I see that you caught one of apmex’s “SPECIAL PRICE!” deal through ebay. They just had the special pricing for the American gold eagle not long before that. In my time of following this, the special pricing generally rotates between 4 bullions (American eagle, Canadian maple leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, English Britannia). I saw Chinese gold panda on special pricing only once.
If you plan to add a coin here and there, it may be worth your time to sign up for ebay’s ebucks program. This is where you get a 2% rebate toward future ebay purchases. Bullions are exempt from this. However, there can be an exception depending on how they are listed. This typically happens with the Philharmonics and Britannias. For example,
is the same Philharmonic but listed under
Coins & Paper Money>Bullion>Gold>Coins
Because there is “Bullion” in the listing path, it is not eligible for a 2% rebate.
In order to see if an item is eligible for ebucks you must be log in into ebay and have signed up for ebucks (that is what someone has told me).
From time to time, I get lucky and apmex would have a special pricing on a Philharmonic or Britannia that has been listed on ebay not under a “Bullion” category. Then I would get the 2% ebucks rebate. This is a good deal but it can get better.
At some point, I became a VIP member. As a VIP member, I get a coupon for anywhere between 3x to 5x ebucks (5x means 10% rebate capped to $100) about every 3 weeks on average. A few times a year, the stars align. A Philharmonic/Britannia not listed under “Bullion” category would be at an apmex special pricing at the same time I get a 5x ebucks coupon — nice!
When you buy metal below melt value, it probably means someone made very little or perhaps even lost some money. Someone in a precious metals forum stated that ebay guarantees that bullion dealers with an ebay storefront do not lose money. Whatever loss incurred by vendor becomes ebay’s marketing expense to improve sales. That’s the theory.
Someone else mentioned provident and jmbullion. I have purchased coins from them as well. However, I find that for the 4 bullions I mentioed above, apmex special pricing on ebay is hard to beat.
Good luck, I hope and think that your transaction will go well.
