Posted 07/22/2013 10:27 am
APMEX = most extensive inventory, good customer service, tends to be high-priced, genuinely nasty shipping charges, standard shipping delays.
Provident = more limited inventory, good customer service, mostly lower prices, standard shipping charges, standard shipping delays.
Goldmart = limited inventory (frequently out of stock but may or may not admit it), questionable reputation for customer service w/ horror stories easy to find,
lowest prices, standard shipping charges, inordinate shipping delay horror stories abound.
SilverTowne and Scottsdale = Middle of the road; make and sell their own silver bars and rounds. Both make/sell nice poured bars.
Kitco = The Canadian Giant... Everything pretty much standard, fairly good prices but a $2,500 minimum order.
Gainesville Coins = Do your homework and google up reviews of Gainesville Coins and National Gold Exchange of Tampa FL (their previous name). Also
search Gainesville Coins in this forum. Stories of damaged goods, refusal to accept returns and bad news customer service are easy to find.
eBay = Some bargains, mostly the highest prices, everything you could imagine is for sale, forgeries/fakes/copies/counterfeits ALL OVER THE PLACE,
mostly pretty high per coin shipping charges, fast shipping (especially from the scammers), major caution and extreme due diligence are required here.
If/when using ebay, DEFINITELY use a credit card through PayPal. It will (hopefully) provide protection against scammers.
That's most of the "biggies" although there are many others. Happy hunting and shopping!
Edit: I forgot the most important one of all... Your relatives should see if there's a decent local coin shop in their area. For all the online availability that's offered
today, I still spend most of my PM $$ at my LCS. Bad news LCS's can be horror stories, but the good ones can be the very best places to do business.
Provident = more limited inventory, good customer service, mostly lower prices, standard shipping charges, standard shipping delays.
Goldmart = limited inventory (frequently out of stock but may or may not admit it), questionable reputation for customer service w/ horror stories easy to find,
lowest prices, standard shipping charges, inordinate shipping delay horror stories abound.
SilverTowne and Scottsdale = Middle of the road; make and sell their own silver bars and rounds. Both make/sell nice poured bars.
Kitco = The Canadian Giant... Everything pretty much standard, fairly good prices but a $2,500 minimum order.
Gainesville Coins = Do your homework and google up reviews of Gainesville Coins and National Gold Exchange of Tampa FL (their previous name). Also
search Gainesville Coins in this forum. Stories of damaged goods, refusal to accept returns and bad news customer service are easy to find.
eBay = Some bargains, mostly the highest prices, everything you could imagine is for sale, forgeries/fakes/copies/counterfeits ALL OVER THE PLACE,
mostly pretty high per coin shipping charges, fast shipping (especially from the scammers), major caution and extreme due diligence are required here.
If/when using ebay, DEFINITELY use a credit card through PayPal. It will (hopefully) provide protection against scammers.
That's most of the "biggies" although there are many others. Happy hunting and shopping!
Edit: I forgot the most important one of all... Your relatives should see if there's a decent local coin shop in their area. For all the online availability that's offered
today, I still spend most of my PM $$ at my LCS. Bad news LCS's can be horror stories, but the good ones can be the very best places to do business.
Edited by Fat Freddy
07/22/2013 10:36 am
07/22/2013 10:36 am
