APMEX Silver

[n9zez]

Finally got my hands on some silver bars. I ordered them from APMEX, when the price was so much higher! Anyways, I was disappointed in 2 of the bars that I received. One of them was not heat sealed along the edge allowing air or your finger to get in. Another bar was sealed but the back of the bar was covered with a brown substance. The main reason I ordered these bars was because they came vacuum sealed to prevent tarnish. I sent an email off to APMEX asking what my options were. Shipping them back is kind of out of the question as it isn't cost productive. I am just disappointed in their response. Do you agree that a PM isn't worth less if it's in bad shape or tarnished? Would you mind paying top tier $$ for them? If it was on ebay for sale, would you double think about bidding on it?

Response

"These bars are minted, bought and sold for the silver content and not for the condition. We will not pay less if there are scratches, dings, or tarnishing. None of these conditions affect the value of the bars. We can exchange it but keep in mind that they are from the same shipment, we receive them straight from the mint in those condition, on exchanges you would be responsible for shipping the item back to us and we would be responsible for shipping the replacement back to you.

You could also send them back for a refund too, but we can waive the restocking fee, but we cannot waive any market loss."

[Marchas45]

I agree with AMPEX to a degree. I buy bars not for the condition but for the silver content as it's still worth the silver value. The condition for collectors is different. Some are looking for nice clean bars and others like the tarnished look. Also bars are not like coins as condition is the number one priority as is rarity. I also buy bars that are not sealed as they still hold their value as same as the sealed ones.

If you sold it on ebay you would get full spot value+ for it in the condition you explained.

[jim4silver]

Don't worry about tarnished silver bars. The bars are not numismatic and silver is expected to tarnish. If the looks bother you buy some silver coin dip (such as TarnX liquid, E Zest, etc) and dip your bars in the solution. 99% of the time they will come out looking brand new (unlike old tarnished/toned silver coins).

Also, I have bought bars in the plastic and they tarnish too. You can cut them out and dip them and they should look great. The only time my bars did not dip well was because they were from the 80s and were deep black and purple and after being dipped had a dull gray look instead of shiny silver.

Coin dealers don't really care about tarnish they say, but I always dip my silver bars because I don't like them to be tarnished.

Jim

[n9zez]

Thanks for the replies. Is this dipping solution a protective coating or does it just remove the tarnish each time?

[wayne1956]

Dipping just removes the tarnish.

[jim4silver]

Thanks for the replies. Is this dipping solution a protective coating or does it just remove the tarnish each time?

After you dip them once you should be good for years if you store them properly. You don't need to dip them for more than 10-30 seconds max. It only removes a microscopic layer of silver so you are not losing any weight. Silver can tone in hours if improperly stored. Some people intentionally tone their silver coins by placing them in a big ziplock bag with a newly hard boiled egg that is smashed (while it is still hot). The sulfur in the egg will cause the coins to tone in a matter of hours. Sometimes this can result in some cool looking colors I have heard.

If you keep your bars in a safe, put them first in freezer zip lock bags and put some moisture absorbers inside the safe too (not in the zip lock bags). Keep the bars away from things containing sulfur, such as rubber bands, paper, eggs, etc.

Jim

[mts]

Thanks for the replies. Is this dipping solution a protective coating or does it just remove the tarnish each time?

After you dip them once you should be good for years if you store them properly. You don't need to dip them for more than 10-30 seconds max. It only removes a microscopic layer of silver so you are not losing any weight. Silver can tone in hours if improperly stored. Some people intentionally tone their silver coins by placing them in a big ziplock bag with a newly hard boiled egg that is smashed (while it is still hot). The sulfur in the egg will cause the coins to tone in a matter of hours. Sometimes this can result in some cool looking colors I have heard.

If you keep your bars in a safe, put them first in freezer zip lock bags and put some moisture absorbers inside the safe too (not in the zip lock bags). Keep the bars away from things containing sulfur, such as rubber bands, paper, eggs, etc.

Jim

Another well known trick for toning silver coins is to put them in a stack of Taco Bell napkins. It doesn't work as quickly as the egg trick (I hear it can take several months), but it supposedly produces a very natural toning that is very hard to tell apart from the real thing. I've personally never been a big fan of toning, but some people love it.

[brendan1414]

try using a standard pink pearl eraser on this bar first, without that silver dip, works great

[Silver Surfer]

Next time, buy straight from my source, NW Territorial Mint.... Bars all perfect, all sealed perfectly, and never more than a couple bucks over spot...
Check them out... Slightly extended shipping window, but locked in and if you want to cancel before you get them, they pay you spot, even if it has shot up and you don't have "physical" in your hands..