Is it worth buying silver or gold on eBay?

My personal opinion, buy your gold and silver coinage directly from the U.S. Mint or a reputable coin dealer.

eBay sellers are taking advantage of a fickle market. Yes silver was as high as $19.67 an oz. last week, but closed at $17.66 yesterday. Gold is down $6 an ounce, and platinum down $5 an ounce.

You'll get a better price from the Mint or a reputable dealer than from any eBay auction.

Seems like everyday, when I scan craigslist the majority of ads for silver or gold coins the sellers make a point to mention how the market for those precious metals is going up everyday.

Like I said, the market is fickle. It may be up one week, but lose those gains the next.

 

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This is sound in theory but in reality doesn't make much sense unless you are counting business like Apmex as a "reasonable dealer" otherwise, generally speaking, I've found that "reasonable dealer" is an oxymoron.

The US Mint unfortunately only sells collector coins and DOES NOT SELL BULLION. So that won't really work in the real world, you need acces to bullion distributers (i.e dealers) and or other companies like Apmex that deal in mass with the general public.

I beleive in a mix of the top 5 silver bullion coins made today; some 90% silver rools and bags; along with generic bars and rounds that offer a lower premium to the current spot price makes for a well rounded silver stack..but that's just how I do it. Many only buy generic and many only buy bars. Its how ever you choose to build your stack.

Ebay is a powerful force in bullion sales and should not be discounted at the whim of a few posts on a coin forum by disgruntled ebayers.

 

If you have a long term horizon and don't mind taking on some risk in hopes of higher (than bullion) returns...my bet is "First Spouse" coins.

LOL...perhaps now I have to use this :loud:to be heard over all the "Boos" and "Hisses". ...but hear me out.

On one hand you can buy bullion coins which have little to no numismatic value. Or...you can buy coins at a premium that may have some upside numismatic potential.

The 2008 fractional Buffalo gold coins are a good example of this...but you almost have to buy everything the Mint sells to be lucky enough to get something like that.

Most folks today are buying PMs to balance their investment portfolios (imo). At some point, the spread between PMs and the cost of pulling them out of the ground will hit a point where supply outstrips demand and prices will fall...(Economics 101).

Given current conditions, that may be some time off, but it will happen...eventually. It will likely be better economic conditions (higher interest rates) that reverses the trend.

In that environment, folks will likely sell their PMs and look for better returns on their investments. For those who turn to rare coins as an investment, the First Spouse series may be one of the areas (due to their current low mintages) that benefit.

I still think dollar-cost-averaging into a well managed, no-load, stock mutual fund will give you better returns in the long run...but if you have to buy coins (it's an obsession with some of us), I think the First Spouse series is worth considering. :thumb:

 

It doesn't necessarily apply to gold production. Gold is fairly scarce, difficult to find, and even more difficult to put into production. And as the link shows, even as gold prices have more than quadrupled over the past 9 years, world gold production is flat-to-down.

http://74.6.239.67/search/cache?ei=...d&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=97bqsd5coyBGCAwWW_.ugw--

Edit: I should also have pointed out that annual gold production is small compared to the above ground stock of gold, so even fairly significant changes in annual production have little effect on the price.

 

Here's my two-cents worth:

I would be searching out a good price for good quality Mercury Dimes if this was not my first purchase. Other wise, get the most silver for the money.

I like your 50/50 idea. I have used that approach a number of times. I started with gold bullion fractionals. I was able to get the best price on Krugs at the time, so I bought a few 1/10 oz., (now a days the smaller stuff have terrible premiums).

When I started buying coins (for me) with my own money some 20 years ago, I bought what I liked, I was not thinking about investment at all (I use to be in the stock market for that). Now, of course I think differently, like you probabley are now.

Whatever you do, research is good, but don't be doing it for years before you actually purchase something. The best thing on the block can change pretty darn quickly and sometimes darn right out and disappear.

Good luck to you, and have fun with the forum.
Enoy, TESS

 

good info - lots of points to ponder

 

All good points (as usual), but my main point still holds (I think)...which is, with everything else being equal, the marketprice for a commodity/equity represents the perceived value to the market as a whole; the point where equilibrium is achieved between buyers and sellers.

Although current economic conditions seem as though the sky is falling, it's (in reality) just another one of the recessions that's plagued world economies for thousands of years. Irrational exuberance leads to hangovers. At some point the sky will stop falling and the economy will grow once again.

At that point (whenever that is), the demand for capital will increase and so will the rates paid to attract capital. Alternative investments will compete with PMs for available cash and the price of PMs will fall. It's not a question of "if", just "when".

I only mention the price of pulling gold from the ground because if gold drops below that, new supplies will pucker up and eventually swing the pendulum back in the other direction...assuming we ever get that low again.

I've often said that we may see a dip in PM prices (perhaps 15%) by this fall...in anticipation of post election interest rates hikes (not a fact; just a somewhat experienced guess).

Polititians have a habit of applying "loose belt" policies as an election approaches and let the next group of "stuckees" tighten up afterwards. They've been doing it as long as I can remember. Maybe it will happen; maybe it won't...I'm betting my personal bullion purchases that it does.

Now, whether or not First Spouse coins will turn out to be a good way to invest in gold, is anyone's guess. I'm (obviously) betting that it is...but I don't know more about what may happen than anyone else. I can only report how I'm spending my money and why.

Bottomline: PM prices high; FS mintages low. Regardless of what happens to gold prices; FS prices should continue to grow (apart from their bullion content). But like I said, it may take 20 years or more before you begin to see a reasonable return on your investment. Don't do it with money you think you will need before then.

 

Have recently had some good luck on ebay for 90% silver coins (avg about 13.5 X face vs 14.65 at local shop). Purchase from Apmex as their inventory is very good, but make it significant as their shipping is pricey. I have been buying Perth Mint silver recently as well from gainesvillecoins.com and found the selection along with the pricing and shipping cost ($12.50) to be very good.

 

To add my two centavos, I like to keep things simple -- spend about half your investment on gold in the form of Buffaloes or Eagles, in 1oz and some fractionals -- and the rest in silver Eagles or 10 oz bars from SilverTowne or other recognized producers. APMEX is as good as any source right now.

I'm not a fan of 90% "junk" silver. Too bulky and not as liquid as simple bullion.

 

Thanks for playing

 

ebay would be the last place I would buy silver or gold.Up here in Canada,you can go to the Scotiabank and order silver or gold bars.You have to wait for delivery as most the smaller banks don't have it in stock.I have heard though,if you go to the main branch in Toronto you can put your order in and they go to the vault and get it.You walk out,bars in hand.They are marked Scotiabank and you can sell them back at any time without the assay process.Not sure about U.S. banks.

 

I wonder how many Canadian ounces you can get for one (1) US ounce?

 

I bought all of my bullion off ebay and have had no problems. Even though I may paid a little more than spot (I got a lot of good deals though), the prices now are more than what I paid for. Plus people spend around 2$ above spot on ebay higher, so I am assuming I can sell them for even more if I wish.

But now that they have all these weird charges, I may start just buying from apmex

 

yeah, eBay's price mark-ups are putting a lot of potential buyers off...sellers have to pass it along somehow.
eBay isn't near what it used to be. It used to be a great place to shop, even fun at times - but now it's just a money sponge...

 

I concur with other sentiments on here... I would continue doing more research

I also agree (with caution) that when gold is on the upswing, ebay can have some advantages at purchase.

Alternatively, though, I wouldn't do any business with Goldline, Rosland Capital, etc. (Is it only me, or does it strike anyone else funny that one of these company's commercial spokesperson is a convicted felon?)

 

I have heard of Goldline but I also heard that they also charge very high premiums on gold bullion and charge even higher premiums on "collectable" coins.

 

My personal preference is to buy silver from local coin dealers. With that said, there are good deals that can be had on ebay but you have to be patient and expect to get outbid a lot on ebay. There are pitfalls when buying from ebay (fraudulent sellers, product not as described, China ebay sellers selling fake silver coins, etc) but like with anything else, you have to DYODD.

DYODD = Do Your Own Due Diligence

I have never had any issues with ebay but I am a collector and I am looking for particular silver art bars. Some people have different reasons for buying silver and once you know why you are buying silver (i.e investment, SHTF prepping, collecting, etc.), then you can determine if ebay is the right place for you to buy silver.