Company:APMEX

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APMEX, Inc.
FormerlyAmerican Precious Metals Exchange
TypePrivate
IndustryOnline precious metals e-commerce company
Founded2000 (2000)
HeadquartersOklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Key people
Owner Scott Thomas
CEO Kenneth Lewis
ProductsGold coins and bars
Silver coins and bars
Platinum coins and bars
Palladium coins and bars
Websitewww.apmex.com

APMEX is one of the largest e-commerce retailers in the United States, selling bullion, precious metals, coins and other items of numismatic value.[1][2] It has a selection of over 20,000 products that include Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium, numismatics and bullion coins.[2][3] APMEX sells products for investing and collecting.

What started as buying and selling from an eBay account and eventually a local coin shop in a strip mall has grown into an online retailer with over 200 employees and more than $11 billion in transactions since 1999.[1][4] To help customers stay informed, APMEX provides educational resources about collecting and investing, along with investment tools and market reports on their website.[5]

History

APMEX's headquarters in the old Federal Reserve Building in downtown Oklahoma City.
APMEX employees outside the entrance to the company's facility.

Scott Thomas, Oklahoma native and founder and president of APMEX, inherited his grandparents' coin collection[6] he helped develop growing up. Upon their passing, Thomas started going through this collection and discovered that they were valued at around $100,000 and sold them on eBay. This pastime turned into a business of buying and selling old coins and transitioned into a booth at an Edmond, OK strip mall and eventually a brick-and-mortar coin store.

Thomas's coin shop's online presence grew to where he decided to launch an e-commerce website in 2004. The company was previously called American Precious Metals Exchange but shortened to APMEX in 2000 before the website launched. The 2008 recession increased demand for Precious Metals so much that APMEX saw $1 billion in sales in 2009.[7] In addition to an expansion in international shipping to over 60 countries,[3] this gave them the nudge to upsize operations and moved into the old Federal Reserve building in downtown Oklahoma City in 2010.

In 2011, APMEX leased 10,000 square feet on the 50th floor of the 40 Wall Street tower—paying for their security deposit in three-kilo bars of Gold.[8] The move was to make a statement regarding the weakness of the U.S. dollar. This was the first time Donald Trump accepted physical gold for payment and APMEX's CEO at the time, Michael Haynes, was quoted as saying that "Trump is a smart guy, he'll realize that taking gold is a better idea than taking cash."[8]

APMEX's headquarters allows them to hold all of APMEX's products and 200+ employees within its over 80,000 square feet.

Timeline

  • 2000 - Edmond Coins founded in Edmond, Oklahoma, and American Precious Metals Exchange is formed.[8]
  • 2004 - APMEX.com is created.
  • 2007 - The 1 oz Silver APMEX Bar is introduced as the first product in the line of APMEX-branded products.
  • 2009 - APMEX opens international shipping with orders to Canada.
  • 2010 - APMEX relocates to the former Federal Reserve Bank of Oklahoma City.
  • 2011 - APMEX launches the MintDirect® program.[9]
  • 2012 - APMEX launches Citadel Global Depository Services, Inc.,[10] a wholly owned subsidiary that provides maximum-security storage managed by Brink's.
  • 2013 - APMEX launches exclusive partnership with eBay.[11]
  • 2014 - APMEX becomes an Authorized Purchaser[12] for U.S. Mint Gold and Platinum bullion coins, adding to the previously acquired Silver bullion.
  • 2018 - APMEX launches new line of Silver bullion - 9Fine Mint.
  • 2020 - APMEX launches exclusive partnership with PCGS.[13]
  • 2020 - APMEX launches new line of Silver bars - Pioneer Metals.
  • 2021 - Launches fully shoppable mobile app for Google and Apple ecosystems[4]

Leadership

Scott Thomas – Founder and President

Ken Lewis – Chief Executive Officer

Doug Sterk – Chief Financial Officer

Phil Barrett – Chief Marketing Officer

Brand Differentiators

APMEX offers services like custom spot price alerts, a loyalty program for repeat customers and quick shipping due to relationships with UPS and FedEx. Additionally, APMEX releases products in partnership with companies through their APMEXclusive product program and their own mint, 9Fine Mint. APMEX also offers alerts and tools for customers to learn more about the Precious Metals market to become more educated investors and stay up to date with the company's latest releases and restocks.

APMEX released the industry's first fully shoppable app in 2021 that allows customers to buy Precious Metals products on the go and with ease.[1][2] Users can shop, manage their portfolios, check live spot prices and catch up on the most recent market news.[1]

Product Assortment

APMEX employees retrieving goods from the main facility's vault.

Bullion

APMEX provides Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium bullion in a variety of forms, including coins, bars and rounds. They have partnerships with over a dozen mints worldwide.

Numismatics & Semi-Numismatics

APMEX offers a variety of products for those interested in numismatics, as well as a wide selection of semi-numismatic coins for collectors. They have in-house numismatists with years of experience to identify and verify products received. APMEX is not a 3rd party grading service.

Logistics

APMEX houses all its product at its OKC headquarters. They have employees working to inspect returned or APMEX purchased products, pull products from inventory, package them, and ship them. UPS and FedEx pick up parcels from the location and a secured team drops off remaining parcels to USPS.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "APMEX Leads Precious Metals Industry with First Shoppable Mobile App". 2 August 2021. https://venturebeat.com/2021/08/02/apmex-leads-precious-metals-industry-with-first-shoppable-mobile-app/#:~:text=OKLAHOMA%20CITY%E2%80%93%20%28BUSINESS%20WIRE%29%E2%80%93August%202%2C%202021%E2%80%93%20APMEX%2C%20one,shopping%20experience%20in%20the%20gold%20and%20silver%20industry.. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "APMEX Leads Precious Metals Industry with First Shoppable Mobile App". 2 August 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210802005542/en/APMEX-Leads-Precious-Metals-Industry-with-First-Shoppable-Mobile-App. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "US megadealer APMEX launches a new app for Android and Apple mobile users". 3 August 2021. https://agaunews.com/us-megadealer-apmex-launches-a-new-app-for-android-and-apple-mobile-users/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "APMEX Leads Precious Metals Industry with First Shoppable Mobile App". 2 August 2021. https://apnews.com/press-release/BusinessWire/technology-business-precious-metals-industry-1cd077c23ed947d29dfd3cc3503044af. 
  5. ↑ "APMEX Inc - Company Profile and News". https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0967504D:US. 
  6. ↑ "We Are APMEX | About APMEX | APMEX Culture". https://www.apmex.com/we-are-apmex. 
  7. ↑ "APMEX Review - Company Ratings ⭐, Complaints and Comparison | American Precious Metals Exchange Analysis". 18 August 2016. https://goldira.company/apmex. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Local precious metals company pays Trump in gold bullion". 16 September 2011. https://www.oklahoman.com/article/3604614/local-precious-metals-company-pays-trump-in-gold-bullion. 
  9. ↑ "MintDirect® | MintDirect® Premier | MintDirect® Premier & PCGS" (in en). https://www.apmex.com/mintdirect. 
  10. ↑ "Secure Silver & Gold Storage" (in en). https://www.apmex.com/storage/gold-and-silver-storage. 
  11. ↑ "eBay Launches Online Gold Store". Business Insider. 2013-01-11. http://www.businessinsider.com/ebay-launches-online-gold-store-2013-1. Retrieved 2016-01-10. 
  12. ↑ "Where To Buy Bullion Coins | U.S. Mint" (in en). https://catalog.usmint.gov/coin-programs/bullion-authorized-purchasers.html. 
  13. ↑ "APMEX MintDirect® Premier with PCGS FirstStrike®" (in en-us). https://www.pcgs.com/apmex. 




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