If you’ve decided you want to sell silver to raise some extra cash then one of the decisions you’ll have to make is where to sell it. You obviously need to make sure you get the best price but another consideration is the time and effort required to sell. For example, selling to a “money for silver” company is a lot less effort then trying to sell directly to another person. Here are some of the options to consider when selling silver.
Jewelry stores – These are not one of the best places to sell your scrap silver but you need to remember that they’re buying to make a profit. This means you won’t be able to sell for decent value. As a rule jewelers don’t specialize in purchasing unwanted silver, there isn’t a huge profit in buying scrap silver so many gold buyers stay away from it. I do purchase silver, although it doesn’t provide a huge profit I tend to accumulate many kilograms before I sell it, while I’m accumulating the bits an pieces the price of silver rises so I’m normally happy when I melt and sell it.
Now you’d like to know where to sell silver, I sell my to a local refinery that I have dealt with for over 5 years, when you sell your silver you have a couple options. First you could take the payment in cash or check, secondly you can take your melted silver in precious metals itself in either gold, silver or platinum bars. Personally I do a bit a of both, say I take in 20 kilograms of sterling silver jewelry or silverware, so it’s 20 kgs or 20,000 grams x .925 = 18,500 grams of fine silver, I get paid 90% of the actual silver by my refinery which is 18,500 grams x .9 =now we divide 16,650 grams / 31.1 grams = 535.3 troy ounces of fine silver in return. You could choose to be paid by taking 535 troy ounces of silver, if you do this you will likely be charge a ‘bar charge’, on 535 ounces it will likely be $1.00 per ounce.
If you are an individual with sterling silver jewelry or sterlingware to sell you would be wise to call and or visit websites in your region to see what they are paying for sterling silver that day, if a company says they need to see it in person to give you a price I would suggest looking elsewhere as they are likely to low ball you, it’s a simple ‘price per gram’ you are looking for.
Offline and Online classified ads – Places such as eBay are good places to sell medium to low quality silver although it’s often hit or miss whether you get a good deal. However, if you’re selling expensive silver coins for example then you should definitely avoid places such as eBay and go to an auction house or a professional dealer. Even so, eBay is regularly visited by a lot of knowledgeable silver dealers looking to pick up a good deal so it’s always an option. The problem with selling on ebay is their fees, once you factor in the ebay fees you’ll see your return deminish substantially.
Auction Houses – It’s usually only worth trying to sell silver jewelry at an auction if you’ve had it valued at a high price. With silver jewelry this is unlikely, again auction houses will charge a hefty fee that will see you profit eaten away quickly. Auctions can be stressful and a lot of work so they generally shouldn’t be used to sell low priced items. However, they can be a fantastic place to sell expensive items because there will be many knowledgeable bidders who have the money to buy.
If you’re selling silver coins and they are of collectible quality then you need to make sure you get it graded before you sell. For example, you could ask a company such as NGC to grade your coin which will then define its value to potential bidders. Having your coins graded will make them much more attractive to potential buyers. In fact, some collectors will only buy coins that have been professionally graded so if you’re serious about selling a high priced coin this is an essential step. If you have older U.S. or Canadian regular coinage (pre 1968 for Canadian and pre 1965 for U.S. coins) you’ll normally be quoted per face dollar, for example as I write this I am currently paying $7.85 for everyone $1.00 worth of U.S. dollar, half dollar, quarters and dimes. I am currently paying $6.75 for every dollar, half dollar, quarters and dimes that total $1.00.
Normally you’ll be able to sell your unwanted silver to the same company you sell you gold scrap to but no matter where you decide to sell your silver make sure it’s a reputable company or individual. There are unscrupulous silver dealers out there that should be avoided at all costs. When you selling your scrap silver you should expect to receive approximately 75% of the actual value of the silver content.
Silver bullion has been one of the most undervalued metals over the last few decades. That is why so many people are buying silver these days. Unless you purchase you bars before the most recent surge in price I would hang on to them a little while longer. Silver is still vastly undervalued and many experts are predicting silver to soar to $50 to $100 dollars per ounce in the next two years.