1. Why would I buy silver?

Our members primarily buy silver as a durable store of value, as a hedge against a weak economy, or as a speculative investment based on the belief that silver's price will rise.

While it is a precious metal, silver is also an industrially consumed commodity, used in photography, electronics, and medical applications. Its industrial uses, such as disposable cameras and switches, typically do not permit economic recycling, so once used the silver is effectively destroyed. In this sense silver is comparable to coal or oil. For decades now we have used more silver than we mined, with the difference coming from above-ground stockpiles (usually government stockpiles) that are rapidly being depleted. The United States, for example, has used its stockpiles and now purchases the silver to make its Silver Eagles on the open market. Many buyers believe that silver will increase in price as the United States Federal Reserve Note (the "Dollar") weakens against it and as above-ground stockpiles continue to diminish while industrial demand rises.

Compared with gold, silver is far less expensive per ounce, so a small-scale buyer can buy it much more easily and obtain much more of it, and movement of a few cents per ounce makes a greater percentage difference in the silver price than the gold price.

Many buyers also believe silver to be an effective and safe store of value. Unlike many financial vehicles widely promoted today, silver is a physical commodity. Its price may move up or down, but it always has some worth. By comparison, stocks or bonds can simply be devalued down to zero on bad performance news or an accounting scandal, as the Enron and dot-com investors learned painfully. And unlike commodities like real estate that appear to be in an overvalued bubble, the supply and demand fundamentals of silver appear to remain strong.

2. What are the advantages of buying silver through the Discount Silver Club?

Discount Silver Club gets you more silver for your money and gives you a liquid way to exchange it back with a minimal price spread.

Normally consumers buy silver through a coin dealer. Coin dealers deal primarily in numismatic (collectible) items, and must maintain showrooms and a large variety of inventory items. These high fixed costs require coin dealers to operate on higher margins and buy back coins at a significantly discount from their sales price.

The Discount Silver Club is designed as a membership-based mail-order program to give buyers the best possible deal on bullion silver. Our shipping processes are geared exclusively to shipping silver - a high weight, low value item compared with most items that coin dealers sell - so we can control shipping charges. We buy in large lots to get pricing that most small buyers cannot reach.

Finally, because we sell only a few standard products, we can buy them back from our members at the same price we would normally pay on our 1000 oz. lots. The Discount Silver Club is not obligated to buy back silver, but we generally will. We buy regularly and there is no reason not to buy from our members at the same rate we would pay any other supplier.

3. What does it cost to join the Discount Silver Club?

Membership is $9.99 per year.

4. Isn't the spot price of silver lower than DSC's prices?

Yes, but you can't generally get silver fabricated into the forms we sell at the spot price.

The spot price (the price per ounce listed on the internet) is the price for a registered 1000-oz bar in New York City that you generally do not take physical possession of. This is the silver that a mint would buy as a raw material to manufacture its coins from. If you want the silver fabricated into coins or rounds, moved out of New York City, and delivered to your address, those services add extra costs. For example, a loaf of bread costs much more than the price of raw wheat.

You may also see lower prices quoted in large lots (500, 1000, or 5000 oz). If you do see such pricing significantly below Discount Silver Club's in one of our standard products, let us know the source; we'll buy it for you in volume lots, break them up, and sell to you in smaller lots.

It's very difficult to find lower prices on our products in small quantities. In fact, the markup on a tube of Eagles or rounds can be very steep - coin dealers charge around $18 each for Eagles in small volumes. For comparison, check the prices of Eagles or our standard rounds with coin dealers in your area. Remember that coin dealers must stock a much larger variety of items and must maintain expensive retail storefronts. With our strictly limited product line and streamlined operation, we can beat their pricing significantly.

5. What is the different between the Eagle and the rounds?

Physically, both are similar; both are 1 troy ounce of 99.9%+ pure silver decorated with artwork, but the U.S. Silver Eagle is more expensive. The Eagle is collectible, and eventually older Eagles are valued higher than newer ones. Because of this effect, the Eagle carries a higher price. Silver rounds are generally valued for their silver content only.

Silver rounds provide the most silver for the money, but U.S. Eagles slowly become more valuable over time due to their increased collectible value. Both are good ways to acquire silver.

6. Can I get [coin X] through Discount Silver Club?

We currently carry only U.S. Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leaf coins, Chinese Pandas, Australian Lunars, 10 oz bars, 100 oz bars, 1/10 Gold Eagles, and silver rounds on a regular basis. However, if you have a silver coin in mind, please ask us about it! We can probably get it quickly. Occasionally, we will have other silver bullion products not on this list and other gold coins. We do not stock rare coins (numismatics), platinum, or other metals.

7. Can I sell silver back to the club?

Yes, we will buy back any silver we sell, and we pay 93-95% of our current price (minimum transaction is $300). Please call or email us for an exact quote. If we don't sell an item, but it's .999 fine silver, ask us, we may buy it and make a special offer to our members. If your transaction is between $300 and $2999, we will send a check or money order, your choice. If the amount is $3000 or more, we will pay you by check or bank wire.

8. Is my transaction taxable?

If your order is delivered within Texas and is under $1000 in value, Texas State Sales Tax of 8.25% will be added. Customers outside of Texas do not pay sales tax.

TX residents call or email for lower rates. Gold only orders have substantially lower shipping costs and will be quoted per order.

Want to save a lot on shipping? Use our layaway plan!

All silver orders are shipped insured by USPS with Delivery Confirmation. The return address is marked discreetly as "Jennifer Barry, LSSE" and there is no indication of the contents on the outside of the package. Larger orders will be sent Registered Mail. Gold orders are shipped DHL 2 Day with private, third party insurance.

* Please add 10% for shipments to AK or HI. All AK/HI silver orders will be sent Priority Mail to avoid excessive delays.

** Orders of $550 or less will be sent insured Parcel Post, and will arrive in 5-7 business days. Expedited shipping is available for an additional $3 fee. Orders of $551 and up will be sent Priority Mail, and will arrive in 2-3 business days.