JM Bullion

My tracking code was sent very early on and using USPS as the carrier was also a lot less anxiety-inducing than FedEx, because I could easily refresh my tracking page whenever curious to see the status and I could selectively choose what kind of alerts I wanted them to send (including whether they should send it by email or phone - very smart of them to do). My package wasn't priority shipping but still arrived promptly without delay; in any case, I never had to wonder where it was. My package was well-packed to keep things from jostling around in the box, which I appreciated because it made it unlikely someone could shake it around to get an idea of what was inside. The box itself was also plain and inconspicuous, and they included a sheet of my itemized order so you can immediately check that everything is where it should be.

All-in-all, I found that ordering from JM Bullion was very smooth and as simple as it could be for something like precious metals. You get the impression that they prioritize efficiency without cutting corners regarding the customer experience. I like that they take their business and customers very seriously and plan on ordering from them in the future.

Oh, and something I REALLY appreciated that you just never see with most online businesses - they don't sign you up for promotional emails automatically once you order something! I think that's absolutely wonderful honestly, that they give you the option to sign up for promotions and news separately and respect your wishes to not receive those emails even if you use their services. As someone who works in digital marketing, this told me everything I needed to know about how much they prioritize long-term customer loyalty and their brand reputation.

Thankfully, especially having never read the FAQs (READ THEM!), my Spidey senses kicked in after 3 days and I wanted to notify JMB just in case. Their claims department wrote me back within a couple of hours and opened a case for investigation (no, not the BS excuse you get from a low dollar retailer - these guys do conduct an investigation with a capital I, with paperwork you need to fill out and certify and everything). They said that it could take up to 30 business days. Everything during these COVID days takes longer, trust me.

I got a weekly e-mail with updates which amounted to nothing, and I accepted that because I know how delayed things are these days. Just shy of 25 business days, they sent me paperwork that I promptly printed, signed, scanned, and e-mailed back to the claims department. In less than 24 hours, my original order was re-shipped with UPS 3 day select which somehow shipped out at 9pm from Vegas that day and was on my doorstep the next day (Washington dc area) at 3pm.

All retailers should post banners all over their sites saying please read our FAQs for the love of God. Please understand that this will scare buyers away because most people in this world are functionally, but not literally, illiterate. That being said, please do some due diligence if you are looking to purchase precious metals.

Keyword precious. Act accordingly as if you are buying something precious. I gave myself unnecessary panic attacks during the claims process because all I read were negative reviews online. If you don't mind the premium, you can just buy with a credit card and go with that route, but if you are the type to buy PMs, I would imagine that you would want to get that premium down as much as possible.

My only critique is that my coins came secured within the outside packaging (which itself was very good and secure, btw) by those flimsy plastic sleeves. Had the two coins shifted only a little bit more during shipping, the coins would have been in contact and would likely have caused scratches to each other. I know this arrangement is pretty standard, but I think JM Bullion could upgrade to capsules and distinguish itself from its competitors a bit. At the very least, I would have loved the option to have my coins shipped this way upon checkout. In my mind, this is the only facet of my experience keeping me from giving JM Bullion five stars.

However, let me be clear that buying online is not without its risk, I met each of my packages at my mailbox. Let's be honest anyone with some common sense can figure out that a package that small/large and heavy must have some value. Note that most of the negative reviews are about missing or tampered packages. It's a double edge sword, JM cannot just up and resend you whatever you said was lost or stolen or they would be out of business. Equally, USPS does not want the public to think/know that its drivers are stealing/tampering with packages so they are not motivated to find out what happened to the package marked delivered. I offer this humble solution to limit the obvious shipping risk, order less per occurrence and meet your delivery man at the mailbox. If they are marking it delivered it better be in my hand. JM sent me what I ordered. I received what they sent.

Then the saga started, JM Bullion claimed they received my payment as ACH payment (they have the same receiving account for both ACH and wire transfer) on August 2nd and I need a dispute reject letter from my bank for them to process the refund. My bank confirmed numerous times via emails that my direct debit was cancelled and the fund was sent with wire transfer, thus there is no dispute possible for me and they can't provide any dispute reject letter (because there's no dispute option to start with). Yet JM Bullion doesn't accept my bank's emails, doesn't even care to read I guess. Their customer service supervisor called Brandy, I saw her names mentioned here at least twice for intimidating customer service. I'm not surprised, I tried explaining many times both email and on the phone, she didn't listen. Now I don't know how to make them refund me for an order they received the payment then cancelled.