Thank you all for both short and long explanations. So, I have one question, if COMEX (or whomever they represent, and who might that be?) pays 80% above market so as not to make actual delivery, what is to keep the lucky person/group that got all that extra money from turning around and buying another round of silver contracts? Or do they sign an agreement to stay out of the market for a certain period of time?
Actually, I have a second question. In 1995 I was selling modest quantities of silver jewelry, mostly rings. The market price then was $4/oz. Of course the finished product was more, even at wholesale. Then I had 10 years of death and dying in the family, and cleaning up afterwards. Now I am ready to start selling jewelry again. I was thinking of setting up an eBay store, but wonder if I should wait a bit until I have a better sense of where silver values really end up. I have at least 2,000 pieces to sell, all of which will need to be repriced. I could use the money, but this money is not essential at this time. Advice, anyone?
Wait!
Silver is going up so I would hold on...
Only problem is higher silver prices will not carry over to the jewelry so quickly. That is my take. Shop some around to get an idea what the market is
See above: Wait!
If you have 2,000 pieces to sell, why not parcel out say 200 pieces and sell them on E-Bay this month, after repricing them for silver. You can even price them a little less becasue your markup is already quite good.
Then resolve to sell another 200 pieces in April,etc.
You can spread your sales over the next ten months, priced accordingly to the way the market goes.
I would keep a certain percentage of the jewelry held in reserve as a personal investment. The silver if it can be melted( not plating)like sterling, is already worth almost 10 times what you paid for it as a raw material, and can be a good hedge for you if silver really goes through the roof.
As long as you have all the essentials (e.g. food, protection, clothing and such) taken care of for an extended period, I'd only sell or barter when I needed something.
Chances favor higher inflation and declining value of the dollar. You're ahead of the game if you own something with real value that is likely to also increase in value compared to the dollar.
Check your Freepmail :)