Paydirt, like gold, can be an expensive item and scammers are willing to sell you a bag of plain ‘ole dirt from their backyard if they can trick you into thinking there are treasures to find.

Buying gold paydirt doesn’t have to be a gamble, unless you want it to be, but being informed on your choices and knowing what you’re getting will go a long way in making sure you’re happy with what you buy and have fun while panning it.

There are lots of reviewers on Youtube that help you sort out who is legit and who isn’t. We’ve been reviewed on Youtube over half a dozen times! Here are a few recent ones.

Now grab your gold pan and snuffer bottle and find some of your own shiny G!