I would suggest extreme caution buying silver from eBay. Theres a TON of clad fakes going around. I did some digging and found this to my horror. Source: ALL THE ABOVE BARS ARE SILVER CLAD CHINESE KNOCK OFFS. I didn't post a link to the chinese site but here is one the the pictures off of it. Be careful.
I cant edit my post so here is the link to the picture http://postimg.org/image/4sm86p8af/ knockoffs of silvertowne, scottsdale, NWT, sunshine, johnson matthey, etc...
I would not recommend buying bullion from ebay full stop. There are plenty of reputable places to buy bullion at quite low margins over spot - why bother buying on ebay ??? Plenty of aussie sellers are selling fakes on ebay
http://s968.photobucket.com/user/dune69/media/pics/fake1.jpg.html Just knocked up a checking chart for 1 ounce sunshine minting bars If you can't read my writing ... Check the corners.. real are large.. fake are small check the eagle disk ..real are frosted ..fake are shiney Sizes of the fakes are wrong.. too narrow too thick Fonts are different http://s968.photobucket.com/user/dune69/media/pics/fake2.jpg.html Fakes ARE magnetic but only to a rare earth magnet not a fridge magnet I use a small neo (N42) magnet 6mm x 1mm and touch the bar to it and move away. It will pull the magnet.. silver is not magnetic If it moves the magnet even slightly when you move away then its not silver Remeber always silver to magnet and pull away Always be weary of 1 ounce bars in hard plastic cases Hope that helps
Not sure how to edit my original post this view might be better http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae169/dune69/pics/fake1.jpg
Thanks goodness I have XRF close by. I luv the 1 ozers bars. If too many fakes out there I better carry one XRF with me.
Goldstackers has low premium kilo bars for about 7% over spot Many other online dealers are priced at similar premiums for generic stuff As you are in Melbourne you can buy from W Davis at about 5% over spot How cheap are people hoping to get it on ebay ??? Is the risk of fakes worth a couple of % cheaper price ?
You don't even have to buy from a Chinese seller to be at huge risk because sellers in your own country may have bought a load of these and are now selling them. I prefer bullion directly from reputable big dealers here in the US. Coins is a different story. I have purchased a few coins and medals from Chinese sellers and I believe that I have gotten legit coins and medals. It is always in the back of my mind that most fakes do come out of China.