APMEX Review | Complaints, Fees – Legit or Scam?

Key takeaways from our review:

• APMEX has a free mobile app available on iOS and Android that makes buying and selling precious metals easy. The app is well reviewed with 4.8/5 stars on Android.
• Reviews online are a mixed bag with a 2.1 rating on TrustPilot, a 3.1 rating on Sitejabber, and 3.97 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau, however they do have an A rating and are an accredited business on BBB.
• They have one of the largest inventories and selections online for precious metals and investment coins that we've seen online so far, with hundreds of rare coins and oddities. They do offer a gold IRA, however it comes across as almost an afterthought on their website.

APMEX Pros & Cons

What is APMEX?

APMEX, or American Precious Metals Exchange, is an ecommerce company which provides a two-way market for buyers and sellers of precious metals investment products. Located in Oklahoma City, United States, the company was founded in 2000 and the CEO is Kenneth Lewis. APMEX serves precious metals enthusiasts with a huge array of investment coins and bullion products. You can find everything from rare coins to copper bullion and even clearance deals on their website.

APMEX Products and Services

Primarily a gold and silver coins and bullion dealer, APMEX does offer a variety of products and services. We'll cover them in this section. 

• Gold and Silver IRAs: APMEX does offer a retirement account, but it almost seems like an afterthought. Compared to a company like Augusta, for example, their IRA offer seems pretty weak. With the APMEX gold IRA, you can open a new IRA or transfer an existing retirement account to APMEX and work with a custodian to secure your precious metals for retirement. Setting up the IRA is free, but you'll need to meet their minimum $2,000 investment.
• IRA-approved Products: APMEX offers IRA-approved gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products for your IRA.
• Bullion and Coins: This is where APMEX really stands out from the pack. Their rare and valuable investing coins offer is huge compared to most competitors. They offer gold, silver, platinum, palladium coins, and a lot more. They also have an extensive list of rare and collector coins. You can browse Kruggerands, Philharmonics, and a ton more.
• Currency: APMEX has a wide selection of currencies for sale from around the world. You can browse through treasury notes, certificates, and more.
• Storage: APMEX provides storage via a partnership with Citadel Global Depository Services. Citadel provides insurance, affordable shipping costs, low annual fees, audits, and security for your investments.
• Shipping: APMEX has a solid shipping service and can send you your precious metals fast via UPS or FedEx.
• AutoInvest Program: APMEX has something they call their "AutoInvest Program" which lets you set up recurring payments for any precious metals product you want and purchase it monthly so you build your portfolio while "averaging down."
• Sell to APMEX: APMEX makes it easy to sell your precious metals to them via their "Sell to Us" program. 
• The Bullion Card: The Bullion Card by APMEX is being called "the industry's first precious metals reward card," and lets you redeem points on products purchased via APMEX. You get 1% cash back on gold and silver, 15,000 bonus points after spending $1,500, and a ton more great perks.
• APMEX Club: a loyalty reward program for members to get rewarded for shopping at APMEX.

As you can see, APMEX has a ton of unique and interesting services and products. We give them high marks for ingenuity, however, the wide array of choices can be confusing. 

Custodians, Storage, and Security

As mentioned above, APMEX provides storage via a partnership with Citadel Global Depository Services. Citadel will take care of all your storage and security needs for your APMEX precious metals. 

For custodians, APMEX partners with Kingdom Trust, Equity Trust, STRATA Trust, GoldStar Trust, and more.

Fees & Pricing

How To Start An APMEX Account?

To start an APMEX account online follow these steps: 

1. Visit their account registration page here.
2. Fill out the form with your information and create a password for your account.
3. Click "Create Account", and your done.

Once inside, you can set payment details and preferences, and start buying precious metals products.

APMEX Reviews, Complaints, and Ratings Online

APMEX reviews are a mixed bag from ratings and consumer platforms: 

• With the Better Business Bureau (BBB), APMEX gets 3.9/5 stars with an "A" rating.
• At SiteJabber.com, APMEX gets 3/5 stars with 30 reviews.
• On TrustPilot.com, they receive 2.1/5 stars with 7,700+ reviews.
• On ConsumerAffairs.com, APMEX gets 3.9/5 stars with a total of 267 votes.

With such a wide range of ratings, it's hard to get a firm fix on customer sentiment.

Complaints range from broken website design and a difficult user experience, lost funds and products, funds being witheld for over 60 days, difficulty getting refunds, bad customer service, and more.

In our review of APMEX.com, we gave them 3.6/5 stars. 

APMEX Alternatives

There's no shortage of gold and precious metals dealers out there. If you're thinking about buying gold and silver investing products from APMEX and need a few alternatives to compare pricing and products, take a look at these three below. 

SD Bullion 

SD Bullion is a similar company with comparable products and services to APMEX with a few standout differences. The main thing we love about SD Bullion is their in-house full segregated gold storage service called SD Storage. SD Bullion has competitive fees and pricing, great deals, and huge variety of investing coins and bars to consider. In our review of SD Bullion, we gave them 4.2/5 stars.

Gold Alliance 

Gold Alliance is another interesting gold and silver broker with a wide range of coins and numismatic pieces to choose from and a focus on gold IRAs. Their site is more oriented towards retirees looking to invest in gold and silver IRAs for retirement, but that shouldn't throw you off if you're looking to buy outside of an IRA. In our review of Gold Alliance, we found that they have a fantastic selection, but less competitive pricing and fees and subpar customer service.

Money Metals Exchange

Another well known gold and silver dealer, Money Metals Exchange is a great alternative to APMEX. We don't have a review of MME on our site yet so we can't recommend them to you, but in our research we found that overall they get decent ratings and reviews, have a comparably broad inventory of gold, silver, and precious metals products, and offer gold IRAs. 

Verdict: Is American Precious Metals Exchange Legit?

APMEX, or the American Precious Metals Exchange, is a legit broker of precious metals products and services.

What stood out for us in our review: 

• Amazing selection of rare investing coins in a wide array of precious metals
• Unique products like cash-back rewards cards for precious metals purchases
• Mixed reviews online with a wide array of complaints.

We recommend APMEX for: 

• Investing coin collectors looking for rare and interesting coins, bullion bars, and deals on precious metals products

We do not recommend APMEX if you're looking for a gold IRA. For precious metals IRAs, check out Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, or American Hartford Gold.