AJPM Review

AJPM is the abbreviation for Affordable Jewelry & Precious Metals. This is just one of many online bullion and coin dealers that puts people in touch with precious metals. If you're looking to invest part of your portfolio in tangible assets, you might be considering which company to choose.

AJPM has been in operation since 1991, but little is known about them online. It seems like most of their business is conducted in person. Is it worth making an investment anyway? We've broken down everything you need to know before you buy.

About AJPM

Affordable Jewelry & Precious Metals was founded in 1991 and has been operating for more than 30 years. The founders were a married couple who made the store their family business. Over time, it grew until they were able to open three storefronts in their home area of the Pacific Northwest.

Customers can go to these locations in person if they're in the area. There are quite a few positive Yelp reviews indicating that people have had good in-person interactions.

The company has also expanded to offer their bullion products online. However, there are several things that make their online website seem a little behind the times:

Now, these things don't mean that the business isn't legitimate. There's no question that their storefronts operate as normal local businesses. However, these are red flags that indicate that they might not be very experienced with nationwide marketing and shipping.

There are quite a few services offered through the company. You can purchase gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Though their gold and silver offerings are limited, there is a surprisingly wide array of platinum and palladium. If you want to invest in these specific metals, you might prioritize this company.

The company also has a new "24 hour special" every day. Their website will display the special for the day when you visit, so you can see whether you're eligible for a discount on certain coins or bullion.

If you currently own precious metals, and you need a monetary loan, AJPM has services for this as well. They will offer you cash and hold onto your precious metals as collateral. Keep in mind, though, that you will need to have certain types of precious metals that are in good condition.

Finally, the company will purchase precious metals as well. Unlike many dealerships, they take everything from coins to bullion to jewelry to scrap metal. Their website has a calculator that will help you determine how much your scrap items might be worth.

There have been some complaints alleging that the company doesn't offer fair prices to those who want to liquidate their assets. So if you want to sell your precious metals, make sure you do your research and double check that you're getting the best possible offer.

Are Gold IRAs Offered?

Gold IRAs are retirement accounts that are held with precious metals. When the time comes to take distributions, you will liquidate the metals for their current market price. These types of IRAs have been legal since 1997, but they are complicated to set up.

Some companies specialize in helping people set up precious metals IRAs. They recommend a custodian and depository, walk you through the paperwork, and help you finalize your purchases. Those purchases are sent directly to the depository to be handled by your custodian.

Unfortunately, AJPM doesn't have any gold IRA services. Not only do they not help with the paperwork itself, but they don't have any of their items sectioned off for use in a precious metals IRA. The metals you purchase must adhere to strict IRS guidelines, so companies usually mark them.

If you want to invest some of your retirement funds in precious metals, you can definitely do so. But this isn't the company you want to work with. Instead, you should focus on a company that actually knows how to handle the process of creating an IRA.

Available Products

The company has products available in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You will need to call and verify that they have the inventory in question. Platinum and palladium in particular are often rare. It's possible that the website just reflects inventory they might have at a given time, rather than inventory they definitely do have.

That said, it is impressive how many platinum and palladium products are offered. That partially makes up for how few gold and silver items are available. Most gold dealerships have only one or two platinum and palladium offerings, if they have any at all.

Gold Bullion

You can purchase gold bullion in the form of bars and coins. The website does show prices that shift based on the changing market price. They update automatically thanks to a special algorithm. But for some of the items, you might need to confirm the price with a company representative.

No matter what you're purchasing, you'll have to call the company and place your order over the phone.

You can get Gold American Eagle coins in 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/10 ounce sizes. The same sizes are available for Gold Maple Leaf coins.

Some gold coins are available only in 1 ounce sizes, including the American Buffalo, Australian Kangaroo, South African Krugerrand, and Austrian Philharmonic.

Then there are the gold bars. Gold bars from the Perth Mint are available in 1 ounce, 10 ounces, and 100 grams. You can also purchase a 1 kilogram gold bar.

The company has a variety of British Sovereign and European coins available, but there's not a lot of information about the sizes. These might vary depending on whether they've been in circulation before or not. Coins that have never been in circulation will be worth more.

Silver Bullion

The company's selection of silver bullion is relatively limited, especially when compared to other online dealers. They don't seem to prioritize having a lot of silver on hand, instead preferring to focus on the more expensive precious metals. While there's nothing wrong with that, you might want to invest elsewhere if you plan for your portfolio to be mostly silver.

Silver costs just a fraction of what gold does. At the same time, it has potential for growth due to its usefulness. The tech and manufacturing industries both have a high demand for silver components in their products. If they start running out, the price of silver could skyrocket.

The company's silver coins are all available in one ounce sizes, but they don't come in larger or smaller weights. You can get the American Eagle, Australian Kangaroo, Canadian Maple Leaf, South African Krugerrand, and Austrian Philharmonic.

There is also a limited selection of silver bars. You can purchase them in 10 or 100 ounce sizes, but nothing smaller than that. If you want a non-coin ounce of silver, you'll need to buy the silver rounds.

Another available product is the company's "90% silver" bag. These bags all cost $1,000. They are full of unspecified mystery products, and the end result is guaranteed to be at least 90% silver. Though these might not appeal to dedicated investors, they can be a fun choice for collectors who want to see what they might get.

Platinum Bullion

All of the platinum offerings are in one ounce sizes. If you want to invest in larger or smaller types of platinum, you might need to work with another company. But there are more platinum offerings here than with many other gold and silver specialists.

There are three coins available: the American Eagle, Canadian Maple, and Australian Kangaroo. Then if you want to purchase bars instead, you can get one ounce pure platinum bars. That's it for the available selection.

Collectible Gold Coins

Coin collectors might be interested in the historic gold coins that AJPM has. These are always a risky investment, because they will only be worth more than their melt value if there's a demand for them. But history enjoyers will appreciate having these historic pieces to add to their collections.

Some of the coins were minted prior to 1933, giving them historic value. These coins have also received numismatic certifications and professional grading services. Every piece has a different price based on its historic date and the condition outlined by the grading service.

Among the coins are $20 Liberty Gold coins, which stopped being minted in 1907. There are also Saint Gaudens coins, which began being minted in 1907 and stopped in 1933.

Other Services

The company does offer some other services. Mainly, they offer to buy precious metals from people and to loan people money in exchange for precious metals. Unlike many dealers in the industry, they will take scrap metals, so they might be an option if you need to liquidate some jewelry.

Loans

Sometimes you need to borrow money for things like school tuition, housing, or medical expenses. Instead of going the traditional route, you might consider a precious metals loan. AJPM will accept your existing precious metals as loan collateral.

For the most part, you will need to have certified coins or bars of certain types. However, the company may take other metals as collateral if you call them to negotiate.

Purchasing

AJPM will purchase both graded metals and scrap metals. Everything from your coin collection to old dentures is fair game. You can even calculate the expected price of your offering online before you make a phone call.

The website itself updates with the offered prices for traditional bars and coins. So if you have these, you don't even need to use the calculator.

Is AJPM a Scam?

AJPM is a legitimate company that has been part of the precious metals industry since 1991. In addition to selling precious metals online and through the phone, the company also has three storefronts. The Yelp reviews for the actual stores are largely positive, though there is little feedback to be found regarding their online business.

Despite being a legitimate company, we don't necessarily recommend that you use them as your precious metals dealer. They seem to do most of their business locally. Most consumer reviews online are from local traffic. There are tons of online precious metals dealers with much more comprehensive customer feedback.

The ordering process can also be somewhat arduous. Since there isn't any online checkout, you have to place your order over the phone. It's also not possible to use Paypal or a credit card to pay for your order, which means that the most convenient option available is a bank wire transfer. Checks can take weeks to process.

The company's selection of bullion also isn't very robust. If you're looking for an extremely diverse range of coins and bars, you won't find it here.

Better Business Bureau Complaint

Reviews of the company on Yelp are mostly positive. But their Better Business Bureau page is strangely empty. There have been no official complaints filed, but there has been one customer review written. It has 1 out of 5 stars.

The reviewer said that they entered the shop to sell their gold coins. Despite the price of the coins being listed on the TV behind the owner's head, the owner refused to pay spot price. The customer wouldn't take the deal, and the owner told them that they needed to leave without ever returning.

The customer added that they went to a different dealership and didn't have any trouble acquiring the spot price. Apparently the other local dealer said that AJPM has a bad reputation for making low offers to people selling their coins. So it's probably not the best place to go if you have assets that you want to liquidate quickly.

Pros & Cons of AJPM

Final Thoughts

AJPM is a company that has grown in the three decades since being founded. Now there are three local storefronts in the Portland metro area in Oregon. However, most of their business seems to be conducted in person. There isn't very much non-local traffic.

That might be because their online ordering process is a pain. You have to call and place the order over the phone, and you can't use a credit card or Paypal to make the payment. All of that, and there aren't even wide selections of coins available.

One customer review alleges that the company doesn't have good purchase practices. The owner offered the customer less than the spot price and was rude when they didn't accept. So this probably isn't the best place to liquidate your precious metals assets.

All in all, there are far better precious metals dealers that can ship online orders everywhere in the US. You'll find that these companies have hundreds of customer reviews and dedicated customer service teams, as well as transparent policies regarding their buying and selling practices.