The first thing you need to know is that most scrap silver ends up at a refiner.  Most silver buyers will buy your unwanted silver, and pay a refiner to melt it into another form, or even sell it to them.  Silver buyers are basically a check-in center for unwanted and scrap silver products.  They are generally based around customer service, and a customer’s satisfaction in their transaction.  A silver buyer ultimately has to pay a refiner in order to make profit from your silver.  This in return, means they offer you less money for your scrap silver.  Even though they aren’t able to smelt your silver down, they estimate your silver’s value and send you a check fairly quick.

Silver refiners are a great place to sell your scrap silver because they don’t have the hassle or added cost of dealing with a third party.  They can handle the whole silver transaction from start to finish.  Doing this usually means a higher payout and more cash for your silver. In most cases though, you aren’t going to get the same customer service experience from a refiner, as you would a silver buyer.  A silver refiner can draw you in with higher payouts, but they typically don’t have the same satisfaction guarantees that you will find with a silver buyer.

So ultimately it comes down to a preference of payment amount over customer service.  If you are new to selling silver, and aren’t one-hundred-percent sure about the transaction, a silver buyer may be better.  They usually offer a longer money back guarantee, and well trained customer service agents to handle the return.  For those who are familiar with selling silver, and are comfortable with the process, a silver refiner is ideal due to the high payouts.

There are several obvious ways to approach that “I need money right now” problem.  First you can consider going to a family member and discussing it over with him or her.  You can ask for a loan, but make sure that you get down on paper how much the amount will be and when you intend to pay it back.  Nothing creates strife in families as much as money issues so protect everybody and write it down and have both of you sign it.  Also agree to what the penalty will be if the loan is not paid off in time.   This might take the form of interest or services.

When you need money now, another option is to sell some personal belongings.  First look at your electronics and kitchen appliances. These will get you the best return.   Try not to sell items with high emotional value.  Something that has been in your family for years will cause you regret if you sell it.   However, that may be your only option.

Try to stay away from companies that offer payday loans as they can end up charging so much that it would make a mafia loan-shark blush.  There is also the option of finding odd jobs or a second job to help out.  Do not be proud.  A job is a paycheck.  It does not matter how money is earned as long as it is earned honestly.   Try to look at this as a learning experience and make a plan to never be in this situation again.

Have you ever heard of eHow and Demand Studios?  If you have not, you should read and find out more about them.  If you have talents in writing, you can become a contributor to these sites?  Just write how-to articles which are helpful to people.  Submit an application, your resume and a writing sample and you are on your way to earning money as a writer.  These companies will pay you for the articles they accept every week through PayPal.

You can also make money online by teaching at Teachstreet.  This is a website which puts teacher and learners together.  There is no sign-up fee.  For a basic lesson, you can make as much as $47 or even $50 for a single class.  Check the website for more information.

You can also write for Textborker.com.  This is a good place for new writers to start.  You must apply to get accepted and when accepted, you will be given a rating from 1 to 5.  The higher your rating, the higher payment you get for your creations.  For an article of 350 to 500 words, you can get paid as much as $3.50.  They make biweekly payments through PayPal.

Do you have skills in blogging?  Why not create your own blog and put Google adsense on it.  This will allow you to make money almost instantly.  Clickbank is also another website which you might want to look into.  You will be able to make commissions by promoting various products.