How to Buy Silver online

The following instruction manual is pure opinion. It contains my personal thoughts based on my own experience. It features some basic information on how to buy silver online safely and effectively and it is geared toward the beginner investor.

Is it safe and cost effective to buy silver using a computer? I will attempt to convince you that it is a viable option to buying in a local coin shop as long as you are careful. Some perspective investors have asked how to buy silver online, and my answer is very simply "with caution".

Mastering the Auctions

First, this is my tried and true advice of purchasing silver at just 2 dollars over spot price on eBay. To walk into your local coin shop and pay 2 dollars over spot per troy ounce is not totally uncommon. It depends on your geographic location and it depends on the coin dealers in particular.

But there is another way to acquire your silver at just two dollars over spot price at the world's marketplace eBay. Whenever you buy silver bullion, coins, bars, or rounds sight unseen you must do your homework to avoid any regrettable purchase. But read along carefully and I'll tell you how I do it.

example of a silver bar listing — Example of Silver Bar Listings

First and foremost, go to eBay's homepage and type in "1 oz silver round" for example. You get a long list of silver rounds that seems to go on forever. Next using the small selector near the top on the right side of the screen, order the search results to "time ending soonest".

silver ending soonest — Change to "Time Ending: soonest"

Now judging from the time of day, this can vary, but I navigate to the specific page that shows the rounds ending in the early hours of morning. Auctions ending between 3:00am EST (12:00AM Pacific) and 9:00AM EST (6:00AM Pacific) work best for me.

This is where you want to bid to avoid the last minute rush of evening ebayers. It is important you are aware of the current silver spot price at this time.

Select an auction for a 1 oz round that is currently bid below the spot price by at least one or two dollars. Look at the seller's feedback number. The amount of transactions he or she has completed successfully is critical. It is a showing of trust based on past transactions, I call it a trust score.

I use the number 500 as a bare minimum, obviously, the larger the better. I personally won't buy and silver from a seller who has not hit that mark.

Calculate the current spot price plus two dollars and that becomes the absolute most you are willing to pay for any round, no matter how pretty, no matter how ugly.

Take notice of the shipping cost, many coin dealers offer free shipping to the USA but if there is a shipping charge you must figure in the shipping as part of your high bid.

silver eagles online In other words, if shipping cost were 1 dollar, your maximum bid would be spot price plus 2 dollars minus 1 dollar to account for shipping. Do not deviate from this magic number.

One final bit of advice is to make sure 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver is stamped on the round. If you are confident you have diligently read the description, carefully taking note of the photo and the weight, place your bid. Now click out of this auction and move down the list to the next possibility and do it all again. I will do this on three different auctions at the very least.

The most bids I have placed in one day is eight. Most of the time you will be outbid by inexperienced ebayers or by someone who is buying the round for reasons of collectibility. Hypothetically, if you were to win all the auctions to which you've bid, you would still be getting your silver at 2 dollars over spot per ounce.

Millions of avid computer users and collectors are familiar with the eBay system, but if you're not registered yet, you can register here for free.

Otherwise check out the silver that is currently listed. Call it a scheme, or a plan, or a method to my madness, but it works fine for me, and it can work well for you when it's done properly. Next I'll show you some of the 1 oz rounds I have purchased in the past.

Then There's the Online Silver Dealers

I also can suggest a number of online bullion dealers that offer home delivery at a fair price. I don't waste time with bulk suppliers, in other words, precious metal suppliers with minimum orders that are out of reach for most small scale investors.

One popular choice among small scale investors is: JM Bullion. Their bullion does not have minimum purchase requirements but they are fair considering some of the other bullion retailers on the internet. The minimums protect the overall price and keep it reasonable on the grand scale.

Another popular retailer is BGASC. They are headquartered in Texas. They are registered as a Corporation in the state of Texas as well as federally in the United States of America. There is no minimum on orders. They are definitely an option for smaller investors.

Just by doing an internet search for a phrase like "silver bullion no minimum order", you can reveal many other silver online specialists. I like to look at the "about page" of these establishments to be able to gauge where they are and how long they've been there.

how to search silver online — How to Search for Silver Online

Another clue that they are lgitimate would be the BBB (Better Business Bureau) badge that should be displayed in the footer of their website. This is another assurance that they have been doing business in a manner that represents legitimacy in the metals industry.

There may be other indicators on a seller's website, so take your time and read the fine print. I always recommend you start with a small order and work your way up as well.

Learning how to buy silver online is not the largest ladder you'll ever climb, but doing your homework is essential if you plan on succeeding in the long term with your silver investing.

Enjoy...