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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
 Posted - 04/15/2010 : 13:46:15
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I have some old flatware i was thinking about sending to a refiner.
i know midwest refiners pays 90% of the silver they recover - i.e. their profit is 10%.
someone who does it themself offered me 80% of the pre-refined weight. he says its a better deal because there is always some weight lost to the refining process.
so this guy is basically charging 20%, but the way hes pricinig it there is no risk to weight shrinkage. this is a better deal if the refiners lose more than 10% to the refining process.
anyone have any thoughts?
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Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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garnede
Penny Collector Member
USA
386 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 16:19:08
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| Ask market harmony, but it sounds like a fair deal. Remember that it is likely sterling silver which is .925 pure. So 7.5% of the beginning weight will be something other than silver. That means that 2.5% needs to be lost in the refining process to make it come out even. |
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scrapman1077
Penny Sorter Member
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 16:54:40
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| Pm sent to Lemon Thrower |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 17:03:25
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which is the better deal.
suppose i have 10 ounces of sterling flatware. that is the equivalent of 9.25 ounces of pure silver.
i have been offered the spot price on 80% of 9.25 ounces, which is 7.4 ounces.
midwest will pay me 90% of what they recover from 9.25. The question is do refiners normally lose more than 10% due to melting/refining process? this guy says their number is too good to be true.
am trying to figure out which is the better deal. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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Mmotodad
New Member
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 20:50:17
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New member here and not sure what the forum rules are for recommending/not recommending companies but I recently used Midwest and have some advice. You need to determine based on the weight you are sending in if they will be buying your items outright or if they will be "melting" and assaying your order/lot. I know for gold they require 3 troy ounces before they melt and assay. Not sure on silver. They will use a smaller percentage on the items they buy outright. Example: 14K jewelry, they will calculate your payment using less a percentage of gold closer to 50% than 58.3%. I was not able to get them to tell me the actual percentages they used only that if you send in less than 3 troy ounces they purchase outright and no jewelry/coins are truly plumb (416/585 etc..) Based on what I was paid for the scrap sterling jewelry (all marked 925) they used 83% instead of 92.5% silver content. YMMV but you may want to consider your friends offer instead of having to deal and pay for shipping. You should check out some of the metal detecting websites as there are plenty of comments there about the various refiners.
Jason
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 21:25:02
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I could write a novel on what I know about the refining business, but the short of the long of it is that you need to find a trusted refiner that lays out all the costs to you upfront. Basically, you should be able to tell them what they will be paying you before they have even received it. Not that you direct them to a price, but they have outlined the procedure and payout such that you can easily calculate what you can expect to receive in return.
I refuse to name names, but there are companies that claim "payouts of X percent" but they don't tell you about the fees, minimums or scales of payouts, loss on ignition (LOI), and other adjustments.
And unless you are sending in a bunch of cruddy coins and jewelry with plastics and gems, then your LOI should be low... 2.5% is not unreasonable for junky stuff, but it is typically less than 1% for all else. |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
3788 Posts |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 11:31:29
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| Just send it to Market Harmony and he will arrange a fair deal for you. |
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw.
Why Copper Bullion ~~~ Interview with Silver Bullion Producer Market Harmony
Passive Income blog |
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kentucky7887
Penny Sorter Member
USA
30 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2010 : 20:20:31
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| 90% is the best rate for someone who will give you cash. The guy who is offering 80 will turn around and do the same thing as another middle man, and make 10 off you. With a refiners license you get about 95 to 97% |
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Sending scrap silver to a refiner
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