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Has anyone paid by check for orders they've done with a Provident, Apmex, etc. online order vendor? How long did it take for the check to get cleared, arrive, etc. ? If I place an order in the AM of a business day and mail the check out that same day, what is the time frame that the vendor allows for the check to arrive?

Its like 7 to 9 business days isnt it?

Couple of days for it to get there, maybe a day or two for them to get it and record it, they cash it and slap a hold on it.

I am curious too

I've ordered from Provident. Basically once they receive the check they email you and tell you they order in on hold for I think 6 days. This allows the check to clear then the order will procede to shipping etc.

Provident, Apmex and Gainsville take about 7-10 business days when you pay by check. I tried Goldmart once and it was over 3 weeks. I wasn't to happy with their customer service either. They never answered their phone or responded to my emails and I got the run around when using their online chat. Thanks but no thanks on that again.

I just ordered from Provident for the first time last night. I am putting the check in the mail today so it will be interesting to see how many days it takes to get my order. If you want to cut down the time it takes to get your order you can wire them the money. But I'm just adding it to the stack and don't plan on selling it so if it does take a couple of weeks to get here it really doesn't matter to me.

I put in large orders a few months back with Quality Silver Bullion and Westminster Mint. QSM was about two to three weeks on order fulfillment from the time of mailing the check until product arrived, Westminster was three to four weeks.

I have bought alot from provident...very good and you know your going to get it..Wish monarch took checks, hate getting money orders..makes me feel 18 yrs old at a check cashing place!

With a personal check, APMEX is pretty quick for me but I have been buying from them for 12 years. They say its a 10 day wait for check clearing but my orders come quicker than that. Provedent truly holds my order for 10 days clearing before shipping. Of course I have only been buying from them for about a year and a half.

Yes, I like getting my product ASAP but I also like getting things for a good price, even if I have to wait.

Keep stacking.

I have bought a few from Provident and Westminster. I use my bank's BillPay service. As that is a check issued from the bank's own account, they treat it as a cashiers check and ship upon receipt. The bank mails them the check. (no postage, envelope cost to me)
I strongly suggest that you see if your bank has a similar service. A great many do.

I use it for my monthly bill paying and have used it to pay users on this forum also .... when they get it, they know it's good.

Thanks for the tip to use my bank's bill pay. I pay all the household bills with it. It's great, but I never thought to use it to buy silver. Between bill pay and email I never buy any stamps anymore. No wonder the USPS is losing money.

Every order I've ever done with Kitco was with a personal check. They just put a
3 week hold on it but I'm fine with that. I'd rather be patient than spend extra money
on a wire transfer.

I currently have open orders with Provident Metals, Apmex & Golden Eagle Coins
All received Cashier's checks from Bank of America that were put in the mail the day or day after the order was placed.

Apmex
Order Date: 2/22/2013
Payment Recieved: 2/27/2013
Shipped: 3/4/2013

Provident Metals
Order Date: 2/17/2013
Payment Received: 2/26/2013
Shipped: 3/7/2013

Golden Eagle Coin
Order Date: 2/17/2013
Payment Received: 2/22/2013
Shipped: 3/11/2013

Golden Eagle responded to an email saying that orders paid for via check or MO are held for 10 business days due to a large amount of fake money orders and cashiers checks floating around the industry. Provident updated their site to reflect a similar delay.

All of these are quicker than wiring money to Tulving.

NDFarmer wrote:Thanks for the tip to use my bank's bill pay. I pay all the household bills with it. It's great, but I never thought to use it to buy silver. Between bill pay and email I never buy any stamps anymore. No wonder the USPS is losing money.

+2 on the bill pay tip. My bank typically asks for an acct number, what do you do in that case?

When you get a confirmation, isn't there an order number usually?

I just got notifcation my provident order was shipped. I paid by check for this about two weeks ago. the order included some pre sale items that they said wouldnt be shipping until atleast today. Ive bought from the a few times, they always seem to have the best prices on the items I want at the times I have the money. I like using bullion direct as well, but its been awhile since I used them. Well if nothing is in our own market area at the time that I like of course.

NDFarmer wrote:I just ordered from Provident for the first time last night. I am putting the check in the mail today so it will be interesting to see how many days it takes to get my order. If you want to cut down the time it takes to get your order you can wire them the money. But I'm just adding it to the stack and don't plan on selling it so if it does take a couple of weeks to get here it really doesn't matter to me.

I got my order from Provident yesterday March 16th. So from the time I sent the check I had my order in my hands in two weeks. That's pretty good. I am very satisfied with the service at Provident.

As far as the using the bill pay thing goes I tried that with my next order with Provident and that actually is slower. I found out that the bank actually writes a paper check on my account and sends it to Provident. And they don't send it out right away. So it is faster to write the check myself and put it in the mail. The customer service rep that I talked to at Provident said really the only way to speed things up is if you have a Wells Fargo bank near you, you can go there and deposit the money into Provident's account and that would speed things up by a few days.

A new twist for future purchases:

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/03/15/n ... -revenues/

Would not care so much about paying a tax. But imagine the database that gets compiled. It would be the same as everything you say can be and will be held against you.The same with your purchases. A state could easily furnish the federal government a list of your online purchases. Evidently, there will be absolutely no anonymity of buying things online. Now, I kind of believe that my online activity is logged somewhere in every session in some way, all of it probably traceable to my computer IP address, etc. Come the day that government decides to go after every tax dollar missed and penalties, well, they are SOBs about that I am sure.