HoyaGuru

Cool, thanks. I've been getting mine at walmart.com with a capital one walmart card that gives me 5% cash back, with that factored in, best I got so far is 100 ounces at 37 cents premium per ounce. Then I use the cash back to buy more silver. But getting it at spot, can't beat that!

Cool, thanks. I've been getting mine at walmart.com with a capital one walmart card that gives me 5% cash back, with that factored in, best I got so far is 100 ounces at 37 cents premium per ounce. Then I use the cash back to buy more silver. But getting it at spot, can't beat that!

That's what I figured.

Thanks for the info. I might be looking at it wrong, but the way I see it, an ounce of silver is an ounce of silver, I'd rather get it as cheap as possible. Can't see spending an extra $2.50 or more per ounce for the same weight in metal, unless I'm going to get more for it when I cash it in. Coin shops don't pay more for American Silver Eagle rounds than they do for Buffalo rounds do they?

Hi, new guy here. Quick question or two... I can get 1 oz silver rounds today with a premium of 81 cents per ounce, but they are the Buffalo design, with the Native American on the other side. I keep reading that the American Silver Eagle rounds are better, but the best I can get them for today is at a premium of $3.79 per ounce. I've found this every time I've searched, it is not always this much more for the American Silver Eagles, but the premium is always much more for them. Why is this? Why are the American Silver Eagles sought after, and why are the cheapest premiums I find always on the Buffalo rounds? Is it worth it for me to shell out the extra money for the American Silver Eagles for some reason?

Hi, new guy here. Quick question or two... I can get 1 oz silver rounds today with a premium of 81 cents per ounce, but they are the Buffalo design, with the Native American on the other side. I keep reading that the American Silver Eagle rounds are better, but the best I can get them for today is at a premium of $3.79 per ounce. I've found this every time I've searched, it is not always this much more for the American Silver Eagles, but the premium is always much more for them. Why is this? Why are the American Silver Eagles sought after, and why are the cheapest premiums I find always on the Buffalo rounds? Is it worth it for me to shell out the extra money for the American Silver Eagles for some reason?

Hi folks, total newbie here, I feel like I'm getting an incredible deal on silver, don't know if anyone else knows about this. I just started stacking a little over a month ago, been spending hours every day watching videos, reading articles, and going through forums like these, but I still don't know much. Just purchased 200 ounces over the past month, my first purchase cost me around $3.00 per ounce premium, but my last 100 ounces have been just 38 cents per ounce premium. Here's what I can get today.
Lot of 5 - 1 oz Rounds, spot plus $1.45 per oz premium.
10 oz Bar, spot plus 56 cents per oz premium.
Roll of 20 - 1 oz Rounds, spot plus 75 cents per oz premium.
1 Kilo Bar, spot plus 48 cents per oz premium.
Lot of 100 - 1 Troy oz Buffalo .999 Fine Silver Rounds, spot plus 38 cents per oz premium.
No tax, free shipping, and this is the credit card price.
I've posted out here before and made an ass out of myself because I didn't know what I was talking about, but I've actually been getting silver at these kinds of prices, is it OK to post out here how I am doing it? All totally legal, above board, however you want to put it, and it is all 100% real silver.
 

Thanks everyone, I'm 58 years old and I feel like I'm back in high school with all the studying I'm doing lately on this stuff. I appreciate the posts from everyone, please let me know if I make any faux pas out here and ask the wrong type of questions. Still waiting on my new Capital One Walmart credit card in the mail, which will give me that 5% cash back for anything I buy off of Walmart's website, hoping the cost of silver doesn't go up too high before I get it, looks like it went up 90 cents since yesterday. That 5% cash back will cut my premium more than 50% for the next year, so I'm planning on getting as much silver as I can. Kind of holding off on gold until I feel like I have an handle on the silver, I have a lot to learn about silver coins first, I don't feel comfortable buying them yet, I don't know enough not to be taken advantage of, it all seems pretty subjective to me at the moment.

Thanks everyone, I'm 58 years old and I feel like I'm back in high school with all the studying I'm doing lately on this stuff. I appreciate the posts from everyone, please let me know if I make any faux pas out here and ask the wrong type of questions. Still waiting on my new Capital One Walmart credit card in the mail, which will give me that 5% cash back for anything I buy off of Walmart's website, hoping the cost of silver doesn't go up too high before I get it, looks like it went up 90 cents since yesterday. That 5% cash back will cut my premium more than 50% for the next year, so I'm planning on getting as much silver as I can. Kind of holding off on gold until I feel like I have an handle on the silver, I have a lot to learn about silver coins first, I don't feel comfortable buying them yet, I don't know enough not to be taken advantage of, it all seems pretty subjective to me at the moment.

Contrary to what the name might suggest, TSF members trade in lot of gold as well.  Tax law in the UK makes silver a bit inefficient to stack if you're not careful, so the environment is a bit different from that across the pond.
In America the tax environment is much better for silver stacking than in the UK, where VAT on silver adds a fair bit in the way of transaction costs if you're buying from a broker.  Also, I don't think the US has anything local equivalent to TSF that I'm aware of, so the majority of the peer-to-peer sales market goes through Facebook, Ebay or Craigslist.  These are a lot more fraught than TSF, which is probably the safest peer to peer market sales site in the world.
In the U.S., silver works fine for stacking, but keep an eye on the premiums you're paying.  Consider a mix of 10 oz bars, 1kg bars and tubes of 1oz coins such as Krugerrands, Maples or ASE's (Brits also, but less popular over the Atlantic).  These are the most liquid on the secondary market.  Make sure you have a handle on your exit strategy, which is just a catchy phrase for 'How am I going to flog my PMs when the time comes?'.  Do your homework and make sure you have a decent idea of what a good price for various items is.
You might also want to consider some gold.  In the UK, tax legislation has a big play on sovereigns and other UK legal tender, which is not the case in the U.S.  Eagles and Buffalos are probably the easiest items to buy and sell there, but come with a premium for this.  You can get some of that back when you sell, but do your homework about what an appropriate price to buy is.  Also, Maples, Krugerrands, Brits etc.  You might also want to consider gold bars, but they tend to be targets for forgery so (a) can be difficult to resell and (b) place you at some risk of buying a dud if you're not sure of the provenance of the item.
In my opinion, prefer fractional (sub-1oz) coins over 1oz coins if you want to sell peer-to-peer on the secondary market, particularly 1/4oz.  They are much more liquid.  However, they tend to come with high premiums so you need to keep an eye on what you're paying and what a fair sale price is.  
Another possibility is pre-1933 gold.  $20 coins are quite large (just under 1oz) but tend to have low premiums unless they are rare mintages.  Unfortunately, $5 coins, particularly Indian heads, tend to go for a substantial collector's premium (mintages were quite low compared to $20 coins) so you will have to do your homework there.  Unlike the UK, where the sovereigns hit a nice sweet spot of liquidity and were manufactured in vast quantities, $5 coins weren't produced in such large numbers.  You're probably better off looking at $20 coins if you want pre-1933 gold, and modern 1/4oz bullion coins if you can get them at a decent premium.
Please note that I'm a lot more familiar with the market here than the U.S. market, and these are just my observations from halfway around the world.  You will need to do your homework.  Also, consider capital gains tax shielding vehicles such as IRAs there (which work similarly to ISAs or SIPPs here, although I think the allowances are smaller).

Been checking every 2 or three days, here's today's breakdown at good old Walmart (spot price right now is $23.42):
1 oz round = $32.66, premium = $9.24/oz.
5 oz rounds = $134.45, premium = $3.47/oz.
10 oz rounds = $262.90, premium = $2.87/oz.
20 oz rounds = $523.80, premium = $2.77/oz.
1 kilo bar = $831.72, premium = $2.45/oz.
No tax, no shipping cost. This is the first time I've checked where the cheapest for each weight is in rounds (except for the kilo), usually it's bars for most of them.

Been checking every 2 or three days, here's today's breakdown at good old Walmart (spot price right now is $23.42):
1 oz round = $32.66, premium = $9.24/oz.
5 oz rounds = $134.45, premium = $3.47/oz.
10 oz rounds = $262.90, premium = $2.87/oz.
20 oz rounds = $523.80, premium = $2.77/oz.
1 kilo bar = $831.72, premium = $2.45/oz.
No tax, no shipping cost. This is the first time I've checked where the cheapest for each weight is in rounds (except for the kilo), usually it's bars for most of them.

Been checking every 2 or three days, here's today's breakdown at good old Walmart (spot price right now is $23.42):
1 oz round = $32.66, premium = $9.24/oz.
5 oz rounds = $134.45, premium = $3.47/oz.
10 oz rounds = $262.90, premium = $2.87/oz.
20 oz rounds = $523.80, premium = $2.77/oz.
1 kilo bar = $831.72, premium = $2.45/oz.
No tax, no shipping cost. This is the first time I've checked where the cheapest for each weight is in rounds (except for the kilo), usually it's bars for most of them.

Imagine you had a nice windfall, you hit the lottery, you were a beneficiary in someone's will, whatever, and today you received $20k you weren't expecting. What would you do with it? Now, since I'm asking this question on a website called The Silver Forum, I'm guessing everyone is going to say buy silver, but what exactly would you buy? All bullion? Some bullion, some coins? Would you make a deal with a retailer and buy 20k worth at one time, or buy a small amount each week? Or, would you buy stock in  silver mine? I'm interested to see the different strategies.
I'm kind of in this situation (unfortunately it's not $20k, but it's a nice chunk of cash), and trying to figure out what to do with it. I've been trading stocks for 20 years, just got into silver a month ago, and I'm liking actually having something tangible in my safe, instead of a bunch of numbers in my stock program.

Well, not what I expected... My situation is, I don't have a mortgage, car payment, no debt at all. Most investing I've done over the years is in the stock market, which is how I got interested in silver, as I was buying stock in a silver mine that was very volatile, made a nice bit of money off of it, decided to look into just buying silver to hold onto, and immediately got hooked.
My immediate plan is this: The best prices I've found on silver bullion is through Walmart, and I can get a Capital One Walmart credit card that will pay 5% cash back on anything I buy through their website for one year, so that cuts my premium practically in half. I have the card on the way to me, once I get it, I figure I will buy whatever is the best deal each week, until I use up all the cash, and end up with a nice little stack to sit on. Does this seem like a good idea, or could I do something better?
I only have a few silver coins, don't know enough about them to make the best decisions on buying them, so I'm going to stick to bullion until I can educate myself. Should I be concentrating more on coins, or just stay the course with the bullion?
I appreciate your posts, I'm frustratingly new at this whole silver thing, any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Imagine you had a nice windfall, you hit the lottery, you were a beneficiary in someone's will, whatever, and today you received $20k you weren't expecting. What would you do with it? Now, since I'm asking this question on a website called The Silver Forum, I'm guessing everyone is going to say buy silver, but what exactly would you buy? All bullion? Some bullion, some coins? Would you make a deal with a retailer and buy 20k worth at one time, or buy a small amount each week? Or, would you buy stock in  silver mine? I'm interested to see the different strategies.
I'm kind of in this situation (unfortunately it's not $20k, but it's a nice chunk of cash), and trying to figure out what to do with it. I've been trading stocks for 20 years, just got into silver a month ago, and I'm liking actually having something tangible in my safe, instead of a bunch of numbers in my stock program.

Imagine you had a nice windfall, you hit the lottery, you were a beneficiary in someone's will, whatever, and today you received $20k you weren't expecting. What would you do with it? Now, since I'm asking this question on a website called The Silver Forum, I'm guessing everyone is going to say buy silver, but what exactly would you buy? All bullion? Some bullion, some coins? Would you make a deal with a retailer and buy 20k worth at one time, or buy a small amount each week? Or, would you buy stock in  silver mine? I'm interested to see the different strategies.
I'm kind of in this situation (unfortunately it's not $20k, but it's a nice chunk of cash), and trying to figure out what to do with it. I've been trading stocks for 20 years, just got into silver a month ago, and I'm liking actually having something tangible in my safe, instead of a bunch of numbers in my stock program.

Howdy, just got into this whole silver thing about a month ago, totally hooked already, been reading and watching Youtube videos non stop trying to learn all I can. Looks like I found a good forum, already got some help. Used to look for Opals in Australia about 30 years ago, got totally addicted to that, guess treasure hunting is part of my personality. Hope I don't ask too many dumb questions. I got a little over a 100 ounces of silver so far, and a couple handfuls of coins, looks like I found something to keep me busy for the next decade or two.

Aah! Sorry, I'm new, thought a kilo of silver was 35.274 ounces. Turns out it's 32.151 troy ounces. I'm an idiot, thought I had found an incredible buy.

Thanks! I've been on a crash course learning the ins and outs of silver, looks like if these have been cleaned, it won't be worth sending them in to be graded. Oh well, figured it would be something like that. Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out!

OK, here they are. Sorry, my phone's camera isn't the best in the world. Worst think I can see is some very fine scratches, but I've seen pretty high graded coins with worse.

Thanks for the reply. Got to take some pics, be right back.

Hi folk, just signed up. Started getting into silver about a month ago, I've bought about 100 ounces so far. Mentioned to my Mom that I was doing this, she said she has some silver from my Grandfather who passed away in 1974. She sent them to me, there are a bunch of half dollars, quarters, the usual, and three silver dollars, a 1921, 1924, and 1889. All three of them are in really good shape, and I've been considering sending them to be graded. The 1889 looks perfect to me, I've been comparing it to pics online from PCGS, the same coin others have had graded, and I think this coin is better than anything I've seen. But, I'm a realist, I'm just dipping a toe into this hobby, and I'm guessing everybody thinks they have the perfect coin when they start out. Can I post a picture or two out here, and get some opinions? If this is not a forum for something like this, I apologize, just let me know and I won't post anything like this again.

Hi folks, new out here. hope I'm doing this right. Been searching for the last month for silver close to spot, best I could find was between $2.50 to almost $4.00 above spot per ounce.
That is, until I finally found a good deal, 1 kilo bars for 5 cents above spot per ounce, free shipping, and no tax. The price is changing constantly, and as I am writing this it is 2 cents BELOW spot per ounce.
Try this: https://tinyurl.com/2w975j96
Hopefully it doesn't go up too high before some of you can take advantage of it. Ships from Apmex, but it is cheaper than if you look the exact same item up on their website.
 

Howdy, just got into this whole silver thing about a month ago, totally hooked already, been reading and watching Youtube videos non stop trying to learn all I can. Looks like I found a good forum, already got some help. Used to look for Opals in Australia about 30 years ago, got totally addicted to that, guess treasure hunting is part of my personality. Hope I don't ask too many dumb questions. I got a little over a 100 ounces of silver so far, and a couple handfuls of coins, looks like I found something to keep me busy for the next decade or two.