The best tips for selling scrap silver are to avoid places that pay little, find a buyer with a good reputation, and make sure the silver is actually scrap. Many silver and gold buyers barely offer half the going price of silver, so some research is necessary to make the most profit. Even if a company offers a good price, it is sometimes not guaranteed that it will pay the previously quoted price. It is also a good idea to ensure that the item is actually scrap silver, meaning it is worth more as scrap than its intended form.
In general, it is best to avoid gold and silver buyers who heavily advertise on television or in malls. The places that offer the most to people selling scrap silver rarely offer pre-paid mailing envelopes and 24-hour turnarounds. In fact, such places are usually offering a mere fraction of the going price of silver. A reputable silver buyer is open about what he or she is willing to pay for silver. In addition, the seller is usually responsible for shipping to the factory, and then turnaround time might be weeks or months depending on how backed up the refinery is.
It can be difficult to find a trustworthy buyer to purchase scrap silver at a fair price. In some cases, even large refineries use disclaimers and small print to pay less than originally agreed upon. Questionable tactics can be used by companies of all sizes, not just small fly-by-night gold and silver buyers. For large batches of scrap, some people recommend selling 10 to 20 percent of the silver to determine how the buyer operates. If the person selling scrap silver receives less than promised or never receives any money at all, he or she can find another buyer for the rest of the metal rather than losing everything.
Some experts advise that people make sure silver is actually scrap before selling it as such. Selling scrap silver is profitable only when the value of an item is less than that of its silver. Therefore, before a person sells scrap silver, he or she should attempt to price both the items and the silver itself. Doing anything besides selling the silver item or items in the most profitable manner is a waste of money. Some people still choose to sell valuable silver items as scrap because doing so can be less time consuming.