i'm looking to invest in silver via kitco.com, is buying silver via their "pool" accounts a fair way to do it? or is there another service that buys and sells for a better price?
I have used kitco's pool service before and had no complaints, I do seem to remember seeing slightly better rates at one time or another elsewhere but it was never enough to draw me away. As for fair, at only 20 or so cents over spot the sell price is good, and with the way silver is performing that 20 cent premium is not bad at all. My only complaint with pooling is that you don't physically have the silver in your possesion, something I like to have.
I would completely avoid pool accounts. You don't own silver. You own someone elses promise to reimburse you for the price rise in silver. Personally, I think buying physical silver in the form of coins with a reasonable markup over bullion value is the best form of ownership. Look into silver American eagles, the Canadian maple leafs, or some other such coin.
I'd aim for bullion coins, especially Canadian maple leafs. They seem to be very, very close to silver price unlike ASE's. Same year and the ASE could cost $1-$3 more. Also if you want to make a semi-large investment, look for 100oz bars. I've seen a few and most were slightly over spot price.
Place an add in small papers, buying coin collections! I placed an add in a small spanish paper and have been getting calls up the ying yang, my olnly problem was most of the calls were from nicke and dimers or better yet Mexican silver coins so I am having to get schooled on the value and content of mexican silver coins
I mostly just got 1 oz bars, but I do have a few rounds and Silver Walkers. The 1 oz bars are hard to store, but if you only want to sell a few of them, its very easy.
I have nearly all of my silver in my physical posession. However, I still do use Kitco's pool accounts. I view them as two very different types of investments. My physical silver is what I'm holding until the price explodes. That being said, Kitco's pool accounts do have several very nice features that I enjoy. You get to trade in real time which allows you to better take advantage of temporary market dips. Would I want to be holding paper silver when the metal goes parabolic? Heck no! But for the moment I don't mind trading a little paper silver.
It is easier to sell with kitco then to sell your phisical silver. By the way, does anyone know how or where I can sell my silver bars?
kitco buys and sells physical Silver as well! Go to their' website (Homepage) and scroll down to the bottom of the page to the "Buy" and "Sell" links. They pay fair prices for the Silver (better than most Coin Dealers or others that purchase Gold and Silver give) but it takes a week to two weeks to get the check in the mail. They have you ship the Silver to their' Vault, where it is sorted, weighed and double checked before they contact the Main Office to have the check cut to you. If you have a fair amount to sell (say 100 to 500 ounces), you can really save on shipping if you ship it in the USPS Priority "Flat Rate" Mail boxes. I am not sure what the maximum weight allowance is for the "Flat Rate" boxes but they will save you money in the long run! Frank
Buuying Silver Has anyone done business with NOrthwest Territorial Mint. They have a website and 100 oz bars are going for 1308.00 compared to Kinco's 1347.00. Check out the web page. BWJR
I don't buy or collect silver! I collect coins, and if they happen to be silver, all the better.:whistle:
The EFTs are coming starting 4/28. Do a Google on them, I think they are safer than the holding company and have a higher rate of return. But I am with OldDan on this one, collect coins and if they contain silver all the better.
Everything has pros and cons. Pool accounts are easy, but they are basically derivatives of silver and not silver itself. They are not safe and depend in the liquidity and financial soundness of the company [Kitco] issuing them. You own a promise to pay, not physical silver. Silver mining stocks are pretty risky since virtually every silver company has terrible management. Nobody is sure why, but that's just the way it is. Bars could be a problem on resale. The purity is easy to fake and many places won't buy them without an assay paid by the seller. The silver ETF is interesting, but the prospectus says that Barclays will not provide for an audit of the silver held in their name by various dealers. This might never become an issue, or it could sink them in a bad market. Nobody knows because it is a new product. Silver coins have pretty high bid/ask spreads and are subject to theft or damage, but at least you have physical possession. They also do not require assay upon resale. If well bought, the return could be greater than the movement in the price of the bullion [or not]. Pick your poison.
