Silver "Co-op"?

[MO-SILVER!]

Is there anything like a Co-op where people can go in together to buy PMs in bulk to save on the premiums? I'd be interested in going in on something like this as I'm smaller time in what I can put into these and the premiums and shipping can be kind of expensive. The gainsvillecoins.com site shows bank wire prices and credit card prices but there is a min on the bank wire and all that. So in order to save on premiums and shipping(though it would have to go to one member and be sent on to the various buyers) I was thinking about this sort of thing today. I'm sure someone has thought of it just wondering if any of this takes place.

[frugalcanuck]

I talked to some of my investing friends about this and they all sounded interested but nothing has come of it so far. I also think it would be a good idea for those of us who don't feel like a big player yet.

[Lemon Thrower]

you might find it easier to post a WTB and buy from a member here.

i have some silver i might sell. pm me with what you want.

[Treetop]

I was thinking about this.

It could work, if you had enough money together, and the right people. I worked in a hotel for awhile, and a guy came to buy gold, this is new mexico... theres a bit of gold, but tons of silver. Many tribes make tons of silver jewelry.

I watched the guy, have large large lines, I never knew so many here had silver, selling him silver at 4.5-5.5 times face, when silver was at around 10 times face for spot. I dont know what he would of offered for gold, as i only saw one person with it, and didnt see the deal at all. I live in a city of 12,000.... and 150-200 people must of been there getting ripped off. the craziest part is they thought it was better then pawn shops. Not many bright people in my town, so maybe its not the best example....

But if you got some people together, and hit at the right time, I think you could make a killing......

[MO-SILVER!]

I was thinking more along the lines of like a traditional coin club or book club where people could put orders together and order in a large enough quantity as to avoid large premiums and shipping costs like a farming co-op might do for feed or whatever. I believe the guidelines for being a "dealer" and being able to buy direct from the mint is set about the quantity of coins you buy. So if a group got together to meet that minimum you would avoid the mark up of the dealers.

[Devil Soundwave]

The problem is you either go with a legit organisation to do it for you (in which case there will be a charge of some type), or you shoehorn together your own group of peeps, but that relies upon trusting others; and when money is involved that is not a great idea. It just takes *one* slip up on the part of the person handling the cash and then there is a whole heap of trouble; friendships get ruined, people get upset.

Personally, I'd advocate continuing to invest personally at the smaller level; yes, premiums and shipping may be high, but at least you only have to look out for yourself...

Just my 2p.

[Treetop]

I was thinking more along the lines of like a traditional coin club or book club where people could put orders together and order in a large enough quantity as to avoid large premiums and shipping costs like a farming co-op might do for feed or whatever. I believe the guidelines for being a "dealer" and being able to buy direct from the mint is set about the quantity of coins you buy. So if a group got together to meet that minimum you would avoid the mark up of the dealers.

sorry I wasnt trying to redirect what you were saying..... Its just something ive thought about since I saw a long line of people begging to sell their silver well below spot........

devil soundwave.... im only going to invest for myself to. a few people here probably do have the resources to do such a thing though......

[Ardent Listener]

The idea of group power buying has been presented but there are problems with it especially since distance separates most of us. One can get great deals on big orders from places like Tulving Company, but it is hard to get a number of people together at the same time who want to buy the same thing. I might want Canadian Maples while someone else wants rounds or eagles. I might want to wait for more of a dip and others might want to buy now. It is hard to please everyone with such a system. It could be done, but IMO, the fewer people in on it the better.

[killerken53]

I also thought it would be a good thing to do with Tulving. I came up with the following idea for a group buy of 90% junk silver. Tulving sells at spot. Each person would agree to purchase $XX face value, up to a silver spot of $YY. Once the $1000 minimum was reached, the group buy organizer would call Tulving and order the silver using their own money. At that point, the group buy organizer would inform each person how much they owe for silver and shipping, and would send out the silver after receipt of the agreed upon payment. This way the group buy organizer maintains possession of the silver and if someone flakes out they can sell their share for the money they owe. Also, the participants in the group buy are fronting no money until there is product to pay for.

[natsb88]

The problem with that is finding somebody to front $17,000 of their own money to place the order...

[Ardent Listener]

The problem with that is finding somebody to front $17,000 of their own money to place the order...

Especially in a dropping market no one would want to be stuck holding the bag while he or she tried to collect.

[MO-SILVER!]

Yeah. It would be logistically difficult to get money from a large group together if each person wanted to
buy one or two tubes of coins and getting 10/15 people to coordinate to get them at once. If it were like a quarterly thing where it happened on a set date regardless of price and went like clockwork like a book club or something It could work. I'm in the mode that I'm buying regularly either weekly or monthly and I know there are others out there doing it. I'm buying weekly generally, if spot down from last week I buy a little more, if it goes up I buy my minimum. That way my collection of various silver bullion items grows regardless and I have more of a moving average than buying on any particular trend whether up or down. I look at it like blackjack, you get your 11's to double down on and your 16's you hate to hit on when they're showing a face card but you're always playing.