APMEX vs JM Bullion for buying gold and silver in 2026

Product selection

APMEX wins on product selection, because it lists more than 30,000 products in its catalog and JM Bullion offers about 8,000. Both stock the common bullion coins and bars. If only one dealer has the item you're after, the price comparison below doesn't apply.

Shipping and order minimums

Shipping and order minimums are a tie on cost, because both ship free from $199 and neither has an order minimum. APMEX charges $9.95 on orders under $199. JM Bullion's only minimum is $500 for a bank wire.

JM Bullion wins on speed, because it typically ships within 1 business day of cleared payment. APMEX ships within 3 business days, with next-day processing on many card orders.

JM Bullion requires a signature on orders over $1,000. At both dealers, insurance ends once the package arrives, so report damage within 48 hours.

Card, check, or wire

Payment is a tie. Both dealers list a price about 4% lower for check, eCheck, or wire than for a card or PayPal. Paying by card adds about $176 to a $4,234.59 coin at either dealer.

JM Bullion also takes Klarna, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, and it gives crypto 3% off the card price. If you pay with crypto at APMEX, you pay a price between its card and check prices. Checks and eChecks hold your order 3 to 5 business days at JM Bullion and 4 to 5 at APMEX before it ships.

Canceling and returns

JM Bullion wins on canceling. APMEX adds a fee of $50 or 5% of the order, whichever is greater, and JM Bullion charges only any market loss. At APMEX, any market loss comes on top of that fee, and any market gain stays with APMEX.³

The fee alone is about $212 on one $4,234.59 coin.

JM Bullion won't cancel a confirmed order. Before it ships, you can sell it back at JM Bullion's current price and pay the difference if the price fell.⁴

Returns are tight at both dealers. APMEX gives you 7 days from receipt and charges the same $50 or 5% restocking fee on a refund. JM Bullion gives you 5 business days from delivery, keeps the original shipping, and charges any market loss.

Treat every order as final once you click buy.

Selling back to the dealer

JM Bullion wins on clarity when you sell back. Both dealers buy gold and silver, but only JM Bullion shows a buyback price on the product page. Its Gold Eagle page showed a "Sell To Us" price of $3,933.82 against $4,225.81 to buy by check, a $291.99 round trip.

APMEX's product page tells you to call its purchasing team.

JM Bullion expects your metal within 3 business days of locking a price and generally pays 3 to 7 business days after processing. APMEX buys back metal no matter where you bought it. It pays by the next business day after your items arrive and pass its checks.

The CFTC tells you to ask what you'd get if you sold back tomorrow.⁵ Ask both dealers for that number in writing before you buy. The gap between what you pay and what a dealer pays you is your round-trip cost. That cost is often bigger than the gap between these two dealers.

Storage

Storage is close to a tie, because both publish rates near 0.50%, but only APMEX says its rate is yearly. APMEX's Citadel charges 0.55% a year up to $1 million, with a $15 monthly minimum billed quarterly. Shipping metal out to a US address costs $50.

JM Bullion lists 0.50% for bullion in Dallas, Las Vegas, Singapore, and Toronto, 0.80% in Zurich, and 0.90% for collectible coins. It adds a $50 handling fee each time metal goes in or out. Its page doesn't say how often it charges the percentage.

An app is another option. Our Vaulted review covers one that stores bars at the Royal Canadian Mint.

If you buy one gold coin

A 1 oz American Gold Eagle was $8.78 more at APMEX than at JM Bullion by check. That's a 0.21% gap.

Most of the $8.78 came from the two dealers' spot figures, and the premiums were $3 apart. The card markup of about $176 on one coin is about 20 times the gap between the dealers.

If you buy silver coins

Silver was closer. A 1 oz American Silver Eagle was 8 cents apart. At both dealers, the premium was about 29% of the silver's value.

At 20 coins, both dealers drop to a lower price per coin. APMEX's price came out $2.40 lower, so the cheaper dealer flipped with the order size. A premium that size is why the sell-back price matters more for silver.

JM Bullion's Sell To Us price was $52.03, or $18.74 less than its $70.77 check price.

If you buy a gold bar

A 1 oz PAMP Suisse bar was $126.28 less at JM Bullion by check. JM Bullion had it on sale.

The two listings aren't the same version of the bar. Without the sale, the gap was $26.28, so a sale can change the winner from one day to the next.

Choose APMEX if

• You want an item that only APMEX lists in its catalog of more than 30,000 products
• You want 7 days from delivery to decide on a return
• You want the dealer's own depository to store what you buy
• You want an IRA program with a named custodian, Equity Trust

Choose JM Bullion if

• You want to avoid a $50 or 5% cancellation fee if you change your mind before the order ships
• You want your order shipped within 1 business day of payment clearing
• You want to pay with Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or crypto at 3% off
• You want to see a buyback price on the product page before you buy