April 2, 2020 Update
APMEX Customers,
Great news! After tireless efforts by our entire company, we are now current on open orders and, as a result, will be removing the order minimum that has been in place.
Pre-Sale Dates
As stated before, we take a conservative view on setting dates by only making product available once we have a tracking number from our supplier. We then add seven (7) days to the estimated arrival time as we would rather under-promise and over-deliver. As we look ahead, there is a strong likelihood that customer orders will be shipping ahead of their communicated estimated ship date. We have had a few inbound orders get bumped from airplanes, especially product out of Europe, but still expect to hit our dates. If we were to miss a date, you will be contacted by our customer service team with an update.
Product Availability
We are making progress in a few key critical areas. Specifically, you should now see a range of production Silver available on the website. These consist primarily of Silver bars and rounds with pre-sale dates that are conservative. Product from the U.S. Mint is getting difficult to obtain, even Gold, and other sovereign mints, as well as leading refineries, continue to be closed due to COVID-19. It could be several weeks, if not months before we see in-stocks return to normal.
Giving Back
Today, APMEX announced a $250,000 donation to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. These are difficult times in our communities and, true to our core values as a company, felt it important to assist those in need. This donation is made possible by our loyal customers and the hard work of our APMEX team.
Will you join APMEX in supporting the Regional Food Bank? Click here to DONATE or text DISASTER to 501-501 today to make an automatic $10 donation!
Stay safe,
Ken
March 26, 2020 Update:
APMEX Customers,
We are continuously evolving to better serve you during these unique times. Our team would like to share some updates regarding improvements to our website, shipping times, product supply, and commercial deliveries.
Website Experience
As the demand for Precious Metals increases, we are actively working to ensure a seamless purchasing experience. We have taken steps to make it easier to find in-stock merchandise on our website, while also clearly outlining the expectations for pre-sale products. Spot prices are changing quickly due to the volatility of the market. To provide you with the most up to date information, we have updated the frequency in which spot prices are automatically updated on our website. In an effort to safeguard your order from the rapid changes in spot prices, we have temporarily adjusted the price lock-in period from ten (10) minutes to five (5) minutes. We will continue to make improvements as we navigate our response to current market conditions.
Shipping Updates
Our operations and fulfillment team is shipping out orders as fast as they can. As it stands, we are ahead of our three-day delay with shipments while only running approximately two days longer than our historical performance. Additionally, we had a technical issue and have updated the estimated shipping date that you will see when logging into your APMEX account. You should now see the three-day delay included in the shipping date estimation. With the team working six days a week, we are hoping to eliminate delays and return to taking orders under $299.00 (USD) again soon.
Product Supply
Many mints and manufacturers around the world are temporarily closing for the health and safety of their employees. Three of the world’s largest Gold refineries have suspended production in Switzerland after local authorities ordered the closure of non-essential businesses to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Fortunately, APMEX has not sold any inventory that had not already been shipped from our partners. We are closely monitoring the situation and will expand our in-stock products as quickly as possible.
Commercial Deliveries
Temporarily, APMEX will not be shipping to commercial addresses with current shelter-in-place statuses. These orders will remain on hold until the status is lifted, confirmation of availability for the delivery is given, or an alternative residential address is provided. It is in our customer’s best interest to use a residential address for the near future, as your state may ultimately move to shelter-in-place status. As a result, we are reaching out to all customers with a commercial address to confirm whether or not they wish to update to a residential address.
Thank You
We appreciate your patience as we work diligently to fulfill orders and source new products amid closures from mints and manufacturers around the globe. We will continue to evolve and improve our practices to ensure our customers enjoy the same exceptional service and product quality they’ve come to expect from APMEX.
Regards,
Ken Lewis
CEO, APMEX
March 19, 2020 Update:
To our valued customers,
We wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued business through these unprecedented times. There are a few updates we need to share concerning the health and safety of our employees, a new web order minimum, potential shipping delays, and product availability.
COVID-19 Concerns
APMEX is an e-commerce company, allowing us to remain open amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19. We have taken numerous precautions to keep our employees safe and healthy. All personnel with the capability to work remotely have been safely working from home for over a week, and have been directed to do so until further notice. Our operations and fulfillment teams are continuing to work around the clock to fulfill the surge of order volume. We have expanded our capacity by 70% in the last three weeks, but our priority remains the health and safety of our employees. We’ve enacted extensive safety policies to prevent the spread of any potential illness and maintain a safe environment for our team. We will remain open until required to close by federal mandate or other circumstances arise.
New Order Minimum
To best serve you, we are enacting a new minimum order policy, effective immediately. APMEX will be moving to a $299.00 (USD) minimum order on mobile and web orders. This change is due to an increase in the volume of orders we’ve received, while we continue to provide the best service possible. We do not take this decision lightly and look forward to removing these restrictions as soon as possible. If you have additional questions or concerns related to the new minimum order policy, please contact our customer service team at service@APMEX.com.
Order Delays
Due to the increased volume of orders, we are currently expecting a 3-day delay in processing times. These 3-days are in addition to the time it takes for us to process your payment. Your estimated shipping date can be found in your payment confirmation or by viewing your APMEX account order history. We are working hard to fulfill the large volume of orders we’ve received in the last week and are ahead of the communicated estimated shipping date on many orders. We appreciate your continued patience as our operations and fulfillment team works to complete your order.
Product Availability
You will currently see three types of product availability on our website.
- Our in-stock products: These are owned and warehoused on-site at our facility.
- Pre-sale items: We are waiting for the product to arrive at our facility. We will only list the product when we have received a shipping confirmation from our supplier. APMEX is adding seven days to the estimated product arrival time to counteract any potential shipping delays.
- AlertMe!: These products are not available for purchase and have no estimated restocking date.
We are diligently sourcing inventory to fulfill your Precious Metals needs. We’ve purchased over 1 million ounces of Silver grain and bars, over 20,000 Gold American Eagles, thousands of Gold bars, and anything else we can find utilizing our many partners and mint relationships. Product has become increasingly difficult to source as the market becomes more volatile day by day. With demand as high as it is, our costs have risen substantially. We are diligently working to minimize premium increases while maximizing in-stock products.
Although we are at the mercy of our suppliers and carriers, our conservative approach to setting pre-sale dates should help to minimize service disruptions and order delays. We believe we have the best in-stock position of any Precious Metals retailer and would expect this to continue as we leverage our scale and partnership network to the fullest extent.
Thank You
We will continue to monitor the news relating to COVID-19 and comply with all CDC guidelines for the health and safety of our team. Again, we want to thank you for continuously choosing APMEX as your Precious Metals source. We appreciate your patience as we work diligently to fulfill orders and source new products. Customer satisfaction remains a top priority, and we will continue to provide the superior service and product quality that our loyal customers know and love.
Regards,
Ken Lewis
CEO, APMEX
