Silver is an increasingly popular precious metal for investment in recent years. It has widespread use in many household applications, and the demand for silver is constantly rising, making it a great and relatively stable product to invest in.
If you choose to invest in physical silver, you’ll have it in hand and ready to access or sell at any point. When you do decide to sell, you have one of two main options: sell online or to a local dealer. Selling to a local dealer can be the quickest option for liquidating your silver.
Local silver bullion coins dealers are usually located within driving distance. If you have many options of stores located near you, you have the luxury of shopping around and getting different quotes. Really do your research before you start seriously negotiating for prices.
Getting different quotes from different dealers will help you have an idea of what sort of price you should be offered. You should do your research first, consulting a coin guide or the Internet as well as checking the spot price of silver so you have a ballpark reference of what you should be offered for the silver you are trying to sell.
Advantages of Selling Silver Locally
The main advantage of selling silver to local dealers is that you have the option of negotiating. While online dealers will typically offer you the best prices, you can speak directly to the local shop owner to negotiate a price. You can also strike up rapport for future dealings, which will be very useful if you ever need to buy silver in the future.
You also have cash in your hand much quickly when you sell locally. A time delay of a few days for shipping and receiving the silver is factored in when you sell online. If selling locally, you can leave the store with cash in your hand instantly. If you’re hard pressed for cash, this is an ideal option for you.
Disadvantages of Selling Silver Locally
When you sell to a local dealer, you have the option of haggling; which is both an advantage and disadvantage. While you can ask for higher prices than they are offering, they can also gauge how desperate you are to sell immediately and reduce the price they’re offering. In times of panic, you’ll be quoted an extremely low rate.
Additionally, if you are trying to sell a large quantity of silver, local dealers may not be the place to go. Retailers do keep a somewhat large amount of cash on hand, but if your silver is extremely valuable; they may not carry enough cash to liquidate your bulk silver.
You’ll also have to spend time and energy driving to and from different stores as well as physically show each dealer the silver you wish to sell. The condition of the silver does not affect the value of the silver content, but affects the value of the coin itself. Mint condition coins will fetch more than a visibly secondhand coin, even if they’re minted in the same year.
If you have large amounts of silver, you’ll need to physically carry it all into the store to show the dealer and this is extremely impractical for silver in bulk. Even if you do have smaller amounts of silver, you may not feel safe just carrying valuable silver in hand. Daylight thefts are just as likely to occur as home thefts.
With you driving around to different silver bullion dealers and physically carrying your silver, you can present an attractive target for theft. Consider the value of the silver you want to sell and whether or not you feel comfortable taking it out of its secured storage space. If not, consider selling it online.