SilverPrice.

If you are looking to invest in physical silver, you may be wondering how to get the best price possible. Although prices can vary depending on several factors, there are a few guidelines that can help ensure you get the best price possible when it comes to buying silver.

Choose basic products: One of the simplest ways to get the best price possible is to focus your purchases on products that carry the lowest overall premiums. Silver is available in multiple forms including bullion bars, rounds, coins and collectible coins. These products can, however, have some significant differences when it comes to overall premiums.

Generally speaking, bullion bars are the least expensive for refiners to produce. Bars can be made in large quantities, and often feature less total design detail when compared to coins or rounds. There are two very different types of bullion bars: minted bars and cast bars. While both may offer a significant per-ounce savings compared to coins or rounds, cast bars may offer an even lower premium than minted bars.

Cast bullion bars are produced by pouring liquid metal into molds and then allowing the metal to cool. The process may be relatively cheaper for refiners, and can be done in large quantities. The lower total refining cost can transfer to lower premiums for the purchaser.

In addition to bullion bars, silver rounds can also offer a cost effective way to acquire the metal. Unlike coins, rounds are not considered legal tender and have no face value. Because of this, rounds are valued simply for their metal content. Some rounds may have premiums comparable to bullion bars, while others could be slightly higher on a per-ounce basis.

Bullion coins, which are good, legal tender, often carry significantly higher premiums compared to bars or rounds. This can be due to the coin’s monetary value as well as the fact that coin’s often feature very intricate design work.

Collectible coins, while beautiful and rare or unique, may best be avoided as they can carry the highest premiums of all, sometimes many times the value of the actual metal content.

Sticking with bullion bars or rounds can potentially offer the best per-ounce premiums and may be the ideal way to build a big portfolio or collection.

Buy in bulk: Another simple trick that may enable you to get the best price possible is to buy in bulk when you can. Larger weight silver bars, for example, carry lower total per-ounce premiums compared to smaller weight bars. Coins and rounds may also be available for bulk purchases, and dealers may offer some significant per-ounce discounts for larger purchases. For example, a dealer may offer a certain price for 1-9 coins, a lower price for 10-19 coins, and yet an even lower price for 20 coins or more. Buying coins or rounds in mint tubes or monster boxes can offer a significant savings not only on the bullion itself, but also potentially on shipping costs as well.

Compare dealers: When it comes to buying silver, online dealers may potentially offer significantly lower dealer premiums compared to brick and mortar coin and bullion shops. This makes sense given the fact that online dealers do not have the same operating costs as a storefront shop. In addition, online dealers may deal in larger volumes, allowing them to buy  more metal at lower cost, and then passing those savings onto customers in the form of lower premiums.

Online dealer prices can be quickly and conveniently compared from the comfort of your home or office. Simply pick a few products you are interested in purchasing, for example a 1 ounce Sunshine Mint bullion bar and a 1 ounce American Silver Eagle coin, and compare prices between a few different dealers.

Don’t forget to include any shopping or handling costs as well. Some dealers may offer highly discounted or even free shipping, while others don’t. The total cost of the purchase and any shipping or insurance fees should be factored in when comparing dealers.

Pay by check or bank wire: Have you ever noticed that dealers often offer one price for bank wire or check and a higher price for credit or debit card payments? This is due to the fact that the dealer incurs a processing fee from the card provider. Some credit cards may charge dealers a fee of several percent on a transaction, and with tight profit margins those dealers must make this fee up by charging slightly higher premiums on card transactions. To get the best price possible, stick with bank wires or checks.