Advice on WHERE to buy

[Twitch]

Hello all. First time poster here in the PM forum. I'm looking to increase my physical holdings and have been trying to figure out the most cost effective and lowest risk way to do so. My plan is to accumulate maybe 200 oz of silver a year - targeting 10 oz bars. I love 90% US coins but I don't really like paying that premium above straight bullion. I believe on-line is going to be a lot cheaper than my LCS ($2-3/oz over spot). Do you all have thoughts on APMEX vs Provident vs Kitco vs Ebay vs other?

One quick gold question, are Canadian Maple Leafs the investment of choice for most?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

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[TreasurePirate69]

I like APMEX and Provident. I stay away from eBay as it just isn't worth the time and risk in my opinion. I think a lot of people spend way too much time constantly looking for the absolute cheapest price at the expense of higher risks which just aren't worth it. 30 years from now you aren't going to care whether you spent $22 an ounce or $22.10 an ounce when you go to sell at $60+. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get a good deal. But too many people spend countless hours searching and bidding for deals only to order from questionable sources to save 10 cents. If you get even 1 fake 10 ounce bar it destroys an entire life of savings you may have accumulated by going to questionable sources on eBay.

Provident has better shipping costs than APMEX in my opinion so I use Provident whenever possible. I have never used Silvertowne but I've heard good things about them from other posters. There are several others and I'm sure that people will be along shortly to give other options.

As for Canadian Maple Leafs, those are a good choice as they are well recognized, high quality, and usually have low premiums. But I think you should just buy what you like. As you continue to buy you will decide what types of PM's you enjoy the most. For me, I like to buy a lot of different types of things. My goal is to hand my stack to my children and grandchildren down the road. I think they would enjoy receiving 100 different types of coins than to receive 100 of the exact same coin. When I sit down and show my grandkids my collection, I want to be able to talk about all the different types, where they came from, and what they are worth. That's just my collecting style. You should figure out your goals and what style you want to pursue and then make purchases accordingly. And take it easy as you are deciding what you like. There is nothing worse than buyer's remorse because you thought you'd love to have a huge stack of 10 ounce bars only to find out that you should have bought a variety of things instead.

Good luck.

 

[namster]

For gold, the premium at my LCS and provident plus shipping equaled out to be the same.

 

[Twitch]

Great info, thanks. One other question - is there any benefit one way or the other on what bars to buy? Each of the online sites has numerous types of bars, each with a slightly different premium.

Thanks.

 

[TheCoinKid]

Security wise, I believe ebay is ok for 90%ers and ASEs, but agree with TP69, in that I wouldn't trust it for most silver rounds, bars or gold purchases (I'm sure 1/10 ounce American gold eagles and the like would be just fine, if you do your due diligence on the seller).

Personally, I've been buying on ebay since the late 90's, with over 400 purchases (primarily coins and knives), and 100% of my purchases have been (ultimately) received and all were authentic. I do my DD, and, a few transactions aside, have been very satisfied with the results.

If I ever get hardcore and start buying for PM content, alone, I'll have to look elsewhere.

TCK

 

[LootHunter]

I use bullion direct. I like their nucleo exchange for buying and selling.

Silver Eagles are by far the most popular. After that I think it comes down to preference. I collected Mexico Libertads for awhile, then Engelhard Prospectors. If you stick to the well known rounds you can usually sqeeze out a little premium when selling them.