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Our APMEX (American Precious Metals Exchange) review will provide Bear Lake Gold's expert views on this gold and precious metals company and what it offers as a gold IRA dealer in the precious metals industry. In addition, unlike other APMEX reviews online, we will give you information about its products and services, information on the company's leadership team, storage solution, and their cost and fees, together with details of where we rate this company in our list of the top one hundred gold and silver dealers.
We employed our homed gold IRA broker review methodology in conducting this review procedure. As part of our methodology, we communicated with people who have done business with the company in the past and those currently doing business with it. We also asked many questions of the company's employees.
After evaluating all the in-person interviews and online research, we found that APMEX Gold was unworthy of being rated among our top twenty gold IRA firms in the industry.
Our APMEX review will contain the details we discovered and why we did not rate them among our first twenty companies in the precious metals industry. Please finish reading this review to find the details behind our decision.
Bear Lake Gold's focus has always been " to provide a guide to the best precious metal investment companies for investors who want to diversify their investment portfolio and grow wealth in preparation for their retirement years."
For many years, we have carefully and diligently guided our readers on who we believe are the safest, most diligent, and most reliable precious metals companies to do business with.
We have carefully handpicked the precious metals companies that are the best in the industry. This year, we rated the following companies as our top five picks:
When we reviewed these companies, we found that they are the best in the industry and the best gold IRA investment companies for people in the United States.
APMEX (American Precious Metals Exchange) is an online precious metals retailer. The company sells gold and other precious metals. The company was founded in 2000, with its headquarters in Oklahoma. APMEX is one of the largest precious metals retailers in the industry. Since its inception, the company has sold more than 130 million gold and silver ounces globally. It only achieved such a remarkable feat because of its vast online marketing network and business distribution model. The company established its presence in more than sixty countries when writing this review.
The company sells gold and other precious metals, bullion bars, coins, and wafers. APMEX, since its operations in 2000, has employed more than 200 talented employees from different backgrounds. Its choices of employees in the precious metals industry have given it the growth it needs.
In addition, the company has a team of leaders that are highly experienced in the precious metals industry.
APMEX is an American Numismatic Association member. It is a BBB (Better Business Bureau) accredited business with an A+ rating.
The company is known in the industry for buying and distributing platinum bullion coins and mint gold and silver bullion. It is also involved in corporate social responsibility via its involvement in the community. It is dedicated to aiding people in need. To solidify its commitment to helping people in need, it established the Regional Food Bank, a charity initiative. The NGO aims to tackle hunger and provide hope to those who cannot pay for good food. As part of the company's aim, it encourages employees, volunteers, and well-wishers to aid their cause in helping them take people in need out of their sufferings.
The founder of APMEX is Scott Thomas. He is also APMEX's president. Under his leadership, the company has witnessed tremendous growth and has become one of the most prominent precious metals dealers worldwide.
The CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of APMEX is Kenneth Lewis. Kenneth has over two decades of experience in the precious metals industry, and his growth strategy and leadership pattern have helped drive the company to its current height.
APMEX won the award of the largest single Numismatic organization in 2009 because of its large inventory of precious metals and numismatic products. Today, the company still boasts of its large precious metals inventory. APMEX has a wide selection of precious metal products in the categories below.
While writing this review, the company's website showed that it has over 594 gold, 75 platinum, 3 palladium, and 1537 silver products in its inventory. APMEX also sells commemoratives, rare collectible coins, American and global currency, copper, exonumia, and jewelry.
APMEX sells IRA-eligible products for investors who want to save for retirement by investing in precious metals.
The company sells non-IRA and IRA-approved products. Below is a range of products in the company's online catalog.
APMEX sells IRA-eligible precious metals. Its metals meet IRS standards and purity. However, the company is not an IRA custodian but partners with various trusted IRA custodians.
Aside from investing in precious metals coins, rounds, and bars through APMEX, you can buy U.S. paper notes and currency, other countries' paper currencies, and Confederate currency. APMEX also sells copper bars, rounds, bullets, and jewelry.
If you want to save money by finding the best investment precious metal deals, you can do that through APMEX. The company has a section on its website titled 'DEALS.' In this section, you will find various precious metals for discounted prices. When you browse this section, you will see the actual cost of these metals, how much you will save when buying them from the deals section of the website, and their discounted prices.
When we asked one of APMEX's employees about this section, he said, "To stay updated on the precious metals with discounted prices, you can sign up for APMEX's email newsletter. By signing up, you will follow the company's sales page effectively and even get promo codes to help you buy precious metals at ridiculously lower prices."
APMEX works with the best and most respected IRA custodians in the industry. These companies provide gold and precious metals IRA setup and maintenance services. These custodians are:
When we enquired about the company's secure storage, the representative told us that APMEX partners with Brink's Global Services to store precious metals for its customers.
APMEX has many people in its customer service team available on weekdays. You can reach them via phone calls and email. In addition, the company has a live chat feature on its website and a mobile app.
On shipping, a company employee told us that when you pay for orders using your credit cards, APMEX will ship your products within a day. However, the shipping time may vary for bank wire transfers and checks.
Outlined below are the prices for shipping products based on the worth of your purchase.
| Precious Metals Worth | Shipping Fees |
|---|---|
| $50-$499 | $9.95 |
| $500-$4,999 | $14.95 |
| Above $5,000 | Free |
When buying precious metals from APMEX, you can pay through any of the following payment methods
If you want to sell your precious metals, you can sell them to APMEX. Since its inception, the company has bought precious metals worth over $1 billion from people in the United States.
When we spoke to another company employee about this service, he said, "The process is straightforward. People who want to sell their precious metals to APMEX will go to the website, fill out a form, and request a quote for the products they want to sell." "Alternatively, you can contact the customer service department directly for such services." He added.
You can lock in the prices once you receive your quote, then get ready to ship the precious metals. The employee said, "We will send you instructions about how you should package the precious metals to protect them from damage during transit. In addition, we will send you a label for the shipping."
"Immediately your products get to APMEX, and we verify them; we will pay you within the next business day." According to him, there are various payment methods provided by APMEX through which you can receive your money.
A+ 3.81 out of 5
The rating was from 176 reviews with 112 closed complaints in the last three years closed complaints in the last three years.
D
The rating was from 5 reviews.
4.8 out of 5 Stars
The rating was from 12,702 reviews.
4.8 out of 5 Stars.
The rating was from 1,283 reviews.
1.8 out of 5 Stars.
The rating was from 7,856 reviews.
When we asked another member of staff at APMEX about the company's promotions, she said, "for now, we do not offer any promotions apart from the special deals offered on our website and we also offer discounts for large precious metals purchases."
If you consider investing a large amount of money through a transfer or rolling over your 403k or 401k plan into your gold IRA, you could be eligible for Goldco's promotional offer. Currently, Goldco is offering new customers investing in precious metals IRA-free silver worth up to $10,000. The free silver offer could greatly increase your investment portfolio.
To conclude our APMEX review, the company is a legit precious metals retailer and distributor. It does not operate as a scam company.
Although the company is one of the largest in the industry and has been doing business for 23 years now, we do not advise you to invest in a gold IRA through this company, mainly because of its poor rating on public rating websites and the individual feedback we got when interviewing past and current clients.
Ratings on public websites show how customers feel about the company and doing business with it. Hence, when a company has loads of negative ratings, it could have terrible customer service, poor systems, and bad working procedures.
Choosing to invest in a gold IRA through a company should not just be based on their products. A company with good products and bad customer service will frustrate your investment efforts. For example, if there is a problem with your investment portfolio or the precious metals you bought from it, you will have a big issue fixing it because its customer service is either non-responsive or out of reach.
Because we know that a vital aspect of your chosen investment company should be its customer service, we have carefully selected the companies we believe to have the best customer service in the precious metals industry. We also recommend them because they are among the most reputable companies in the industry, and they have passed and exceeded all the checks and balances we use when evaluating such companies.
Our top five recommended companies are Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, American Hartford Gold, Birch Gold Group, and Noble Gold Investments. To learn more about these companies, please click the links in the next section of this review.
This company is the absolute best precious metals IRA firm in the U.S. today due to Augusta's transparency, pricing, dedication to education, and extraordinary attention given to customers.
We highly recommend that everyone take advantage of their free web conference that helps you understand the economy, threats to your retirement, and the precious metals buying process (designed by their in-house Harvard-certified economic analyst). They even share tips for avoiding gimmicks and high-pressure tactics in this unregulated industry.
This gold precious metals specialist company was chosen by Money magazine as "The Best Overall" in its Best Gold IRA Companies list for 2023. It is the only gold IRA firm with ZERO complaints on the BBB website since 2012. It has an outstanding track record proven by consumer watchdog ratings and tons of the best customer reviews, including endorsement by hall-of-fame quarterback Joe Montana, whose advisors found Augusta for him. We are thrilled to recommend Augusta as our #1 gold IRA company!
Pros
Cons
To start investing with Augusta Precious Metals, please click this link to download its 2023 gold investment kit for free.
Established in 2006, this company has an excellent solid record and is our top recommendation for people looking to invest over $25,000 in a gold IRA. We consider this gold trading online platform the 2nd best Gold IRA Company in The USA Today.
Pros
Cons
To start investing with Goldco, please click this link to download its 2023 gold investment kit for free.
American Hartford Gold is one of the most trusted Gold and Precious Metal brokers in the United States. This family-owned company is endorsed by Bill O'Reilly and America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.
American Hartford Gold is great for gold and palladium IRA and purchasing physical Gold, Silver, and Platinum.
Pros
Cons
To start investing with American Hartford Gold, please click this link to download its 2023 gold investment kit fat no cost
Since its establishment in 2003, the company has delighted customers and provided excellent customer education. Birch Gold Group's one-on-one interactions with customers are a fundamental advantage for those who want to make vital decisions impacting their financial future.
Pros
Cons
To start investing with Birch Gold Group, please click this link to download its 2023 gold investment kit for free and without further obligation..
The truth is that Noble Gold has not been around the scene for a long time, but it has, in the shortest time possible, made huge impacts on the gold IRA market. Since its inception, the company has captured customers' hearts via its vast educational resources gallery, a wide range of investment options, and low investment requirements. The company's commitment to customer service also has high ratings on third-party rating sites like BCA and Consumer Affairs.
According to the agent we spoke to, Noble Gold gives customers a committed account manager from the first day they decide to open a gold IRA account with it. The knowledgeable professionals will also give customers all they need to know about how a gold IRA works and the setup process. In addition, they offer a smooth buyback process to their customers.
Noble Gold works with Delaware Depository and Brink's Global Services to provide storage services for its customers. In addition to these storage companies, Noble Gold owns its depository in Texas. Hence, customers can choose to store their metals in any of these three depositories.
Pros
Cons
To start investing with Noble Gold Investment, please click this link to download its 2023 gold investment kit for free.
At Bearlakegold, we have reviewed hundreds of precious metals companies over the years to inform our readers about the best for their gold IRA and precious metals investments. We pass every piece of information we get about companies through our standard gold dealer methodology to ascertain their legitimacy and know if they are ethical to do business with.
When we reviewed APMEX, we discovered that it is a legit online bullion dealer that sells various products (silver, gold, platinum, and palladium coins and bars). However, despite its legitimacy, we do not recommend the company as one of the best to do business with because when we passed the details about APMEX through our gold dealer review methodology, it failed to meet the standards that we used to rank our recommended top five companies in the industry.
Hence, we will recommend our top five precious metals companies for purchasing gold and silver bullion products. These companies (offline and online vendors) are Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, American Hartford Gold, Birch Gold Group, and Noble Gold Investments. To find out why these companies are the best for your precious metal investments, please click on them for their full and detailed review.
APMEX is a safe dealer when it comes to precious metals investments. The bullion dealer has been selling precious metals for 23 years and has a good reputation in the precious metals industry. According to one of its customer representatives, APMEX does not joke about the security and safety of its customers' investments. It ensures that it stores clients' investments in a safe storage facility. In addition, the company gives its customers guidance on precious metals investment best practices. Hence, you can be sure you will get high-quality precious metals from APMEX.
