Merit

[bamboorods]

I wish that I had found this site before. Bush league rookie here. Started buying some silver bars a couple of years ago from Bullion Direct. Some of the quality was not satisfactory. Damaged and tarnished bars. Then I put 25k into Vanguard P/M and bought 400 shares of Gold Corp. Big mistake. Now I'm just going to have to ride the sick pony! The day of that terrible Bernake announcement I cashed in half of my bond funds and am buying silver and palladium with the cash. Tried several times to do business with a very arrogant person at Merit. Then the other day he started to change the rules. Looked for another broker when I found JM Bullion. Reading about JM Bullion my first buy that is yet to be delivered will be my last. Now that I have time I went to Ripoffreport.com and started to read the comments on all the brokers. It was enough to curl my hair. I started to run every dealer thru Ripoff and lo and behold there were negative comments about every dealer that I entered except for The Tulving Co. Like as I might like to do business with them I can't really meet their minimums. So my quest for an honest dealer goes on. Thanks for all your comments....They are most helpful.

Bamboorods

 

[Garry]

Try Apmex?

 

[pmbug]

Hi bamboorods, welcome to the forum. :wave:

Sorry you had a few bad experiences. You don't need a "broker" to buy physical metal. You can buy it directly from a retailer. We have reviews of many retailers here in the Marketplace forum room. Some dealers excel on price, some on service.

 

[rblong2us]

welcome aboard bamboo rods
sounds like you could be a boat builder ? (-;

 

[Jay]

I wish that I had found this site before. Bush league rookie here. Started buying some silver bars a couple of years ago from Bullion Direct. Some of the quality was not satisfactory. Damaged and tarnished bars. Then I put 25k into Vanguard P/M and bought 400 shares of Gold Corp. Big mistake. Now I'm just going to have to ride the sick pony! The day of that terrible Bernake announcement I cashed in half of my bond funds and am buying silver and palladium with the cash. Tried several times to do business with a very arrogant person at Merit. Then the other day he started to change the rules. Looked for another broker when I found JM Bullion. Reading about JM Bullion my first buy that is yet to be delivered will be my last. Now that I have time I went to Ripoffreport.com and started to read the comments on all the brokers. It was enough to curl my hair. I started to run every dealer thru Ripoff and lo and behold there were negative comments about every dealer that I entered except for The Tulving Co. Like as I might like to do business with them I can't really meet their minimums. So my quest for an honest dealer goes on. Thanks for all your comments....They are most helpful.

Bamboorods

welcome to the forum! I second what he said about APMEX, have had all good experience with them.

have been buying from this guy for ten years; he's a little steep but all good also:
Paul Sims
1.800.368.3039
PO Box 29249
Richmond Virginia 23242

he doesn't advertise on the net, just coin magazines.

 

[bamboorods]

Thanks for the Apmex tip. They only have one complaint registered against them. Compared to the rest of the firms they look squeaky clean.
Yes I have built several Makenzie River drift boats and a few canoes. But my passion is building bamboo fly rods and has been my serious hobby for more than 25 years. Had a whole bunch of $5 gold coins that I used to build into the reel seats. Probably 20 years ago and I remember that I paid $16 each for them. Like the man said "them days are gone forever".

 

[Unobtanium]

Welcome bamboorods,
If you have a good local coin shop in town, it is good to develop a relationship with them. Otherwise, there are some decent online dealers. None are perfect, but there are several that have proven themselves to be reputable in general such as but not limited to:
Apmex
Provident
Gainesville Coins
Tulving, if you can afford the minimums

Also, it is not worth saving a few bucks in premium by going with a questionable dealer. The potential headaches are not worth it.

 

[superhero]

Good. Cheap. Fast.

Pick 2.

Between this and another forum I visit, people generally like the dealers mentioned above. I hear good things about Silvertowne, but have never bought from them because their premiums on the items I want are fairly high.

Apmex has a fantastic selection, great customer service, are are. But you pay for it.

I've had 2 good experiences with Liberty, but have read some negative reviews about them. They are my local dealer. Selection could be better, but they have most of the "standard" items.

Monarch Precious Metals has GREAT service, are quick, and premiums on their hand poured bars are low. Unfortunately they don't have a lot of variety. Good for bulk silver, not so good for gold.

Good luck getting your orders from Merit and JM. Welcome, and feel free to ask questions.

 

[marper]

I read some recent bad reviews on tulving at gold dealer rater or something like that. It seems like a notorious problem with bullion dealers that with large cash orders they like to play the float and or don't have your metal in stock making people wait forever. I have only heard good things about apmex and provident has been good to me but I always pay with a credit card because they know if they don't ship in a timely fashion a charge back is coming so it's worth the 3% charge.

 

[PeterA]

I'm really sorry that you've had poor experiences! The good news is that you now know to use the power of the internet to research companies before giving them your business. You mentioned RipOffReport, but don't forget consumer protection agencies like the Better Business Bureau, TrustLink, Business Consumer Alliance, authority magazines like INC, Money, Forbes, etc...

Not all gold companies are created equal. So do your research, and do NOT do business with any arrogant salespeople on the phone! They are working for you, and do not deserve to get paid a commission of your hard earned money if they are rude or arrogant!