Buying from Provident Metals, Kitco, and Tulving?

[mts]

Does anyone have any experience with any of these three companies? I've seen them all briefly mentioned here before but really haven't seen much in the way of pros and cons for each. All three of these companies appear to beat APMEX on price for silver items. I bought most of my silver from private individuals with only a little coming from APMEX. All of my gold was purchased from APMEX.

Here are a few pros and cons that I have seen. Please feel free to post more or correct me if I'm wrong on anything here. I'm trying to figure out who to use for a large purchase of silver should the price continue to drop down to the low $20's. By the way, I mention using credit cards below. I would not use a credit card for a large purchase. But being able to pick up a few coins here and there (especially the specialty items) using a credit card could be a pro for some people.

Provident Metals:
- Pro's - Decent web site, good prices on silver, decent selection, accepts credit card (but at a higher cost), no minimums.
- Con's - Slightly more expensive than APMEX on gold.

Kitco:
- Pro's - Good web site with lots of information, good prices on both gold and silver, no minimums.
- Con's - Selection is sparse, does not appear to accept credit cards.

Tulving:
- Pro's - Good prices on both gold and silver, reasonable selection.
- Con's: - Terrible web site (quite possibly the worst I've ever seen), high minimums, does not appear to accept credit cards, requires you to call to setup an account.

APMEX:
- Pro's - Good prices on both gold and silver, excellent web site, excellent selection (many hard to find items), no minimums, accepts credit cards (but at a higher cost)
- Con's - Higher shipping costs, prices are good but not as good as some of the other sites above.

Any others?

 

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[jim4silver]

I have never bought any PMs online because I can get better deals locally generally.

But a newer company that has had good reviews from what I have seen is goldmart.com. Their prices are actually cheaper than I can get locally, but not enough cheaper for me to justify shipping costs and waiting for them to arrive, etc. If I were to buy online I would try them first. But due your own due diligence of course.


http://www.goldmart.com/

PS If I had alot of $$$$$ to spend at once on PMs, I would probably go with Tulving based on what I have read on other gold bug websites. Their minimum purchase amounts though are too high for me. They have been in business for a long time and have a good reputation, but so do all the other companies MTS listed from what I have heard.

Jim

 

[FreedomUIC]

I have literally purchased at least $1,000 dollars in bullion and proof sets from Provident Metals. Fast service, cheaper than what I can get locally and they ship with a signature required. Have dealt with Neal at Provident
for almost two years (give or take a month or so). Fast shipping, great tracking system and like I said before, prices are cheaper that what I can get locally.

For instance, I puchased 20 1963 US Proof sets without the envelope (Who Cares, they are cut up anyway) for
$20.09 a piece. Locally they were selling for 25.99 and on EBay everybody thinks there product is made from
AU and their prices reflect that, $27.00 to $29.00 + shipping.

Provident combines the entire order into one shipment for $8.95, signature required. I ordered bullion when Silver dipped below $34.00 (15 Rounds) @ 35.21 and then again the following day when Silver dipped into the high
$30.00's for 32.01 (5 Rounds). They actually combined the two shipments, refunded the $8.95 for the second shipment and I received both within four working days and I didn't ask for them to do that. You cannot ask for better customer service than that.

The only con that I have with them is payment method. They used to accept PayPal, which was great for me, but then went to a "Cash" only or certified Cashiers check for a short amount of time. Just recently they started letting
you use your credit/debit card again but added the charges from the transaction onto your account. Now that I can use the CC/DC again, it really doesn't bother me about the extra $1.00 or $2.00 when buying in bulk.

I have also used Mint Products and found them to be slightly higher than Provident Metals but they do not tack on an additional charge when using your CC/DC. They automatically assume that is how you are paying and include
it in the price.

 

[mts]

Thanks for the info. I had heard good things before about both Provident and Tulving. Tulving's minimums wouldn't affect me on a large order but obviously you can't order little stuff from them. Plus their website is absolutely horrible. I really can't reward a company for having such a poor website considering that I am a programmer by trade.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to break down and place a small order with Provident to see how it goes. Perhaps they can become my new precious metals supplier for big orders. I liked how their shipping fee was a simple $8.95 instead of all of the fees APMEX tries to tack on.

I'll check out goldmart too. I'm surprised that no one really ever mentions buying from kitco. Obviously they are immensely popular for their data services. And their prices are very, very good. But I have never heard of anyone ever buying from them.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I bought from & sold to Tulving several years ago. His website wasn't any better back then & his phone manners are somewhat lacking. Fortunately I don't make buying decisions based on that.....if I was in the market for a large purchase & he had the best price I'd buy form him again.

 

[mts]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

 

[Marchas45]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

 

[mts]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

That's a good deal! $32.83 each at goldmart vs. $35.44 each at APMEX. That makes APMEX about 8% higher. Let us know how the order goes.

 

[Marchas45]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

That's a good deal! $32.83 each at goldmart vs. $35.44 each at APMEX. That makes APMEX about 8% higher. Let us know how the order goes.

Will Do!

 

[mts]

I received my shipment of 80% Canadian silver dollars from Provident Metals yesterday. They were listed as being AU+ in condition and they sure live up to their billing. These are some really nice coins! Almost too nice. Now I feel like I have to wear white cotton gloves when I handle them. All of my other silver coinage pales in comparison. I gave some to the kids and of course they started flipping them and putting big old thumb prints right on Queen Elizabeth's face. Oh well, they don't have much numismatic value anyway. Let them enjoy them!

So three thumbs up to Provident Metals: good price, good service, good products. I'll be buying from them again.

 

[Marchas45]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

That's a good deal! $32.83 each at goldmart vs. $35.44 each at APMEX. That makes APMEX about 8% higher. Let us know how the order goes.

Will Do!

Well my order that I placed on the 30th of September is still being proccessed also the eagles are still available. I checked their site and they have me paying more than what I ordered. My total was $686.61 and they sent me a confirmation e-mail with that amount the day I ordered but they have a much different amount on their web site and they are asking me to re-order, yea right. I'll call them in the morning as see what 's going on. Stay Tuned. Maybe I should have went with Provident. Also I just got burned for $1900.00 on ebay but a least I'm protected be careful out there buying. What a week.

 

[mts]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

That's a good deal! $32.83 each at goldmart vs. $35.44 each at APMEX. That makes APMEX about 8% higher. Let us know how the order goes.

Will Do!

Well my order that I placed on the 30th of September is still being proccessed also the eagles are still available. I checked their site and they have me paying more than what I ordered. My total was $686.61 and they sent me a confirmation e-mail with that amount the day I ordered but they have a much different amount on their web site and they are asking me to re-order, yea right. I'll call them in the morning as see what 's going on. Stay Tuned. Maybe I should have went with Provident. Also I just got burned for $1900.00 on ebay but a least I'm protected be careful out there buying. What a week.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your orders this week. I never buy off of eBay due to the probability of getting burned with fake products. They are just too prevalent anymore. Keep us posted on goldmart. I'd like to understand what their story is. Thanks and good luck.

 

[Marchas45]

Wow, goldmart is quite a bit cheaper than everyone else. I wonder what the catch is? I guess they haven't been in business as long.

I just bought a roll of 2011 silver eagles from them 5 minutes ago to try them out. Total was $686.61 which included $30.00 shipping charge. Still cheaper than most folks.

That's a good deal! $32.83 each at goldmart vs. $35.44 each at APMEX. That makes APMEX about 8% higher. Let us know how the order goes.

Will Do!

Well my order that I placed on the 30th of September is still being proccessed also the eagles are still available. I checked their site and they have me paying more than what I ordered. My total was $686.61 and they sent me a confirmation e-mail with that amount the day I ordered but they have a much different amount on their web site and they are asking me to re-order, yea right. I'll call them in the morning as see what 's going on. Stay Tuned. Maybe I should have went with Provident. Also I just got burned for $1900.00 on ebay but a least I'm protected be careful out there buying. What a week.

Well I spoke with someone at Goldmart this morning and everything is sorted out I hope. They will be shipping tomorrow or Wednesday. The reason they gave me was that they where having problems with their ordering system and some of the orders online weren't getting to the processing dept.
and they where working on that issue. At least I'm still getting what I'm paying for. So the saga continues.