Apmex vs. JM Bullion – Buying Precious Metals Online
Welcome to the age of online retailing for gold, silver, platinum, palladium, etc. These businesses are experts in selling precious metals to investors and collectors via the internet.
APMex and JM Bullion are two of the most popular online retailers today. This is because they offer clients high-quality products at competitive prices.
Their customer support services are also commendable. However, these companies have some differences in their operations and product offers that suitable for specific needs. These help customers choose which site to visit for a particular product.
This article compares the two online retailers, focusing on factors such as shipping and storage options, customer reviews, fees they charge, gold and silver prices, etc. After reading the article, it should be easier to determine which option is better for you per your precious metal requirements.
Trusting a company with your hard-earned savings is a big challenge. Hopefully, this APMex-JM Bullion comparison can help you make a more informed decision concerning your available options.
Before delving into this article, I invite you to view my list of Gold IRA Companies.
The top way to safeguard your retirement is to open a precious metals IRA. Check out the below providers and request a free kit.
Company | Personal Findings | Review | Free Guide | |
 | #1 Goldco | Best Overall Rating (Where I Invested) | ||
 | #2 American Hartford Gold | Best Buyback Program | ||
 | #3 Augusta Precious Metals | Most Educational ($50,000 Minimum) | ||
 | #4 Noble Gold | Best Metals Selection |
What Will I Learn?
- About APMEX
- About JM Bullion
- APMEX Customer Reviews
- JM Bullion Customer Reviews
- APMEX Products
- JM Bullion Products
- APMEX Shipping Costs and Storage Fees
- JM Bullion Shipping Costs and Storage Fees
- APMEX-JM Bullion Pros and Cons
- APMEX Pros
- APMEX Cons
- JM Bullion Pros
- JM Bullion Cons
- APMEX-JM Bullion: Which Is Right for You?
- Frequently Asked Questions
About APMEX
Scott Thomas created APMex after inheriting his granddad’s coin collection he helped develop growing up. The company now has over 300 employees and is worth about a billion dollars. Since 2000, APMex has sold about 130 million ounces of gold and silver worldwide. This makes it one of the biggest online retailers in the precious metals industry.
The founder also takes part in various community service actions in Oklahoma. An example is his involvement in the Regional Food Bank in the area. It is an excellent move to help eliminate food insecurity.
His passion for helping those without food comes from his struggles growing up. It is also part of his driving force to help his clients build sustainable wealth through their precious metal purchases.
About JM Bullion
JM Bullion is a famous online gold dealer that guides investors who want to buy bullion instead paper assets. Since its establishment, the company has continuously exceeded client expectations. It offers high-quality gold, silver, platinum, copper, and palladium for sale to customers that want to diversify their financial portfolios. The bullion dealer provides excellent customer service to clients as a commitment to the contract they share. This is one of the JM Bullion characteristics that has kept it ahead of other dealers over the years.
APMEX Customer Reviews
Consumer Affairs reports a 3.9 rating out of 5 for about 300 APMex customer reviews. The feedback has mixed sentiments about the company that every investor should go through before buying anything from them.
Most reviews talk about the company’s prompt packaging of orders and its excellent product selection every time. Alternatively, a customer talked about how the wrong items got delivered to their home and how the company handled it. This person claimed that APMex took two weeks to confirm the mistake and did nothing after promising to credit their customer’s account with $25.00.
Another customer complained about APMex canceling their order because a wire transfer from their location took too long to arrive. The company not following through after an agreement was a breach of contract.
Most companies have a mix of pros and cons when looking at their customer reviews. It is up to you to decide which ones you can or can’t overlook.
JM Bullion Customer Reviews
About 39 customer reviews gave JM Bullion a 2.6 out of 5 for Consumer Affairs ratings. The comments about the company had elements of positivity and negativity. However, the positive reviews of the company were a bit more. One example talked about how JM Bullion helped relieve them of the stress associated with buying precious metals. The company provided detailed instructions and always sent emails confirming transactions.
Another review commended the quality of the company’s products, especially its gold coins.
In contrast to these reviews, there was an example of one customer accusing JM Bullion of fraud. The client claimed that the company debited their account after an order for a particular coin. JM Bullion later sent an email about how they were canceling the order because of suspicious activity in their internal review system. However, the company refused to refund the money they took for the order to date.
The truth about these claims hasn’t been established yet. This is why you should be careful when dealing with any online retailer. Always proceed with care.
APMEX Products
As an investor, you can add APMEX products such as gold and silver bullion, palladium platinum, and rare coins to your portfolio. It has some of the best precious metals compared to other dealers in the industry.
Their inventory includes gold coins, gold bars and rounds, The Perth Mint Gold, U.S Mint Gold, and Royal Canadian Gold.
You can also get silver coins, silver rounds, silver bars, U.S Mint silver coins, and Royal Canadian Mint silver in the company’s silver catalog.
JM Bullion Products
JM Bullion offers a selection of physical gold, silver, and other rare coins. These include Gold Buffalos, American Gold coins, and Gold Eagles. You can also find silver rounds and bars, silver coins, American Platinum Eagles, certified platinum coins, and British Platinum Coins among their silver and platinum products.
APMEX Shipping Costs and Storage Fees
You get free shipping when your order from APMEX costs $199 and above. The shipping fee for an order below that is $9.95. All orders are insured during transit, regardless of their type. It assures customers that their precious metals will get to them safely.
However, it is not advisable to store precious metals at home. This is the reason APMEX offers storage for your purchases. The facility is more secure than your home and comes with insurance should anything happen to your product.
APMEX charges storage fees in one of the following ways:
55% of the total value of the precious metal every month
$15 every month
The company deducts charges on quarterly bases.
JM Bullion Shipping Costs and Storage Fees
JM Bullion’s storage and shipping services are two factors that put them ahead of most competitors. They offer exceptional customer support, evident in most of its customer reviews.
It charges $7.99 on all shipping orders that are not free. However, all orders are insured during transit to ensure that you don’t worry about losing your product or receiving them in a damaged state. Not everyone wants to store their precious metals at home. Experts in the industry even advise against this. This is why JM Bullion provides secure storage locations to help you keep and manage your products remotely. The company doesn’t disclose the details of its storage fees but offers free storage for the first six months if your assets exceed $3,000.
APMEX-JM Bullion Pros and Cons
Here are some pros and cons of the two companies to help you make proper comparisons:
APMEX Pros
A Large Inventory
APMEX has so many products available for investors to choose from. It has many product categories with a large variety of precious metals in each. Whether you need gold coins or silver bullion, APMEX will probably have it in stock.
Definite Pricing
Several precious metal dealers change their gold and silver prices to cheat customers when they suspect they can afford the inflated cost. Most of these dealers usually require that you call them for prices. APMEX on the other hand includes the price of its products in its catalog. This means that investors can always see the starting price of an item and budget accordingly.
Enhanced Product Search
It can be a challenge when you are trying to find a particular product in the large inventory of APMEX. However, the company includes an intuitive filtering system on the page to enable visitors to search for a product by brand type, weight, year, grade, sovereign issuing country, etc.
The feature can help you quickly find products to enhance your experience and save time.
Exceptional Packaging and Shipping
Most customer reviews talk about the seamless packaging and shipping of their APMEX orders. The packaging was prompt and the shipment arrived on time. This is a vital feature to consider when choosing an online gold dealer.
Availability of Current Market Price
You can find the current market price of precious metals offered on the APMEX website. It helps you to quickly determine whether the prices in the inventory are too high or fair.
APMEX Cons
Negative Reviews
There are some negative reviews about APMEX that you should always be mindful of. Even though this is only a handful, you should still be cautious about that.
JM Bullion Pros
Wide Selection of Precious Metals
JM Bullion has several products available for investors. It has gold, silver, platinum, and several other precious metals. The size of its inventory is similar to that of APMEX. This makes it a notable competitor.
Current Market Price of Product
You can also find the market price of most precious metals on the JM Bullion website. This helps investors to compare the prices in the inventory to the prices on the market.
Gold and Silver Loans
A unique selling point of JM Bullion is the gold and silver loans it offers to clients. The company partners with Collateral Finance Corporation to give its customers the option to borrow money using their gold and silver bullion as collateral.
With this loan, you can access cash liquidity without having to sell your assets. It is also easy to apply for this online. The process takes about 15 minutes and you should receive feedback within 24 hours. This will include your loan amount and information on the interest rate.
JM Bullion Cons
Poor Reviews
There are some really good pros for JM Bullion. However, the poor reviews it received from customers are also worth noting. The reference to fraud is an example of these concerns.
Assuming the claims are true, JM Bullion is supposed to refund the money they deduct from the customer’s account after canceling an order. It can’t ignore this for a long time since the value of money changes with time.
Even though JM Bullion doesn’t have many reviews like this, you should be cautious about it when choosing to buy precious metals from them. It is easy to find yourself in such a situation if you do a wire transfer or make credit card payments.
APMEX-JM Bullion: Which Is Right for You?
Choosing between multiple sellers is not an easy decision. JM Bullion and APMEX have a lot of similarities when it comes to physical gold products and other precious metals.
In summary, APMEX has a lot of experience and provides an excellent selection of gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals. Most of its reviews on Consumer Affairs are positive, and its rating is above average.
JM Bullion similarly has a large catalog of gold products and other precious metals. The company is also a leader in the industry with years of experience. It has an above-average rating from customers on Consumer Affairs, with most of them referring to its exceptional packaging and shipping. The only notable advantage so far is how it enables customers to take loans against their precious metal assets.
APMEX and JM Bullion are excellent options for diversifying your retirement portfolio. They are two of the top precious metal dealers available and may be worth a try.
If you decide to use any of these dealers, you should first talk to any of their representatives to learn more about their services and offers. You will gain more knowledge to help you make better decisions after that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is an Online Gold Dealer?
Most online gold dealers offer bullion, bars, coins, and many other gold pieces for sale. Several of these customers are investors looking to diversify their financial portfolios. These dealers provide gold products including other services such as storage and delivery. As an investor, you have the option of having your product delivered to you, or storing it in the dealer’s vault for a fee. Usually, you also have the option of selling the gold back to the dealer if you want.
What is the Process for Buying Gold Online?
Online gold dealers constantly develop the user experience for buying gold on their websites. The best of them have well-organized catalogs that enable customers to easily navigate the pages. You can quickly find a product, compare its prices to market prices, and get detailed information by clicking on it.
These online shops are set up with a cart for you to add products you want to buy. Investors can choose the quantity and checkout by paying with a credit card or via wire transfer.
Your price locks in for about 10 to 15 minutes immediately after you start the checkout process. At this point, you have to ensure that you complete the purchase before the price expires. After it expires it will either rise or drop depending on the market price in real-time.
The dealer will send you a confirmation email with your shipping information. You will also receive notifications when the product is in transit.
Can I Store My Gold Coins or Silver Bullion at Home?
There is nothing wrong with storing your gold at home (except for gold IRAs) if you want to. However, it is not an advisable move. It is better to let the dealer store it in a highly secure facility for a fee. In this case, you also insure your gold in case anything happens to it. Your homeowner’s insurance may not cover potential damage or loss of your gold if any misfortune hits. To be sure, you might have to get additional insurance coverage.
Is it Safe to Buy Gold Online?
The dangers of buying gold online are not limited to the industry. They are general problems with online transactions that also occur in the gold industry. It is a safe process as long as you can confirm you are dealing with a legitimate company.
Firstly, you should always ensure the dealer is using SSL encryption on their website. They should be PCI-compliant and have insurance for all their shipments at full value.
Most of the danger involves buying a fake product from an illegitimate company. There is also the risk that the inventory is overpriced or the dealer runs off with your money. As a rule of online purchases, you are the first and final line of defense against a scammer. Take your time to do your research. Know who you are dealing with and set up preventive mechanisms.
How Do You Choose a Reliable Gold Dealer?
A reliable gold dealer will mostly be concerned about its reputation in the industry. A highly-respected dealer is one way of ensuring you trade with an expert. You can also use reviews to check out the company’s transactional history. Only people who have already had an experience with this business can accurately tell you what to expect. Check to see if the dealer has established a reputation of trust and professionalism with their past transactions, or whether they have left customers with a bitter taste in their mouths.
It is necessary to also check to see if they have a physical location, buyback policies, multiple payment options, or transparent pricing.
About Arthur Karter
Hi, I’m Arthur, and nobody wants to wake up in their 50s like me that they are in serious debt with minimal assets. This wake-up call forced me to reevaluate everything. After going through the school of Hard Knocks, I’m ready to help you by sharing the best retirement choices and how they differ from all the same-old, same-old options that financial advisors sell. These alternatives will help you build and protect your wealth.
