Complete noob to silver. Should I start buying it up now, or bide my time?

[BuddyRey]

When silver fell to 20 bucks an ounce a couple months back, I made up my mind that I was finally going to start buying it (a prospect that usually scares the crap out of me because of how unpredictable PM value trajectories can be). So, I guess what I'm wondering is, in the opinions of those who actually follow trends much more closely than I have so far, will silver prices continue their precipitous decline, or is this the absolute perfect, can't-get-any-better time to start making moves and getting while the getting's good?

A side question, though just as important, is how do silver noobs make sure they're dealing with reputable people who sell real, .999 silver and not some plated or imitation crap from China? Is eBay completely out of the question, or are there solid dealers there?

Thanks for your time and advice, everyone!

 

[westkyle]

Check out one of my threads I made pretty recently. Maybe some of your questions will be answered. I just bought my first amount of silver from apmex. I intend on visiting some local pawn shops that deal with coins to see if I can save some money instead of spending it on shipping. If you check ebay just make sure you check out their reputations.

 

[Zippyjuan]

So, I guess what I'm wondering is, in the opinions of those who actually follow trends much more closely than I have so far, will silver prices continue their precipitous decline, or is this the absolute perfect, can't-get-any-better time to start making moves and getting while the getting's good?

Nobody can tell you for certain what will happen in the future. Over the long term, the price will likely move both up and down. When and how much is anybody's guess. You will only know if this is a great time to buy or a bad time to buy in the future- when the opportunity is passed. One way to try to deal with this is to buy regular amounts (dollar wise) at regular time intervals (say $50 a month). When prices are down, you buy a larger amount of metal. When prices are up, you get less metal for your money.

 

[specsaregood]

A side question, though just as important, is how do silver noobs make sure they're dealing with reputable people who sell real, .999 silver and not some plated or imitation crap from China? Is eBay completely out of the question, or are there solid dealers there?

A lot of reputable dealers sell on ebay as well as their own sites. eg: 2 of my regulars moderncoinmart and apmex. I definitely wouldn't be buying from any unknown entities unless you know what you are doing. Before buying from any dealers: I'd recommend perusing this site/forum: http://www.goldismoney2.com/forumdisplay.php?8-PM-Dealer-Feedback

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Get a chart of historic price fluctuations. Take that and whatever personal considerations you have and buy low. I like junk silver as a way to get into it. As others have said, avoid shady dealers. I've gotten silver from amazon, but never tried ebay. And if you tell oyarde your birthday, he may give you some silver coinage like he gave his nephew HB.

 

[oyarde]

When silver fell to 20 bucks an ounce a couple months back, I made up my mind that I was finally going to start buying it (a prospect that usually scares the crap out of me because of how unpredictable PM value trajectories can be). So, I guess what I'm wondering is, in the opinions of those who actually follow trends much more closely than I have so far, will silver prices continue their precipitous decline, or is this the absolute perfect, can't-get-any-better time to start making moves and getting while the getting's good?

A side question, though just as important, is how do silver noobs make sure they're dealing with reputable people who sell real, .999 silver and not some plated or imitation crap from China? Is eBay completely out of the question, or are there solid dealers there? If you want Buddy Rey , you can let me know what you want , want you want to spend and I can pick it up for you @ my cost at my local place and ship it to you a couple of times if it would help you.If you just want some Silver Eagles, PM me, I can sendyou contact info for my guy,you can probably just mail him a check .