Bullion "Buyback Partner"?

[ted_200]

https://pages.ebay.com/bullion/buyback.html

That sounds a little expensive...

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

No thanks.

I'm skeptical. 

I'd get better price per oz dealing direct with Perth mint, if that desperate.

How come you and I can't list a 'Wanted' listing here?

Fees the item owner are charged by ebay should be half of the 10% quoted.  5% buyer, 5% seller. 

On that point, what's the FVF the 'partner' is charged anyway? 

From my POV, I look at the buy rate and then look at the 'partners' ebay listings rate [eg Silver rounds] and there is a huge difference. How many time do ebay collect a fee on a single coin thats recycle listed?

I understand the term 'siver rounds' here as being scrap grade coins, not [who knows what knocked around grade] non-coins, fancy bullion bits that happen to be in a roundish shape.

I've never had any interest or fascination with collecting dressed up 'collectable' bullion.

So, I have several oz of <VG to F  common [high mintage years] dates Aus coins that weigh up on scales - thats 'silver rounds' to me.  I know how many to an oz given the date ranges [grade].

At least their grade and who made them is known.  At least they are actually worth more as novice collectors 'space fillers', interest for kids [history and all] or birth date gifts to friends than the silver content.... and cheaper to use as blank 925 pieces for jewellery craft than buying sheet or rod.

Oh... and the 925 3d & 6d can go in the Xmas pudding [not the 500 !]

I've even used 925 shillings and florins for emergency repair of electrical switchgear at a pinch. 

Old coins have 'function'.  Selling at less than scrap doesn't.

KWIM?

[elheron-grande]

9 de Junio 2018:  Yes!  Those .925 Silver coins are GREAT items.   Heron hisself never used a Silver coin as a replacement 'contact'.  However, Heron's father, a Master Electrician by trade, did use a .900 Silver USA Dime [10 Cent Piece] to replace a burnt out contact.   On a small size electric motor 'starter'.   As those of us that worked in the electrical industry know,  Silver is a great conductor of electricity!

Heron always put the .925 Silver coins of Grand Britannia and colonies in his collection.   Gotta like .925 Silver items!   Super good stuff.

Regardos.    

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

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@elheron-grande wrote:

9 de Junio 2018:  Yes!  Those .925 Silver coins are GREAT items.   Heron hisself never used a Silver coin as a replacement 'contact'.  However, Heron's father, a Master Electrician by trade, did use a .900 Silver USA Dime [10 Cent Piece] to replace a burnt out contact.   On a small size electric motor 'starter'.   As those of us that worked in the electrical industry know,  Silver is a great conductor of electricity!

Heron always put the .925 Silver coins of Grand Britannia and colonies in his collection.   Gotta like .925 Silver items!   Super good stuff.

Regardos.    

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That's my status in the trade.  Working part time [too old, too over-qualified] in the custom manufacturing sector now. So it goes.

@Used as a 'need to' stop gap on an old 220V DC  contactor ..... not small @ 200A.

Wasn't a quick or easy replacement available on an 'essential services' piece of equipment.

I've a collection of ex silver coins used as 'trench art', 'love tokens' and bracelets [lots of Australian 925 coins with Denver and SanFrancisco mintmarks issued to US servicmen during WW2 turned into these] and a neat pair of 'buttons' that had been dished, pierce sawn around the CoA design with coin slither loops soldered to rear of 1912 3d coins [at aUNC grade]. Really intricate work by someone no doubt poor. Would make a neat set of cuff links.  Oh... and 'crooked sixpence'... seen those?

Silver is a nice material to work.

[ted_200]

I understand the term 'siver rounds' here as being scrap grade coins...

Silver Rounds over here are the term for generic private mint 1 Oz. silver "coins" (Prospector Rounds, etc.)... same as a Kook or an American Silver Eagle, but private minted and not legal tender anywhere. 

Fees the item owner are charged by ebay should be half of the 10% quoted.  5% buyer, 5% seller. 

On that point, what's the FVF the 'partner' is charged anyway? 

My reading of all that was that when you sell to the "Buyback Partner", you are becoming an eBay seller with an eBay transaction.  And you're going to pay the "standard eBay selling fee" (I have no idea if that means you'll only pay 6% if you have a Store, or you'll only pay 9% if you're "Top Rated", or if you'll pay 14% if you're Below Standard), but the "standard eBay selling fee" for none of those is 10%.

It didn't say so, or even mention it in passing, but the "Buyback Partner" is going to put the funds in your PayPal account, and since this isn't a "personal payment" and you're the "seller", I presume that means they'll charge you 2.9% + .30 just like for any other sale. 

So it looks to me like you're just going to forfeit 13% of the payment to the "Buyback Partner"'s partners, which seems kinda pointless given you could sell to the "Buyback Partner" directly yourself and avoid all of that. 

[ted_200]

So, I have several oz of <VG to F  common [high mintage years] dates Aus coins that weigh up on scales - thats 'silver rounds' to me.  I know how many to an oz given the date ranges [grade].

At least their grade and who made them is known.  At least they are actually worth more as novice collectors 'space fillers', interest for kids [history and all] or birth date gifts to friends than the silver content....

I don't know if the "partner" will buy those or not.  But they aren't going to offer you full melt value even (nobody generally will), and they'll sell for better than that on eBay, and since you'd pay "standard selling fees" either way, it would make more sense just to list them. 

I just sold a small lot of Australia .925 (VF-AU, 1943-45) last week here, I got $27.80/Oz. out of them, so I'm sure not mailing them to anyone for less than spot!

.... and cheaper to use as blank 925 pieces for jewellery craft than buying sheet or rod...

LOL!  We run no-date .925 Canadian/British through the rolling mill for jewlery projects around here too.   Not only is it cheaper than buying sheet, if you want a round piece you don't create a lot more scrap cutting the corners off.

That pendant that's my avatar, I made from a Victora UK Florin that the date was gone from and had a hole in it.  I plugged the hole and sanded the rev. smooth, the back of the pendant is the obverse which still looks pretty decent giving it a "Victorian Indian Jewelry" sort of look.

[elheron-grande]

10 de Junio 2018:  Hola PH0490!   If that 200A is for 200 Amps, that could surely be a large piece of electro-mechanical equipt...!

Speaking of emergency 'repairs' and motor starter contacts:  There was one time that Heron made a temporary 'repair' on a 3 HP 3 phase motor starter.   The motor was located in a 'lumber mill'.   The 'mill' is located near Grass Valley California.

This particular motor operated a machine that 'made' wooden stakes for agricultural use.

Put a 'tree branch' into the opening and out comes a wooden stake!

Anyhow, the machine operator could not get the motor started.  Heron happened to be 'on site' adjusting an 'inverter' - a 3 phase alternating current speed control.

Heron went to see what was wrong.   Took a lock outta his briefcase and locked the 'safety disconnect' in the OFF position.   Opened the motor starter 'box'.

It was chock full of wood dust.    We had the plant janitor clean out the wood dust.

Then Heron inspected the contacts.   One was burnt badly and the silver coating about destroyed.    Heron took a small file outta his briefcase and filed all the corroded material off the contact and down to the 'brass' part.

Heron explained that the contact would be good for ONE start.   And so we started the motor.   Heron also explained that they needed to get an electrician out there right away with a new motor starter.   

Heron later lernt that the 'mill' did not burn down.  The owner did get an electrician to replace the motor starter.  All was well.

[We finally got the 'inverter' adjusted so that the mill could run soft wood through the final 'milling' step and not have burn spots on the wood.   We adjusted the 'inverter to operate a 3600 RPM 3 phase 60 cycle motor at about 3200 RPM.   We ran a lot of 'samples' through the cutter machine in order to find the 'right speed'.   It is situations like these that made the 'job' really an interesting job].

Coin stuff:   Heron has a 1 Peso coin of Chile that has the 'field' cut out leaving only the condor.  It is a decent cut-out job.   Item purchased at a 'road-side' outdoor selling place in the suburbs of Valparaiso Chile.   Heron remembers paying about $2 USA for it.  

Regardos.   

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

Yeah....  like I say, checked it out in a healthy skeptical mode.

Figured it was set up to benefit only those who set it up [same as gambling]. 

Saw the red flags < plural

No thanks.

There is a certain pleasure hand crafting like your pendant.

Silver is cheap and easy to work with.

Not saying your work is 'cheap', Ted.

It's a good metal to learn skills with.

Cheaper than Platinum or Gold.  

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

Not all that large, really - 35kW DC.

I'd call large as getting to be 1,000 to 2,500 Amp range at 220 DC or 415 AC.

Gets serious when it's 1,200 Amp circuit breakers in a 22kV AC switchboard... deadly serious, as in 'one flash and your ash'.

Anyhow...  I'm disturbed by a matter, more so attitudes, on these boards this week.

Taking it to another thread here for ideas on what Y'all think.

[ted_200]

Silver is cheap and easy to work with.

Not saying your work is 'cheap', Ted.

It's a good metal to learn skills with.

Cheaper than Platinum or Gold.  

I understand.

I'm still no expert smith, I've dabbled with gold work some, and yes, when you screw it up, the mistakes get expensive!

Part of the coin jewelry stuff is I just enjoy making a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

Many years ago I got hold of some Aus .925 3d/6d/s that had holes drilled through them, rather than scrap them, I drilled another hole opposite the existing one, soldered them up with some 925 wire into a linked bracelet, and got almost $100 / Oz. out of them.

[*smedley*]

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@ted_200 wrote:

Silver is cheap and easy to work with.

Not saying your work is 'cheap', Ted.

It's a good metal to learn skills with.

Cheaper than Platinum or Gold.  

I understand.

I'm still no expert smith, I've dabbled with gold work some, and yes, when you screw it up, the mistakes get expensive!

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can't you just melt it and try again?

[ted_200]

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@*smedley* wrote:

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@ted_200 wrote:

Silver is cheap and easy to work with.

Not saying your work is 'cheap', Ted.

It's a good metal to learn skills with.

Cheaper than Platinum or Gold.  

I understand.

I'm still no expert smith, I've dabbled with gold work some, and yes, when you screw it up, the mistakes get expensive!

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can't you just melt it and try again?

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Well, you can... it always has scrap value!  I don't do any casting, I mostly work from wire and sheet.  They charge a premium for wire and sheet, and with other parts (clasps, jump rings, fancy wires/bezels/findings... heads for setting faceted stones, for example, ring blanks, etc.) the premium is even higher. 

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

DIY melting has it's costs and 'lossy'.

Lost wax casting is fine if you find someone with melt and centrifuge setup [who you supply the scrap or dud coins to melt].

Agreed the findings can be expensive, but cost effective if you consider the fiddly nature of making a good secure clasp. eg. I doubt many manufacturing jewellers would make small tube profile these days or even draw wire.

Anyhow, point was, better value in retaining or even crafting, than selling off like this. 

[ted_200]

Anyhow, point was, better value in retaining or even crafting, than selling off like this. 

This is true, although the Bullion Buyback Partner won't buy jewelry scrap anyhow.  I tend to take gold scrap I encounter and melt it into slugs and stamp the fineness and weight on them... make my own bullion, so to speak.