Thinking about picking some up just because.  Local guy has had some for sale for awhile and his price hasn't changed ? Should the price fluctuate with the spot price ? Is spot price what determines the per oz price ?

Most people won't sell silver for less than what they bought it for. Spot price doesn't really mean much in certain cases. I remember when silver dropped back to $10, yet nobody was selling for less than $15. Some dudes on a forum I used to read were looking into how to take delivery of COMEX bars so they could get silver around the spot price.

I guess I can see that  and
Forgive me ( i know nothing about gold/silver)  if this sounds stupid but , what makes precious metals so special ? If the going rate is $12 and you bought at $25 and want to sell for $18 . How does  that even make sense to the seller ?  I get people dont want to loose money , but if they want to sell wouldn't they be at least close to the spot price ? Do places like JD Bullion , ApMex etc sell at the current spot price for regular rounds and bars ?
Was just thinking maybe now would be the time to buy some while its low ,

There is nothing that makes precious metals so special.  It used to be that if one thought the TEOTWAWKI was coming, precious metals would be a hedge.  If it gets to that point I would invest in gun powder and primers as well as classes in hunting skills.

It's pretty much the same as stocks with the bid/ask spread. In commodities, especially metals, those spreads can be insane. The major dealers, like Apmex, can keep near the spot price. But in major moves, even they will have a pretty healthy spread. The spread is a good indicator of how liquid the market is.

1) No one is selling at these prices, not unless it stays this low for a long time and people get desperate or bored with PMs.
2) Silver has been taking a beating since 2011.
3) Everyone wants silver to be the poor mans gold but its not, currently its treated as an industrial metal. The demand comes from the manufacturing of things like solar panels, circuits, etc...not investment like we see with gold.
4) I used to be into PMs, I finally cut my losses and sold everything few years ago and bought two transferable machine guns. Don't regret that move one bit, I've recovered my losses and get a ton of joy shooting them.
5) If you want to have a little money outside of the "system" go for it but if you want to generate wealth you need to buy stocks.

I picked up 100 oz for 1381. I'll swap it to gold once the ratios return to earth.

I really don't get why people aren't picking up more of the ETFs that are tracing spot better than physical. I get the motivation for physical metals but I think physical gold is the better buy right now if you want physical.

The gold/silver ratio went to a 5000 year high. Either gold has to come down or silver needs to rise at that kind of market extreme. Silver is below the AISC cost for mining for several producers. The reason that physical silver market is decoupled from the spot/ETF market is that people are liquidating anything with a bid in the financial markets(silver included) to stop their account from blowing up.  It isn't that people and dealers "just don't want to sell them for less than they payed for them" there is a legitimate shortage in the physical market that is driven by supply and demand. Go try and by and American Silver Eagle online right now. The price went up from pre-crisis and is about 70% higher than spot right now. You want to make money? Buy the the SLV, PSLV, ect

I agree. SIVR and SLV are two good silver ETFs that can get you invested in silver without the premiums and shipping of physical silver.

I always keep some physical silver and gold on hand, but I also don’t plan to liquidate those when the price goes back up like I do with the ETFs.

Silver has industrial use going for it, Gold you just look at. Silver prices are low but selling for a premium.

precious metals is not a great investment But it is a storer of wealth meant to hand down to the next generation.

Silver has industrial use going for it, Gold you just look at. Silver prices are low but selling for a premium.

precious metals is not a great investment But it is a storer of wealth meant to hand down to the next generation.

The recent drop in price proved to me what a bad investment PMs are. When prices are high the dealer charges a small amount over spot, but when they drop the dealer just ignores the spot price unless you are selling and makes some BS story up about shortages. I own some silver and gold because I like owning it but both are a terrible investment.

I see silver only good for the SHTF scenario.  Obtain 90% US coins such as dimes, quarters, and half dollars.  Purchase and maintain only as much as you can carry with you.  My assessment is that the silver will come in hand for anywhere between one to three months of a total societal breakdown as a means to barter.  After a while, people will shift their thinking and realize silver is worthless, thus the recommendation for just 1-3 months worth.

I don't recommend "odd" silver for SHTF uses, just the stuff people will recognize.

You may not get rich off of silver if you live two lifetimes.  Minimize it, but have some

Lol i already replied to this

In terms of holding physical this is correct. Except for the worthless part.

You can buy silver ETFs as a speculative instrument. Silver miners for maximum speculative exposure. I remember when silver went to shy of $50. During the crash the market forgot.