Buying Local Vs Online

Center Pin, how much do you pay at your local dealers after tax?

I am not an American.
Is there anything wrong with buying from a State that lowest State Taxes, or even from buying from outside the the U.S. For example the U.K.?

The Perth Mint is a specialist new bullion numismatic seller and I think their tax burden is low or non existent, but I think their profit margin may be high on new product. There would also be shipping charges involved, but some of these would also apply if you are buying out of State.

How about buying ont the secondary market in an overseas country?

If you are strictly a bullion investor it might be worth considering poured kilo bars, where the premium per ounce is less.

Obviously, taxing authorities and rates do vary greatly from state to state, province to province, and nation to nation. There's certainly nothing wrong with buying overseas. Perth Mint has an outstanding selection of products. However, the weak US dollar combined with shipping fees and insurance make the process much less attractive for those of us here in the States. Fortunately, here in the US there's typically no sales tax charged on purchases made outside of the purchaser's home state. That leaves only the dealer's commission, shipping, and insurance to add to the cost of a given bullion purchase.

Also, what I would call the four major online-based US dealers, APMEX, Provident, Goldmart, and Silvertowne are all located around the country such that, once shipped, purchases from one of the four should typically take no longer than 3 days to arrive using ground shipping to most of the lower 48 states.

I hear you there! I'm up here in the Dallas area and it's taken a lot of leg work to find an LCS or two that has both the bullion I want and good pricing. If Houston is anything like the Dallas market, you'll find lots of pretty "something & something exchange" shops with high overhead who cater to folks who don't have the time to lean about what they're buying and what it should cost. I'm not trying to be critical of anyone's business model; these shops do serve a purpose for a specific kind of customer. That customer simply isn't me.

Also, I've had zero luck when trying to buy coins from pawn brokers or "we buy gold" store fronts.

If you are willing, maybe the best and fastest way to get the low down on the best LCS' would be to contact one of the local Houston coin clubs. I've not had any contact with either of these groups, but you might try google searches for "Greater Houston Coin Club" or "Bellaire Coin Club" and send an email to their contact person(s). At least it's a place to start.

There are some good online dealers with quick shipping to Texas. APMEX is located in Oklahoma City. Everyday prices are okay, but they do run excellent specials which they announce from time to time via Twitter and Facebook. If you ever pool a $1000 bucks together to avoid sales tax, Provident Metals is located just outside of Dallas (fairly close to the legendary SouthFork Ranch, believe it or not). Provident does not have a retail store front. They do, however, have very competitive pricing, quick shipping with low fees, and a good selection of bullion products. Highly recommended.

I just made my first purchase online a week or two ago with gold mart. Great company, but I have not received anything yet. Online is kind of a pain, because if you do a money order... you basically pay for it and then send it in the mail.

Or you could send a check, which is nice, because you dont pay for anything until they cash it. But after they cash it, they wait an additional 7 days until they ship it. So my order should be shipping out this upcoming monday! I dont know why these companies dont accept credit cards, as the credit card companies only charge like 1.3%. I could understand on larger orders, but charging 22$ for shipping seems a little ridiculous.

If you want just straight silver, silvertowne is a great companies with reasonable priced silvertowne bars that have free shipping!

Local is always a good bet, it should be a little cheaper, you get it immediately, no shipping fee's, and you can see exactly what you are getting before you give them money. Its always nice to support the coin stores, especially when you like them as a company. I also have a monthly coin show that comes to my city which is nice and can usually find something I want, although a lot of the prices seem a little high to me.

Another source is flea markets. In my area there is one flea market with 2 coin collectors who have had booths for many many years. One of them sells junk coins for spot, and they are very good condition EF-40 or better most of the time. The kids and I call it going to church, and we all head home with at least a couple silver coins in our pockets every time.

ebay is great as it tells you exactly what something is worth, but the premiums are a bit high.

Goldmart, is the best by far in my book.