Explain to me why marked, solid sterling silver is being so heavily discounted.
291fifth
Posts: 24,336 ✭✭✭✭✭
I can see why the non-solid items like knives and candlesticks are discounted but can see no reason why the solid items are also being discounted.
What is the logic behind the discounting?
What is the logic behind the discounting?
All glory is fleeting.
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<< <i>I can see why the non-solid items like knives and candlesticks are discounted but can see no reason why the solid items are also being discounted.
What is the logic behind the discounting? >>
No logic, just greed. It pays to shop it around when selling it.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>Google "The Law Of Supply And Demand." >>
I suspect an inefficient market is also to blame.
<< <i>The expense involved in getting it refined into .999 silver. In addition, a lot of so called "Sterling," is actually only about 80% silver. >>
Please explain why it would only be 80%. Fraud?
How do you spot the bad stuff?
<< <i>
<< <i>The expense involved in getting it refined into .999 silver. In addition, a lot of so called "Sterling," is actually only about 80% silver. >>
Please explain why it would only be 80%. Fraud?
How do you spot the bad stuff? >>
I don't believe it's fraud, but there is a good chance on older "Sterling Silver" flatware not Halmarked .925 Sterling, that the finesse is not .925.
in fear he may be left holding the proverbial bag of silver as it descends.
<< <i>As silver rises in value my local dealer loosens the spread and pays less for everything in spot
in fear he may be left holding the proverbial bag of silver as it descends. >>
A similar thing happened in 1979 & 1980 when silver hit $50. You were lucky to get 70%-80% of melt, but that's not happening yet.
I have never had a customer come in and ask for 3 spoons..
Silver rounds and bars are recognised, sterling has to be smelted down and made retailable..
so it is bought at a discount untill we get enough to ship out to a smelter...
LM-ANA3242-CSNS308-MSNS226-ICTA
<< <i>
<< <i>As silver rises in value my local dealer loosens the spread and pays less for everything in spot
in fear he may be left holding the proverbial bag of silver as it descends. >>
A similar thing happened in 1979 & 1980 when silver hit $50. You were lucky to get 70%-80% of melt, but that's not happening yet. >>
I tried to sell a small amount of silver this past week and found that it was happening. I didn't sell.
<< <i>There is no 2 way market for sterling...
I have never had a customer come in and ask for 3 spoons..
Silver rounds and bars are recognised, sterling has to be smelted down and made retailable..
so it is bought at a discount untill we get enough to ship out to a smelter... >>
How much is "enough." I'm trying to learn how this market actually works.
I don't even want the stuff, but I will offer 1/2 of melt because that makes it worth the trip.
I even encourage people to try the antique shops and jewelry stores,
but most are happy with 1/2 melt...
That is not being GREEDY on my part, it is just making the best of my investment dollars.
Like I said, I would just as soon they took it somewhere else...
LM-ANA3242-CSNS308-MSNS226-ICTA
<< <i>There are no rules, Every Coin Shop is different..
I don't even want the stuff, but I will offer 1/2 of melt because that makes it worth the trip.
I even encourage people to try the antique shops and jewelry stores,
but most are happy with 1/2 melt...
That is not being GREEDY on my part, it is just making the best of my investment dollars.
Like I said, I would just as soon they took it somewhere else...
It sounds like sterling has really fallen out of favor. I wonder how many people buy it new these days ... probably not many.
Its common to add useful items for 80% of spot. As I see it I can't lose if I decide to sell them some day.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
<< <i>Sterling items other than coins are also quite bulky, oddball sizes and there's the potential for not knowing the exact silver content. It could be <92.5% silver, it could be plated and marked, could be weighted, etc >>
Excellent point. In Chicago we had to hold stuff 30 days before we could melt it, and the back vault sometimes had three or four mail tubs in it full of candlesticks and other junk, where the contents of one mail tub might yeild two ten ounce bars when refined.
TD
<< <i>
<< <i>Sterling items other than coins are also quite bulky, oddball sizes and there's the potential for not knowing the exact silver content. It could be <92.5% silver, it could be plated and marked, could be weighted, etc >>
Excellent point. In Chicago we had to hold stuff 30 days before we could melt it, and the back vault sometimes had three or four mail tubs in it full of candlesticks and other junk, where the contents of one mail tub might yeild two ten ounce bars when refined.
TD >>
I think you have just answered the question! The inability to quickly turn over sterling due to local or state laws has made such purchases risky. Last month I sold a small amount of silver locally here in the Detroit area. One item, a sterling silver keychain that formerly held a Mexican silver Onza caused all kinds of delays because of the paperwork that had to be filled out, fingerprint taken, etc. The weight of the keychain was about 1/4 troy ounce!
<< <i>I tried to sell a small amount of silver this past week and found that it was happening. I didn't sell. >>
This also may be due to the long weekend. That's 3-1/2 days where the B&M shop is sort of stuck hoping the price doesn't fall by
Monday's open. Waiting the typical 2-1/2 days is hard enough. Fwiw the price on Saturday in India was trading $2.50 higher.
We'll see how that reflects at the Sunday night opening overseas. If things are stable Monday, that additional spread you saw today will
probably be gone.
roadrunner
There may be a tendency to back up a little on spreads on the other silver items becuase of the long weekend, but I have been hearing reports at least locally that folks are beginning to put large spreads into thier buying the higher it gets. A perfect example is: I quoted a guy 42.00 oz (which is low for .999 rounds) on friday afternoon becuase I really didnt want them becuase I have no way to get rid of them until tuesday and had plenty already. He came in and sold them to me anyway, becuase he told me he called at leat 8 places , and nobody was even close to my offer, now that is shocking!!!
Indian spot prices:
link
the other day a customer came into his store and sold 800 ounces of sterling silver. and he is having a heck of a time getting a firm price from refiners for it.
But he also told me tonight that he is seeing less gold/silver coming into his shop to be sold, and this started about two weeks ago. he suggests it might be a sign that the economy is getting better. but I think that consumers are hearing so much about record high prices that they are holding on.
Like in 1980, when the consumers do start selling and lining up around the block to sell, the market will have hit its peak.
well, no lines around the block yet.
www.AlanBestBuys.com
www.VegasBestBuys.com
<< <i>But he also told me tonight that he is seeing less gold/silver coming into his shop to be sold, and this started about two weeks ago. he suggests it might be a sign that the economy is getting better. but I think that consumers are hearing so much about record high prices that they are holding on. >>
Possibily, most of the people that had silver for sale have already sold it.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
He was able to buy himself a cadillac escalde in cash with the profits he has made on scrap the past three months.
<< <i>
He was able to buy himself a cadillac escalde in cash with the profits he has made on scrap the past three months. >>
God bless him and more power to him. Better an enteurprenurial local yokel get a legup in the world than a truly greedy and overpaid CEO of some tax free multi-billion dollar enterprise receives even yet another undeserved dollar.
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Scrapman made a public offer and I can vouch that he's good. Amigo buys sterling and has a good reputation. Support your local community.
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I haven't had a problem with under-silver sterling. Usually, most of it is .925. The problem is that nobody wants .925. Not even the jewelers who make stuff with it. They tell me that they cannot take an old sterling spoon and re-work it into a modern piece of salable jewelry. Melt it up, dah, dah, dah. Nope. Cannot be done. It doesn't re-cystalise correctly, it scales, it work hardens. Nope. Not interested. So they continue to pay 50-75% above melt for pre-shaped flat, bar, sheet, wire, what-the-heck-have-ya because that's what they need and want to crank out the old productivity.
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As for smelters/refineries believe it or not, some of these big outfits that advertise they'll pay one 90% or 95% or whatever, you'll find through hard experience that they have actually paid you 67 or 75%. All the rest gets lost in a cosmic phantasy land of their weight and your weight, lot fees, assay fees, lost in the melt, the stack, the suit your fancy but still lost, the package arrived damaged in transit, THAT wasn't silver and no we don't return stuff , .....
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these people want 999, bars, or readily identifiable and high quality silver like
90% US coin. This means a lot of scrap and sterling are going to the refineries
and they are just swamped in it.
I think the spread will narrow as the silver price stabilizes and the refineries catch
up on their backlog. A lot of people just won't give away their silver even if it's
"just" sterling, scrap, or war nickels.
But a lot of "new silver" could have been bought in between then and now when silver prices were low.
I remember shopping in stores a few years ago when big heavy SS chains (resembling bike chains) were being sold.
The curious thing about rising prices for silver and gold is that the "fashion industry" takes notice and designers start pushing gold and silver jewelry because of its value. This happened back in 1979-80 and I suspect it will happen again... people will want more gold and silver jewelry.
www.AlanBestBuys.com
www.VegasBestBuys.com