Well, being new to investing, I feel like I may've made a few early mistakes, thankfully, however; I didn't invest too much in those mistakes. As stated in a previous post, if I had some spare change lying around, I'd purchase silver in increments less than an ounce. I've purchased 1 gram bars (buffalo, Valcambi, etc...) up to 1/4 ounce (Scottsdale round-though pretty cool). After receiving some direction from the forum and doing the math, it's easily discerned that the purchase of anything less than an ounce seems like a very big waste of money. ex.: 1 gram can translate into $100.00/oz.
Yes, terrible waste of money.
So, I've decided that from here on out, I'm going to stick with purchases of no less than 1 oz at a time, be it bar or round. Instead of buying a Slim Jim or RC with that spare change, I'll just hold on to it until I have enough for an ounce. So... what say you? I plan (in the future) to actually purchase Ag in 1/2 lb, 1lb, etc..., but for now, I'm checking the lowest prices for 1 oz purchases. Is this OK? Is it recommended?
Several things to consider:
1) Are you paying shipping for that 1 oz? If you're buying from an online retailer, it's likely they're charging you shipping. Even if the retailer (e.g. Silvertowne) says free shipping, it's likely they built the cost of shipping into the premium.
2) Are you paying taxes on that 1 oz? What's the tax situation in South Carolina? E.g. in California you pay taxes on purchases < $1,500. To avoid paying 7.75%, I'd save until I'm buying more than $1,500 of metal.
3) Are there volume discounts? Some vendors (e.g. APMEX, Provident) charge you more if you buy 1. Charge you a little less if you buy 20, less if you buy 100+. Other vendors (e.g. Goldmart, Liberty CPM) don't have minimums. Stick to the vendors with the lowest premiums
for the quantities that you purchase.
4) Are you still using a credit card? Because that's 3% you'll never get back. Obviously don't spend $30 to wire money for a $30 purchase. So look for the vendor that'll accept personal checks.
I like the American Silver Eagles and have paid $35.00 for one. Is this a good or bad idea? I'm NOT purchasing "art" bars or the like, just sticking with known assayers. All opinions are welcomed. Thanks. BTW, I read the article on the pros and cons of certain weight purchases.
Going through old posts, it seems like you made your first purchase ~ 07/19. Looking at July/August silver prices, silver briefly hit a high of $28.26. If you paid $35 for an ASE, you paid $6.74 over spot (about ~24%). My LCS's price for ASEs is $4.50 over spot, and I think he's insane. Why in the world would you pay that much?
Go back to your "Just an Observation" thread and read it over and over again. Plenty of good advice there.
