If you have second thoughts, you will have no problem returning it. I had the exact same situation happened to me too on a Ms63 Panama Pacific half dollar.
"I'll split the atom! I am the fifth dimension! I am the eighth wonder of the world!" -Gef the talking mongoose.
The problem with the giants, is the taste of giant's poop. Not everyone is going to be happy with a generic piece of gold, as it were. We want the CAC sticker to protect us when the plastic doesn't.
I had to do a quick call ealier today to them and just as I suspected, there wasnt any "Marilyn Monroe" nor any NGC63 in stock.
Moral of the story, don't name your coin until you have it on hand...:)
Nothing in the listing says generic image not the coin you will get yada yada yada. Just convinces me to not buy from this company. Even with bullion, I want to hand pick the coin, so not for me. I think they deserve a neg for the misleading listing, maybe they'd wake up.
It does match the NGC lookup. The mark on the cheek and the N shaped mark above IN on the reverse match, but it took me a bit to study it.
Lighting alone can make a coin appear very different. It does look less attractive, to me, in the NGC photos. Would have to see it in person for me to say whether I liked it or not. The Ebay photos make it look nice. It would be surprising if that was a mere accident.
Here are photos I took of an 1885 Nickel I used to own. The only difference is in the angle of lighting. It actually looked a bit worse than the darker photos.
.
.
.
Below is an interesting part of the APMEX terms from that 1910 $10 Ebay page. If they have a history of substituting on One-Of-A-Kind items, then strong complaint is justified. Maybe the listed one sold in another venue and they figured just send another and see if it sticks. If so, then this particular term may only work one way,
I have talked to sellers who admitted and have seen the results of others who operate on the "see if it sticks" method. They feel the worst that can happen is it will be returned. They know that very few end up complaining in a way that will have any negative effect on the "see if it sticks" way.
And to confuse it all, maybe the original coin wasn't any better than what was received.
.
.
"eBay Order Changes
eBay Order changes are not permitted. We suggest you take the time up front to make sure what you want is exactly what you request from us as reflected in your eBay Order."
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
@jmlanzaf said:
How come that ID doesn't come up for me on the website, just on the mobile?
Yeah I can't pull up 142564145071 item number either. I have many, many transactions with APMEX for bullion and they have always been top notch. I know they use stock photos and usually specify clearly that items vary, stock photo etc. Would like to see this actual auction to see if they pulled the bait and switch on you. Return it if your not happy with the coin, I'm sure they will take it back.
Edit: read the rest of the thread and saw direct link to auction. Yeah I would return for sure. I would have assumed you were buying that exact pictured coin too, not a random one.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
I'd keep it. Graded ten dollar Indians are rare in mid uncirculated. If they had sent an AU coin instead then maybe you would have an avenue to complain.
We apologize for this mixup – there was no intention to deceive. As with any product we sell, we stand behind it. With our satisfaction guarantee, our customers are always welcome to return any item purchased from us within 7 days of receipt for a refund or (where possible) exchange, as we have offered to the customer in this case.
We do use representative images for some of our coin listings. Given that we may have multiple pieces of a particular product in stock at any time, it is sometimes more effective to utilize representative images rather than photographs of exact coins.
When we use representative images, we do not cherry-pick examples or selectively edit photos to hide imperfections. No photograph can fully convey every aspect of a coin’s appearance. Regardless of the images shown on the listing, we always invite our customers to take advantage of our return policy if the product they receive does not meet their expectations after seeing it in hand.
We want to be as transparent as possible about our usage of representative images. When viewing a product on APMEX.com, hovering your mouse over the camera icon at the bottom right of the image area will display a message indicating whether or not the image is of the exact item being sold. In the case of our numismatic inventory, we attempt to use exact photographs as often as possible.
Unfortunately, this feature does not extend to our eBay listings. We are currently working with our eBay team to update all of our numismatic listings to add verbiage to our descriptions that clarifies where stock photos are being displayed, in the hope of preventing this confusion in the future.
Good response from Apmex, but single item listings should always contain the proper image. Bulk several pieces available listings are another matter and buyers understand that the image is stock.
...and a question, why do you clog up the errors category with non error coins? It makes it more difficult for the legitimate error coins to receive their due exposure.
Ebay coin listing policy requires a pic of the actual coin and no stock photos. Good grounds for "not as described" since ebay considers the pics part of the description. No doubt they're going to post a pic of the best looking one in the lot.
APMEX was clearly trying to find a label collector with this listing and ended up with an actual coin collector. Shame on APMEX. I love APMEX when it comes to buying bullion, but I go elsewhere when I want coins.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
always message them and ask if you buy the coin do you get the one pictured and if its graded do you get the same cert number that is being shown with that pic. dont do anything till you get your reply. pretty simple
@derryb said:
Ebay coin listing policy requires a pic of the actual coin and no stock photos. Good grounds for "not as described" since ebay considers the pics part of the description. No doubt they're going to post a pic of the best looking one in the lot.
Not true regarding the best looking coin in the lot.
I bought a Saint a few years ago from Apmex on Ebay from a multiple lot B-I-N sale and the coin was not only a bit better date, it was much nicer than the imaged coin.
Nice surprise on a close to bullion type purchase.
@derryb said:
Ebay coin listing policy requires a pic of the actual coin and no stock photos. Good grounds for "not as described" since ebay considers the pics part of the description. No doubt they're going to post a pic of the best looking one in the lot.
Without being argumentative or smart mouthy to anyone, this listing is for 106 PCGS MS65 $20 gold coins. It is one of hundreds of listings that are selling either bulk piles of PCGS coins or selling a single from a pile of the same grade PCGS coins. If a seller is selling 6734 PCGS MS69 widgits, all "identical" grades, dates, mint marks, etc, selling them by the each, does the seller need 6734 different pictures in the listing?
@derryb said:
Ebay coin listing policy requires a pic of the actual coin and no stock photos. Good grounds for "not as described" since ebay considers the pics part of the description. No doubt they're going to post a pic of the best looking one in the lot.
Without being argumentative or smart mouthy to anyone, this listing is for 106 PCGS MS65 $20 gold coins. It is one of hundreds of listings that are selling either bulk piles of PCGS coins or selling a single from a pile of the same grade PCGS coins. If a seller is selling 6734 PCGS MS69 widgits, all "identical" grades, dates, mint marks, etc, selling them by the each, does the seller need 6734 different pictures in the listing?
No. All the seller has to do is type in a boilerplate statement liked "Your purchase will match the quality of the product shown..." or superimpose the certification number with "Random".
For those saying "just return it" or "call them first", you're really missing the point of this thread. It's about improving one's online buying experience. I run a small business too, and even I admitted it's not run as well as it should at times. Based on Apmex's response here, its a start.
I don't trust APMEX for 1 second. Here is a listing I came across the other day doing a generic "Mercury Dime PCGS" search. It caught my eye and for a second I couldn't figure out why it looked so odd. Then the light bulb went off, they used Photoshop to put a Rattler label onto a different generation holder. I mean come on!!! This isn't even a multiple coin listing, it's for a single BIN coin. Take a photo of the actual coin you are selling, this is borderline fraud.
Although the specific situation has been resolved, a couple of very simple suggestions seem appropriate. These are things buyers can enforce with their $$$$, and open publicity.
Collectors should receive the exact item pictured.
If many similar items are available and a 'stock' image is used, then that must be stated proximate to the image and the picture must be typical of what the customer will receive. Further, since we all know there is a wide range of appearance within any "MS" designation, "typical" means of equivalent visual appearance, not just a label designation.
I remember when Apmex started running ads in Coin World, "trader" this and "trader" that. Good with bullion but not numismatics. I ordered a numismatic raw $20 gold coin from them which in hand had cleaning and was over graded. I don't know why they can't hire some top numismatic people to run their numismatics arm. Oxymoron: "corporate executive" and excellence.
Fact remains that ebay coin policy requires a picture of the actual coin being sold and if graded the actual certification number.
I often sell more than one of a similarly graded coin on ebay. I do it one at a time and include the actual coin picture with a "see photo" for actual cert. number. When it sells I just relist with "sell similar" and swap out the photo. It's actually simple to comply with ebay's policy.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
A stock photo may be acceptable with PR/MS 70 untoned moderns or sets with coa's. Would the trueview system be able to differentiate with such widgets?
There is no Santa in Numismatics. Many use eBay dump excess inventory much of it low end. The good stuff is at retail or if auction competitive bidding. If u want the nice coins you will have to pay the money. Many other sellers have such sorry pics u can’t tell anything.
Look at what the seller has as a certificate no in the listing. If it matches the coin pictured that’s the coin u should get if not I would be hacked. Otherwise no cert number then you may not get coin pictured. I used buy a lot stuff from David Lawrence auctions on eBay bc I got the exact coin pictured as they stated and they have great photos. Lately been buying a lot of GC but will check on DL c if they doing auctions.
It may well be there is a 3rd page for $10 Indians, but I couldn't find any others, just the one under "Gold" (linked in post above,) and the one (linked here) from the 'Rare Coins' page.
It's possible it was a single listed under the rare coins section, but in that case they don't use stock images.
Perhaps an employee mistook the order of a single coin from that section, and sent out a random example.
If that IS the case, you (OP) may still be able to get the exact coin pictured. Just call them, and find out what happened.
Not sure if this is the case in the OP, but it may be hard to get the coin shown when the listing says "Any Qty" and "Volume Pricing".
@Sweetpie said:
I brought it via Ebay which didnt hv a "random" wording at title or anywhere. Also I was aware of their direct site listing but you would think one will be buying that exact coin listed since its about $100 more on Ebay.
After all said and done, I will called, raised a ruckus and returned the coin.
As someone said earlier, I, too, had many positive transactions with Apmex. My postings here are intended to share my first time purchasing a specific certified coin experience and not intended to inflame their overall business model. Just their business model needs a slight tweet to better serve their numismactic customer base (as opposed to their buillion crowd).
Glad you were able to return the coin. If it's on eBay, you can always do a "item not as described".
@derryb said:
Fact remains that ebay coin policy requires a picture of the actual coin being sold...
This was always my understanding but it is not enforced and may not be always enforceable. For example, eBay allows Dutch Auctions or other auctions where multiples are being sold. Only one coin is shown, so almost all the successful bidders will not receive what is pictured. (And, you can't show all the coins that are being sold, or someone will insist that they were bidding on all the entire lot that was pictured). Also, pre-sales, which are allowed, by their nature preclude photos of the actual item. So, eBay's policies are sometimes contradictory.
As for APMEX, let their reputation be your guide. No issues as far as I can tell with bullion, but it has already been established that they use stock photos on most items, so buy slabbed coins accordingly. If you don't like what you get, return it,
I will add that I don't like the way some companies hide behind a liberal return policy, which should not be an excuse to send junk. I am NOT saying this scenario necessarily applies to APMEX. Be your own judge. I do give them credit for posting on this thread.
I still remember the 5oz puck debacle with APMEX a few years ago. That left a sour taste in my mouth and I've avoided them ever since. Glad to see that they responded to the OP though.
@Cougar1978 said:
There is no Santa in Numismatics. Many use eBay dump excess inventory much of it low end. The good stuff is at retail or if auction competitive bidding. If u want the nice coins you will have to pay the money. Many other sellers have such sorry pics u can’t tell anything.
Look at what the seller has as a certificate no in the listing. If it matches the coin pictured that’s the coin u should get if not I would be hacked. Otherwise no cert number then you may not get coin pictured. I used buy a lot stuff from David Lawrence auctions on eBay bc I got the exact coin pictured as they stated and they have great photos. Lately been buying a lot of GC but will check on DL c if they doing auctions.
Used car dealers throw up this nice car/truck ad with a nice low price, you get excited but then you call or actually show up in person..."Oh yeah that car, we sold that car last night, you got to get here early"
I don't blame anyone for not being happy if they got less than the coin pictured, but my impression is that APMEX and others like it sell widgets. They offer X coin in X condition, and you tell them how many you want.
I had always thought that one (certainly not the only) reason for TPG slabs was so that coins could be traded like a commodity, sight unseen. Of course, that doesn't work for true collectors.
I still don't think of APMEX as a place for slabbed vintage coins, partly due to threads like this one, I guess they need to either tighten up their process for that type of inventory, or abandon that sector of the market.
@APMEX_Official said:
We apologize for this mixup – there was no intention to deceive. As with any product we sell, we stand behind it. With our satisfaction guarantee, our customers are always welcome to return any item purchased from us within 7 days of receipt for a refund or (where possible) exchange, as we have offered to the customer in this case.
We do use representative images for some of our coin listings. Given that we may have multiple pieces of a particular product in stock at any time, it is sometimes more effective to utilize representative images rather than photographs of exact coins.
More effective? You charge ridiculous premiums on the coins you sell and can't even take the time to photograph them?
If businessfolk on ebay can do it, why can't you?
I ate money on silver and gold over these "representative images". Or "approximately the weight of $X face dollar silver", and you get sent slickers that don't even weigh the full silver value. Six silver quarters that weigh less than four, lol, why would anyone be inclined to buy?
Those "mixed denominations" and "tell us what you'd like" silver buys are just junk cull bins. You should just say that right out the gate instead of splitting hairs over the word "approximate". Fifty bucks face value with the weight of 42.50 face at best, and a premium for Poor/Fine varieties? Lol.
I dropped over 25k and had to eat fees and will never do business with APMEX again. If I can buy what I want, and see how it looks, usually for cheaper and faster - from some random person, no less - why APMEX?
In today's world there's no reason to even use APMEX. You clearly don't care about the representation of your products or your customer service. I got sick of fighting you people after months. Some dealers didn't even want some of the coins you sell. Stop mixing details coins with your regular stock.
Good luck being obsolete. No love lost here with your poor business practices and products.
Sadly, my brother bought some junk silver dimes from them. Indeed they were all slicks.
I like them for Geiger bars, Perth Mint stuff, etc. But older stuff, I want to buy in person.
So here is a great example on apmex now.. if I ordered this coin would I get the stunning coin shown or some other random Pcgs MS65 CAC 1922-D Peace dollar?
Coins, not so much. I inquired about a >$1,000 coin where only the obverse was shown. No returns are allowed so I asked for reverse photos. Told me photos were posted - a lie. Asked again and they finally posted reverse photos and I passed. Glad I asked or I would have been stuck with a dud.
What reputable dealer in coins does not allow returns?
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
Comments
hmmm dunno why.
here's a direct link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1910-10-Indian-Gold-Eagle-MS-63-NGC-SKU-58178/142564145071?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I had to do a quick call ealier today to them and just as I suspected, there wasnt any "Marilyn Monroe" nor any NGC63 in stock.
Moral of the story, don't name your coin until you have it on hand...:)
It almost looks like they photoshopped in a better coin, or 'improved' its look - must be a slimey company
https://ngccoin.com/certlookup/3829245-046/63/
I had to go to watchcount to see it
If you have second thoughts, you will have no problem returning it. I had the exact same situation happened to me too on a Ms63 Panama Pacific half dollar.
The problem with the giants, is the taste of giant's poop. Not everyone is going to be happy with a generic piece of gold, as it were. We want the CAC sticker to protect us when the plastic doesn't.
APMEX sifted through the 5 oz silver bullion and non bullion ATB coins.....and got caught. There history is NOT on their side.
Return the item. Because this is an Ebay purchase, I would give them a negative - item sent was NOT what was purchased. ...
Well it was listed in the "error" category. This was an error!
Nothing in the listing says generic image not the coin you will get yada yada yada. Just convinces me to not buy from this company. Even with bullion, I want to hand pick the coin, so not for me. I think they deserve a neg for the misleading listing, maybe they'd wake up.
Just say no to APMEX.
Best, SH
It does match the NGC lookup. The mark on the cheek and the N shaped mark above IN on the reverse match, but it took me a bit to study it.
Lighting alone can make a coin appear very different. It does look less attractive, to me, in the NGC photos. Would have to see it in person for me to say whether I liked it or not. The Ebay photos make it look nice. It would be surprising if that was a mere accident.
Here are photos I took of an 1885 Nickel I used to own. The only difference is in the angle of lighting. It actually looked a bit worse than the darker photos.
.
.
.
Below is an interesting part of the APMEX terms from that 1910 $10 Ebay page. If they have a history of substituting on One-Of-A-Kind items, then strong complaint is justified. Maybe the listed one sold in another venue and they figured just send another and see if it sticks. If so, then this particular term may only work one way,
I have talked to sellers who admitted and have seen the results of others who operate on the "see if it sticks" method. They feel the worst that can happen is it will be returned. They know that very few end up complaining in a way that will have any negative effect on the "see if it sticks" way.
And to confuse it all, maybe the original coin wasn't any better than what was received.
.
.
"eBay Order Changes
eBay Order changes are not permitted. We suggest you take the time up front to make sure what you want is exactly what you request from us as reflected in your eBay Order."
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
Yeah I can't pull up 142564145071 item number either. I have many, many transactions with APMEX for bullion and they have always been top notch. I know they use stock photos and usually specify clearly that items vary, stock photo etc. Would like to see this actual auction to see if they pulled the bait and switch on you. Return it if your not happy with the coin, I'm sure they will take it back.
Edit: read the rest of the thread and saw direct link to auction. Yeah I would return for sure. I would have assumed you were buying that exact pictured coin too, not a random one.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
I'd keep it. Graded ten dollar Indians are rare in mid uncirculated. If they had sent an AU coin instead then maybe you would have an avenue to complain.
We apologize for this mixup – there was no intention to deceive. As with any product we sell, we stand behind it. With our satisfaction guarantee, our customers are always welcome to return any item purchased from us within 7 days of receipt for a refund or (where possible) exchange, as we have offered to the customer in this case.
We do use representative images for some of our coin listings. Given that we may have multiple pieces of a particular product in stock at any time, it is sometimes more effective to utilize representative images rather than photographs of exact coins.
When we use representative images, we do not cherry-pick examples or selectively edit photos to hide imperfections. No photograph can fully convey every aspect of a coin’s appearance. Regardless of the images shown on the listing, we always invite our customers to take advantage of our return policy if the product they receive does not meet their expectations after seeing it in hand.
We want to be as transparent as possible about our usage of representative images. When viewing a product on APMEX.com, hovering your mouse over the camera icon at the bottom right of the image area will display a message indicating whether or not the image is of the exact item being sold. In the case of our numismatic inventory, we attempt to use exact photographs as often as possible.
Unfortunately, this feature does not extend to our eBay listings. We are currently working with our eBay team to update all of our numismatic listings to add verbiage to our descriptions that clarifies where stock photos are being displayed, in the hope of preventing this confusion in the future.
Good response from Apmex, but single item listings should always contain the proper image. Bulk several pieces available listings are another matter and buyers understand that the image is stock.
...and a question, why do you clog up the errors category with non error coins? It makes it more difficult for the legitimate error coins to receive their due exposure.
Ebay coin listing policy requires a pic of the actual coin and no stock photos. Good grounds for "not as described" since ebay considers the pics part of the description. No doubt they're going to post a pic of the best looking one in the lot.
APMEX was clearly trying to find a label collector with this listing and ended up with an actual coin collector. Shame on APMEX. I love APMEX when it comes to buying bullion, but I go elsewhere when I want coins.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
always message them and ask if you buy the coin do you get the one pictured and if its graded do you get the same cert number that is being shown with that pic. dont do anything till you get your reply. pretty simple
I bought a Saint a few years ago from Apmex on Ebay from a multiple lot B-I-N sale and the coin was not only a bit better date, it was much nicer than the imaged coin.
Nice surprise on a close to bullion type purchase.
Without being argumentative or smart mouthy to anyone, this listing is for 106 PCGS MS65 $20 gold coins. It is one of hundreds of listings that are selling either bulk piles of PCGS coins or selling a single from a pile of the same grade PCGS coins. If a seller is selling 6734 PCGS MS69 widgits, all "identical" grades, dates, mint marks, etc, selling them by the each, does the seller need 6734 different pictures in the listing?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/106-20-Saint-Gaudens-PCGS-MS65/272431144729?hash=item3f6e295f19:g:MJ0AAOSwxehXOgrx
I just bought from an Apmex generic photo and couldn't be more pleased.
No. All the seller has to do is type in a boilerplate statement liked "Your purchase will match the quality of the product shown..." or superimpose the certification number with "Random".
For those saying "just return it" or "call them first", you're really missing the point of this thread. It's about improving one's online buying experience. I run a small business too, and even I admitted it's not run as well as it should at times. Based on Apmex's response here, its a start.
When in doubt, send it out.
I don't trust APMEX for 1 second. Here is a listing I came across the other day doing a generic "Mercury Dime PCGS" search. It caught my eye and for a second I couldn't figure out why it looked so odd. Then the light bulb went off, they used Photoshop to put a Rattler label onto a different generation holder. I mean come on!!! This isn't even a multiple coin listing, it's for a single BIN coin. Take a photo of the actual coin you are selling, this is borderline fraud.
To Op have you talked with them and what have you decided to do?
I remember seeing a NGC/PCGS mismatch once, like a PCGS label on old white NGC slab.
Although the specific situation has been resolved, a couple of very simple suggestions seem appropriate. These are things buyers can enforce with their $$$$, and open publicity.
Collectors should receive the exact item pictured.
If many similar items are available and a 'stock' image is used, then that must be stated proximate to the image and the picture must be typical of what the customer will receive. Further, since we all know there is a wide range of appearance within any "MS" designation, "typical" means of equivalent visual appearance, not just a label designation.
To do otherwise is deceptive and misleading.
A first - getting APMEX on the boards to respond, bravo!
I remember when Apmex started running ads in Coin World, "trader" this and "trader" that. Good with bullion but not numismatics. I ordered a numismatic raw $20 gold coin from them which in hand had cleaning and was over graded. I don't know why they can't hire some top numismatic people to run their numismatics arm. Oxymoron: "corporate executive" and excellence.
APMEX = Stock Photos
Fact remains that ebay coin policy requires a picture of the actual coin being sold and if graded the actual certification number.
I often sell more than one of a similarly graded coin on ebay. I do it one at a time and include the actual coin picture with a "see photo" for actual cert. number. When it sells I just relist with "sell similar" and swap out the photo. It's actually simple to comply with ebay's policy.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
A stock photo may be acceptable with PR/MS 70 untoned moderns or sets with coa's. Would the trueview system be able to differentiate with such widgets?
There is no Santa in Numismatics. Many use eBay dump excess inventory much of it low end. The good stuff is at retail or if auction competitive bidding. If u want the nice coins you will have to pay the money. Many other sellers have such sorry pics u can’t tell anything.
Look at what the seller has as a certificate no in the listing. If it matches the coin pictured that’s the coin u should get if not I would be hacked. Otherwise no cert number then you may not get coin pictured. I used buy a lot stuff from David Lawrence auctions on eBay bc I got the exact coin pictured as they stated and they have great photos. Lately been buying a lot of GC but will check on DL c if they doing auctions.
Not sure if this is the case in the OP, but it may be hard to get the coin shown when the listing says "Any Qty" and "Volume Pricing".
Glad you were able to return the coin. If it's on eBay, you can always do a "item not as described".
APMEX tends to use stock photos. Hopefully you can send it back.
CCAC Representative of the General Public
Columnist for The Numismatist
2021 Young Numismatist of the Year
This was always my understanding but it is not enforced and may not be always enforceable. For example, eBay allows Dutch Auctions or other auctions where multiples are being sold. Only one coin is shown, so almost all the successful bidders will not receive what is pictured. (And, you can't show all the coins that are being sold, or someone will insist that they were bidding on all the entire lot that was pictured). Also, pre-sales, which are allowed, by their nature preclude photos of the actual item. So, eBay's policies are sometimes contradictory.
As for APMEX, let their reputation be your guide. No issues as far as I can tell with bullion, but it has already been established that they use stock photos on most items, so buy slabbed coins accordingly. If you don't like what you get, return it,
I will add that I don't like the way some companies hide behind a liberal return policy, which should not be an excuse to send junk. I am NOT saying this scenario necessarily applies to APMEX. Be your own judge. I do give them credit for posting on this thread.
I still remember the 5oz puck debacle with APMEX a few years ago. That left a sour taste in my mouth and I've avoided them ever since. Glad to see that they responded to the OP though.
Plenty of quality coins are available on Ebay.
Nice to see @APMEX_Official respond here. Do stick around.
Collector, occasional seller
This is more like a real MS63 $10 Indian that RSR sold the other day: https://www.pcgs.com/cert/34868363
If Apmex had trueview photos, it would certainly build confidence.
Used car dealers throw up this nice car/truck ad with a nice low price, you get excited but then you call or actually show up in person..."Oh yeah that car, we sold that car last night, you got to get here early"
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
I don't blame anyone for not being happy if they got less than the coin pictured, but my impression is that APMEX and others like it sell widgets. They offer X coin in X condition, and you tell them how many you want.
I had always thought that one (certainly not the only) reason for TPG slabs was so that coins could be traded like a commodity, sight unseen. Of course, that doesn't work for true collectors.
I still don't think of APMEX as a place for slabbed vintage coins, partly due to threads like this one, I guess they need to either tighten up their process for that type of inventory, or abandon that sector of the market.
More effective? You charge ridiculous premiums on the coins you sell and can't even take the time to photograph them?
If businessfolk on ebay can do it, why can't you?
I ate money on silver and gold over these "representative images". Or "approximately the weight of $X face dollar silver", and you get sent slickers that don't even weigh the full silver value. Six silver quarters that weigh less than four, lol, why would anyone be inclined to buy?
Those "mixed denominations" and "tell us what you'd like" silver buys are just junk cull bins. You should just say that right out the gate instead of splitting hairs over the word "approximate". Fifty bucks face value with the weight of 42.50 face at best, and a premium for Poor/Fine varieties? Lol.
I dropped over 25k and had to eat fees and will never do business with APMEX again. If I can buy what I want, and see how it looks, usually for cheaper and faster - from some random person, no less - why APMEX?
In today's world there's no reason to even use APMEX. You clearly don't care about the representation of your products or your customer service. I got sick of fighting you people after months. Some dealers didn't even want some of the coins you sell. Stop mixing details coins with your regular stock.
Good luck being obsolete. No love lost here with your poor business practices and products.
Thaaaanks.
And I hate to be a dick or bring bad vibes to this thread, but a spade is a spade.
Sadly, my brother bought some junk silver dimes from them. Indeed they were all slicks.
I like them for Geiger bars, Perth Mint stuff, etc. But older stuff, I want to buy in person.
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Eh, never mind. Lets just say after a decade of considering them a go-to place, well I will miss the popcorn tins.
So here is a great example on apmex now.. if I ordered this coin would I get the stunning coin shown or some other random Pcgs MS65 CAC 1922-D Peace dollar?
https://m.ebay.com/itm/1922-D-Peace-Dollar-MS-65-PCGS-CAC-SKU-162594/122954428278?hash=item1ca0a7af76:g:oJcAAOSwll1aeegJ
On there website they have a Buffalo nickel for sale that I purchased several years ago. I was shocked to see it listed for sale again!
They are a great source for bullion items.
Coins, not so much. I inquired about a >$1,000 coin where only the obverse was shown. No returns are allowed so I asked for reverse photos. Told me photos were posted - a lie. Asked again and they finally posted reverse photos and I passed. Glad I asked or I would have been stuck with a dud.
What reputable dealer in coins does not allow returns?
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
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