Gold IRA newbie blunders? What should I watch out for?

• •Okay, so I'm pretty deep into planning my early retirement (aiming for 55, just turned 40!), and a Gold IRA is a big piece of that puzzle.
• •But here's where I need the hive mind's wisdom: what are the absolute beginner mistakes you guys have seen or even made yourselves with Gold IRAs?
• •I'm talking about the stuff that bites you in the butt later, or the red flags I really should be looking out for.

Okay, so I'm pretty deep into planning my early retirement (aiming for 55, just turned 40!), and a Gold IRA is a big piece of that puzzle. I've got a decent chunk of my 401k to roll over – probably around $150k-$200k – and I like the idea of having some physical assets outside of the traditional stock market volatility. Minneapolis market is getting wild lately, and my marketing exec brain is screaming "diversify!"

I've been doing my research, comparing providers, understanding the storage options, and all that jazz. But here's where I need the hive mind's wisdom: what are the absolute beginner mistakes you guys have seen or even made yourselves with Gold IRAs? I'm talking about the stuff that bites you in the butt later, or the red flags I really should be looking out for.

For example, I'm already cautious about companies that push super aggressive sales tactics or seem to have opaque fee structures. And I'm definitely only looking at IRS-approved coins and bars. But beyond that, what are the subtle traps? Are there specific types of storage that are more problematic than others? Or maybe common misunderstandings about contributions vs. rollovers?

Really want to get this right from the start. Any personal anecdotes or strong recommendations (or warnings!) would be super helpful. Thanks!