Incompetent APMEX transaction

[68Camaro]

I bought a Canadian Maple, gold, from APMEX on ebay on 17 July. I still don't have it. They have my money, I have nothing.

It's not that they haven't tried. They did eventually send me a coin. But it was a UK 100 pound gold coin. Not a bad coin, and I thought about just keeping it. But I let them know and they insisted they make this correct, so they sent a shipper, I returned it, and waited two more weeks. You know the old adage - no good deed goes unpunished>? So today I get a tracking number in the email. I check it. They actually shipped it 5 days ago, and it got here to town 2 days ago - BUT THE ADDRESS WAS INSUFFICIENT! The USPS returned it.

Ugh. I'm sure every place makes mistakes eventually, but this is twice on the transaction, and it's still not right.

APMEX may eventually attract me back, but I won't be buying much from them again any time soon.

[Thogey]

Dude you have the worst luck buying metal.

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

FWIW, I've had about 100 transactions with Apmex since 2007. I never had one problem.

[silverstacker]

I bought a Canadian Maple, gold, from APMEX on ebay on 17 July. I still don't have it. They have my money, I have nothing.

It's not that they haven't tried. They did eventually send me a coin. But it was a UK 100 pound gold coin. Not a bad coin, and I thought about just keeping it. But I let them know and they insisted they make this correct, so they sent a shipper, I returned it, and waited two more weeks. You know the old adage - no good deed goes unpunished>? So today I get a tracking number in the email. I check it. They actually shipped it 5 days ago, and it got here to town 2 days ago - BUT THE ADDRESS WAS INSUFFICIENT! The USPS returned it.

Ugh. I'm sure every place makes mistakes eventually, but this is twice on the transaction, and it's still not right.

APMEX may eventually attract me back, but I won't be buying much from them again any time soon.

I remember that purchase. Wow that's very disappointing.

[68Camaro]

I'm a walking talking focus group for Murphy.

[InfleXion]

At least they are trying to make it right, I think that's worth a lot, but I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I have never personally had anything other than a perfect experience with APMEX, but I have heard on one occaison from a guy who runs a YouTube channel that when a USPS employee opened his package and stole his merchandise that APMEX was unwilling to even initiate the insurance claim review process even though insurance was purchased, because at that point it was a legal matter with the USPS. This person made the mistake of telling the USPS he did not want to press charges assuming that APMEX insurance would cover the theft, and after doing that he had no recourse to get his metal or his money back.

[beauanderos]

Sorry, Rich. I would have thought that with Kirkland running the Customer Relations Department that these types of issues wouldn't arise.

[Thogey]

KIRKLAND!

[fasteddy]

^^^^
That is so dang funny....LMAO

[Rodebaugh]

Rich, your the type of fella that goes to Burger King orders a Whopper and somehow gets a McChicken.

The worst kind of luck.....and as always no good deed goes unpunished.

[68Camaro]

One thing I've learned is that I don't measure success of business in how many times they succeed, but by what they do when they fail. They have followed up their issues by being super slow to respond on top of the issues. They failed to respond to my follow-up email of yesterday in a timely manner, so I've left them negative feedback (not that they care a lot). In searching through their negative feedback of the past 30 days they average one a day, and at least one was from the same issue as my first issue - sending a Britannia instead of a Maple. So they have a systemic issue. Maybe the negative will stir up a positive response.

[silverstacker]

One thing I've learned is that I don't measure success of business in how many times they succeed, but by what they do when they fail. They have followed up their issues by being super slow to respond on top of the issues. They failed to respond to my follow-up email of yesterday in a timely manner, so I've left them negative feedback (not that they care a lot). In searching through their negative feedback of the past 30 days they average one a day, and at least one was from the same issue as my first issue - sending a Britannia instead of a Maple. So they have a systemic issue. Maybe the negative will stir up a positive response.

On BS there is a discussion surrounding this issue.

Personally, I haven't dealt with them and stories like this one don't make me want to deal with them.

I won a large 3 year sales contract last month due in part to the "measure of success in business" that you mentioned. It wasn't the quality that the incumbent was offering that burned the bridge or the delays they encountered but rather the slow response to issues raised. The inability to deliver bad news or to act on that bad news is the worse thing a company or a person can do to a customer. In my case, I won the opportunity to offer my product and services because the incumbent was unable to communicate efficiently thereby opening the door for me. Since then, I've unfortunately had to deliver bad news and unexpected production delays but the difference is that I DELIVER that bad news as quickly as I can to open up dialogue on the subject and to allow as much time possible for my customer and I to explore other avenues or ways to possibly rectify the situation.
By not responding or being slow to respond says that your money and/or your business isn't that important to them and they're also saying that their not to concerned with who YOU might have to answer to. In this situation your the end user( until silver spikes to $1k ) so your the only person that is being told your business isn't worthy of a quicker more efficient response. What if you were a small LCS that had already promised this item to a customer? Not only are you unable to deliver your product to your customer in a timely manner but you are left without answers. This now leaves the small LCS to tie up more money to find another item for the customer (if they are a good LCS that respects their customers needs). If the LCS doesn't do this and just says that their vendor or supplier is unable to deliver this sends a message to the end user that this LCS doesn't have the right suppliers that respect their needs. Therefore, maybe I should look elsewhere to buy my product. The ripple effect can go on and on. I feel your pain on this 68 and look for these types of opportunity's to get in and sell my services. Mistakes happen and should be viewed as an opportunity to show your customer that their an asset to your business by making sure your quick to respond and make every effort to offer solutions as quickly as possible.

My two cents

[slickeast]

Rich, you are being Wal-Marted

[pennypicker]

Perhaps APMEX sees themselves as "to big to fail" and complacency has set in.

[Rodebaugh]

excellent response silverstacker

[silverstacker]

excellent response silverstacker

Every once and awhile I come through with a good response Thanks!

[neilgin1]

One thing I've learned is that I don't measure success of business in how many times they succeed, but by what they do when they fail. They have followed up their issues by being super slow to respond on top of the issues. They failed to respond to my follow-up email of yesterday in a timely manner, so I've left them negative feedback (not that they care a lot). In searching through their negative feedback of the past 30 days they average one a day, and at least one was from the same issue as my first issue - sending a Britannia instead of a Maple. So they have a systemic issue. Maybe the negative will stir up a positive response.

68, as I consider you a friend, man, I feel for ya, I truly do. Must be a nightmare...coz i'm assuming we're talking about a 1 toz GOLD Maple, and that must somewhere around $1200 plus, and to me...that is LOT of money....so i'm praying you get that coin.

there was something you wrote above that struck me....looking at the negs, you noticed OTHER cases where a Britannia was offered in lieu of a Maple....that speaks volumes, because over the last 5 plus years, I lost ALL trust in EVERY "institution", public or private, I don't care who or what they are, I don't trust 'em, just a pack of liars. Now I been stacking 7 years for serious, just Ag rolls, coz that's what I can afford, and thank God, not once, have I gone through, what you're going thru. Now, my last purchases were in Feb and April of this year, when I bought a bunch of silver Maple rolls from MCM, seamless purchase, no problems...

what I THINK (not know) is happening is this; since these criminals who amped up their paper price suppression of PM's in the last few months, we seen demand go thru the roof, in both Au and Ag products, and I don't think even the largest houses of physical PM's can cope....not only with the sheer volume of customers, but of keeping product in stock. look what happened to Bullion Direct, and their "nucleo exchange"....they went belly up...and i'm not saying that Ampex is next or doesn't have "product", but the CHOICE coin, in these days of rampant, UNCHECKED chicom counterfeiting, are the new Maple Leafs, with their state of the art innovations.

and rather then be upfront and UPRIGHT, these guys get scared, and go thru all the machinations you're experiencing. just keeping buyers at bay, UNTIL they get their "allotment". i'm not writing this to increase your aggravation, i'm believing in Faith, that yes, you will get that coin, but to me, that is just one more piece of the puzzle that the "cloth" is fraying at the edges, and I say that , coz I got two more little indicators this is true, though they pale against your situation here.

first, you've noticed that crude oil is making new lows everyday, right? I think we're trading 40-41 USD, but up here in the last three weeks, 91 octane with NO ethanol, that's all I use has gone from $2.50 to 3.45 a gallon....now, I never complain about MoGas prices, because globally, America has cheap prices , and I also know that Major Oilco's HATE refining crude into motor gasoline, its a loss leader for them....why do you think we haven't built a new refinery in America since the late 70's?....so the "reason" given over the "news" (lol) is that the ONE refinery that supplies our area is either "down" or "having problems"......it could be true, but maybe it isn't....do I trust what I hear? absolutely not, why would I?

the second thing, and I ashamed to even tell you this story in light of what you're going thru, is this little story. the reason I been laying off Ag purchases since April is, i'm middle class, i'm furiously paying down ALL debt, and i'm a "prepper" (I loathe that word) but I stock up (or stack up...lol) on food and other items...and I do a lot of business with Walmart dot com...in July I made a pretty good size purchase, I was leaning more towards the longer term storage items, (check out Augason Farms products there...good company), but I was also buying cases of canned products, intermediate term......and I tried to buy some cases of Dinty Moore Beef Stew and some of their Chicken and Dumplings...the drop down menu only went to 8 cans......"what?"...so I hit the 8 cans "add to cart", went back to add 8 more cans, but it wouldn't let me do that....Then I didn't care.

When I got the whole order delivered up here, I tried the Chicken and Dumplings one night, made a pot of white rice, had kimchi with it...and bam! white boy comfort food! It was good, and a lot of canned stuff isn't that good, but this was, so I decided a couple days ago , I want to buy 6 cases, 72 cans, and the website wouldn't let me...I'm thinking, "what?...is this some sort of commie rationing program?"....called customer service at Walmart dot (I NEVER yell or get fresh at customer service reps, they're just folks trying to make a living) but they didn't know, so since I know all the managers at my wally, 15 miles away, I drove in, told them my "story", they went online, saw what I was talking about, and made the order as if the store was making the order....and in a week, when it gets here, they'll call me.....but wouldn't you figure that if a customer wanted to buy HOWEVER many of whatever, a business would sell it to them, wouldn't you?

not in this case....but why not? .......still haven't gotten an answer, that's why I encourage everyone here, if you haven't already, stack food and water as well...doesn't make you "paranoid"...its just wisdom, these days of the "new normal" warrant such actions, imo.....and as far as our friend 68 goes, I don't believe in "unlucky"....I believe in free market capitalism, where both buyer and seller are accountable to each other, and in these strange days of the "new normal", things are changing for the worse, so you just call audibles on the line. 68, i'm with you bro, or as the great Bob Marley sung, "Everything gonna be alright".

and on that note, I post this song, Bob has always been one of my heroes, and it aint the whole rasta cannabis thing, Bob was special, made a ton of money, gave most of it away...he was the real deal.

[neilgin1]

excellent response silverstacker

i'll second that emotion!!

wow! THAT is the kind of change we need in America. spot on Stack, ole bean! n

[beauanderos]

Neil, starting to sound (if they aren't already) like Walmart is relying on just-in-time inventory, and even your small order (to them) might cause bare shelves

I agree with your speculation that APMEX is stalling by sending out a substitute golden ounce. Probably half their customers will decide they like it and not complain,
some will be miffed and yet suck it up, while only a minority will demand that they be made right. The big houses aren't invulnerable from the same issues that drove
the smaller guys out of business.

[slickeast]

Having worked at a Walmart Distribution center for the grocery side, I have some insight.

I worked both in receiving and shipping. There were many times we had to unload a truck late at night so product would be available for shipping the next morning. We also unloaded produce in the morning to ship out that evening. Unloaded meat and dairy at night to ship out the next morning. Management said " we are a distribution center, not a warehouse.

In the shipping side when I pulled orders we had a board that showed cases ordered vs cases on hand. Sometimes it would show 140,000 cases ordered with only 125,000 on hand. So we are talking 10-11% not on hand. I saw the same thing when I was a grocery manager at a local grocery chain. We would not receive 10-12% of our order every delivery. So when we ordered 1000 cases , 100-120 would not come.

So I think that across the board there is a tight schedule for products coming in and going out. Any disruption has a ripple effect

[Treetop]

Sad to hear such issues, I had always liked apmex.

[68Camaro]

48 hours after my last complaint, and 24 hours after filing an ebay negative, I started an official ebay dispute, but since APMEX shows a USPS tracking number on the original order was delivered I have to give them one more formal dispute chance to resolve it, and wait another 6 days before I can protest to ebay itself.

[neilgin1]

Having worked at a Walmart Distribution center for the grocery side, I have some insight.

I worked both in receiving and shipping. There were many times we had to unload a truck late at night so product would be available for shipping the next morning. We also unloaded produce in the morning to ship out that evening. Unloaded meat and dairy at night to ship out the next morning. Management said " we are a distribution center, not a warehouse.

In the shipping side when I pulled orders we had a board that showed cases ordered vs cases on hand. Sometimes it would show 140,000 cases ordered with only 125,000 on hand. So we are talking 10-11% not on hand. I saw the same thing when I was a grocery manager at a local grocery chain. We would not receive 10-12% of our order every delivery. So when we ordered 1000 cases , 100-120 would not come.

So I think that across the board there is a tight schedule for products coming in and going out. Any disruption has a ripple effect

Thank you so much Slick, as I said i'm up to about 6 months to 8 months in stored food, plus I installed a 8 KW propane fixed genny, that runs off a 500 gallon tank, not so much for the lights, but to keep my well water pump at the ready, as my well goes 460 feet down into very large, well stocked artesian formation of limestone, flint and karst. my water tastes akin to Fiji water, if any of ya'll have tasted that....but again, thanks for the briefing, I sure do appreciate that....think I might try one of them beef stews now, neil

[neilgin1]

48 hours after my last complaint, and 24 hours after filing an ebay negative, I started an official ebay dispute, but since APMEX shows a USPS tracking number on the original order was delivered I have to give them one more formal dispute chance to resolve it, and wait another 6 days before I can protest to ebay itself.

oh for lands sake!....comfort food 68, meaning some ribeyes on the grill tomorrow, with mac-n-cheese, cole slaw, iced lemonade, and a good movie, n

[68Camaro]

Just in the past, month, within neutral and negative feedback, at least 3 cases of 2015 gold Maples being switched with something else. Plus several other cases of apparent bait and switch on other items. Lots of comments of slow shipping and poor feedback, plus shipping scratched, dinged, cleaned coins, etc.

Their poor feedback is still not dramatic, as a percentage of their total, but it's growing when you compare to 6-12 months ago.

After I've resolved this issue (hopefully) I believe I'm done with APMEX - too bad. But there are several other reliable suppliers that I've dealt with without this level of issue.