The real price of silver

Discussion in 'Commodity Futures' started by peilthetraveler, May 4, 2011.

  1. Fair market value is defined as the lowest a seller is willing to sell for and the highest a buyer is willing to buy for. As I write this, the spot price of silver is $39.33 per oz. I just checked some of ebays completed auctions and the real price of silver is shown. 1 oz silver coins are selling for around $50 per oz which is so much higher than current spot price. Here is an auction that was just completed 15 minutes or so ago and the 1 oz silver bar sold for $52

    http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Troy-Oz-999-P...306?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41594351c2

    Here is another one that sold 20 minutes ago for $56

    http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Troy-OZ-Silve...264?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1025e4b0

    Buying in bulk doesnt seem to get you much of a discount either. This 100 oz bar was sold 10 hours ago for an average price above $46 per oz. (normally a bar like this would have a premium of maybe .49 to 79 cents over spot, not $6 over spot)

    http://cgi.ebay.com/100-oz-Silver-B...888?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e63507818

    or 50 oz sold yesterday for an average price of $50 per oz

    http://cgi.ebay.com/50-1-oz-PAN-AME...775?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5c6bf057

    What this signals is an arbitrage move that many many people are going to take advantage of. The manipulation in silver is only going to hasten investors raiding the reserves of the comex by taking delivery to sell physically on the open market. I imagine that in a month or two, if the drop in spot continues, that physical silver will sell for over $100 per oz even if the paper price is $10 or 15.
     
  2. sjfan

    sjfan

    Isn't this just market segmentation, clientelle effect, and liquidity premium? That is, the ebay market is no where as near as deep as the spot market (go try sell/buy $100MM of silver on ebay);

    It's entirely incorrect to imply that ebay prices are 'fair prices.' In fact, it's far more easier to make a case that the spot price is 'correct' and ebay prices are off market.

     
  3. You can buy Silver Maples for $43.08 as I type this.

    You can buy a Silver Bar 1000 oz for $39,930 ($39.93 per oz).

    (Check out Kitco to verify).

    Even Apmex that charges a hefty premium over spot is selling 1 oz silver rounds for roughly $45-$46.
     
  4. I just checked Kitco. Seems they are only selling silver to people outside the USA.