I originally wrote this article during early 2020, before the global pandemic ushered in a period of widespread silver bullion shortages and accompanying crazy high silver premiums. Consequently, the advice contained in this article about buying silver at spot is no longer fully functional. Regardless, I decided to publish it anyway for two reasons.
First, it is an important window into how the retail silver stacking market historically worked prior to March 2020 (and how quickly that all changed). Second, it is possible that premiums on silver will normalize at some indeterminate point in the future. If this were to happen, my article on stacking premium silver at spot would be a great step-by-step how-to guide. Even with today's elevated premiums, adopting the strategy below might still offer the savvy silver stacker a way to accumulate precious metals relatively cheaply.
So without further delay, here is the original article with only minor edits.
It is maddeningly obvious that the world is careening towards a financial crises/monetary reset of some description. Because of this, I find it prudent to diversify my dollar holdings into something other than paper assets like stocks and bonds. That something else is usually tangible assets like antiques, art and gemstones.
But as much as I like antiques, there is a certain simplicity to purchasing raw bullion as a fiat currency alternative. Gold and silver have been treasured by mankind since the dawn of history. They have also served as an immutable form of money for that same length of time - about 5,000 years. So you can be sure that they will still hold their value during the next financial crisis, regardless of when it comes and what form it takes.
Now what if I told you that there was a way for you to buy silver at spot?
Under normal circumstances this is impossible. The spot price is typically a purely theoretical price available only in the paper futures market. The average person can't actually buy physical silver at spot (or any other precious metal, for that matter). Instead, coin and precious metal dealers will mark up their inventory by a small percentage in order to cover overhead costs and give themselves a modest profit margin.
The only exception to this rule is some online dealers who will offer a small quantity of silver - usually 5 or 10 troy ounces - at spot for new customers only. So if you're willing to sign up with a bunch of different online precious metal dealers, you can expect to get between 30 and 50 ounces of silver at spot (Ed. Note: To the best of my knowledge, only SilverGoldBull still has a silver at spot deal intermittently available).
But this strategy is both inconvenient and limited. You'll never get more than a few dozen ounces of the precious white metal at the going spot rate using this technique. And the dealer gets to choose the type of silver you'll receive. As a result, you're pretty much guaranteed to receive generic bars or rounds, which is the cheapest, least desirable kind of silver available.
But what if I said there was a way to buy hundreds of ounces of silver at spot? And that some of that silver would be premium silver of your choice?
It almost sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
But it isn't (Ed. Note: Well, it wasn't too good to be true before March 2020). In fact, I bought myself $1,200 worth - about 67 troy ounces - of silver at spot over the past few months (in late 2019) using this little-known technique.
How does it work?
The key is eBay Bucks, an incentive program offered by the online auction giant that only U.S. and Canadian residents can sign up for. Under normal circumstances, 1% of the purchase price of an item sold on the eBay platform is rebated to the buyer in the form of an eBay Bucks coupon. But this amount is often enhanced to 5%, 8% or even 10% during special promotional periods.
EBay Bucks accrue from your purchases until they are paid out in the form of a voucher at the end of each quarter. This eBay Bucks voucher (which expires 30 days after being issued) can then be used toward the purchase of anything for sale on the auction site, including bullion.
For those who are interested in all the gritty details surrounding eBay Bucks, I suggest you read my article titled "Buying Bullion at Spot with eBay Bucks"
So here is the story of how I bought $1,200 of silver at spot.
First I signed up for the eBay Bucks program; the strategy obviously won't work if you aren't signed up. Then I waited for a 10% promotional eBay Bucks period. EBay typically offers these promos once or twice a month, so you likely won't have to wait long (Ed. Note: Since COVID-19 hit, eBay has restricted its promotional eBay Bucks bonuses to only 5% - still worth it though). However, the incentive period usually only lasts for 48 to 72 hours, so you have to pay attention or you'll miss it.
Then I searched for pre-1965 U.S. 90% junk silver coin rolls for sale. I personally prefer to use eBay's "Buy-It-Now" option even though it is often marginally more expensive than the traditional auction format. I favor "Buy-It-Now" listings because it means that I can complete the entire transaction in just a few minutes. More importantly, I can be assured that I will be able to pay for the item before the end of the eBay Bucks promotional period, which is necessary in order to receive the enhanced eBay Bucks accrual.
In my case, I bought 5 rolls ($50 face value) of mixed Walking Liberty and Franklin half dollars for around $142 a roll, or just under $710 in total. Minted between 1916 and 1947, Walking Liberty half dollars are widely considered to be one of the most beautiful coins ever struck in the United States. In fact, the design was so recognizable that it was resurrected in the mid 1980s for use on the 1 troy ounce American Silver Eagle bullion coin.
Franklin halves minted between 1948 and 1963 are also quite attractive, with a distinctly Mid-Century aesthetic. They are some of my favorite junk silver coins, and are underappreciated in my opinion.
eBay Bucks Eligible Pre-1965 U.S. 90% Silver Coins For Sale
When I bought these 5 rolls of junk silver, eBay was offering 10% in eBay Bucks. So I accrued a nearly $71 rebate on the purchase.
After waiting a few weeks, eBay had another 10% promo period. This time I bought $30 face value of silver Roosevelt dimes for a bit under $141 (per $10 face value), or $422 in total. Roosevelt dimes were first minted in 1946 in honor of President FDR, who died in office in 1945. They were struck in 90% silver through 1964, when their composition was changed over to the cupro-nickel clad alloy that is still in use today. I accrued about $42 worth of eBay Bucks on this purchase.
When the end of the calendar quarter came, eBay issued me an eBay Bucks voucher for $113. Now it was just a question of waiting for the right bullion deal to come along.
EBay is careful not to offer eBay Bucks incentive periods in the month following quarter end. This is to keep you from double dipping by using your eBay Bucks voucher during a promo period (they stack). The only exception to this is October, when they will typically offer an eBay Bucks promo toward the end of the month. I suspect they do this because it is at the beginning of the Christmas buying season.
In any case, I opted to ignore the possibility of double dipping on another eBay Bucks incentive period. Instead, I chose to use my voucher to buy something from eBay's "Bullion" category. Items purchased from the bullion category don't accrue eBay Bucks, but you can redeem eBay Bucks vouchers on them.
Now I like premium silver - the good stuff. Unfortunately, premium silver is invariably more expensive than generic silver. But to me, paying a little bit extra for a higher quality product is well worth it.
That's when I saw it.
Scottsdale Mint was having a sale on its gorgeous 10 troy ounce Scottsdale Stacker silver bars through its eBay store. They were being offered for only $1.48 per ounce over spot. This was a phenomenally good deal, especially for such a high quality silver bar.
The Scottsdale Mint is an Arizona-based firm known for producing some of the finest premium silver available on the market. They have been contracted to strike legal-tender collectible coins for many smaller sovereign nations, including Fiji, Barbados and Cameroon. So this is a company with tight quality control and a stellar reputation.
Scottsdale Stacker silver bars are precision machined in the U.S. Each one comes with a unique serial number and an anti-forgery, engine-turned design emblazoned on the reverse. And they typically cost you about $3 an ounce over spot, even if you buy them directly from the Scottsdale Mint website.
They are exactly the kind of premium silver that I love. So $1.48 over spot was too good a deal to pass up.
I quickly pulled the trigger, purchasing a single Scottsdale Stacker silver bar for $190. But because I used my $113 eBay Bucks voucher to pay for most of it, my net cost was only $77.
Now I understand that all these numbers can be overwhelming. So I've distilled my experience down to an easily digestible table that you can peruse at your leisure.
| Face | Price | Spot at | |||
| Value/ | Troy | Per | Time of | ||
| Description | Count | Ounces | Cost | Ounce | Order |
| 90% Silver Walking Liberty/Franklin Halves: | $50 | 35.75 | $709.70 | $19.85 | $18.04 |
| 90% Silver Roosevelt Dimes: | $30 | 21.45 | $422.19 | $19.68 | $18.00 |
| 10 Tr. Oz. Scottsdale Mint Stacker Bar: | 1 | 10.00 | $189.90 | $18.99 | $17.51 |
| Total Cost Before eBay Bucks: | 67.20 | $1,321.79 | $19.67 | $17.95 | |
| eBay Bucks: | $(113.19) | ||||
| Total Cost After eBay Bucks: | $1,208.60 | $17.99 |
I'll leave you will a short summation of my silver buying spree here.
I ended up purchasing $50 face value of Walking Liberty/Franklin halves, $30 face value of Roosevelt dimes and one 10 troy ounce Scottsdale Stacker silver bar. All of these purchases together totaled 67.2 troy ounces of pure silver (junk silver is calculated at 7.15 troy ounce of fine silver per $10 face value). My total cost was only $1,208 (and change). The spot price of silver during my purchases fluctuated between $17.51 and $18.04, with a weighted average price of $17.95.
The total cost per ounce for my 67.2 ounces of silver was only $17.99 - a mere 4 cents over spot! Now if you're buying silver at spot, you'd normally expect to only receive low-premium generic silver. But that wasn't my experience. Instead, I mostly bought silver half dollars (which always trade at a small premium to silver dimes and quarters), along with a premium bullion bar.
This defies expectations, proving just how powerful the eBay Bucks silver stacking strategy can be.
Scottsdale Mint Silver Bullion Bars & Rounds For Sale
Better yet, this approach to buying silver at spot is incredibly flexible. I purchased 67 ounces, but that is because it is what I could afford. If you wanted to, you could scale this strategy down to just a couple hundred dollars or scale it up to many thousands of dollars. And you could also tilt it towards higher premium silver (at a slightly higher cost per ounce) or lower premium silver (at a lower cost per ounce) as you see fit.
And let's not forget that the cherry on top for an eBay Bucks silver stacking strategy would be to combine it with a rewards credit card. It is fairly easy to get a credit card that pays 1% to 2% cash back on purchases. All of the numbers above assume you aren’t using a cash back card. If you do use one, you might even be able to buy silver below spot!
If you are interested in protecting your wealth, I highly recommend that you use this powerful eBay Bucks silver stacking strategy to buy silver at spot.
A word of warning though. I was only able to buy silver at spot because no one cares about precious metals at the moment. In a future scenario where silver and gold demand shoots through the roof, there is no way deals this good are going to be available. So buy now, while you can still get it cheap (Ed. Note: My warning at the time now sounds prophetic given the shortages that hit the silver market during 2020)!
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