Premium on Silver

[plus1hdcp]

I have found a local facebook auction site which advertises all sorts of stuff from baseball cards, comic books, wheat pennies and some silver which has me following. I am surprised by the premiums the bidders are paying for most of the items. Some of the items are graded so I understand that aspect but most of the stuff isn't. The items pretty much are auctioned in lots of (1) so I do realize this will add to the premiums buyers are will to pay.

For example, a 1922 D Peace Dollar just sold for $24.50 plus sales tax (9%) in Tennessee. Obviously condition is key but without seeing can you all provide input what you would consider to be a "fair" premium to pay. At times, this seems more expensive than eBay.

Thanks.

[Country]

I tend to look at what major houses like APMEX and PROVIDENT pay. APMEX will pay $15 for generic Peace dollars; selling around $18.50. PROVIDENT sells generic 90% at spot, buys at $1 less than spot. The spreads between BUY and SELL are very large these days for 90%. As others have stated, too many sellers abound right now. Good time to buy. but only at the right price.

[plus1hdcp]

Thanks Country, that is kind of my opinion. I would love to support the local stores but not a such a cost. Again, this is in an auction environment so the bidders are setting the market. It is a good time to buy.

[everything]

I have noticed at estate sales people paying 28 dollars for a Morgan, my LCS asks 30 and more, craigslist seems to be looking for people that like to over pay or counterfeits All my LCS seem to charge more than 2 dollars over spot, only one I go to because he has a decent junk bin that has old bars that I like and ASE that are less than perfect. Everyone is a little different, I don't know if people are just flush with dollars and hoping something will be worth big without knowing if it really is or not. I was going to stop by estate sale Saturday but their was a line of 20 people waiting to get in so I passed on it. I've seen peace dollars out here recently for 16.75, the 22D isn't rare, but if it's VF/EF it's worth a little more.
Sales tax factors in as well, if I want to buy an oz. of silver locally, they tack on two dollars over spot, then another dollar for sales tax, your three dollars over or a 15% premium. I'd rather buy larger lots or dips.

I think some collectors know what to buy, send in for grading, then reflip, and are constantly playing this game of upgrading. I spent about two hours at a LCS with an old time coin guy, he was showing me higher dollar coins that were repaired and upgraded, I was surprised and amazed with this guys knowledge, ability to see things, point them out to me, etc.

[Recyclersteve]

I have noticed at estate sales people paying 28 dollars for a Morgan, my LCS asks 30 and more, craigslist seems to be looking for people that like to over pay or counterfeits All my LCS seem to charge more than 2 dollars over spot, only one I go to because he has a decent junk bin that has old bars that I like and ASE that are less than perfect. Everyone is a little different, I don't know if people are just flush with dollars and hoping something will be worth big without knowing if it really is or not. I was going to stop by estate sale Saturday but their was a line of 20 people waiting to get in so I passed on it. I've seen peace dollars out here recently for 16.75, the 22D isn't rare, but if it's VF/EF it's worth a little more.
Sales tax factors in as well, if I want to buy an oz. of silver locally, they tack on two dollars over spot, then another dollar for sales tax, your three dollars over or a 15% premium. I'd rather buy larger lots or dips.

I think some collectors know what to buy, send in for grading, then reflip, and are constantly playing this game of upgrading. I spent about two hours at a LCS with an old time coin guy, he was showing me higher dollar coins that were repaired and upgraded, I was surprised and amazed with this guys knowledge, ability to see things, point them out to me, etc.

There should be plenty of states you can buy from that don't charge sales tax on coins, even if they do on supplies. Even in states that do charge tax, there are often special times each year (called Tax Free Weekends) where you can avoid the tax- rules vary by state. I do remember visiting a coin dealer while in Massachusetts and he talked about their tax free days and how much more traffic he had in the shop then.

And then there are four states that don't charge any sales tax at all. (Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon) If I lived in Vancouver, WA, for instance, you bet I'd be crossing the Columbia River to go into the Portland area to buy coins. I know that Littleton Coin Co. (in Littleton, NH) sells a lot of coins, but their prices are SKY HIGH, even with no sales tax.