Less than the bullion banks have been making skimming money off the top via playing the price spread they maintain between New York and London. It's basically a free money glitch as long as you keep control of the price movements, but the moment you lose control of the market, those naked short positions you rely on to control the price unravel and blow up your entire bank.
When it has been slammed really hard, your local bullion dealer will be all out of stock on the physical. "It's $33, but we don't know when we will be getting any more in."
Remember 2011, when it ran up to about $50? Here is the only reason they can get away with that shit..
Ordering stuff online has been a crap shoot since the covid BS.
Big retailers or small mom-and-pop places all have screwed up orders left and right.
Heck, going through it now with a replacement rock deflector for my truck. They shipped the incorrect size and wanted to act like it wasn't an issue till I sent pics.
At least in one case (a mom-and-pop level place) sent me a 'thank you' T-shirt for returning a $500 piece of equipment they accidentally double shipped me.
I'll get around to ordering more silver soon. I think there is potential for enough upswing I can maybe turn around a sell it in the near future for some fed funny money to pay down some of the SO's debts.
Bloody heck I had the same problem. Some shipment via UPS or another three letter postal service. never arrived, Filthy negroids or Moroccans, maybe Algherians. I also got refunded but I had to bid on that lot and prices soared right after