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Precious metals are a popular investment industry. Gold and silver have been traded for thousands of years, and they tend to hold their value over time. They also provide protection against inflation.
Monarch Precious Metals is one of the many companies operating within this industry. Rather than being a dealer, they are a private refinery and mint that distributes silver and gold bars and rounds. All of the products are poured by hand, similar to how gold and silver used to be minted.
What do you need to know about how this company does business? Are they legitimate, and what do they offer?
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About Monarch Precious Metals
Monarch was founded in 2008, at a time when many people were turning to precious metals following the international economic crash. The company headquarters is in Medford, Oregon. The owner of the company is Daniel Anthony, while the principal contact listed on the Better Business Bureau website is Linda Kaylor.
The company offers silver and gold rounds and bars. Instead of having American Gold Eagles and Buffalos, it makes one gram rounds. There are not gold bars available through the website, though you can purchase silver bars online. Also available are raw nuggets of gold that have been kept in glass vials.
The company does not offer gold IRA services. It is possible that you might be able to roll over funds from an existing IRA into a self-directed IRA. But the company's metals are not optimized for holding in this type of account, and they won't help you with the paperwork to get everything set up.
If you're looking to open a precious metals IRA, you'll want to work with a company that actually specializes in these accounts. That will help you get the best experience when you're doing your paperwork, rolling over your funds, and making your purchases.
You might also want a company that has a more transparent customer service team.
Is Monarch Precious Metals a Scam?
Monarch Precious Metals appears to be a legitimate business. They have a legitimate headquarters, and there is proof that people have successfully bought precious metals from them.
However, there are quite a few red flags that shouldn't go unaddressed.
One red flag is the company's lack of transparency. If you want to find out who's in charge, you have to dig through their Better Business Bureau profile. Customers have noted that it's difficult to get in contact with anyone who will address your concerns, which means the customer service is lacking.
Another red flag is that the company doesn't have presences on many third party review sites. The only reviews we've been able to find for them are negative. There are glowing testimonials on the website, but these need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Company Reviews
There are a few potential red flags with the reviews for the company. For one, even though they have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau, they are not accredited with the agency. The few customer reviews on the BBB website are not positive, giving the company just 1 out of 5 stars overall.
It's also difficult to find reliable company reviews. There isn't a profile for the company on the Business Consumer Alliance or with third party review sites like Trustlink. While you can find testimonials on the company website, it's hard to get objective reviews from customers outside of that.
While it isn't always a negative sign if a company doesn't have many online reviews, it is concerning that the BBB reviews are negative. Let's take a look at what people had to say.
One of the reviews states that the person was recommended the business by their grandfather. Apparently their cousin and uncle had both had good experiences with buying silver through the in-person business. This customer gave their grandfather money to make a purchase for them.
Despite being told that their order had been placed, they called back a week later to find that the order hadn't been placed at all. Apparently there was an issue with the card information. The customer fixed the card issue and tried again.
They experienced the same error again. The customer service representative they talked to claimed that she couldn't do anything to help them. The person came to the conclusion that the business was unwilling to sell them a product or didn't have the product on hand and didn't want to admit it.
They finished the review by saying that they did not feel that their card info was safe, so they would be monitoring their bank account closely.
The second review said that the person's first order was processed very slowly. They made an online order and waited for two weeks without receiving any confirmation. Then they called the company to leave a message. They called every day for three days, and weren't called back until the week after.
The customer did eventually receive their products from the company. After that, they made a larger order. Three weeks went by without any response. They called to leave messages with the company, and they did not get any call back.
They did receive an email stating that the company did not receive their check in the mail. The person didn't get their check back, and they believe that the company lied about it being lost in the mail. Their theory was that the company didn't have the products that the person was sold.
The company responded to this review to say that it's common for banks to charge exorbitant fees and for checks to get lost in the mail. They stated that they have seen many checks get permanently lost by the US Postal Service. They also stated that the customer had never left voicemails or done any follow up.
While it is true that it's possible for the US Postal Service to lose a check, the company's response to the review is questionable. It doesn't make a lot of sense for a customer to lie about calling a company to ask about their items. It also doesn't make sense for a company to be so defensive about this kind of accusation.
The attitude expressed by Monarch Precious Metals makes it pretty clear that the company will not care if you have a negative experience with them. If they care so little about their customers, there's not much encouraging you to invest.
All in all, there are enough red flags here that it's probably better to work with a more well-reviewed company. At least then you know that you'll have access to a customer service team that cares about your experience.
Pros & Cons Monarch Precious Metals
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Final Thoughts
Monarch Precious Metals is a legitimate business, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're a good business. There are a ton of red flags with regards to their online presence, lack of transparency, and poor customer service.
Because it's difficult to find any positive reviews for the company, we can't recommend them. There are many other precious metals companies that will allow you to solve your customer service complaints. They actually call you back, respond to emails in a timely manner, and have good customer reviews online.
Monarch Precious Metals might sound like they have a lot to offer. After all, the fact that you're purchasing directly from a refinery is tempting. But their poor business practices have led to them losing customers, even customers they previously had a good rapport with.
Although we do think that Monarch Precious Metals could be a decent company, we believe that there are better companies out there to make your investment with.
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