Some of you will remember that I posted a thread on wanting to be a dealer in the future. I still want to do that, but I certainly still have years of experience to pick up before then. In the meantime, I have a small sum of money that I am seeking to invest by opening an online collecting supply retail store. I do have a history of retailing magic supplies when I used to practice magic. I ask this question as a general inquiry for business plan purposes: "what collecting supplies do you typically buy online and how often?" Thanks for your replies. I hope to offer CT-ers a discount when I get the business underway.
Well considering i have no coin shop anywhere here i tend to buy everything online (ebay). I usually buy Coin sets books/folders to put my coins in. Either way my advantage is that no one really knows about coins in my city so i pay for my coins really cheap if i get people to sell em to me in my city
I have purchased Air-tites, square stackable coin rolls, 2x2's of various sizes, several canvas bags, staples, a stapler, etc. I can tell you giving away decent-quality free pens with your orders is a cheap bonus that reminds people of your presence frequently. We did that at my old job and I personally feel they had an impact that was substantially greater than their cost.
Merc crazy, that is a solid idea, thank you for your input. I'm currently hoping to inventory airtites, 2x2's, non-PVC coin rolls, loupes, as many books as possible, and as many dansco brand albums as possible. Anything outside of that list anyone frequently purchases?
I bought a camera, 2 loupes. 100's of 2x2/s, storage boxes and reference gooks on line. Since I don't drive any more, it's an easy way to shop for all the things I need. I generally buy from on-line stores, but got things like the camera and shipping envelopes through eBay auctions. I also buy any gadgets I need for the computer there. The prices are very reasonable, if you are patient enough to wait for the shipping. Good luck with it, gary
I really don't think deciding WHAT you want to stock is your biggest problem. 1. The 800 lb. gorilla is really HOW you're going to get the items to your customers and how much is it going to cost them. Supplies tend to be bulky and shipping is not cheap. In fact, it's a huge factor when I shop online. 2. Since shipping is so costly, I try to find a place that has everything I need. If they have airtites, but no 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" holders, I won't order from them since I don't want to order from two different places and pay two high shipping charges. 3. I think a LOT of people buy supplies from their local coin dealer to "help" him out. It may be more expensive than online, but it's convenient and heck, I can go to my guy and buy one airtite, if I want. 4. A Dansco is a Dansco is a Dansco. Yours is the same as everyone else's. How are you going to differentiate yourself from the dozens of other online sellers and ebay? Sorry. Don't mean to putting sticks in your spokes - just some thoughts!
This is my 'go to' on line store. They have a great range of products. It's a 1 stop shop for me. http://www.jpscorner.com/index.htm
Coin collectors frequently bemoan the high costs of shipping. Could you find a way to price all items with base rate shipping included? Most people probably come to the realization that they need to buy in bulk to obtain price breaks on single items or place large orders to save on shipping, avoiding repeated purchases when they need something-- so they don't place regular orders through the year. Just like Amazon offering free shipping over $25 of merchandise purchased, maybe you can do something similar. Give customers the option to select expedited shipping for additional cost if they so choose. Good luck with this, you have a lot of competition from established online vendors and retail coin dealers have local customers who probably buy local and avoid online orders entirely. It is hard to build a loyal customer base and harder to change people's choice of resource.
I buy the Whitman and Marcus 2X2 plastic holders in various sizes, the boxes that they come in I save them to put my foreign coins in. I buy a lot of good but gently used supplies, like the 2X2X9 red boxes, the plastic holders mentioned above, and Whitman folders for my foreign coins.
last time I found a good deal on supplies I bought in bulk and now have a personal stock larger than my dealers inventory, just got tired of running out of things and am impatient so went ahead and got what I think is a lifetime supply, not much profit in selling in bulk I guess but that is how I like to buy things.
I tend to buy in bulk as well. I'll get a supply of two by two's and currency holders and such things to last me several years at a time. Things like albums I buy when I need them, but usually from my local dealer, who tends to carry them, but not the other supplies I need. Guy
Thanks for the input guys. I'm working hard with a few wholesalers to negotiate prices. I have a goal of offering a tiered shipping system. All items individually priced for shipping but with a shipping cap of $5-8. That way small orders have reasonable shipping and large orders won't kill the buyer with s/h. It will probably be after the start of 2011 before I open, but as always I appreciate everyone here for chiming in.
This thread is timely for me. I did a "search" and landed here. My first order is in with JPSCorner now. - Thanks.
That's what happened to me too. I bought to save on shipping and got an awful lot of stuff that's going to take a while to use. But, I actually ran short of some things, go figure ?
I think most of the guys gave you very good advice. Some items can be stored and others maybe not so well. Books become outdated amd so do folders, albums, etc. You might try and include just a few of these items with each order placed so to keep a fresher inventory. While stocking up on items that are more timeless, like loupes, etc. Just a thought.
