Dealers buy under spot. I get that. They need to make money. As I understand it spot price is the current value. If buying as a hedge against inflation why are people willing to pay as much 20% over value? (spot)

lead might be the worst. Scrap price .2 to .3 a pound but a 50 pound roll of lead roof flashing is almost 4 bucks a pound. (pure soft lead. no tin antimony etc) Transportation, making it into rolled sheet all have costs. On ebay scrap lead poured into ingots, probably salvaged from old batteries and linotype, tractor weights who knows what all can be even higher. Someone must be buying it.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Grip-Rite-...in-x-20-ft-Lead-Roll-Flashing/5015043237

No idea. I himmed and hawed about buying some and decided it wasn't worth it. There are better places to store money. I think people buy it out of fear.

If you are paying 20% over spot you don't know what you are doing.

The percentage over spot is just one of the reasons I don't like silver as a hedge.
Silver bullion "coins" run between 10-30% over spot; 20% is pretty typical, whereas the 1 ounce gold Maple Leaf can be found for as little as 2.5% over spot if you search around.

The other reason silver can be a poor choice, if you want to accumulate a significant amount, you can run into storage space and transport issues. You can easily put $50K worth of gold in your pants pocket; $50K worth of silver weighs about 110 pounds.

With inflation the way it is now 2.5% MIGHT be okay. With dealers wanting to pay less than spot I would think offering spot price to an individual would be a real fair offer. I tried that on trap shed awhile back and the guy sounded offended.

Danny,
Reference lead. Supplies to the public is drying up because use in wheel weights has pretty much been replaced with steel and Zinc, EPA regs. Battery dealerships are required to take trade in batteries and being recycled through those dealers, something the average Joe shouldn't do anyways, as the smelting can be caustic. EPA regs have pretty much run lead processors and manufacturers out of the US. Lots of folks hoarding lead, just like the .22 shells a few years ago. Lots of bullet casters mining the berms at their local gun clubs for metal.

Rally I have salvaged lead from batteries. Dump the acid in a bucket. Dump in baking soda till it quits bubbling. Dump it in the ditch beside my house. Grass still grows there. Did it outside. Have not for quite some years. Tire shop gave me two five gallon buckets of wheel weights some years ago. Every now and then I find more. Soft lead for my blackpowder guns is hard to find. not to many old lead roof flashings or drain pipes left to grab up. Pistol bullets and fishing stuff I probably got enough to last a good long while.

My Local guy pays spot.

Lots of ways to buy and sell precious metals.

Price depends upon demand.

I see people advertising on Craigslist who are paying more than spot price for old silver coins. The ads usually say something like "Best Prices! Paying a dollar over spot." They are probably hoping to make some money off the numismatic value too. The same people pay less for silver bullion.

Keith

Obama closed down all the lead smelters.

Remember that when you sell the gold, dealers do not pay spot price.
So, potentially lose on both ends of the transaction.

Additionally, some states charge sales tax on the sale of gold.
Here in Ohio, that would be a loss of 6.5% off the top.

looked at one once gold bar on Costco yesterday and they were selling $20 over spot which seems very fair.

Scrapped a bunch of batteries last week, averaged $9.02/battery.

The guy by me pays spot. Gotta find a good lcs.