Where To Buy Silver In Chiang Mai?

[ChiangMaiFun]

Any ideas? Gold is everywhere... but Silver? any place selling bars? assayed?

[ChiangMaiFun]

I have some 1oz bullion coins I might be willing to part with. Canadian Silver Maples. Send me a PM.

Hi - sorry I'm specifically after bars and want to invest a large amount - assayed and stamped bars - thanks anyway

[rebo]

Did you ask in the big silver factories where they buy their silver?

[flying]

http://bullion.nwtmint.com/silver_mapleleaf.php

Actually I agree with Vibe on the coins as a means to own silver.

It is a very good way to do so.

But I do not like that dealer at all.

He is well known to not actually hold any stock which is why he quotes 6-8 weeks delivery time.

He takes your order then goes about trying to obtain it.

Also his shipping is insane at xx cents an ounce.

Folks like APMEX only sell what they hold & can use flat rate priority air shipping which allows up to 70 pounds I believe.

APMEX also has assayed bars if that is your preference. The only place a bar is better though is the lower premium above spot per ounce.

Although I do not know if APMEX ships to Thailand. I know they ship to Canada & Europe...

They do say this however on their site........

Do you ship outside of Canada, Europe and Australia?

Yes. We are currently conducting trial orders to many countries around the world. Please contact our international department at [email protected] for more information.

Edited December 11, 2010 by flying

[ChiangMaiFun]

I understand there is a premium in buying coins - I just want to buy some bars - much like people buy gold bars

[flying]

I understand there is a premium in buying coins - I just want to buy some bars - much like people buy gold bars

There is a premium in all things bars or coins

The price you see as Spot price is just the price paper backed metals trade for.

The reality is not the same as physical holdings.

Of course you can get bars with no premium if you buy a COMEX contract & then take physical delivery.

But you need to buy 1000 ounces mini contract or 5000 ounces full contract at a time for silver

Gold is 33.2 ounces per mini contract or 99.6 ounces per full contract for gold

But .......

They have the option to settle in currency when you buy a contract.

As I said when buying from dealers other than COMEX the bars do fetch a lower premium than coins but it is not zero

When we talk about coins we are not talking about msc graded coins but standard minted types like

eagles, maples, or even basic rounds made by many mints like sunshine mint

So even on a bar expect to pay at least $1.20 USD or more per ounce premium

Coins will be $2 usd per ounce & some charge $3

Same for gold meaning a slightly lower premium for bars than coins.

Gold averages $30 usd per ounce premium for bars & $40-$60 premium per ounce for coins

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[ChiangMaiFun]

I understand there is a premium in buying coins - I just want to buy some bars - much like people buy gold bars

There is a premium in all things bars or coins

The price you see as Spot price is just the price paper backed metals trade for.

The reality is not the same as physical holdings.

Of course you can get bars with no premium if you buy a COMEX contract & then take physical delivery.

But you need to buy 1000 ounces mini contract or 5000 ounces full contract at a time for silver

Gold is 33.2 ounces per mini contract or 99.6 ounces per full contract for gold

But .......

They have the option to settle in currency when you buy a contract.

As I said when buying from dealers other than COMEX the bars do fetch a lower premium than coins but it is not zero

When we talk about coins we are not talking about msc graded coins but standard minted types like

eagles, maples, or even basic rounds made by many mints like sunshine mint

So even on a bar expect to pay at least $1.20 USD or more per ounce premium

Coins will be $2 usd per ounce & some charge $3

Same for gold meaning a slightly lower premium for bars than coins.

Gold averages $30 usd per ounce premium for bars & $40-$60 premium per ounce for coins

yes but my question was - i can walk into a myriad of gold shops and buy bars over the counter at the spot price - is there an equivalant for silver here?

[flying]

yes but my question was - i can walk into a myriad of gold shops and buy bars over the counter at the spot price - is there an equivalant for silver here?

I am sorry you are mistaken about buying gold bars at spot price. You may be thinking of Thai gold 96% which is not the same as 99.99 pure which is what spot price is quoting. So paying spot on Thai gold is paying a 4% premium

That aside....I am sure you can get silver bars no problem in Chiang Mai

Someone will chime in with a few shops

From previous posts........

Most Silver shops are concentrated around Wualai rd., driving along the moat (on the "outside") passed Chiang Mai gate take a left at the next traffic lights.

Sorry if I caused any confusion

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[ChiangMaiFun]

yes but my question was - i can walk into a myriad of gold shops and buy bars over the counter at the spot price - is there an equivalant for silver here?

I am sorry you are mistaken about buying gold bars at spot price. You may be thinking of Thai gold 96% which is not the same as 99.99 pure which is what spot price is quoting. So paying spot on Thai gold is paying a 4% premium

That aside....I am sure you can get silver bars no problem in Chiang Mai

Someone will chime in with a few shops

From previous posts........

Most Silver shops are concentrated around Wualai rd., driving along the moat (on the "outside") passed Chiang Mai gate take a left at the next traffic lights.

Sorry if I caused any confusion

http://ausiris.co.th/en/index.php this company offer spot price for 99.99%?

[macsurf]

Im not an expert. I do have a customer in the US who I supply silver jewelry to though. I looked into buying silver bars also. I can only tell you what I've learned from the silver jewelry factories here. Which is this; first of all the factories all buy silver in pellets and not just because it's easier to melt down. It's also purer. They say that if you buy a bar it must be mixed with something in the first place to have created that bar. Secondly they have all told me 'easy to buy, difficult to sell' this was referring to ANY form. Having said that, they buy from a shop called Chiangdao. (not sure about spelling). But I think it's somewhere at Wararot market. I can ask my wife for specific location if your interested.

If I was going to invest a lot of money in silver ( Boy do I wish I had about 2 years ago!) I would probably just go through a commodities broker.

Liquidity & storage issues solved. After all is it really the silver you want, or the profit?

Hope this helps somewhat.

[ChiangMaiFun]

Im not an expert. I do have a customer in the US who I supply silver jewelry to though. I looked into buying silver bars also. I can only tell you what I've learned from the silver jewelry factories here. Which is this; first of all the factories all buy silver in pellets and not just because it's easier to melt down. It's also purer. They say that if you buy a bar it must be mixed with something in the first place to have created that bar. Secondly they have all told me 'easy to buy, difficult to sell' this was referring to ANY form. Having said that, they buy from a shop called Chiangdao. (not sure about spelling). But I think it's somewhere at Wararot market. I can ask my wife for specific location if your interested.

If I was going to invest a lot of money in silver ( Boy do I wish I had about 2 years ago!) I would probably just go through a commodities broker.

Liquidity & storage issues solved. After all is it really the silver you want, or the profit?

Hope this helps somewhat.

I guess I'm thinking about the silver pricing which, some say, will shoot up as there is a shortage - but who knows? I think I'll buy some gold instead it seems a lot simpler! thanks

[flying]

Im not an expert. I do have a customer in the US who I supply silver jewelry to though. I looked into buying silver bars also. I can only tell you what I've learned from the silver jewelry factories here. Which is this; first of all the factories all buy silver in pellets and not just because it's easier to melt down. It's also purer. They say that if you buy a bar it must be mixed with something in the first place to have created that bar. Secondly they have all told me 'easy to buy, difficult to sell' this was referring to ANY form. Having said that, they buy from a shop called Chiangdao. (not sure about spelling). But I think it's somewhere at Wararot market. I can ask my wife for specific location if your interested.

If I was going to invest a lot of money in silver ( Boy do I wish I had about 2 years ago!) I would probably just go through a commodities broker.

Liquidity & storage issues solved. After all is it really the silver you want, or the profit?

Hope this helps somewhat.

http://ausiris.co.th/en/index.php this company offer spot price for 99.99%?

I guess I'm thinking about the silver pricing which, some say, will shoot up as there is a shortage - but who knows? I think I'll buy some gold instead it seems a lot simpler! thanks

Hope you do not mind....

I joined your two posts

First off as for ausiris I think you may have spot confused with what Thais charge per baht?...not sure.

But....It takes 2.07356512 baht to = 1 troy ounce which spot is based on.

I assure you none sell gold at spot except via a COMEX contract

That store you linked is selling 1 troy ounce gold for basically $1423.71 or $48.46 above spot

That aside neither gold nor silver is simpler & the information regarding silver shot which is what the pellets are is not true at all....sorry to macsurf you were misinformed

Yes of course shot is easy to melt but it is not more pure.

Look at the back of a canadian maple it reads 9999 pure silver There is none more pure

same for a bar which will read 999

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[flying]

You posted some very good information.....I never knew that about COMEX having the option to settle in currency. Scary

Yes it is true Vibe about comex reserving the right to choose to settle in currency.

As a side note vibe....If you do not need the cash right now from selling the maples you mention....

It is a good time to swap some silver for gold

For instance the silver to gold price ratio is now at 48.32/1

meaning you can get 1 ounce of gold for a little over 48 ounces of silver.

If like me you acquired your silver at a high ratio...In my case 77/1 back when silver was $9.45/oz + $2 premium

You can now get an ounce of gold & basically 29 ounces of silver is free or figure your buying gold for about $550 an ounce + the free silver

While I would not exit silver completely at this time....If you did buy yours back at a high silver/gold ratio & do not need the cash it is not a bad idea to grow your holdings using this method.That is of course if you have a dealer to work with there.

Of course this is not a recommendation about future prices DYODD

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[macsurf]

Hi Flying,

You may be right, Yes your coin may be stamped 999.

All I can say is many silver jewelry makers here have offered to stamp incorrect numbers for me.

It's not difficult at all.

[flying]

Hi Flying,

You may be right, Yes your coin may be stamped 999.

All I can say is many silver jewelry makers here have offered to stamp incorrect numbers for me.

It's not difficult at all.

Yes I do not doubt it as TIT

which is why I do not buy my silver or gold there

But if buying swiss pamps or govt minted coins such as eagles & maples you will not find such practices.

Of course since you were looking for silver to send a jewelry maker silver shot makes the most sense.

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[macsurf]

Hi Flying,

Reading your previous post, so if my math is correct, your'e saying the minimum to buy with Comex contract is 1000 oz.s of silver or

close to 30 grand USD, and we must take physical delivery?

What is your recommended way to purchase govt. minted coins?

Thanks.

[flying]

Hi Flying,

Reading your previous post, so if my math is correct, your'e saying the minimum to buy with Comex contract is 1000 oz.s of silver or

close to 30 grand USD, and we must take physical delivery?

What is your recommended way to purchase govt. minted coins?

Thanks.

Hi macsurf

No actually the COMEX is hoping you do not take physical delivery

In fact for gold in late November the COMEX had contracts equal to 5.9 million ounces yet...

The Comex gold inventory shows only 2.6 million ounces of gold registered and approved for delivery.

For Silver there are 17,208 open contracts. This translates into 86 million ounces. The Comex reports 48.5 million ounces available and approved for delivery

So I tend to see it as a form of musical chairs which could end badly if all decided they wanted physical delivery

Then again many/most have no intention of taking delivery & are trading paper as a commodity stock market.

That aside I have a very good dealer here in the US that I mainly deal with but I have also bought from APMEX previously.

I only live in Chiang Mai 2-3 months a year right now.

As I posted earlier from APMEX shipping FAQ it seems they do in fact ship internationally too.

Also if you luck out & find someone local like Vibe selling that could be an option.

Chok Dee

Edited December 12, 2010 by flying

[jsflynn603]

The problem of buying silver from outside Thailand is importation, duty and or VAT and the the possible problem of "getting it out."

There are plenty of bars, Vietnamese, Laotian and Chinese that or available usually in 999 (99.9%) but unless they are numbered and you keep the paperwork and sell to the same dealer most will require that they me melted and assayed, and frankly that is a minefield.

Kitco.com recently came out with (I think) 100 and 500oz bars and they say that they will repurchase as long as you have all the papers.

If you really just want 999 silver, consider buying silver from pawn shops, or from retail customers, and then having it refined. But again, finding a trustworthy refiner is well--at best unreliable.

And by the way, Canada did produce some 5-9 (99999) or 99.999% pure coins, though mostare 99.99 and in chemical supply circles even purer grades are available for electronic and chemical uses, but who cares? 99.99 is best, and most coins and bars today are 4-9's. In the past Englehard made machine stamped 100 oz bars that were widely recognized and generally accepted without being re-assayed. But even if you purchased a 1000 oz good delivery bar on the Comex, you will find it very expensive to actually "get it delivered," and worse, once it is out of the Comex "chain of custody" it will have to be reassayed.

Casting grain will always need to be re-assayed.

Consider the Perth Mint for buying and holding it, and if necessary, you can fly there and pick it up and the charge is not exorbitant (except for the plane ticket)

You might want to consider Silver Wheaton Stock, a silver royalty company. Even though it has risen from $2.55 to over $40 in 2 years in my opinion it's future looks bright as new income streams are due to come online next and the following year, and you don't have to worry about assays, or (if American) getting hit for "collectible" 25% capital gain tax.

[heliox]

Importing silver into Thailand without paying duty and VAT can be done, but its not for the faint of heart.

Taking it out is not a problem, there are no restrictions.

But why take it out, there are dealers here that will pay spot prices for silver bullion coins......

Buying silver from pawn shops is not the best unless one is highly skilled with the metal.

The safest is to buy government minted coins, such as Canadian Maples.  Recognized around the world, high quality and very liquid.

Holding bullion at the Perth mint is not the same as having it quickly accessible.  I prefer to keep physical in the country I am residing....

The problem of buying silver from outside Thailand is importation, duty and or VAT and the the possible problem of "getting it out."

There are plenty of bars, Vietnamese, Laotian and Chinese that or available usually in 999 (99.9%) but unless they are numbered and you keep the paperwork and sell to the same dealer most will require that they me melted and assayed, and frankly that is a minefield.

Kitco.com recently came out with (I think) 100 and 500oz bars and they say that they will repurchase as long as you have all the papers.

If you really just want 999 silver, consider buying silver from pawn shops, or from retail customers, and then having it refined.  But again, finding a trustworthy refiner is well--at best unreliable.

And by the way, Canada did produce some 5-9 (99999) or 99.999% pure coins, though mostare 99.99 and in chemical supply circles even purer grades are available for electronic and chemical uses, but who cares?  99.99 is best, and most coins and bars today are 4-9's.  In the past Englehard made machine stamped 100 oz bars that were widely recognized and generally accepted without being re-assayed.  But even if you purchased a 1000 oz good delivery bar on the Comex, you will find it very expensive to actually "get it delivered," and worse, once it is out of the Comex "chain of custody" it will have to be reassayed.

Casting grain will always need to be re-assayed.

Consider the Perth Mint for buying and holding it, and if necessary, you can fly there and pick it up and the charge is not exorbitant  (except for the plane ticket)

You might want to consider Silver Wheaton Stock, a silver royalty company.  Even though it has risen from $2.55 to over $40 in 2 years in my opinion it's future looks bright as new income streams are due to come online next and the following year, and you don't have to worry about assays, or (if American) getting hit for "collectible" 25% capital gain tax.

Good thread guys, heaps of info.

[LivinLOS]

yes but my question was - i can walk into a myriad of gold shops and buy bars over the counter at the spot price - is there an equivalant for silver here?

I am sorry you are mistaken about buying gold bars at spot price. You may be thinking of Thai gold 96% which is not the same as 99.99 pure which is what spot price is quoting. So paying spot on Thai gold is paying a 4% premium

That aside....I am sure you can get silver bars no problem in Chiang Mai

Someone will chime in with a few shops

From previous posts........

Most Silver shops are concentrated around Wualai rd., driving along the moat (on the "outside") passed Chiang Mai gate take a left at the next traffic lights.

Sorry if I caused any confusion

http://ausiris.co.th/en/index.php this company offer spot price for 99.99%?

Think you need a calculator..

Thats 'a' price.. And not 'spot'..

Lots of online storage accounts.. Far safer and easier to deal with than Thailand and storage issues / crime risk. Make sure its allocated segregated bullion of you expect delivery later, many pool accounts are either impossible or high fees to convert pooled to delivery or allocated. I am involved with a retailer and bullion bank, PM me if you want contact info.

[Tokay]

Some great info here.

Only thing for me is, I want to have access to it where I am. The thought of someone else holding it during today's crazy climate is not something I'm comfortable with. The "too big to fail" thing doesn't sit well with me.

[flying]

Some great info here.

Only thing for me is, I want to have access to it where I am. The thought of someone else holding it during today's crazy climate is not something I'm comfortable with. The "too big to fail" thing doesn't sit well with me.

Smart man

When it comes to precious metals....You Dont Hold It If You Dont Own It

[flying]

Smart man

When it comes to precious metals....You Dont Hold It If You Dont Own It

Well looking back at my post I see I made a right mess of that old quote.....

(But I'm sure fellow PM advocate Vibe knew what I meant)

Should have read...If You Dont hold it You Dont own it.

Edited January 25, 2011 by flying

[LivinLOS]

Some great info here.

Only thing for me is, I want to have access to it where I am. The thought of someone else holding it during today's crazy climate is not something I'm comfortable with. The "too big to fail" thing doesn't sit well with me.

Smart man

When it comes to precious metals....You Dont Hold It If You Dont Own It

I agree. If you want to speculate on the price of metals, trade spot, ETF's, futures, etc, but do not think that because you have a position on, that you are safe in any way at all. They are just numbers on a screen, no matter what the company behind it is. One MUST be able to access their metal holdings for that asset to become a reality.

JMO

Thats all well and good.. And I would also advocate having access to some amounts. But some people have either amounts that are either too large / bulky to take delivery of especially in silver, and then of course theres the theft risk etc. You can dig up an internal floor and concrete over Captain kids treasure but my last house ended up 20m down the cliff in a landslide so I would have lost millions in bullion assets along with everything else I owned if I had gone that route. Thats to say nothing of ex wives / GF' s and the risk of murder etc if anyone should know its there.

Theres a good argument for having access to some assets for emergency use.. But theres also very good reasons to not have millions of dollars worth of bullion inside Thailand with the risks that this presents. For the larger investor storage represents the smarter choice IMO.

[flying]

Thats all well and good.. And I would also advocate having access to some amounts. But some people have either amounts that are either too large / bulky to take delivery of especially in silver, and then of course theres the theft risk etc. You can dig up an internal floor and concrete over Captain kids treasure but my last house ended up 20m down the cliff in a landslide so I would have lost millions in bullion assets along with everything else I owned if I had gone that route. Thats to say nothing of ex wives / GF' s and the risk of murder etc if anyone should know its there.

Theres a good argument for having access to some assets for emergency use.. But theres also very good reasons to not have millions of dollars worth of bullion inside Thailand with the risks that this presents. For the larger investor storage represents the smarter choice IMO.

True everyone must judge their own unique situation & abilities in regards to creativity

& tolerances....But, at the same time it should not be assumed all is well in storage by others of what is supposedly yours....

Swiss Bank Client Battles Over 2 Months For His Silver

[LivinLOS]

I am aware of the various issues of clients having problems on delivery and also Eric Sprott still waiting on his physical. I am in the industry and (even tho the 'I must touch it' goldbugs do my business great trade) can say we have zero supply problem currently sourcing silver or gold through our (multiple) LBMA suppliers, despite what various websites would say about inventory. We have no issues with 1kg, 12.5kg, or 400z LBMA good delivery bars and storage with Via Matt or our other LBMA insured storages are fully segregated and insured. If any of our customers want delivery of their allocated bullion its there for delivery as independent auditors can confirm.

There was recently a price inquiry from the ME on one tonne of gold and LBMA supply was possible. There was of course logistics in a delivery of that size but the issues it raised was not the stock.

If you need more than a tonne, I assure you my staff will give the transaction direct attention

Edited January 27, 2011 by LivinLOS

[LivinLOS]

I am aware of the various issues of clients having problems on delivery and also Eric Sprott still waiting on his physical. I am in the industry and (even tho the 'I must touch it' goldbugs do my business great trade) can say we have zero supply problem currently sourcing silver or gold through our (multiple) LBMA suppliers, despite what various websites would say about inventory. We have no issues with 1kg, 12.5kg, or 400z LBMA good delivery bars and storage with Via Matt or our other LBMA insured storages are fully segregated and insured. If any of our customers want delivery of their allocated bullion its there for delivery as independent auditors can confirm.

There was recently a price inquiry from the ME on one tonne of gold and LBMA supply was possible. There was of course logistics in a delivery of that size but the issues it raised was not the stock.

If you need more than a tonne, I assure you my staff will give the transaction direct attention

I believe every thing you say. However, we are not in a crisis time at the moment, are we? Things are relatively calm. When things are not calm, you WILL have supply issues. This was the case during the 2008 market crash. I could not buy physical silver or palladium for the life of me, Not one bleeding ounce, everyone had waiting lists. And many dealers did not know when they would have stock. The Perth Mint had a 6 month wait for those that thought they had already bought and paid for their silver, and were holding the IOU slip. If the crises then was not resolved, I bet they would be waiting a lot longer than 6 months to receive what was theirs. I should not say "resolved" in regards to the crisis, as its mealy only been postponed. I have had friends of mine that have never ever mentioned silver, buy the physical from me. The average Joe is beginning to realize that something is fundamentally wrong with the global financial system, and they are seeking to protect themselves a bit.

The time to acquire physical is when there is lots around. The time to buy any asset is when everyone says how uninteresting it is, when its "out of fashion". One must be able to see the forest through the trees......and maintain their course.

I dont think we are in dissagreement.. Supply can always be disrupted, I doubt buying gold in Egypt today is a low premium trade !!

However what your saying revolves around buying gold or silver 'now' to store / save and I can confirm theres no problem buying it now, and it can be stored in total security, in one of multiple locations in UK or Europe (we would like to have one in HK or sing but as yet not that much Asian trade to justify another vaulting agreement) and it can be done at much lower premiums than many other physical purchase options incur. Currently we are offering free storage accounts so at no additional cost this risk is removed. Our system (unlike competitors like goldmoney or BullionVault) is directly set up biased to allocated bullion available at any time to take instant delivery, with others online gold accounts the bias is to a gold account which is redeemed in paper. Ours is if you like the goldbugs online gold solution. Real gold, no paper, hedging or counterparty, stored cost effectively, in a secured location and available for delivery at any point.

I maintain that most people buying investment amounts of metals, say 10's of 1000's usd and up, are not well advised to bring it into Thailand, or use baht bars, or self store it. The cost and often under appreciated risks of that, are just not worth it. Sure have a few small size bars to survive transactional issues and a social disruption, but I see that insurance as very different from gold investing to profit from the inflation issues the world faces due to over supply of fiat money printing. Any social disruption that lasts more than a couple of months your better off invested in ammo not coins !!

[LivinLOS]

PM sent as I dont want to go against and forum rules.

We are the highest google ranked gold retailer currently.

[Pond Life]

PM sent as I dont want to go against and forum rules.

We are the highest google ranked gold retailer currently.

But do you sell Silver ?

[LivinLOS]

PM sent as I dont want to go against and forum rules.

We are the highest google ranked gold retailer currently.

But do you sell Silver ?

We are in the process of integrating silver into our online system (theres more to it than simply retail order flow as we have a online bank like buy sell process flow for stored products and pooled bars) so right now the process is in test phase and you wont see it. We have the supply, storage, and manual order process done, but its the programming of the automation thats requiring time. It will be live in the next couple of months and if you have an order for more than a few coins I suspect we could make it happen for you.

I am not doing the day to day operation or management. Theres a team dedicated to that.

I realize this is a silver thread, but I started the comments purely relating to the tightness of supply claims.