Bullion Branding

I'm looking to appeal a little bit more to bullion stackers. I know that a lot of different companies make silver bars such as sivertowne,sunshine mint,pamp suisse etc...

Does a brand loyalty exist for some of these companies? When it comes down to it they all have the same silver weight of 1 troy ounce. If you only buy 1 brand of bullion bar I'd like to know why?

Also when are you most likely to stack up on bullion bars? when they come out with a new design? lowered price? or a special deal?

Please share your bullion stacking/collecting habits below.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

My habit: I never buy ingots or bars, period. Down the line, I won't have to try to convince skeptical buyers or barterers that bars are genuine. No problemo with junk silver halves, quarters, and dimes, and easier to "make change" for, too.

For the same reason, I don't buy rounds either. Or silver dollars -- 7% more silver, 20% higher price (than $1 face in junk silver). Think about it.

 

Do you have a preferred denomination? As far as 90% goes I've mostly sold half dollars.

 

Since quantities all weigh the same and take up about the same amount of room, I tend to buy dimes. From buying bulk dimes, I now have a set of Mercuries missing only 5 coins, and from 1939 on, most are AU-BU sliders. Last month, I bought 3 rolls of dimes and found a 1931-S about fine. Put it aside for future sets.

At one time, 90% half dollars cost more than quarters or dimes; I don't know if that's still true or not. I couldn't think of a reason to pay the premium.

 

Half dollars are my preferred coin , Walkers in particular but I hate super worn coins with little or no rims left . But I do buy an occasional bar usually 5 oz Silvertown , but any well known bar still sealed is fine . Also I only buy bars from sellers I trust or from the bar makers themselves . 90% I'll buy from anyone with good feed back , I also like Silver dollars Morgans or Peace as long as the markup isn't too high .

 

So coins are the preferred way to stack silver for you right now as they have the lowest premiums?

 

I thought that most would prefer Silver Eagles or bars. in the bullion world I've sold a good amount of 90% and a few rolls of silver eagles. But I never sold any bars. would it be a good idea if I stacked bars? I want to have something for everyone at my shop and right now I'm focusing on the bullion side. Any feedback is appreciated this has been a good discussion so far.

 

Oh, if you are serving the public bullion-wise, you need some of everything, I would think. In fact, you may not want to sell junk silver at all, due to its low markup, but certainly you buy it. The best business profits are in the fancy stuff, and in the many cases where it's a gift or a keepsake, the premium doesn't bother the buyer. Here's how to capitalize on that idea. Put up a display in your shop, invite every customer to "vote" for his or her favorite silver - no names or addresses, just a chance to rank the many types from #1 down.

They will remember taking the poll, and you are likely to benefit when they want silver. You'd list junk dimes, junk quarters, junk half dollars, circulated silver dollars, eagles, foreign 1-ounce bullion coins (Britannias, Philharmonics, Maple Leafs, etc.), bars, rounds, ingots, lower-priced numismatic coins like from common Proof Sets -- I've probably left out some categories. And a space in front of each item on the list to rank them from #1 to whatever.

Put the results on a wall chart, and return customers will invariably look at it, to see if they are doing the "right thing." Can't beat psychology.

 

I don't really have a buying plan
or favorite brand. I'll buy something
if I like it. The Murk Diem zombuck
was the last bullion I bought. I like the
design. And, symbolically, I view a "zombie apocalypse" as something that destroys the status-quo.

 

I personally enjoy stacking 90% junk over any bullion coins or bars. To me I like that these were actually in circulation and have somewhat of a history to them rather than just poured as an investment.

 

I agree with Doug liking junk silver. ASE's or "coins" would be my next preference, with bars being last, exactly for the reason he states. How willing are you to buy a silver bar on Ebay right now from someone you don't know? Do you think this will get better in the next 20 years or worst? I simply want bullion that most people will be able to accept is real when the time ever comes to sell.

 

I personally think that if the apocalypse were ever to happen, silver would be virtually worthless except as a keepsake. What does silver so? it conducts. It's used in computers, electronics, etc. I imagine during the apocalypse nobody would be building computers, supplies like food, water and building equipment would probably be of highest value. I agree with everything doug said, 90 % junk silver dimes all the way.

 

While profits are nice that is not my main concern. For me it is about helping people get the coins and bullion that they want. While your idea is a great one I'm not sure if a lot of people would buy bars from me. Reason being is that I'm not a well known online dealer just yet.

 

I was thinking you had a bricks-and-mortar store, where people came in. My idea would not work online, sorry. I'll "give" the idea to the Lost Dutchman.

 

If I had a service were you are charged say every 2 weeks for x amount of 90% how many of you would do that? no worry comes right from your paypal account or debit card. Worry free hassle free.

 

First get a customer, then ask him what he wants. I told you privately you dont want to be a "me too" dealer. You cant compete with the big boys selling silver.

 

That kind of deal might leave you in a bind, if the group happened to catch you short, and you had to scurry around to find more 90% at unfavorable terms.

From my own point of view, I would NEVER tie myself down to a single source; I'm always watching for distress sales, estate sales, and/or sources I believe to be unsearched, so the last thing in the world I want is to have an obligation to a fixed selling service.

Finally, getting the 90% to the Buyers wouldn't be problem-free; you'd have to take 20, 50, or 100 little packages to the Post Office every two weeks, or arrange to hold a group of purchases in your custody, either way a monumental nuisance full of risks to both Buyer and Seller.

Plus, I doubt that most people carry enough in their PayPal account to fund regular purchases; I certainly don't. Since they can RAID your account at will to satisfy the bogus claims of some lying overseas jerk with a Feedback of 3½, I keep the balance at an absolute minimum.

I've also written lots of letters to our legislature, asking them to regulate PayPal like a bank (which they ARE), to prevent such abuses, but no luck so far. That's what PayPal FEARS the most, regulation as a bank.

 

Yeah that's true I haven't thought of that.

 

CT is the place to run your ideas through a WHOLE BUNCH of VERY VERY SKEPTICAL people LOL LOL.

 

I think what I'll do as far as silver goes is stock a lot of 90% and some silver bars and a decent amount of Silver Eagles. But what about 40% kennedys or war nickels?

What about Gold? Can anyone here afford a gold eagle monster box??