I'm new to Cointalk. Are there recommended tools for searching ebay listings for good deals on bulk silver? As the listing bidprice should not be affected by numismatic value and mainly be a factor of total coins weight, shipping cost and current spot price, I'm thinking of a tool that scanned active listings and compiled a "price per ounce" equivalent. Would be easier to spot the best deals. Is there already something like this on the web? Thanks in advance, Mark
Welcome to CoinTalk. I don't know of any tool. Sometimes there is more to buying silver than lowest price per ounce on Ebay. Except for an occasional good deal, silver on Ebay tends to be more expensive than coin shops, coin shows and a few internet dealers.
Been my experience as well....I have never and will never buy off of Ebay....I prefer to see the stuff in hand if possible. I have bought from online places such as Monarch Precious Metals, NWTM, and individuals I trust and have come to know. Ebay prices are a poor indicator of metals prices in my opinion.
I don't know if such a tool would be useful because the bid prices are always changing on eBay. I have bought bullion (bars and rounds) a number of times on eBay and only deal with the same top-quality sellers each time. It's always been a pleasant and problem-free experience. In my experience, bidders are well aware of current spot prices and bidding generally stalls right around spot price plus a premium that is about the same as would be paid to a dealer such as APMEX. Anxious (or uninformed) buyers may push the price a bit higher. I've found that auctions that end late at night tend to end with the most reasonable prices. I guess the anxious and uninformed have gone to bed by that time.
I go to coinflation dot com (scroll down a bit) to get the value per coin and simply multiply. Lots of rolls and lots of silver coins are below melt on ebay.
That was true 3-4 years back...not so much lately. Also, the "coinflation" numbers assume an "uncirculated" coin. You may lose ~5% on circulated rolls.
Hello, I am also new to the forum. My strategy for ebay is to go to Bing.com to get the microsoft cashback, then follow the link to ebay. From there I watch newly listed buy it now items. It takes a lot of patience, to wait for "cheap" items to be listed, and then cat like reflexes to read the description and hit the buy it now before someone else does.
I just started buying 10oz silver bullion pieces and after checking online prices I decided to go to a local dealer and pick up 10oz bars. His price is about the same as on line. Not worth the hassle and expense for me to buy online. However, if you're buying larger quanities I can see where online might work.
Someone already said this, but buying late at night is a great way to find good deals. Also there is a tool that you can buy that will search websites and pull data off for you. I have a buddy that uses it a lot in his masters program. I will get the name of the software for you and post it when I can catch up with him. I know it is several hundred dollars to use and is kinda tricky to set up. It is meant for economist, and others doing professional research, but if you want to invest a bunch of money then it might be worth it. ****** Take this with a grain of salt******* I could care less what the bullion looks like so long as it is not rusted. ******************************************************* A lot of times you can get deals on "scratch and dent" stuff on e-bay maybe the bars are very tarnished, maybe they have finger prints dirt ect. on them, things like that. basically anything that does not look nice. Good luck and welcome to CT
I buy and sell my silver on Ebay with no problems. If you know what your doing you can find great deals on there.
