becoming a coin dealer

thanks

Wow! Thanks for all of the replies. All of you have been very helpful. Special thanks to PennyLady; I enjoyed reading your experiences to start your business.

Well, I think I'll start selling on eBay and then perhaps setting up a table at our small local coin club show in the fall. We have small dealers come to our local coin club, so I can start asking them questions.

Yes, it would be a business, but I also need to find a way to make the business fun. I agree it would be too much stress to rely on it entirely for income, but I can also enjoy this start-up phase and being small.

Thanks again.

Steve

PS Thanks also, bhp3rd, for your good advice and experience.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I think it might be more important,

What?
Coin dealers should know how to spell both 'nickel' and 'lose.'



It might be more important to know what coin is a value and which to pass on rather than noting minor spelling mistakes.
Anyway you'all know how we are down here in the South, barefoot and pregnant and all, heck I'm barefoot right now as we speak, (I generally don't wear shoes from April till October). We sometimes don't know enough to get out of the rain don't you know? But we can spot a Govt. official or a fake 2 hollows over because he'll be a talking about nothing or just plain lying all the while getting us to believe "it might be important".
You know we really are just heathens down here but gosh what fun we have.

 

I have seen several comments similar to this, but, think this phrase puts it in perspective best (at least for me).
The rule for drug dealers – Don’t get high on your own supply.
Relating that rule to coins, I personally do not have what it takes to be a dealer – there is no way I could part with the nice buy’s if I am at all interested in that series. And, since I am like many, interested in almost any series, I would have to keep everything I bought.
If you do want to try your hand, and believe that you can avoid “getting high from your own supply” I would highly suggest starting with low end items, or UNC coins purchased at face value and selling them on eBay.

 

Also remember,

Also remember, be more careful with a drug addict verses an alcoholic that steals you wallet, "an alcoholic will just steal your wallet, a drug addict will steal your wallet then help you look for it"!

"I have never known a successful drug dealer that did not use something and a coin dealer that did not sell coins he wish he had not"!

 

I think starting your own coin dealer would be a great idea! I would insist on looking into a small little out of business building to start out with. And maybe who knows it will ave your grandsons as owners in the later years! All you need is a name!

 

Allow me to be a bit sarcastic here, but I'm sure glad you as a heathen know how to have fun because, from your description above, it doesn't sound like you as a coin dealer have much fun (or at least don't have time to have fun) ....

Therefore, I must be a heathen coin dealer, because I try to have fun and enjoy what I'm doing as much as possible!

 

Which part I'm confused?

from your description above, it doesn't sound like you as a coin dealer have much fun (or at least don't have time to have fun) ....

I'm confused, which part made it sound like I don't have fun. I have more fun selling and collection coins than most anything I do, (except going barefoot). I must of missed something insignificant here? We do that a lot down here as it saves time for other pursuits like spitting and scratching and such.

 

or what you do for your job becomes fun...

I sell on e-bay and I enjoy it minus the neg opinions e-bay has toward sellers... and a few a-hole buyers

 

I'm not trying to be confrontational, so perhaps I am reading your comments not as you meant them, but this last statement especially:

And the way you described what being a coin dealer was like, all hard work and didn't seem like there was much time for having fun, it just sounded a bit sardonic to me.

I just wanted to point out that, even though building up a new business does take a lot of work, education, pounding the pavement for merchandise, and of course making mistakes, if you enjoy what you're doing, then it can be very enjoyable at the same time, and can give you a huge sense of personal accomplishment and a much better quality of life, in more ways than one.

 

Cool thread.

My coin dealer is very clear - he says you can't be "on both sides of the counter".

I happen to think there is a "dealer" gene. You either have it or you don't. If I luck out and get a "great" deal, I just can't let go of it because it's value is just going to skyrocket - yeah right! But others will pop that sucker up on ebay as soon as they win it.

Not everyone can be at the top of the food chain

 

Heres a thread I started on my 1st anniversary of my website. Note that I posted 92 sales in March....1st year total. I just shipped #188 this afternoon, only 4 months later, so it does take a while but it develops momentum.

I am lucky to have such great mentors and experts like Charmy and Rick Snow, and they make great poker buddies as well:high5:

http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t49290/

 

Believe, me I have been hearing that for many years from most dealers, but that has never stopped me from maintaining and upgrading my personal collection. So, if any of you have seen my collection of Indian and Lincoln cents which is posted on my website, you will know that I definitely disagree with that phrase. I think you certainly can be both! As a matter of fact, as a dealer, I feel I have an advantage over non-dealer collectors - I get to see the cream of the crop, I can usually buy nice coins at better prices, and I can simply add whatever duplicates I have to my inventory and sell it.

Also, I also have some beautiful coins on my website that are also for sale and some people wonder why I am not keeping some of these. I personally don't feel the need to keep every coin I like for my personal collection, only the ones that I "need" to fill holes or upgrade, though sometimes I do find a coin that is so very unique that I add it to my collection. But I am quite discerning with what I keep, I have certain criteria that I follow, and I certainly can't buy everything I like.

As an aside, I just came back from auction lot viewing at Bowers & Merena, and there was this 1922 No D in MS64 - OMG! My jaw dropped, and I audibly gasped when I saw that coin in hand. It has the most perfect lustrous bluish gray magenta toning that I absolutely love - and I have never seen a better quality 1922 No D. (Any Lincoln enthusiasts know that the 1922 No D is normally one of the most bug ugly coins due to how extremely polished the die was which created a very mushy obverse and also removed the D.) But WOW! Not this coin! I'm guessing this coin will sell for $20-$30,000 at least - waaaay out of my ballpark. But boy was I drooling over that puppy and would I ever love to own it!!!

 

Jack, I loved reading your story! Very very good. One of the things I forgot to mention is all the wonderful people you meet in this business - like JACK! See you next week, sweet Jack!

 

Oh man, this coin is sooooooo sweet!

 

YEP! THAT'S THE ONE! (that's my jaw dropping - not a yawn!)

And it looks even more awesomely gorgeous in person, really!!!! :thumb::hail:hya:

 

Yep, thats a looker for sure.

This date, along with the 55 DDO suffer from poor appearance, doctored color so often, and just plain nasty coins. This is an exceptional example, and should fetch nice money. I do think this got a " key date bump " on the 64 tho....the horizontal striations in front of Abe jump out, but can be overlooked if you try.

The reverse is pounded and fairly sharp, the obverse typically weak, but overall a great coin with loads of eye appeal for the date. Definatly out of my price range

 

Jack, not necessarily - remember, this is one of the few coins that is graded by the REVERSE, and IMO this reverse is definitely MS64 - and the eye appeal really adds quality to this pretty piece - man, what eye appeal!

 

Volumes spoken here.

I work for a coin dealer. I am not a coin dealer

 

I never said that becoming a coin dealer couldn't be a fun rewarding job but a job is work and I don't care how you slice it up - work is not as fun as fun.There are aspects of being a coin dealer that have nothing to do with collecting coins - Bookkeeping, sales tax, dealing with the public and employees and etc.

 

if you got the capital. any business you like you can do it. as long as you have the knowledge and know how.