I suppose the main problem with gold and silver are that they perform terribly when times are good and it's almost impossible to predict when times will turn bad. However if you are a holder during bad times then you will make fortunes. It's short period, high return investment. Making a profit therefore has a lot to do with long term timing. Not everyone has 10, 20 or even 30 years to wait.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a gold and silver investor, have been for 20 year, but so far have failed to make (and keep) much money because I've held through the spikes and endured the troughs.