How to Buy Physical Silver as an Investment

A Short Primer for New Investors to the Silver Stacking Revolution
Summer 2021

Silver Stacks

As the demand for silver grows, more and more folks are curious about how to acquire physical silver as an investment. If you’ve never purchased physical silver, you may be hesitant and fearful of being taken advantage of. While there are fake silver pieces out there, silver’s relatively low price has made it less susceptible to fraud (so far) compared to gold. A buyer should always be wary and test their silver ideally before purchasing if in person, and definitely after receiving it to ensure that they are indeed purchasing real silver content. Oftentimes, especially in the case of Flea Markets, Thrift Stores, Garage Sales, and other physical locations, buyers may be able to do simple tests then and there. Readers may want to also check out Bullion TP’s Ways to Test Physical Silver and Types of Physical Silver for more information and guidance.

PHYSICAL LOCATION SILVER BUYING OPTIONS

For most physical locations selling silver, cash talks and may afford a buyer better negotiating leverage with the seller.

Pawn Shops — Pawn shops are prevalent in nearly every community and allow consumers to sell or pawn, a short-term loan, items like silver to the shop. Given the high desirability of silver, pawn shop owners are happy to acquire it for customers wanting to buy it. You can find a pawn shop by going to Google Map or whatever maps application you use and typing “Pawn Shops near me”.

Pros

• Close by
• In Person
• May negotiate on Price

Cons

• Limited selection
• Limited quantities
• Higher probability of circulated or poorly cared for pieces

Warning: Most pawn shop owners want to protect their reputation so will not sell fraudulent precious metals. There are always exceptions to this rule.

Local Coin Shops — Most communities of notable size, even many small towns, have local coin shops that specialize in numismatics and oftentimes bullion coins and bar sales as well. Local coin shops may be the safest physical location from which to buy precious metals from but in many instances you may pay a premium for this surety.

Pros

• Close by
• High probability of accuracy and legitimacy
• May negotiate for cash

Cons

• May be seeking top dollar for bullion and collectible coins
• Limited and fixed selection
• May be more numismatic focused than bullion focused

Warning: Make sure the local coin shop you are considering buying from is legit. Most local coin shop owners have numismatic and precious metals training, certifications and are members of the related associations for numismatic and precious metals. It is always best to go with a local coin shop owner and operator that has their credentials if you are going to shop at one.

Flea Markets — Flea markets, or organized small-time thrift sellers aggregated into one area, can be excellent places to find silver. These are especially likely to have 90% USD silver coins but many times buyers can find .999 silver bars and rounds as well. Sometimes, if one is lucky, these sellers are not paying attention to the silver market’s true selling prices and price their silver under the current going rate.

Pros

• Possibility of obtaining silver under the going price
• Supporting local people
• Tends to be specifically great for 90% silver finds

Cons

• Takes time and work sifting through a lot of stuff you don’t want
• There may be no silver at all!
• Negotiating sometimes requires going through the flea market operator to the item owner

Warning: Make sure you test the silver before you buy it if it’s not 90% USD silver coinage. 90% silver fakes are generally rare as the value has not historically been worth it to replicate as of yet.

Thrift Stores — Thrift stores cover a wide variety of different types of stores, ranging from charities like The Salvation Army or Goodwill to a private, for-profit, local store that sells a variety of mostly used items normally less expensive than the retail price.

Pros

• May be supporting a good cause
• May have priced silver under the market price
• There are lots of these in most areas

Cons

• There may be no silver at all!
• Some organizations sell things like silver online instead of in the stores
• Limited selection and possibly not the best quality of silver

Warning: Make sure you test the silver before you buy it. Thrift stores may not know if something is truly silver or not and may claim that is out of negligence or ignorance.

Antique Stores — Antique stores can be stand alones or grouped into certain areas. They tend to focus on higher end and more expensive items. Gold and silver have been seen at them in the past, but it is not the specialty of most antique stores.

Pros

• Likely higher end silver pieces would be found here
• Theoretically, better chances of legitimate silver due to reputation and inventory/working capital concerns of owners
• The customer services is normally very good as paying a premium

Cons

• Likely more expensive than other sources
• Most antique stores do not have precious metals including silver
• Very limited selections of silver if its there

Warning: The biggest risk of buying from an antique store is overpaying for a historical silver item. Be mindful of this when considering a silver purchase from an antique store owner.

Garage Sales — Garage sales are going to be a hit-or-miss situation when it comes to sourcing silver. The average garage sale is not likely to be selling silver, but there will be exceptions and may be worth checking out if driving my one. If you do find silver at a garage sale, make sure it is real by testing it, and you may find some great deals as people that are less knowledgeable are simply trying to get rid of their “junk.” While great deals can be found at garage sales, there are stories of bronze gold bars and no silver silver coins being acquired by angry buyers.

Pros

• May find great deals
• Typically able to quickly assess if any silver is there
• May be down the street from your house, very local

Cons

• The majority of garage sales will likely not have any silver
• These are typically a seasonal opportunity unless in a mild climate
• Credibility of the silver sold should be doubted

Warning: Be mindful of the fact that the garage sale operator likely doesn’t know much about precious metals and/or could be dishonest to sell their silver so buyers beware. Testing your silver is advisable.

Estate Sales — When someone passes, it is common to have an estate sale to sell off the person’s possessions for cash that is distributed to the heirs. Many older folks have silver as a part of their estate and so estate sales may be a good opportunity for buying silver in person. The heirs are normally a lot less concerned about getting the market price than getting the cash for the goods quickly, so negotiation at estate sales may be an opportunity for the silver buyer.

Pros

• May find great deals as willing to negotiate to move items fast
• May be many in any given day in your community
• Fair possibility of having precious metals given the generation currently passing

Cons

• May be competitive if the estate sales was heavily advertised
• The family of the deceased may have no idea what is real or fake silver
• Likely a limited selection as one person’s estate

Local Dealers — Local precious metals dealers may have a storefront or may work out of their home but either way if you live near one you may be able to stop in to their place of business and purchase silver at a price lower than what is offered online.

Pros

• Supporting a local business
• High probability of accurate silver content in metal purchased
• May have a large inventory (and may not)

Cons

• May charge large premiums
• May be numismatic and not precious metals/silver focused
• Limited inventory compared to marketplaces

Some websites to help you find a local dealer near you:

NGC: https://www.ngccoin.com/

American Numismatic Association: https://www.money.org/

Professional Numismatists Guild: https://pngdealers.org/

Reclaimed/Recycled Silver Refiners — Though not terribly common everywhere, there are facilities that take in reclaimed and/or recycled silver that refine it into raw silver shot or other raw forms to be utilized in coins, bards, rounds, and jewelry among other things. If a silver buyer lives near one of these and is looking for deals, these places could be a good opportunity. The primary problem being that while they likely do sell real silver, there is not mint, country, or assay certification to help create confidence in future buyers which may be a problem when its time for resale of this type of silver.

Pros

• Silver likely much cheaper than its minted cousins
• If there is one near you, you are lucky
• Great for those looking to make their own rounds, bars, or jewelry/other silver items

Cons

• Hard to resell
• Not a lot of them around in general
• Negotiation is likely not an option and the faux market determines price

TELEVISION

Bullion TP does not recommend that silver buyers purchase silver from televised silver channels. Televised silver sales tend to be targeted towards older Americans. These tend to be overpriced and spammy. There are better deals physically on the ground and online. This includes call-in orders for silver.

ONLINE SILVER BUYING OPTIONS

While many are hesitant to buy precious metals online, the reality is that the digital and physical records that are created through many of the websites and payment processors protect buyers in ways that some physical purchases do not. The key to purchasing precious metals online and not getting taken advantage of is research on the current market price, trust in who you are buying from, and confirmation of that trust (trust, but verify) by testing your precious metals when you receive them from the online seller. The research on the price is on you, reviews and reputation help determine who is trustworthy, and learning to test the silver yourself will solve the verification factor.

Marketplaces — There are a limited number of online marketplaces for the buying and selling of silver, gold and other valuables. The market, despite one new entrant — the writer of this paper, Bullion TP, is primarily dominated by two major players. Bullion TP is not a fan of these established online marketplaces, we are biased against them. Here is a very detailed article on why Bullion TP is so disgusted by its competition. We invite you to check it out, research our claims, and come to your own conclusions on them.

Pros

• Large selections
• Forces sellers to compete on price in one large platform; buyer wins
• Intermediary if there is a problem with a transaction

Cons

• Do not receive silver immediately, must wait for it to be shipped
• Unable to test the silver till it arrives (but still protected if fraudulent)
• Cash is not an option for payment

Specific Marketplaces

eBay — Founded by Pierre Omidyar, a known globalist Oligarch who meddles in U.S. elections, bans Dr. Suess books, and prohibits people from purchasing precious metals for no stated reason, eBay has been the go-to marketplace for a long time now. It’s precious metals section is large and diverse. It is expensive for sellers in terms of commissions, which may result in higher prices from some sellers.

Pros

• Large selection
• Established brand and provider
• Most major dealers on eBay in some form

Cons

• Owned by a globalist, anti-USA, corrupt Oligarch (see here)
• Bans people from buying precious metals and does not state the reason why
• Is changing its precious metals and coin section of its site for more control and ambiguous enforcement of policies

Facebook — Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a known globalist Oligarch who meddles in U.S. elections and suppresses speech against his interests on Facebook, Facebook has become a tool of the corrupt establishment and offers its Marketplace for buyers and sellers to buy and sell various goods, including precious metals.

Pros

• Low fee for sellers
• Easy to access as a Facebook user
• Well known brand brings plenty of sellers (not always precious metals)

Cons

• Owned by a globalist, anti-USA, corrupt Oligarch (see here)
• Variable selection; good some places and bad others
• Mixed in with everything else and hard to find precious metals on their marketplace

Bullion TP — Bullion TP, founded by USA Patriot, Andrew Polacek of St. Louis, MO, is the first Patriot-owned online precious metals and other valuables focused marketplace. We are very new to the market but working to seed the marketplace with quality sellers for our buyers. One thing that helps us do that is when Patriots sign up as buyers so we can advertise this to the sellers out there. Buyers have a choice in where they spend their dollars as where that money goes affects them.

We ask that you make a leap of faith with us as we want to disrupt the online precious metals marketplace for the benefit of buyers and sellers and take the power and money from the anti-USA globalist corrupt big tech “progressives” and their platforms. We want to direct our future profits towards fixing this country by being a good, ethical business. We want to help lead the world in returning to hard money and a free and fair financial system. We want to crush the paper markets and create a true market maker online for discovering the real price of precious metals, instead of the clearly manipulated price determined by Wall Street. As the physical price decouples from the corrupt spot price, this will become increasingly more important.

We want an end to the corruption, nihilism, lack of rule of law, and incompetence that plagues our major cities, our states, our institutions and our great country and we believe that Patriot businesses like ours have a strong role to play in doing this. Thank you for considering us.

Pros

• Pro-USA, Patriot owned precious metals and other valuables website committed to moral, ethical, and traditional values
• Precious-metals and related valuables only, nothing else to distract you
• Low fees to sellers, helping buyers
• Buyers and Sellers protected via PayPal and Stripe

Cons

• New player that is not well funded and is fighting two well-funded big monsters; we will fight on!
• Limited inventory at the moment as developing relationships with dealers; more is coming!
• Limited features on the website at the moment, but a lot more is coming!

Warning: The Bullion TP founder thinks for himself, is not influenced by nor does he trust the Mainstream Media, despises most major corporations, Wall Street, venture capital (establishment hacks), thinks the Federal Reserve is illegal and corrupt, and believes the majority of our government at the local, state, and national level is illegitimate and he says so without shame or fear.

Social Media Forums/Groups/Subs — Many online social networking sites have forums, groups, or subcategories for the buying and selling of silver on them. This may work fine in many transactions, but there is no shortage of public posts condemning thieves and fraudsters. The problem with buying on these groups is that there is no real mechanism for enforcement like there is on a marketplace or even through a dealer. Lack of reviews and ratings make it hard to know who to trust.

Pros

• Free in most cases to sellers and buyers
• Easy to access and post an offering
• Decent, but not amazing, selection

Cons

• No one to hold sellers to account for dishonesty or fraud
• Poor organization on most so hard to find what you are looking for
• Often times ran by a corrupt group moderator who is taking kickbacks or selling his wares himself

Warning: If you do decide to buy from one of these social media sites groups, be sure to take as many precautions as possible including buying with a credit card issuer that aggressively protects buyers. Document all communications and ideally look for references or reviews on the seller if possible.

Spot + Reasonable Premium Online Dealers — There are numerous dealers to buy silver from online that charge premiums, but not insanely high premiums as some do as mentioned below. These dealers are mostly reputable as their reputation is one of their most important assets when selling precious metals. Many online dealers are the same as physical dealers and many do not charge for shipping if ordering over a certain amount. Premiums are often arbitrarily determined by the dealer and not based on any market reality, but they do tend to go up when demand goes up. Dealers will look to buy your silver from you at steep discounts, so if you look to sell, Bullion TP highly recommends selling directly to a consumer via a marketplace to achieve maximum value.

Pros

• Most are reputable and selling real silver
• Many have a large selection except when there are shortages or high demand (like when this paper was written)
• Free shipping is always plus when/if you can get it

Cons

• Premiums are often times arbitrarily decided on
• There is no intermediary to arbitrate disputes
• Selection not as large as marketplaces and pricing comparisons more difficult

Warning: If you decide to buy from the spot+reasonable premium dealers, Bullion TP recommends shopping around on multiple sites to see what the best prices are for what you are looking for so you don’t overpay.

Spot + Insane Premium Online Dealers — There are a handful of online dealers, many who advertise on conservative news outlets, who intentionally target older individuals and charge premiums and fees that are excessive compared to the market for precious metals, including silver, so they can pocket the margin. They are taking advantage of ignorance, age, and the trustworthiness of the media outlet they are advertising to for the watcher. This is a nefarious and unethical business practice. Bullion TP recommends that no silver buyer buy through these outlets. Do your research on the spot and market selling price of silver before buying from anyone to ensure you are not ripped off.

Pros

• You will get the silver
• The silver will be real
• They are normally really nice; don’t trust that

Cons

• They rip you off
• You are lied to
• They will harass you to buy more till you unsubscribe

Warning: Don’t buy from these outfits. They are bad news and you can get more from your money somewhere else.

Questions? Disagree? Have an addition? Feel free to email us at info@bulliontp.com. We’d be happy to provide you with any guidance you’d like and there are no “stupid” questions.

About Bullion TP. Bullion TP is a Patriot-owned and operated online marketplace for buyers and sellers of precious metals, numismatic coins, and other related valuables. Unlike eBay and Facebook, Bullion TP is pro-USA, pro U.S. Constitution, and anti-globalist centralization. We offer lower selling fees to sellers with a long-term vision of driving fees even lower.

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