Are coin shop owners hurting the numismatic community?

There. Fixed it for you. Feel free to waste more of your time.

 

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It's the truth. I could tell you his name, the name of the bar and its location, but I'd rather not. It was almost 31 years ago.

Chris

 

Am I the only one that exclusively deals with brick and mortar shops? I've almost always received better prices selling and buying through them then I can online.

 

Are coin shop owners hurting the numismatic community?

Probably not, unless they turned away from numismatics and more towards being a cash for gold sort of establishment, like my local shop did recently.

Regarding bullion pricing in the OPs example, sellers can charge whatever they want for something just like buyers can choose to buy it or not. Online bullion dealers simply remove items for sale or charge a greater premium/margin when the spot metal price falls.

 

When you grow up you learn to make choices. So time's you learn and times you get burned.
Coins are the same when comes to buying them.
Coin shop have to make some profit from sales and finding one that's fair is on you.
eBay sellers have to pay also finding a good deal there is hard but can be done. Then you have the so called TV coin shops where almost everything you're told is rather rare.
What all boils down to is choices .
There good and bad choice at each turn best thing to do your homework before you buy any coin and Where you buy them.

 

"Fair" is whatever someone is willing to pay. Coins/bullion are not necessary for life, they are luxuries. If you don't like the prices, buy elsewhere or just don't buy.

 

I'd be more interested to know if that bar is still there under the same name and management.

 

To the OP: You're crazy.
You ask a coin shop owner to hold some silver for you at spot so you can come back in a few days? It doesn't work that way. You buy the silver at the price it is when you pay. Of course he's going to raise the price if spot goes up, because he cannot replace his inventory at the old spot price anymore, can he?

You say this practice hurts the numismatic community as a whole? No it hurts you only because you're the only person who thinks he can lock in spot price without paying.

 

I was the manager/head bartender, but after I left, revenues dropped 70% over the next 2 years before it finally closed it's doors.

Chris

 

I am not a dealer so my opinion is not based on experience as such.

While technology has certainly cut into dealers selling to collector business, I think there will always be a place for them. I would bet much of their business is based on collections walking in the door as part of an estate. The family will not have the contacts collectors have developed over time.

How they market those coins has probably evolved with the technology available.

If I was to open my own coin shop I would try to make the business as diverse as possible. Coins, currency and bullion would not be my only source of revenue.

Specifically for collectors, find a dealer you are comfortable doing business with even if they are not in your area. They are out there, some of them are right here. For those dealers that you feel are not geared towards collectors, they are not likely to be going anywhere as the uneducated market will support their business ~ if they are lucky. Location Location Location. Doesn't mean you are obligated to go there. I went into a local B&M recently and they were buying at $12.50 an ounce for circulated silver coinage. They had a bin of circulated Morgan's (your pick) for $24.99 each. This is not a shop I buy coins from. I do not believe this business survives on selling to collectors. That's okay as long as you recognize it for what it is. Is it hurting the hobby, I don't think so because collectors will inevitably do what Vic describes. I just don't think it will be the end of the B&M. JMO

 

there will always be stores and dealers buying collections from relatives of collectors who die. But I do expect that the vast majority of collector to collector sales to ultimately transition from collector to dealer to collector transactions into collector to collector direct transactions facilated by online means. Today? No but in 20 years I would expect maybe 50-70% decrease in the number of coin dealers out there.

 

If you had made a commitment to sell for $3.00 an oz, Yes. Honoring commitments HAS to be a two way street though. If you make a deal to buy at $17 and it drops to $16, you pay the $17. But if it rises to $18 you should still only have to pay the $17. Commitments typically come with time limits on them though. You agree to buy at a price and you will pay Friday but you don't come in til Saturday you have broken your commitment and will have to broker a new deal. if he is willing to deal with you at all. The PM market deals a lot in trust. You break commitment and show yourself to be untrustworthy and everything become cash up front.

As far as them saying they have more than that in the bullion, that's their problem. If they aren't willing to sell it at market and take the loss there is always someone else that will sell at market. After all he won't pay more than market for you bullion when the market goes against you. Has to be a two way street, always.

Sounds like a bar you could buy real cheap before too long.

I believe it, my only question is whether he smartened up, sold out, or went out of business. OK, that ot answered.

 

Once agian...you dont have your facts...what I do with my MONEY is none of your business. The seller is my coin shop owner and a personal friend. We barter alot and BTW I don't borrow to get from paycheck to paycheck..not sure how you came up with that..I guess its from YOUR personal experience.

 

relax....relax....don't burst a neck vein. ROFL...

 

Thank my dear sir...Lesson learned on my part...still learning and thanks for not judging...enjoy what remains of your day.

 

I want to thank everyone for their comments...good or bad...intelligent...ignorant...I learned many things about posting correctly...labeling the thread correctly. I learned how some people wear their feelings on their shirts and some are mellow and state their thoughts in a productive way so that all readers take something with them. Some people are very judgemental and mellow dramatic and others actual were helpful. To those I thank. Bottom line I learned something today. I appreciate the knowledge and wisdom I recieved in this post and others that I have posted. Thank you all and enjoy what remains of your day.

 

$1.00 over spot is common in coin shops. Both shops I have here in town charge the same prices.

Also you must consider most coin shops buy bullion at probably just under spot. There is not much room for making profit on bullion. At $17.50, shop owners likely buy it at $15.50.

 

If you are borrowing to live paycheck to paycheck, you should not be buying coins.

 

You created a thread judging the ethics of dealers and then thank someone for not judging you?

Thanks for the backward compliment.

 

"Mellow dramatic" - I love it. Probably accidental but I love it. Is that a sniglet? Did I just show my age? Anybody else know what a sniglet is? I'll shut up now