Seems like EBAY doesn't know the price of silver has declined, as prices seem to be the same. Also, does the Mint ever adjust the price on silver and gold DOWN?
Welcome to CT! :welcome: For the BINs, I will bet that the sellers bought that silver when it was much higher and do not want to take a loss on it. For the auctions that go well above spot, there are a lot of factors that go into it, especially the belief that silver will go much higher in the future. There are also psychological factors that drive up some of these auctions as well. If you want some deals, check out some local sellers or some of the major online sellers (e.g. Provident Metals). TC
eBay is a service for sellers and buyers, it doesn't sell anything directly except it's services that people and businesses use on their site.
Howdy and welcome to the hobby, No, not in either case is they can avoid it. Same with gasoline prices. They're very easy to rise, but very hard to fall. It's referred to as Price Elasticity (or Inelasticity, if you will). Normally, it can only happen when someone has a lot of pricing power as in a monopoly. However, much of it is simply human nature. If my 'thing' was worth $10 yesterday, I still think it's worth $10 today. What do I care what 'the market' says. I want my $10. It's normal and a bite and something we just have to live with. Sorry. peace, rono
...and when selling on FeeBay, that means they have to sell it for at least $15 to get their $10 after fees and shipping.
Another thing to consider with FeeBay, is people sometimes place bids on items when the item is first listed. Sometimes the item might be a 10 or 14 day listing. I did that once. Luckily there was someone else willing to pay way over melt for the item...
Also, don't forget people are using eBay bucks to discount the cost of their purchases. Someone may end up technically paying a lot over spot on a purchase of, say, some ASEs, but by using eBay bucks, they actually end up near or even below spot out of pocket. Of course, eBay doesn't allow you to collect eBay bucks on bullion purchases anymore, so they're obviously aware of it.
That only applies to the eBay bullion store ran by APMEX though, right? (I hope they're not going to pull the plug on eBay bucks for normal auctions)
AFAIK, it applies to all bullion. I just bought some ASEs through a private seller yesterday and was told that my purchase did not qualify for eBay bucks due to the category it was in.
The Mint adjust their prices on gold and silver bullions according to how both metals do on the market. I know when gold dropped a year or so ago, the Mint reduced their price on their 1 oz. Buffaloes and Eagles.
