Naturally as the price has fallen, the dealers have experienced huge increases in volume so they have raised their premiums they charge over spot. Spot is dirt cheap but it's hard to buy actual silver at less than $18/oz for country issued silver coins!
There are some alternatives. You can buy silver rounds or bars minted by a private mint. They typically can't charge as much of a premium because the round may not be as recognizable or as easy to sell when the time comes. I don't know if they do it anymore but there are a couple of sites that have starter kits of silver rounds that they sell to you at spot. Obviously they want your name so they can send you ads or call you but it's a cheap way to get a few oz of silver. You can google " buying silver at spot" and probably find out if they are still doing it.
With the increased demand, there are lots of dealers that are out of stock. I would not order unless they have the inventory in stock. Last time silver orders increased, some dealers went out of business very suddenly. I like Apmex, JM Bullion, Provident Metals.com. They've been thru the wars and survived.
I always like junk silver, which are US silver coins that used to be in circulation(pre 1965) but the premiums have soared.
When I'm trying to buy silver, I typically google something like "cheapest silver coins" and follow the leads. Hopefully you will find some reasonably priced silver. If you have any more questions, let me know. I have spent a lot of time searching so I'm pretty familiar with the pros and cons of various sites.
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