Investing in Silver

[ThatCopperSound]

In what form is silver the best investment? I am looking to start investing in silver, but I want to pay melt value or as little over melt value as possible. Although, I am only 17 years old, my goal is to start a retirement fund.

 

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[ImpurestStewart]

I read recently that silver coins are going for 30% over spot. Good luck finding any under spot. You can try late late night ebay auctions. I've sniped some semikey dates this way. Try putting an ad on craigslist. Get creative. If one of those coin shows comes to town, rent a room next to the hotel they are in and offer Double whatever they are paying. I think the days of cheap silver and gas are behind us for good.

 

[mts]

I read recently that silver coins are going for 30% over spot. Good luck finding any under spot. You can try late late night ebay auctions. I've sniped some semikey dates this way. Try putting an ad on craigslist. Get creative. If one of those coin shows comes to town, rent a room next to the hotel they are in and offer Double whatever they are paying. I think the days of cheap silver and gas are behind us for good.

Ok... I hate to do this but I completely disagree with pretty much everything you've said here.

1. Yes, there was a slanted article recently that stated that coins were going for 30% over spot. I don't know where they got their info though because I can buy all the silver coins I want from APMEX or Provident Metals at no more than 15% over spot. Note however that it is unusual for physical silver to be that much higher than the paper price. Normally I can buy junk silver coins for about 3% over spot from these same sites. This is very telling about what is really going on right now in the market.

2. A 17 year old kid isn't going to be able to rent a hotel room. And they aren't going to have the bankroll needed to sit back and try to buy silver in bulk. I'm really not sure why you would even mention this as it is not even a good strategy for adults with significant money to spend. No one is going to come to your hotel room to sell you silver.

3. I know that some people like eBay, but I personally stay far away from it. There are way too many fakes out there today. Deal with a reputable dealer and don't bend over dollars to pick up pennies. Just one fake coin can completely wipe out a lifetime's savings by shopping on eBay (especially when dealing with gold).

4. Don't get caught up on trying to micromanage the prices at this point in your life. Whether you paid 10.50 for a silver half or 11.00 (a 5% difference) isn't going to make one bit of difference to you when you go to retire. By then, the price will likely be $50 for the same half. It's ok to look for good deals. But don't take unnecessary risks to save a few cents. Go with a reputable dealer and diversify your sources.

5. Be careful with Craigslist. You have greater risk of getting robbed/mugged/scammed as well as getting fakes. I've actually done fairly well with Craigslist over the years. But things are getting really ugly out there. Be careful. Again, getting a slightly better deal is not necessary worth the risk.

6. I commend you for getting started early on your retirement fund. Holding physical silver can be a lot of fun. Just be aware that all commodities are risky investments. Don't get too carried away. And don't believe everything you read on the internet about 15:1 gold to silver ratios, inflation adjusted prices since 1980, and other such stuff. There is a bit of truth to some of it. But keep in mind that many people on the Internet have a vested interest in trying to get you to believe that the price has nowhere to go but up. I personally believe that over the long term, the price of silver will indeed go up. But we could see some volatility for many years to come. Of course, getting in now almost guarantees that you will see some sort of price increase over your lifetime. But there are also many people who bought silver back in the early 80's who have been waiting for 30 years to realize a meager "profit" on their investment.

7. This question should probably have been asked in the Precious Metals forum. Head over there and do some reading and ask more questions before making any decisions. You should also be sure to read the things that jim4silver has to say. He is a very wise individual with lots of good advice and information to share.

Good luck.

 

[mts]

Oh, one more thing...

8. Check out local monthly coin shows. Right now, the paper price differs dramatically from the physical price. Some of the sellers at the shows are still honoring the paper price (or closer to it). I was able to pick up some Franklin halves for spot a couple of weeks ago. It was a reputable dealer that I've bought from before that is at this same coin show every month. I also didn't have to pay tax or shipping. That is a significant savings with very little risk. Plus, it's always fun to check out the shows. Sometimes there are good prices and sometimes there aren't. But you have very little to lose by checking it out.

 

[ThatCopperSound]

Wow. Very informative. Thanks!

I have a couple questions.

Is there any discernible way to spot a fake?

What websites do you go frequent for news about silver and other precious metals? I know, you say to take everything you read with a grain of salt, but I need to start somewhere that can provide me with basic knowledge.



Also for those who deal with ebay, do you have any tips? or do you have the name of members who are more reputable?


Thanks! and HH
ThatCopperSound

 

[fistfulladirt]

Wow. Very informative. Thanks!

I have a couple questions.

Is there any discernible way to spot a fake?

What websites do you go frequent for news about silver and other precious metals? I know, you say to take everything you read with a grain of salt, but I need to start somewhere that can provide me with basic knowledge.



Also for those who deal with ebay, do you have any tips? or do you have the name of members who are more reputable?


Thanks! and HH
ThatCopperSound

Here's one good site
http://www.kitcosilver.com/

 

[mts]

Wow. Very informative. Thanks!

I have a couple questions.

Is there any discernible way to spot a fake?

What websites do you go frequent for news about silver and other precious metals? I know, you say to take everything you read with a grain of salt, but I need to start somewhere that can provide me with basic knowledge.



Also for those who deal with ebay, do you have any tips? or do you have the name of members who are more reputable?


Thanks! and HH
ThatCopperSound

Like I said before, you really are in the wrong forum. Head over to the Precious Metals Prices forum on this site and start asking questions and reading information. There is a lot of good info and the people there are more likely to be true precious metals investors. Most of the people here don't actually like to "buy" their precious metals. They prefer to find them. Nothing wrong with that at all. And there are indeed some PM investors here. But the information here is not geared torward PM investing.

The PM Prices forum will have a lot more info about getting started: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,308.0.html

Post a similar question over there and you will find several of us who will be more than happy to give you guidance. Just remember one thing... I always tell people "if you want to make money, do the exact opposite of what I do". Take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt. If any of us were making a killing on precious metals, we wouldn't be here.

 

[ThatCopperSound]

Wow. Very informative. Thanks!

I have a couple questions.

Is there any discernible way to spot a fake?

What websites do you go frequent for news about silver and other precious metals? I know, you say to take everything you read with a grain of salt, but I need to start somewhere that can provide me with basic knowledge.



Also for those who deal with ebay, do you have any tips? or do you have the name of members who are more reputable?


Thanks! and HH
ThatCopperSound

Like I said before, you really are in the wrong forum. Head over to the Precious Metals Prices forum on this site and start asking questions and reading information. There is a lot of good info and the people there are more likely to be true precious metals investors. Most of the people here don't actually like to "buy" their precious metals. They prefer to find them. Nothing wrong with that at all. And there are indeed some PM investors here. But the information here is not geared torward PM investing.

The PM Prices forum will have a lot more info about getting started: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,308.0.html

Post a similar question over there and you will find several of us who will be more than happy to give you guidance. Just remember one thing... I always tell people "if you want to make money, do the exact opposite of what I do". Take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt. If any of us were making a killing on precious metals, we wouldn't be here.

I just made a post in the precious metals forum. Thank you very much for your input and advice. I appreciate it!

ThatCopperSound

 

[Gilmore Happy]

MTS had excellent advice. I wanted to chime in on Ebay though. There are so many haters on this forum on Ebay. I sell on Ebay and am Top Rated, and have been for years.

If you use Ebay as its designed, it will protect you as a buyer. First look at the sellers feedback. Look for many transactions accomplished, along with 99-100% feedback. If your seller sells gold, silver, PM's and has 100% feedback with many transactions, you are generally safe. Plus, Ebay loves buyers and you will win ALMOST every case you open if a problem arises.

Most sellers are honest and you can tell by the feedback system. Ebay has "Ebay bucks", you earn 2% on whatever you buy. Not alot but it adds up. Many will say Ebay carries more of a premium when buying silver...but I say, you know who youre buying from via feedback, and youre not going to get your head shot when you show up for the deal.

One more thing: Just start off with a small goal that you can hit. Might be somthing like..."I will buy 1 ounce of silver for the next 8 monts." Then after 8 months goes by you stare at that 8 ozs and it builds momentum in your motivation to keep investing each month.

 

[Gilmore Happy]

con't

then you keep that up for the next 40 years. Keep adding more ounces of silver per month as you can afford it. Pretty soon, you have 1000's and 1000's of ounces saved up, you have changed your way of thinking, and other opportuities will present themselves becasue you have the discipline to think more than 1 week down the road unlike most Americans.

Plan your startegy, write it down, and get busy paying the price.

 

[n8dagr8345]

Ive often thought about this. I know a lot of investors on this forum prefer the .999 silver stuff. However, some of us I am sure buy 90% and other stuff. There are also some of us on here who sell our 90% and other stuff...

Seems like we have a great opportunity to cut out the middle man. Sell to someone who wants to buy. Cut out the middle man, seller gets more than APMEX or Provident and the buyer doesnt have to pay as much of a premium.

Maybe I am just behind the curve and everyone does that on here....

N8

 

[mts]

MTS had excellent advice. I wanted to chime in on Ebay though. There are so many haters on this forum on Ebay. I sell on Ebay and am Top Rated, and have been for years.

If you use Ebay as its designed, it will protect you as a buyer. First look at the sellers feedback. Look for many transactions accomplished, along with 99-100% feedback. If your seller sells gold, silver, PM's and has 100% feedback with many transactions, you are generally safe. Plus, Ebay loves buyers and you will win ALMOST every case you open if a problem arises.

Most sellers are honest and you can tell by the feedback system. Ebay has "Ebay bucks", you earn 2% on whatever you buy. Not alot but it adds up. Many will say Ebay carries more of a premium when buying silver...but I say, you know who youre buying from via feedback, and youre not going to get your head shot when you show up for the deal.

One more thing: Just start off with a small goal that you can hit. Might be somthing like..."I will buy 1 ounce of silver for the next 8 monts." Then after 8 months goes by you stare at that 8 ozs and it builds momentum in your motivation to keep investing each month.

Gilmore, hopefully you do not consider me to be an "eBay Hater". I don't "hate" eBay. I just don't see much point in it as a buyer. Now as a seller I can understand the draw. But as a buyer I don't see the need to use it. The prices are often much higher than I can get locally and there is still an increased risk of getting ripped off. Just because someone has a good rating doesn't mean that they can't just disappear one day and leave you holding the bag. And there is no guarantee that I'm going to recognize a fake immediately so that I can get compensated and leave negative feedback.

I have purchased other items from eBay over the years besides PM's and I am usually only satisfied on about 50% of my purchases. Most of the time it is an issue of the condition not quite matching or description not being correct. Sure, I can leave negative feedback if it is extreme. But most of the time the discrepancies are minor and not worth the effort. In general, I'm not a fan. But if someone wants to spend their time trying to snipe good deals then more power to them. I have better things to do with my time and I find going to a coin show or just ordering online from a reputable dealer to be a more pleasent experience.

As I said before, many people bend over dollars to pick up pennies. They scan eBay endlessly trying to save a few dollars here and there, never considering how much their time costs them. Potentially, they end up with a fake coin (unbeknownst to them) which even further undermines their efforts to "save money". In the end, are they really going to care whether they paid $33 for a silver eagle or $34 if they are just buying onesie-twosie quantities? Probably not. And when the average price on eBay doesn't even beat what I can pay online for an object of known quality, why would I sit on eBay all day long trying to outbid someone else on PM's?

For those of you that do use eBay, carry on and enjoy yourselves. I have no problem with people doing what they love to do.

 

[Gilmore Happy]

My "Ebay haters" comment wasnt towards you at all.


As of late though, I keep reading Feebay this Feebay that. Thats why I added it as a point.

I agree. Whatever makes one happy and comfortable, should be the avenue he takes. Nice to see a 17 year old thinking about the future already....wish you the best.

 

[Marchas45]

On ebay your paying well over spot right now and deals are few. I'll sell on ebay but not buy unless that one special listing shows up.

I also buy from forum members like Impurest Stewart and others and never have been burnt once yet but I always use Paypal for insurance.

I used to buy from Ampex and others but they will only except credit cards and checks which I don't like but each to thier own.

Just be careful from whom you buy and always try to buy low but in your case you have a long way to go than this Old Fart. Glad to see you getting prepared, a lot of young people don't think that way.

 

[madwest]

Why hasn't anyone suggested the obvious? This is the CRH forum right?

Buy 90% silver at face value from your bank or credit union.

 

[SFBayArea]

If you want to make it easy on yourself and not deal with a lot of shipping when buying or selling. You can just trade the ETF: SLV. It follows the spot price and is usually $1 below spot. Just go to a broker, deposit, and buy/sell. That is if you have a lot of funds. Silver prices are at a point of consolidation right now. Meaning it is not sure right now but is going to break in possibly up or down in a big way.

Keep in mind, silver prices are highly volitale, meaning one can make a lot or lose a lot in a short amount of time.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

In what form is silver the best investment? I am looking to start investing in silver, but I want to pay melt value or as little over melt value as possible. Although, I am only 17 years old, my goal is to start a retirement fund.

There are others more qualified than me to advise you on what, when and where to buy. However, pick an amount that you can invest, and do it regularly ... i.e. $20/week, $100/month - whatever amount you can comfortably do. As the amount of income you have increases, increase your investment amounts accordingly. Your totals will add up more quickly than you think. Avoid the huge temptation to buy "luxury" items (or anything else for that matter) with your investment money like big-screen TVs, cars, jewelry, etc. If you'll start a wise investment plan now, you'll be absolutely amazed at how much you have 30-50 years down the road. I remember being 17 and how far away retirement seems to you right now, but I assure you it will get here much faster than you can possibly imagine. If you'll stick to the game plan, you should be in great shape come retirement time. Best of luck to you.

 

[n8dagr8345]

In what form is silver the best investment? I am looking to start investing in silver, but I want to pay melt value or as little over melt value as possible. Although, I am only 17 years old, my goal is to start a retirement fund.

There are others more qualified than me to advise you on what, when and where to buy. However, pick an amount that you can invest, and do it regularly ... i.e. $20/week, $100/month - whatever amount you can comfortably do. As the amount of income you have increases, increase your investment amounts accordingly. Your totals will add up more quickly than you think. Avoid the huge temptation to buy "luxury" items (or anything else for that matter) with your investment money like big-screen TVs, cars, jewelry, etc. If you'll start a wise investment plan now, you'll be absolutely amazed at how much you have 30-50 years down the road. I remember being 17 and how far away retirement seems to you right now, but I assure you it will get here much faster than you can possibly imagine. If you'll stick to the game plan, you should be in great shape come retirement time. Best of luck to you.

I agree, don't blow the money. I remember very well being 21, had done very well in internships and saving for 'retirement' and going out and buying a top of the line jetski brand new-
Hahah oh its a lot of fun though!

 

[jrf30]

I buy silver eagles. On December 30th I bought 4 monster boxes, just because I think the short term will go up and I can sell three (HOPEFULLY!) and have the fourth for a cheap amount left invested. :-)

BUT

if I were you, and had your goals, I'd buy 90% junk silver. You can get it closer to spot, and it has some cool aspects to it. Buy junk bags. You can buy as liitle as a few dollars on Craig's LIst, or $10 face for about $215 right now at the good silver selling sites. I use bulliondirect.com and think they are great. I've also used APMEX.com before. Both are worthy sites, but BD is a little cheaper many times.

Buy and hold. Just stuff it away. that's where the 90% may be better too, in that you can try to fill some books over time. Or not. But it is cool stuff. PLus you can take the 90% siler out in your pocket and show it ot people. No one wants to cary eagles around, as they don't want to scratch them. With 90% you don't have to worry about that. And even older folks will open up to you if youshow them some silver coins, as it brings bck memories for them and they open up about their own things. really. It is the way to go. :-)

Good luck, and I hope you meet your goals. :-)

 

[Generic_Lad]

There are 2 main ways to invest in "silver". Either via low-premium "junk" silver, or via higher grade numismatics coin. If you chose the latter option however, be sure to educate yourself or else you will be burnt. For example, I've heard of people paying $150 for MS-63 common date Morgans because they see the date and think it must be rare for them to be uncirculated because they are so old. However, there is good money to be made if you are well-educated and lucky, especially if you are saving for retirement rather than making a quick buck.

My advice: education, education, education especially about foreign coins, both rare dates and bullion content because most US dealers are clueless when it comes to foreign coins (they usually just base their prices off of the catalog of world coins). Digging through junk boxes for low-purity silver coins or copper-nickel rare dates can be fairly profitable in the short term, so long as you know who to sell them to.

Specialize in certain areas to find good deals. Sure, the average coin dealer knows what a Morgan Dollar is worth, but what about a 1949 brass threepence? He might just throw that in the junk box when it is actually a key date and worth ~$10 or so in fine condition.