Is Ebay a useful tool for finding PM's

[Nostradomus]

I am fairly new to the great world of PM's and I have read a lot posts, Hoke, and a bunch of other materials to try to learn as much as can about the industry, so I am sorry if this is answered some were else on the forum. I was wondering if Ebay is actually ever a useful tool for finding PM scrap. I know I have seen the posts and the actual auctions for ridiculous amounts of money for worthless crap. What I want to know is if there are really some good deals to be had through all the crap or if you find a good deal on Ebay you should run out and buy a lottery ticket cause you have the best luck in the world?? I new to this world and I know there are many people out there that have a lot more experience and I was once told a average person learns from there mistakes and truly smart person learns from others mistakes. Also in keeping with my questions about Ebay. I have seen many advertisements for "drop" bars made from base metals, gold, and gold plating are these a useless thing to purchase or is there a good or reasonable possibility that there are some worth acquiring and refining??

 

[Anonymous]

Firstly drop bars are a no no.

Also most "eBay gold" is over priced UNTIL you really know what you are looking for. Sadly knowing what you are looking for comes from experience, and you have to kiss a lot of frogs to get that.

I would certainly advise that you steer clear of bars or pins as a starting point.

However if you don't mind paying some money to learn, then go look at things like ceramic processor batches. Whilst you might not gain anything financially you will get a lot of experience. There are plenty of posts with suggested yield data on here, go have a look at those and knock 20% off them all to be on the safe side. Use this calculation and you wont go far wrong in what you bid.

I will stress my original point though - until you get experienced, your chances of buying a pup are greatly increased.

Hope that helps.

Jon

 

[joubjonn]

3 ways that happens.
1. The seller screws up on naming the listing and sets no reserve

2. The seller doesn't know what they have and screws up on the listing

3. The usual buyers are sleeping that day

All three ways are rare. So unless you have a lot of time on your hands to search everyday your not going to find deals. It's better to source in your hometown. No one is going to tell you any more then that, it's a slippery slope buying on eBay for us refiners. It's a form of gambling really unless you have the experience to tell what is and what is not a "good deal" on scrap.

 

[Nostradomus]

Thanks guys for the reply. I was almost certain of what both of you had to say I just wanted to get it confirmed and it was. Thanks again its nice to know people are really out there that can help.

 

[goldenchild]

It used to be...