Where is the best online place for Silver/Copper (Poor mans golds)

I have spent well over an hour on eBay and definitely no luck. I want to pay as close to true market value vs "Art" value. For example, most copper bars are selling (@ lowest price) $8 per 1/2 pound on ebay + shipping. And silver is selling at around $24 + Shipping per ounce (which isn't too terrible, but the copper prices are outrageous)

Its crazy because copper is less than $5 a pound, and silver is less than $20 on any given day.

I want to invest in inflation proof items like precious metals but I don't want to have to pay near double market value for it.

Any suggestions?

 

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If you want copper just pull copper penny's from circulation and for silver just shop Ebay for old "junk" silver coins that you should be able to get for spot easy.

 

Don't buy copper.

 

Copper is tough because of the shipping.

One alternative for silver is sterling silver Franklin Mint medals or ingots. They sometimes sell close to spot when they have little or no collector interest. The bank bars are 1,000 grains. That translates to 1.927 ozt. (1,000/480 x .925)

 

Indeed but I just want to fill my safe with items of real value. It might just be best to save up <=1982 Lincoln cents (but I wish I could <legally> convert them into bars) and just stick to buying just silver ingots.

 

For example something like this isn't too terrible of a deal on ebay right?? For long term investment/ security. Rather than saving in Dollars, I'd feel more comfortable saving in previous metals.

 

Then just save rolls of nickels. $1.00 in face value currently equals $1.16 melt value for the copper/nickel metal content.

 

You are paying $27.70 for one ounce of silver. That is 33% more than the silver is worth. I consider that to be a bad deal.

 

APMEX.COM seems to have a good selection of silver, depending what you want to invest it. They also have very low retail margins depending on the product ($0.49 over spot on generic grab bag). See here: http://www.apmex.com/Product/156/Generic_Silver_999_Fine____As_low_as_039_over_spot.aspx

Note: I have no interest in APMEX, business or otherwise.

 

Now the generic at APMEX seems to be .39 over for more than 200 ounces and .79 over less than 200 ounces. Often there are coupons available. ymmv

For small buyers that isn't bad. A dealer near me sells misc. 1 ozt bars at 1.25 over. I bet if a person took a bunch that 1.25 could be reduced by a lot. You might find the same kind of deal in your area.

 

I agree with that. Some local dealers will sell sterling silver bars such as the Franklin Mint bars at melt value because they can get rid of them. On the other hand, they can be very hard to sell because a local dealer might heavily discount the sterling silver bars. If a person had to sell these sterling silver bars such as the Franklin Mint silver art bars, then ebay is probably the best place to sell those types of silver art bars.

Sometimes these types of sterling silver art bars will do well on ebay and sometimes they will not do so well on ebay. However, selling them on ebay for a small loss is better than selling them to a local dealer for a much larger loss.

Generally speaking, I think that sterling silver art bars are much harder to sell for a profit as opposed to .999 silver art bars based on what others have said on this forum and other forums.

 

Yes, the sterling bars are far less marketable. I mention them because they are one way for a small buyer to avoid a large premium over spot. When those bars sell poorly on Ebay they can be had at a discount to spot. And, like you say, a local dealer who has had some sitting around for a while might puke them out as well. By making them sterling and also making them in a size that does not convert to an even number of ounces the resale market is tough.

 

I agree. Don't buy sterling.

 

I agree with you on that. For me personally, I am a silver art bar "snob" in that I prefer .999 silver art bars over sterling silver art bars even if the dealer offers sterling silver art bars, such as the Franklin Mint sterling silver art bars, for melt.

 

Just stick with 90% "junk" silver unless you can afford to buy 100 ounce bars so the prumium per ounce is negligible.

 

I too am big on going with pure silver as opposed to sterling....But that`s not to say that there is no room to make money by collecting/investing in sterling. I like the idea of my silver being of all the same purity. Make mine .999!

 

Agreed, that's why I trade my silver war nickels with my friends who collect them for items I seek.
It's nice to have friends in the same city who also collect

 

With all the fake chinese coins out there, I am wary of buying on ebay.......even one or two fake halves in a roll can make a big difference in whether you have a good deal or not

 

Check out: http://www.providentmetals.com/

TC