# You shouldn't buy silver. Ever. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099 "2013-11-17T01:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/61 "2013-11-18T16:50:38Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > In an earlier [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=706188) you asked for advice on starting a new business in trading precious metals. My advice is that you not attempt to make a living trading precious metals until you learn how trading and investing work. Trace back a few more threads into when he was trying to figure out what the best commodity to invest in was, and the more recent thread on the optimal eBay bidding strategy. It’s fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/62 "2013-11-18T17:11:53Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Because the money you made would have to be invested in something else, it cannot be reinvested into silver. Yes, but now he has $30,000 to invest in “something” instead of the $20,000 he had before he invested in silver. $30,000 \> $20,000 Or, he can re-invest $20,000 in “something” and spend $10,000 on a [hat.](http://blog.chron.com/rodeoblog/2010/03/10000-hat-turns-heads-at-hlsr/) Hell, he can put $20,000 right back into silver if he wants, who gives a crap if it’s less physical silver, it’s still worth 20 Large, and there’s no particular reason to think it’s going to become less valuable in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/63 "2013-11-18T17:52:52Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Because the money you made would have to be invested in something else, it cannot be reinvested into silver. If silver goes up, your best bet is to stay in the silver you have. Selling the silver you have means you will buy less silver back. So, another OP with spurious reasoning where the poster subsequently ignores every response to keep insisting on his/her spurious (and frankly, irrational) reasoning. What a tremendous shock. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/64 "2013-11-18T18:11:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > This is a great example of asking the wrong question instead of just asking the question that they actually want the answer to. > I like to reread [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=623538) once in a while. That was a fascinating read, ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/65 "2013-11-18T19:07:10Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > The stock maket is based on illusiory deals based on a fabricated deception of “ownership.” The silver and gold markets, largely, are not.if i buy gold, i get gold. In another thread, you mentioned getting other people to give you money to invest along with your own. So do these other people have the same feelings about the stock market? Because, frankly, your idea about the stock market is unconventional at best. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/66 "2013-11-18T22:32:30Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > This thought just occured to me: > > Lets say the spot price of silver is $20/ozt. You have 1 ozt that you bought for $20. > > -if the spot price decreases to $10, you can’t sell it because you would take a loss. > Is my reasoning flawed? Let’s say for ease’s sake that you bought in 2000. You’ve lost $10 whether you sell right now or not. You’ve bet that owning silver between 2000 and now is a good idea, and you lost that bet regardless of what you do with the silver now. Keeping the $10 of silver puts you in the same boat as someone who is just buying $10 of silver right now. If you think silver is heading to $5, you should sell/not buy, but if you think silver is going to $15 you should keep/buy. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/67 "2013-11-18T23:43:46Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > On the bright side, you could join the Blue Man Group without resorting to makeup. A lot of men would like to know an easier method to blue themselves. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tennessee0082](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b2d939/32.png) [@Tennessee0082](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tennessee0082)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/68 "2017-11-04T11:59:29Z")
I regret buying silver, because it is nearly impossible to sell in my area. I have several 2017 silver pandas ms69 graded by pcgs and I cant even get any buyers. Got some old Morgans too and no one is interested either. Silver is worthless if no one is buying. I could go get f\*\*\*\*\* on feebay and risk being scammed. I wish I had never got into silver. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/69 "2017-11-04T12:25:20Z")
> [@Tennessee0082](#): > > I regret buying silver, because it is nearly impossible to sell in my area. I have several 2017 silver pandas ms69 graded by pcgs and I cant even get any buyers. Got some old Morgans too and no one is interested either. Silver is worthless if no one is buying. I could go get f\*\*\*\*\* on feebay and risk being scammed. I wish I had never got into silver. You’re under the impression that you have “silver” and can’t sell it. You have coins which happen to be made of silver and can’t get what you think is the right price. If you had generic 1 and 10 ounce silver bars, you could easily sell them. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/70 "2017-11-04T13:54:55Z")
**Superhal** , can you answer the questions people have asked in this thread? Especially the one asked a couple of times: What makes you think you have to re-buy what you’ve just sold? (which is what your whole “Can’t sell my silver” conundrum hinges on) If there’s a reason for that, we’d be interested. And you’d get more focused advice here. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/71 "2017-11-04T14:02:47Z")
> [@digs](#): > > **Superhal** , can you answer the questions people have asked in this thread? > > Especially the one asked a couple of times: What makes you think you have to re-buy what you’ve just sold? (which is what your whole “Can’t sell my silver” conundrum hinges on) If there’s a reason for that, we’d be interested. And you’d get more focused advice here. I doubt you’re ever going to get an answer from him. He hasn’t been active here since 2015. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/72 "2017-11-04T14:10:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I doubt you’re ever going to get an answer from him. He hasn’t been active here since 2015. _Doh! When_ am I going to learn to check the dates on threads? (I saw the previous post was an hour and a half ago and thought “Oh, people are actively posting.” But never looked farther back.) If I’ve been bitten by a zombie thread, does that mean I’ll start craving brains? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/73 "2017-11-04T14:51:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > \*If I’ve been bitten by a zombie thread, does that mean I’ll start craving brains? If only there was some substance which had magical properties to destroy supernatural beings and could be formed into bullets. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/74 "2017-11-04T15:00:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If only there was some substance which had magical properties to destroy supernatural beings and could be formed into bullets. I think there is, but no one is selling it… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/75 "2017-11-04T17:23:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If only there was some substance which had magical properties to destroy supernatural beings and could be formed into bullets. > [@whitetho](#): > > I think there is, but no one is selling it… Well worth the wait! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099/76 "2017-11-04T18:44:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If only there was some substance which had magical properties to destroy supernatural beings and could be formed into bullets. I recall a masked man in the Old West who fired silver bullets, but I don’t believe he ever encountered any zombies. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-shouldnt-buy-silver-ever/674099.md?page=3)