I dabble in metals. Not so much for the profits, more so to increase the amount I have. started with a 15k investment 10 or so years ago. as prices rise I sell some, and when the fall again I buy back more than I started with. profits go back in-to the pool. sell 1-1oz gold bar, buy 15-10oz silver bars @ 17.50/oz.. sell 5 @ 29/oz. buy again if gets back to around 22 maybe... it is essentially flipping, sell 3 gold bars, sit on cash.. buy back 3 gold eagles and another 1/4-1/2 eagle coin. eventually hope to "grow" my holdings into double size (amount, not value) of original investment... in the end, have 2x as many metals as I started with and my investment never changed.