stacking silver exit strategy

[fiveshotdon]

I am interested to hear what the plans are for forum members that are deep in silver.

I have noticed that 1oz silver coins don't exactly fly on the forum, selling to a dealer offers just above spot at best and ebay fees eat into profits.

What are you planning to do with all them monster boxes when silver spikes?

[Gildeon]

Good question. Maybe selling to a dealer at almost spot wouldn't be bad for someone who has bought low and wants a quick exit...

[Roy]

Good question!

🍿

[watchesandwhisky]

This as well as VAT is why i only really buy gold.

[Abyss]

My exit strategy does not include selling any part of my physical Silver/Gold stack because represents the ultimate insurance policy. If I want to liquidate any part of my stack done via the futures/options market using the paper markets. I am only looking to exit my position only when I see an unsustained parabolic move in the PM prices provided no Black Swan or SHTF moment.

[mikeiones32]

1 hour ago, fiveshotdon said:

I have noticed that 1oz silver coins don't exactly fly on the forum

Some go in minutes - depends on the coin and the price and I guess to some extent the seller.

 

[fiveshotdon]

28 minutes ago, mikeiones32 said:

Some go in minutes - depends on the coin and the price and I guess to some extent the seller.

 

Small quantities go quickly when they priced right. I have seen larger quantities with little interest in buying in bulk, people tend to pickup a few.

[Lowlow]

This is the big question I think.

I'm a bullion investor, so it's easy for me to liquidate.  I've tested it, intentionally culling a few really ugly rounds and junk silver and trying to liquidate it to see how it goes, and for bullion priced near spot it is trivial to get rid of small amounts.

I think collectors hoping to recoup the premium they paid above spot would have a harder time answering this question.

[KitboyE17]

54 minutes ago, Abyss said:

SHTF

?

[sixgun]

1 minute ago, KitboyE17 said:

?

Shit Hits The Fan

[Lowlow]

2 minutes ago, KitboyE17 said:

?

Feces hits the oscillating air current distribution device.

[KitboyE17]

7 minutes ago, sixgun said:

Shit Hits The Fan

 

6 minutes ago, Lowlow said:

Feces hits the oscillating air current distribution device.

Thnx guys - please forgive my naivety lol

[KDave]

Wait for an ebay sell for £1 offer and list everything. Then hope the silver price holds and someone who isn't a scammer buys everything. 

Or sell to a dealer at below spot and take the marginal hit. 

I sold a lot of silver in the recent past it was quite easy to do but hard to maximise profit. I ended up using Ebay for the most part as things sell when overpriced on there, not so much on here. I didn't sell any silver to dealer. On the flip side I sold almost all of my gold to dealers, it is much more liquid and the margins are small.   

[Paul]

I shifted nearly £10k of gold via the forum in one day earlier in the year, when priced right with great seller reputation to guarantee the good, not too shabby

To do the same £10k with silver, i very much doubt it

In my retirement, selling 5oz on eBay a day and a trip to the Post Office to stretch my legs won't be too much of a trouble 

[watchesandwhisky]

13 minutes ago, Paul said:

I shifted nearly £10k of gold via the forum in one day earlier in the year, when priced right with great seller reputation to guarantee the good, not too shabby

To do the same £10k with silver, i very much doubt it

In my retirement, selling 5oz on eBay a day and a trip to the Post Office to stretch my legs won't be too much of a trouble 

I would not factor eBay into any retirement plans mate, its days are numbered. 

Not doubt be something similar but who knows! 

[Paul]

Just now, Madstacks said:

I would not factor eBay into any retirement plans mate, its days are numbered. 

Not doubt be something similar but who knows! 

Totally agree @Madstacks eBay general getting crappier, greedier and trying to morph into Amazon kicked my arse to start my new line of work earlier in the year, after keeping me in a good life for over 10 years plus

Like you say, I'm sure there will be a similar exit vehicle in years to come 

[watchesandwhisky]

1 minute ago, Paul said:

Totally agree @Madstacks eBay general getting crappier, greedier and trying to morph into Amazon kicked my arse to start my new line of work earlier in the year, after keeping me in a good life for over 10 years plus

Like you say, I'm sure there will be a similar exit vehicle in years to come 

Sorry to hear that mate:( me and the GF are in exactly the same boat, 5 year business is going town the pan due to ebays relentless push to move towards new items and try and copy amazon. We are currently still going but at this rate im not sure for how much longer. Just downgraded shop subscription from featured to basic and removed a few hundred items. 

Alot seems to be going towards facebook but i dont want to deal there what with privacy issues. 

 

[universalcurrency]

Going back to the original topic,  here's a couple of ideas if silver really tanks:

1) turn your rounds into colloidal silver

2) take up old school photography and use the silver to make photographic plates prints etc, (at least you can turn your stack into a new hobby).

Point 1 could be a real money spinner, has anyone looked at coloidal silver in the local wholefood shop... the markup is crazy!

[lmwstamps]

4 hours ago, Lowlow said:

This is the big question I think.

I'm a bullion investor, so it's easy for me to liquidate.  I've tested it, intentionally culling a few really ugly rounds and junk silver and trying to liquidate it to see how it goes, and for bullion priced near spot it is trivial to get rid of small amounts.

I think collectors hoping to recoup the premium they paid above spot would have a harder time answering this question.

I agree with this.  Your exit strategy really depends on the nature of your stack.  If the bulk of what you have is low premium rounds/coins, then exiting is just a function of finding a buyer somewhere close to spot.  If your stack consists of premium collector coins it will take time because you have to find a buyer who values the item as a collector not as a stacker.  In my opinion, an exit strategy should be done all along the way.  If you intend on disposing of your stack at some point, practice now with small amounts.  Try selling some of your items in different venues (online, to dealers, in person) to see what sells, how well things sell, and what you can expect with regard to spot vs. premium.  Begin cultivating buyers now so that when you are really ready to exit, you know where to go to sell it.  Doing this accomplishes several things:  1) it may help remove some of the emotional attachment to items in  the stack, 2) it can help refine what you are stacking, 3) flipping items for profit can help grow your stack quicker in the near term, 4) it helps iron out the bugs in your perceived exit strategy, and 5) it may uncover new sources for purchases.

[Lowlow]

7 minutes ago, lmwstamps said:

If you intend on disposing of your stack at some point, practice now with small amounts.  Try selling some of your items in different venues (online, to dealers, in person) to see what sells, how well things sell, and what you can expect with regard to spot vs. premium.

I can't find the exact quote, but to paraphrase Buffett ... if you want to know what something is truly worth, buy a little bit of it and then try to sell it.

[sixgun]

 i am not considering exiting until the price of silver is significantly higher. That might be next year, in 5 years, in 10 years - who knows but i am not considering exiting silver until then.

If silver were $100/oz the complexion of exiting and ease of exiting would be very different - it would have become a sellers' market. The question would be whether or not to exit at all b/c price may well have much further to go when a decisive breakout comes. i expect price to be kept in a range and when it breaks out it will run north a long way. Come that day it will be easy to exit and the big question will be to exit into what b/c selling for cash may not be the move to make.

[richatthecroft]

4 hours ago, Madstacks said:

I would not factor eBay into any retirement plans mate, its days are numbered. 

Not doubt be something similar but who knows! 

Just wondering why you think eBay's days are numbered? 

Although I'm not in any way a fan of the way they treat Sellers, and their apparent business model of attempting  to squeeze Sellers so hard in terms of high fees and their propensity to make the Seller completely exposed and held to account and penalise even when it is clear the Buyer is clearly dishonest, deceitful or take the sellers side when they fecklessly bid on an item and don't pay (rant over).  To balance this rant, it is absolutely possible in the vast majority of sales, to have seamlessly smooth transactions.  The Global Shipping program is fab, I've sent many items overseas successfully and generally, buyers are honest. 

I've held an eBay account since the late 90's when it was in its infancy but crucially a two way community, positive/ negative feedback could productively be given as a two way process, sadly no longer.  The rot really started when fees started being charged on postage as well as the item, I absolutely get why they did this, but instead of tackling the improper postage charges by greedy/deceitful/ 'I'm only playing the game' sellers ( Sovereign, Buy it Now 99p + £250 postage!) they penalised and alienated everybody. 

Above are my gripes and criticism of eBay, are these some of the reasons you believe their days are numbered? 

I would hate to have reliance on my livelihood or even a second top up income selling on eBay.  Its only tolerable to a hobbyist seller like me because of the 'offers' they provide now and them.

Interested to hear your thoughts. 

[SilverTanner]

7 hours ago, sixgun said:

 i am not considering exiting until the price of silver is significantly higher. That might be next year, in 5 years, in 10 years - who knows but i am not considering exiting silver until then.

If silver were $100/oz the complexion of exiting and ease of exiting would be very different - it would have become a sellers' market. The question would be whether or not to exit at all b/c price may well have much further to go when a decisive breakout comes. i expect price to be kept in a range and when it breaks out it will run north a long way. Come that day it will be easy to exit and the big question will be to exit into what b/c selling for cash may not be the move to make.

This is more or less my plan, particularly as I missed in selling at the last big peak as pretty much all of it is just bullion.  Not only will this free up funds for other things it will free up a lot of space too!

[watchesandwhisky]

7 hours ago, richatthecroft said:

Just wondering why you think eBay's days are numbered? 

Although I'm not in any way a fan of the way they treat Sellers, and their apparent business model of attempting  to squeeze Sellers so hard in terms of high fees and their propensity to make the Seller completely exposed and held to account and penalise even when it is clear the Buyer is clearly dishonest, deceitful or take the sellers side when they fecklessly bid on an item and don't pay (rant over).  To balance this rant, it is absolutely possible in the vast majority of sales, to have seamlessly smooth transactions.  The Global Shipping program is fab, I've sent many items overseas successfully and generally, buyers are honest. 

I've held an eBay account since the late 90's when it was in its infancy but crucially a two way community, positive/ negative feedback could productively be given as a two way process, sadly no longer.  The rot really started when fees started being charged on postage as well as the item, I absolutely get why they did this, but instead of tackling the improper postage charges by greedy/deceitful/ 'I'm only playing the game' sellers ( Sovereign, Buy it Now 99p + £250 postage!) they penalised and alienated everybody. 

Above are my gripes and criticism of eBay, are these some of the reasons you believe their days are numbered? 

I would hate to have reliance on my livelihood or even a second top up income selling on eBay.  Its only tolerable to a hobbyist seller like me because of the 'offers' they provide now and them.

Interested to hear your thoughts. 

I have been around on it since the very early 2000s - you will remember the days - when you could put almost anything on there and it would have many many watchers and you could count on many bids via auction often smashing what would be a fair price - it changed the game for second hand goods.

Fast forward nearly 20 years, where 90% used to be auctions 90% is now Buy it now listings, where it used to be cool quirky used items is now (mostly) brand new.

The brand and business was built on small time private sellers selling used interesting things, but ebay are now trying to shift towards huge volume sellers of new products - they proudly display on the main page sometimes "80% of items on ebay are brand new!"

I dont believe ebay can begin to compete with amazon for new products - Their search engine is now awful, the cassini bot seemed to harm everyone with less views.

You now have a problem where for each category you have Chinese sellers selling items at prices that cannot be competed with, with UK addresses, however order one of these items and often it will take 12 days to arrive, UK warehouse adress but still sent from china. This annoys buyers and so many have left. why wait 12 days when you can have it the next day from amazon.

Do you remember when you could put a item on ebay with a 99p start price and it would find its natural price every time? try that now and theres a good chance it will sell for a fraction of its value. Many buyers have left ebay - probably because if they want a cheap new item then amazon is far more user friendly. Prime delivery for many too.

So we have a issue where buyers are fed up and leaving, sellers are fed up trying to jump through ebays constant changing hoops and slowing sales (30 day forced returns forced on business sellers (thanks ebay)- how long before its 60 days? maybe you would like me to offer free returns next as well!) the popularity of facebook selling groups seems to be growing alot too, many would rather save the hassle of ebay now.

Unless there is major change in how they run things, and ebay stops trying to compete with amazon - I just feel that ebays days are numbered as the way we currently know it, and eventually it will just wilt away to nothing - or be unrecognizable with only very large business sellers using it as an outlet.. 

[Goldhooked]

I have a very different perspective on eBay.

I’ve been selling on eBay and Amazon through my business for about the last 8 years.  We’re not a massive business (just my wife, myself and one part time staff).  We only sell new products, mostly our own branded/re-branded stuff.  We sell the same items on both channels and sales on eBay UK currently exceed sales on Amazon UK.

I am a member of a group with many members who own their own e-commerce businesses (some who process millions of orders a month) and the general consensus these days is that eBay is currently the better platform.  Amazon is a nightmare for a seller in comparison with far greater risk of account suspension for things that are out of your control.

I added Fruugo to our list of platforms at the beginning of this year and sales on there already outstrip combined sales on all the Amazon EU sites (including UK) for us.  The only real success for us on Amazon is their US site for one particular product that we use Fulfilled By Amazon.  But even that has been fraught with problems including loss of 3 months sales due to Amazon incorrectly re-categorising the product and a temporary account suspension due to a product theft/switch on the way to the Amazon FBA warehouses.

eBay seller support for larger sellers is far superior to Amazon support.  With eBay, an English speaking rep is just a phone call away in the Ireland call centre and in my experience they are really good at what they do.  Try speaking to someone at Amazon who can even understand your initial query/complaint!  They really are worlds apart.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not without it’s problems, but I much prefer selling on eBay followed by Fruugo (and some other smaller platforms and our website).  Amazon is truly the worst and I only sell on there through necessity.  

Many much larger sellers than me think the same so I’m not convinced eBays days are numbered any time soon.  It’s just not and never will be the same platform that many sellers remember from the early days.