Question on buying silver from Kitco...

[32blownhemi]

I've got some questions on buying silver from Kitco. After being on hold for 10 minutes I just left a message & hung up. I'm leary of buying from somewhere that doesn't answer their phone. OR is this just like trying to call a Gun store? Where their swamped with business??? Oh, Kitco was the cheapest that's why I was going with them... Thanks! ; ) Bill

[chris]

try APMEX they are pretty good and deliver very quickly.

[32blownhemi]

Thank you VictorFranko & Chris! I PM'ed OHOD & I checked APMEX & they were more expensive. Of course getting it cheaper isn't always the best way to go. I signed up on a coin board but am waiting to be approved to post. I did read something on their site about paying spot for a 90% bag. Don't see how that's possible though! Thanks again! Bill

[Onetyme]

Try local dealers where you get your silver just as you put the cash in their hands. Compare what you save in shipping to what local prices are (dependent on volume purchasing).

[BadIndianSwamp]

Golddealer.com

[daves100]

Apmex sometimes have free shipping. right now they have a sale over .99 over spot on 10 oz bars

[wjc]

Originally Posted by Onetyme

Try local dealers where you get your silver just as you put the cash in their hands. Compare what you save in shipping to what local prices are (dependent on volume purchasing).

+1

You also get a better relationship with the dealer, i.e. they may educate you on ways to save on taxes, etc.

[1010]

i bought from kitco before. they charge about 3% over spot price. shipping and insurance added another 1%. Quite fast service imo. I never called, did it all online.

buy the .9999% coins if you can. oz coins seem to get better rate versus less than oz.

[echo1]

I bought online from Kitco last month. It was painless except for the wire transfer part. They hold your quote for 3 days, until your transfer arrives. They need a credit card to bill if you flake. My local guy was close and you can take delivery when you worthless paper changes hands. My first go at it. PAX

[Falstaff]

The biggest PITA is the wire xfer with kitco, I vaguely remember sending them a personal check instead which required quite a wait before they cleared it for shipment (3 weeks)
I dont know if they still take checks as I havent bought silver in a while...
I dont understand why they wont do ACH xfers, what are wire xfers costing now? (last I checked my credit union wanted something like 28 bucks which is silly)

[Prenub]

Does it matter who manufactures the gold or silver bars? I want to buy some and want to get it from a reputable manufacturer.

[whatmeworry]

Provident Metals is also a good option

[Geared Hub]

Originally Posted by Prenub

Does it matter who manufactures the gold or silver bars? I want to buy some and want to get it from a reputable manufacturer.

For coins backed by a government, you're probably looking at Eagles, Maples, Libertads, Philharmonics, Kookaburras, etc.

For bullion bars and rounds I'd stick to the larger, well known mints out there.

Examples are: Engelhard, Sunshine, Johnson Matthey, Silvertowne, PAMP, Heraeus, etc.

Poured bars are nice, but I usually stick to ones stamped from a known mint as as well.

In the end it's all metal bullion value, but different mints will have a premium, ie. Swiss Pamp silver or gold with the Assay cards will command a high premium vs say some silvertowne bars.

That's not really a bad thing, you can usually recover the premium when selling to other collectors and some dealers.

I used to buy from APMEX, and Gainsville Coins and theres a few coin/bullion stores in the LA area that will give better prices than the internet sites depending on your relationship with the place [ie. if you been buying there for a while, etc]

[BretByron]

My bank does Transfers for free. Wasn't a big deal. Not much cheaper than my local coin dealer though. I quote him Kitco prices and he is usually right around the same. We've gotten a screaming deal on individually wrapped 1-Oz. bars from Kitco before though.

[Gabriel80]

Originally Posted by Geared Hub

For coins backed by a government, you're probably looking at Eagles, Maples, Libertads, Philharmonics, Kookaburras, etc.

For bullion bars and rounds I'd stick to the larger, well known mints out there.

Examples are: Engelhard, Sunshine, Johnson Matthey, Silvertowne, PAMP, Heraeus, etc.

Poured bars are nice, but I usually stick to ones stamped from a known mint as as well.

In the end it's all metal bullion value, but different mints will have a premium, ie. Swiss Pamp silver or gold with the Assay cards will command a high premium vs say some silvertowne bars.

That's not really a bad thing, you can usually recover the premium when selling to other collectors and some dealers.

I used to buy from APMEX, and Gainsville Coins and theres a few coin/bullion stores in the LA area that will give better prices than the internet sites depending on your relationship with the place [ie. if you been buying there for a while, etc]

Very interesting! I'm also in burbank, I completely understand having a good relationship with the shop, but what are the good stores in our neighborhood? The best I found was in Glendale, kind of near big 5 and the mall, but it wasn't "great"

[cpatbay]

Originally Posted by Geared Hub

For coins backed by a government, you're probably looking at Eagles, Maples, Libertads, Philharmonics, Kookaburras, etc.

For bullion bars and rounds I'd stick to the larger, well known mints out there.

Examples are: Engelhard, Sunshine, Johnson Matthey, Silvertowne, PAMP, Heraeus, etc.

Is APMEX stamped silver bars good to go?

[Stockton]

Anyone buy from Northwest Territorial Mint?

[frahuang]

I have bought from AMPEX. They also have Ebay listings where you can make your purchase. It's really hassle free and the price is actually decent.

[biorunner]

I've bought Physical from several of these well known places. Kitco, Apmex etc.. are all legit, but you have to consider their prices, shipping costs etc.. I personally buy mostly from libertycpm.com as they are close to me and I can go to their store in person and not worry about shipping. Keep in mind to buy more than $1500 to avoid paying tax and Less than 10k to avoid notifying uncle sam. Finally Ive found these two sites to be very helpful.

http://www.comparegoldprices.com/

http://comparesilverprices.com/

[Geared Hub]

Originally Posted by cpatbay

Is APMEX stamped silver bars good to go?

Yes. What I mean by recognizable is something that most silver/coin dealers are familiar with vs super generic silver with tweety bird on it or happy birthday or no mint mark. Nothing wrong of those but they command the lowest premium over spot. Could be a good buy if the price is right.

I stick to a few mints, that way its easy to compare the markings and makes it easy to check for counterfeits [not a big problem but something to look out for]

Originally Posted by Stockton

Anyone buy from Northwest Territorial Mint?

I have some of their rounds and bars [the stagecoach split-able bullion], but I've never ordered direct, they take a few weeks to process orders, too long for me.

As for socal locations the 3 spots I hit once in awhile that gave me fair prices and had good selection was:

London Coin Galleries, in Newport Beach.

Coin Connection on Del Mar in Pasadena [They moved last year a few blocks south from their old spot on fair oaks].

And CNI in Inglewood off the 405 and Manchester.

Plus the local coin shows when they come into town.

I find some of the places don't like looky-loos too much, depends on the guy behind the counter, but just roll in and ask for 10 oz of generic bars, vs price on maples or eagles, and see what they got.

I downloaded the kitco app for my phone so I can check spot prices before I go into the store to get a rough idea on what I should be paying for silver or gold. Note that the premium over spot will vary on product.

A generic silver eagle may run 1-2$ over spot, but a proof version [polished background] may run 4-5$ premium as a collector piece. Swiss PAMP silver on assay card may have a huge premium as well as any special edition bullion coins. Keep that in mind.

I'd start off getting a few generic bars and eagles, and figure out what you want to do after that, everyone is a bit different.

You'll see slabbed silver in plastic holders, they're usually graded collector coins which value is numismatic. That's more for collectors, but some value can be had there.

[socal147]

California numismatic . Absolutely the best available.

[audiophil2]

tulving.com

I was going to buy a few monster boxes last December but then the gun panic occurred. I invested in guns and ammo instead. Pretty much doubling my money in a few weeks.

[glockman19]

I buy from both Apmex and Gainsville Coins.

I have 5 10oz bars I'm willing to part with.

If you're interested PM me.

[32blownhemi]

Thanks for all the replies! Learned a lot! I ended up getting 71.5 oz's of 90% junk silver from Ampex. They sent quarters. And 1 10 oz Year of the Dragon bar from Ampex & a 10 oz. Year of the Dragon Coin of off EBay (I was warned but did it anyway). I liked the look, couldn't find it anywhere else & seller had 100% feed back w/ 100's of sales. We'll see when I check it out. Thanks again! Bill

[Onetyme]

Originally Posted by Stockton

Anyone buy from Northwest Territorial Mint?

Northwest Territory Mint has a terrible reputation. Look it up. I started to buy from them when I first got started. They were even sued by the government a few yrs ago because of their terrible shipping practices.

It's because of what I found with them & the realization that any company can have delivery issues that I buy local only. I now have a great relationship with my coin dealer.

Remember MF Global. The people who had purchased PM's through them which had not shipped out yet (some of it being held on their clients behalf) took a haircut along with those who had actually lost their financial (dollar) investment.

When the crisis hits it will be quick. Anything in the pipeline (awaiting delivery) will be lost. Do you want to take that chance.

I will say this. NWT has an office in Washington. You can walk in, buy your PM's and walk out.