Newbie questions. HELP!!!

[Hooper]

 In general are bars better than coins for weight?

Should I start slow or blow my load straight away? 

How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins?

What is the best delivery method?

How do I pay people on this forum?

What is the best way to know if the seller has a good reputation?

What is the best postage option?

Do silver bullets kill vampires?

[Mrpound]

1oz bar is the same as a 1oz coin

slow

buy a sigma Precious metal verifier and scales, magnets, calliper and research

SD £8

normally bank transfer or PayPal

check feedback 

SD £8 again

no just burn them, they kill werewolves though 👍

[dicker]

The search function on the forum is excellent for these and many other questions.

Cheers

Dicker

[Skyfiller]

Sorry, couldn’t resist 

 

[Fadeingstar]

When it comes down to it 1 oz of fine silver is 1 oz of silver. If that is in the shape of a round coin or a rectangular bar ultimately it is all the same.

The design on the top might make it worth more monies if it is historic or rare.

Start slow buy several different items and see what you like the look of. This could be American Silver Eagles (ASE’s), Britannias (Brits), Vienna Philharmonic (Philli’s), Australian Kangaroo’s (Roo’s) to name but a few

Sigma makes a precious metal verifier which you put your items on and via science it tells you the composition. There is also a less reliable test with magnets and also a specific gravity test you can do which involves scales and a mug of water.

If using Royal Mail ONLY special delivery is insured for precious metals anything less is not insured and so if it goes missing in the post you haven’t got any recourse to claim. Many people use lower standards of postage but this is the only way for it to be insured

You can pay people on the forum in either paypal (friends and family) or bank transfer. Some sellers also accept crypto and cash

You can click on a forum member profile to see their reputation. For example I have 119 as it stands at the moment

Postage is usually at the cost and risk of the buyer only special delivery is insured so if they choose for example 1^st signed for then they assume the risk of it isn’t delivered.

Silver Bullets do kill vampires and if you send one to an address in Scotland it is not unheard of the recipient to get a knock on the door from the Police thinking that a para military death threat has been sent! (True story)

[PatrickV]

@Fadeingstarvery sound and informative advice 🙂 

[StackemHigh]

I got the knock at my door thinking i was the paramilitary after ordering a box of the 9mm type form a mint in the USA!

[StackemHigh]

And my order was returned at my expense to the mint. Shall we say i was well peeved.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by StackemHigh

[Bigmarc]

 In general are bars better than coins for weight?

No, and bars are difficult to shift 

Should I start slow or blow my load straight away? 

Slow, just to see if this game is for you or not

How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins?

That's why you start slow.

What is the best delivery method?

Depends how much you spend, I tend to go special delivery for anything over 100

How do I pay people on this forum?

Mainly Bacs

What is the best way to know if the seller has a good reputation?

Look at trading feedback on profile.

What is the best postage option?

Depends what you buy

Do silver bullets kill vampires?

Don't buy them, waste of money

[KevinFlynn]

In general are bars better than coins for weight?

In general the higher the weight the lower the price over spot. There are more larger bars than larger coins

Should I start slow or blow my load straight away?

Start slow. Research the cost average effect. Develop a plan.

How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins?

Buy from known reputable dealers in the beginning. Go to a local dealer and touch what you're going to buy. Educate yourself further.

What is the best delivery method?

Buying over the counter. Couriers.

How do I pay people on this forum?

Bank transfer.

What is the best way to know if the seller has a good reputation?

Look at the seller's trade feedback and reputation (displayed in the seller's profile).

What is the best postage option?

Do silver bullets kill vampires?

As per the Ultraviolet mini series it's carbon bullets.

 

Edited October 2, 2021 by KevinFlynn
typos

[Bimetallic]

I think the bar question is about value or price per weight. All silver bullion is definitely not equal, so everyone should really stop saying that.

Bars are cheaper than coins of the same weight. They have lower premiums.

A big factor is liquidity. Some bullion is more liquid, easier to sell. Some also has bigger premiums when you sell. One's own government bullion is usually the most liquid in a given jurisdiction.

In the UK, it's Britannias. Other knee-bender countries' coins are fairly liquid in Britain too, like Maples and Perth and RAM coins – basically, any coin with the Queen on the obverse.

But there's no point stacking in the UK since you lot aren't willing to get your VAT on investment precious metals abolished. A 20% hit is too large to reliably overcome for the typical investor. Silver doesn't move around enough to eat a 20% loss upfront – you'd have to be a genius with exclusive access to extraordinary data to be able to time silver purchases well enough to reliably profit in the end. You'd need hedge fund resources, drones flying over silver mines, hacks into mining companies and bank traders' computers, etc. Otherwise you'll very likely lose money on silver, given the VAT.

With gold you can often avoid the VAT, so it's a normal investment. But not silver in Britain.

If you do risk it, stick with pure 999+ silver. There's a small liquidity benefit due to other countries' laws. In Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and other jurisdictions they exempt precious metals from consumption taxes (VAT, GST, etc.) but they stipulate a necessary purity of 99, 995, 999 or similar. It's a terrible approach to tax law to pick arbitrary preferences like that instead of letting people decide what they want, but that's what they've done. If you buy Sterling silver, it won't be tax-exempt in most countries, slightly degrading its liquidity.

[KevinFlynn]

4 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

...

But there's no point stacking in the UK since you lot aren't willing to get your VAT on investment precious metals abolished. A 20% hit is too large to reliably overcome for the typical investor. Silver doesn't move around enough to eat a 20% loss upfront – you'd have to be a genius with exclusive access to extraordinary data to be able to time silver purchases well enough to reliably profit in the end. You'd need hedge fund resources, drones flying over silver mines, hacks into mining companies and bank traders' computers, etc. Otherwise you'll very likely lose money on silver, given the VAT.

...

You are correct.

[Hooper]

20 hours ago, Mrpound said:

1oz bar is the same as a 1oz coin

slow

buy a sigma Precious metal verifier and scales, magnets, calliper and research

SD £8

normally bank transfer or PayPal

check feedback 

SD £8 again

no just burn them, they kill werewolves though 👍

👍

[Hooper]

18 hours ago, Skyfiller said:

Sorry, couldn’t resist 

 

Well that was very helpful I appreciate your sarcasm, I can't stop laughing, I have peed my pants, I should go to the bathroom but this patronising pile of excrement is just too funny, I know what I will play it again, I cannot resist.. 

[Skyfiller]

1 hour ago, Hooper said:

Well that was very helpful I appreciate your sarcasm, I can't stop laughing, I have peed my pants, I should go to the bathroom but this patronising pile of excrement is just too funny, I know what I will play it again, I cannot resist.. 

My apologies Hooper if you took offence, it was nothing personal as with questions like "In general are bars better than coins for weight?, How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins? and Do silver bullets kill vampires?" I thought this whole thread was a spoof.

I now realise you were actually being serious!

In general are bars better than coins for weight? If they are the same material and the same size they weigh the same so I'd say neither are better or worse. It's a personal preference.

Should I start slow or blow my load straight away? As others have said if you are new to precious metals slow is probably best until you know something about them.

How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins? Heat test and taste test.

What is the best delivery method? Face to face. If not possible the most secure and insured method the seller is willing to post by.

How do I pay people on this forum? Very much up to the individual you want to pay. I've seen BACS, PayPal, Cash, Bitcoin to name a few common ones.

What is the best way to know if the seller has a good reputation? Know the seller. If you have not brought from a particular seller before then look at his feedback from other buyers.

What is the best postage option? The most secure and insured method the seller is willing to post by which mostly depends on the location of the seller. In the UK, Royal Mail special delivery is the only one that insures bullion as a matter of course.

Do silver bullets kill vampires? I have no idea, have never met a vampire to try.

[Gordy]

On 01/10/2021 at 14:39, Hooper said:

 In general are bars better than coins for weight?

Should I start slow or blow my load straight away? 

How do I know that I have not bought a pile of chocolate coins?

What is the best delivery method?

How do I pay people on this forum?

What is the best way to know if the seller has a good reputation?

What is the best postage option?

Do silver bullets kill vampires?

1.  Coins or bars? i'd say personal preference once you've bought a few items

2. treat this question like a beautiful woman, start slow, find your rhythm and when you're ready, blow your load

3. Use testing methods, magnets or scales and calipers, gravity testing etc... a sigma verifier is expensive so it depends on your spending plan and affordability, i'd rather spend over 1k on buying metals from reputable sources

4. Best delivery method? refer to answer 2, or Special Delivery

5 Different members prefer different forms so go with what you're happy with

6. Check out their profile, refer to answer 2

7. Special delivery esp for expensive purchases

8. Silver bullets do not kill vampires, ask my wife!!!!