Review: Monarch Precious Metals

[HCA1961]

I ran across a reference to Monarch Precious Metals on another site. They have some different products and odd-sized bars and ingots that I found attractive, and the premium and shipping is not bad. I'm curious: has anyone here had any dealings with Monarch?

Thanks!

http://www.monarchpreciousmetals.com/

 

[superhero]

Curious as well. Their 5 oz pour bars look nice, and the $3 premium ain't too bad in this market. Some of the kitco forum guys have had good experiences with them.

Too bad they don't take personal checks. Their shipping is pretty high as well... depending on how much you buy, it could range from $7 to $50.

 

[Bru]

I haven't bought from Monarch but I'm an avid PM Vendor website hunter, and the Monarch website has a couple things that are very unusual features. Check out their "Unique .999 Silver" and "Gold Nuggets & Quartz" every now and then. The Unique Silver section will almost always have some unusual items and occasionally has some truly unique, one-of-a-kind items. The Nugget section often has unique natural gold nuggets and will occasionally have unique natural gold nuggets that are part natural gold nugget and part crystalline quartz. The nuggets are different, but the gold-and-quartz nuggets are truly beautiful things. I'm sure reselling one of them would be difficult, so liquidity will likely be zilch. But--if you're ever in the "just GOTTA have a nugget" mode, Monarch might be a good place to scratch that itch. Safer than the snake pit called eBay, anyhow...

 

[superhero]

FWIW, I placed an order last night and bought the 10 remaining 5oz poured bars.

Website was fairly easy to use, showing you how many of each item they have in stock. The prices don't update with every change in spot price, but I wasn't going to fret about a few pennies.

Monarch gives volume discounts. Shipping & insurance depends on how much you buy. They take credit card, cashier's checks and money orders. Wish they took personal checks because my bank charges $10 per cashier's check. The check needs to be in their hands by the end of the week or they'll cancel my order. Unlike some other dealers, they don't require a CC to hold the price, which is a nice surprise, but I'm sure if you renege on your order once, they'll blacklist the account.

Reading several other forums, Monarch is extremely responsive and has fast shipping. I'll update if there's any progress.


BTW, their 10oz poured bars are on sale. Last I saw, they had 100+ of them for a fairly good price. Might be worth checking out if you're buying.

 

[superhero]

As mentioned in the previous post, I ordered some 5 oz pour bars from MPM in the wee hours of May 20, and received an auto-generated confirmation right away.

May 20: Received a "personal" e-mail reminding me that payment needed to be received by May 30.
May 22: Sent cashiers check
May 24: E-mailed to see if they received check. Quick response saying no, USPS hadn't stopped by yet.
May 25 (Saturday): Received an e-mail from MPM saying they received check, and product would be shipped on May 29.
May 30: I asked for the USPS tracking number. Received an e-mail response within 15 minutes with the information. USPS said it would arrive on June 1.
May 31: Received the shipment. Everything was in tip-top shape.

MPM has been extra-ordinary with regard to customer service, speed and responsiveness. People on other forums said so, and I just experienced it myself. Unfortunately they have a VERY limited selection of gold, and their premiums on silver coins are fairly high, but on their own products (bars and rounds) are fair. I am VERY happy, would buy from them again, and recommend MPM to anyone in the market for poured bars.