More proof for ya!
Posted on by Brigitte in Uncategorized
Hello friends! I love when I have the opportunity to give myself some credibility when it comes to my book. This time I’m talking about silver. Remember that part in the book? Well here a listing of mine that just ended a couple of days ago. (I made sure to leave my id in there so you can see it’s really mine.)
The plate at the top I cleaned up a little. It cost me $2 at my local thrift store. The three forks cost about 25 to 75 cents each as well. The large fork I did not factor into the listing because I wasn’t sure if it was silver or not so I did not weigh it with the others. You can see in my listing (if this post has found you later than 90 days, sorry, it’s archived off of eBay) that I clearly state that I’m not a pro at silver. This is almost along the lines of the junk drawers listings that I was talking about.
Scrap of silver and other metals go like crazy on eBay! Just do some research and you will see. (completed listings for accurate results.) I started this listing at $39 as that would be a pretty darn good profit. I mean , my total cost was about $3 ! You can imagine how excited I was to see it sold for over $150 !
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you gotta dig when you go to those thrift stores. It’s worth it don’t you think? As guess what, even if the clerks set aside the silver items they will probably still be priced low enough for you to make a profit. As a matter of fact, I just got back from thrifting at Goodwill. I went next door to their “upper scale” thrift store called Keepers. Have you been to one of those? Well, everything they “think” is valuable goes there. I rarely go there really but do from time to time. Well, I was on a hunt for silver this time and knew they would probably be here. Well, lo and behold I found about 20 spoons, forks and knives all taped in a bundle for $9.99 total. Score right! Yep, I bought them.
You don’t really need to clean them up but it does help I think.
So go for it friends! See if you can find some silver items in those thrift stores or maybe in your own home! If you’re not sure what to look for just do a search for sterling silver in google and then click on “images” and study the marks that sterling silver will have. Here’s a link to get you started.
Good luck!
UPDATE: Since I’ve been asked, I want to be clear that to state an item is sterling silver when it is not or you are not sure is NOT okay. Don’t use the word “sterling” unless you’re sure. Metal scrap is highly sought after and items that are not sterling are still valuable. As you can see in my listing, I made it clear that I was not an expert in the field. I suggest you do the same and please, clearly show the markings!
Serena
28. Feb, 2010
Great post, Brigitte :0) I think also the fact that silver has gone up tremendously in price has also made it desirable, esp on eBay. Great idea for including the total weight for the lot.
Brigitte
28. Feb, 2010
Yes, now is the time!
Kristi at Spend Less and Save More
28. Feb, 2010
Awesome. I will be looking for some silver pieces tomorrow. Is there a trick to knowing when something is silver as opposed to silver coated?
Brigitte
28. Feb, 2010
If you see .925 or the word “sterling” than it is for sure. Some just have markings. Silver plated items are still collectible as scrap though too! Check out the link I put up to see images of markings.
Tami
28. Feb, 2010
Hi Brigitte ~
I sell on ebay & Amazon, and my husband is a goldsmith with a brick ‘n mortar shop. I showed him this post about silver. Just an FYI for your readers- many jewelers are “buying back” silver & gold, in this depressed economy, for the purpose of sending them to the refiner for $. Silver is currently selling at $16-17 / ounce, so if an internet seller wants more info on their silver, they can take it to some local jewelers and ask what they’re paying PER GRAM for silver. In that way, you can compare ” apples to apples” in your local market, and have a minimum price to expect from ebay if you choose to sell it via that avenue. You do want to do your best to buy solid sterling silver, which is usually marked as such. At today’s prices, he said, if you presented him with this lot of silver and it was all marked, he said he would’ve probably given you about what you got through ebay. In OUR local market, he thinks most jewelers are paying out about 35-40% of its value- but this probably varies widely. Hope this helps some reader ! Tami
Brigitte
28. Feb, 2010
Thanks Tami! That is absolutely what is going on. You can search google for metal conversions and yes, silver and gold both are very high. I have no interest myself to go to a jewelry but by all means one should if they can. A lot of other types of metal scraps are going very high like computer parts, etc.
Deena
01. Mar, 2010
Yet another excellent tip, Brigitte! I’ll add silver to the list of items I look for when I do my regular Wednesday thrift shopping. Thanks so much for sharing.
Luette
07. Mar, 2010
Hello Brigitte. Google “Sterling Silver Weight Conversion & Melt Value Calculator”, it will convert ounces to actual value of going rate. I plugged in 22 oz at $17.45 and it converts to troy ounces and calculates actual .999 fine silver. Your 22 oz came out at $323.64, definitely worth a trip to a coin dealer not a jeweler. That’s who I deal with and they post the daily Sterling rate on a white board. Most of the thrift stores in my area take their sterling to a coin dealer, we have very little opportunity to buy it.
Kristi at Spend Less and Save More
10. Mar, 2010
Thanks Brigitte, I have a ton of old Silver Plate that I am looking to unload! BTW, I have awarded you a Sunshine Award on my blog because I just love all your tips! You’ll find it here: http://www.spendlessandsavemore.net/2010/03/i-just-got-sunshine-award.html
Brigitte
10. Mar, 2010
Aren’t you a dear, thank you! I love your blog by the way!