I have lost money on every coin i have ever purchased.

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After 5 years of experience, you shouldn't still be buying and selling coins that look like that.

 

About the only way to avoid it is to either be a dealer or hold them forever.

I never understood people who get mad about losing money on coins. I am not talking about the OP here, (whose situation with that dealer sounds fishy), but just in general. Do people buy fishing poles from Cabelas and then get mad about how they cannot sell them to someone else for more than they paid for them retail? Do boat owners expect to "make money" on their boat?

If you are a traditional collector, you are buying at retail and when you sell selling at wholesale. In every single other venue this will guarantee a loss. I cannot go to the grocery store and buy Oreos and turn around and expect to sell them on the street at a profit.

Only way around the game is to either become a retail seller, on a website or similar, or to become a wholesale buyer somehow. Other than that, we are all destined to lose money on coins, but that is not the point. To me, I "consume" what I pay for coins in enjoyment. Anything my heirs sell them for is their good luck.

 

To the OP, if you want to make money on selling coins, I suggest hitting the local auctions (estate and/or consignments). I've been buying from local auctions for 4 years now and I resale the coins I don't want then keep the coins I like or upgrade. The money I make off selling those coins (via a local flea market) has stayed in the black. Now I can't quit my day job, but it does pay for my hobby. I usually make at least double, if not quadruple, the amount of money I spend on a coin. I NEVER pay retail prices for these coins nor would I ever think of selling them to a dealer.

 

Don't beat yourself over it. So you lost $90. People do it at the track all the time. You owned some coins and now you don't . Think of the times you have spent $90 on something and it turned into crap anyway. Cars for example. You drive them off the lot and they lose thousands, then you fill them up with a bunch of stuff that gets burned up and you end up with a hunk of metal that's worth practically nothing. In the grand scheme of things your loss is nothing. You had some fun collecting them, sold them and now they are gone. I know it's hard now, but in a couple of weeks you'll laugh at it.

 

Wel it sounds like you don't have the resources to sell coins or open any business for that matter . Business startups cost money , lots of it , and you better be prepared to lose money for the 1st year at least . Coins are no different than any new business , so I'd read up on that or even take a small business course . Also a lot of business fail due to no fault of the theirs . As to collectors paying less for coins , we live in a free market where things sell for what people are willing to pay , it's called supply and demand .On the lower end there are millions of nice coins you can pick up for under $5 and this goes all the way up to coins in the millions .

 

Ya know what frosts my cookies? The numbers of people who come into this hobby expecting to make money off of it. If that's the case then it ain't a hobby and I resent these types passing themselves off as collectors.

OK....rant over. I'll get off the soap box and go stand in the corner......

 

There's no reason in the world why you can't do BOTH, with the profits funding new specific coins which you wish to collect. For over 50 years, I've bought the large, puzzling, messy "lots" and "estates" that no one else seems to want, and pieced them out, coin by coin. With the Internet, it's now easier than ever to turn a profit.

Imagine the 1960s, when I had to PRINT each ad on a postcard, and send it in to a local "free-classified" weekly newspaper, and make it fit 20 words, and put up with stupid typos, and on top of everything else, maintain the impression that I was NOT a business. Been there, done that. I've paid my dues .

I've sold 2/3 of the lots I've posted on CT, and all have been profitable although some have taken forever to sell. I wouldn't post them at all if they weren't profitable, I'd keep rearranging and rewriting them on CraigsList, which gets me 5%-10% more (no postage to pay) as well as the possibility of finding a repeat (local) buyer.

 

I am glad to break even after 40 years of collecting. It usually takes about 20 years for inflation to catch up with a reasonable margin between what a buyer pays and a seller receives. There are exceptions both ways.

The first thing you must understand though is in MOST cases, quality is everything. SO first you look at detail or grade.

Most people see that, but miss the next most important thing. Condition. Condition reflects whether the coin has corrosion, damage, cleaning, toning or any number of other things which detract from it's value beyond just wear. This is why people selling Detail or Genuine coins are surprised when they can't get the book value which is for problem free coins OF THE SAME GRADE. Even this assumes you know about grading for wear and not other issues with a similar appearance like strike or errors. The differences make them worth far less or far more.

This is why knowledge is the best answer to long term success, while shear luck is fine for short term success.

If you have decided to dispose of your collection rather than continue the stress and cost of your 'education', there's no problem with that. I am disposing of mine simply because my children do not have the skills, knowledge or interest to receive fair value for my coins. But I still acquire those coins which I know have a value others do not appreciate.

For this accumulated knowledge, I am rewarded, fairly I think. But I received far more because I became a numismatist rather than just a business which happens to stock coins.

 

How can a numismatist, such as you Marshall, not have anymore 'likes' than what you have received? The knowledge that you spread and share here in these forums is far more worthy than what shows up in the 'like column'. You are a true and dear fellow. and your posts have educated me in the most extreme........

 

I couldn't agree with you more, but the way I see it, I don't buy my coins for my collection to make a profit on them. I buy what I want for me and what I like. I sell what I don't, and the amount I receive goes back into the coffers to purchase more. I'm in it for the hobby and love of the coins, not the profit on the other side. If only more people realized this!

 

In many ways, I feel like a painter who has been complimented. I thank you, but what else can I do? It's something in me that I must do.

 

I expect to make money on the silver pieces i buy. I pay as low as 50 % from spot, and sell for 80-90 % spot to a coin shop and I expect good profits. Thank god for antique stores. I take lots of other coins, as pleasure to endulge in my hobby. After my experience, I know which coins I like and which coin shops buy. Coin shops buy only silver, and sometimes high end coins.(in my case)

 

True. Heck, sometimes I am surprised you don't have -18,000 likes Doug. You might if Peter ever put in a dislike button.

I agree many do not really want to hear the truth about this hobby, especially the large cost difference between retail and wholesale. Coin collecting has always had a weird vibe about it, so many people "looking to make a score" or "investing". I always wonder if some dealers were not to blame in promoting the "investing" angle, to try to drive more sales.

 

[FONT=&amp]Just pull a coin out of your pocket and post a photo in the newps threads; ten people will automatically "like" it, which is sad but seemingly true. Regardless of "likes" received, I would like to think a well written, educational, and informative post will be noticed by those wishing to take something from time spent here, even if it is overshadowed by nonsense or childish braggarts. [/FONT]

And ain't that the truth.

 

Marshall don't feel bad I think you have tons of likes

 

I would place Treehugger and Hobo, for just two, in the same boat. A like count is not a "worthwhile reading" counter unfortunately.