Question for all the veteran dealers!!!

That's actually a really good idea. I second this.

 

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Being well-educated, experienced in business, having deep pockets and not averse to risk-taking are all admirable qualities, but Conder said it best, and it really isn't a joke about starting with $2 million to end up with a $1 million inventory.

There are so many variables that can apply to one series and not to others. Every series has their keys & semi-keys. One grade bumps can mean the difference in a four-figure value or more, and they're different for every type and denomination. Are you going to pull out your handy-dandy Red Book, CDN or ANA Grading Standards for every coin that comes into your store? Learning to grade takes a long time for each series, and then there is market grading.

Today, China is turning out fakes that are fooling some of the best dealers around. How do you expect to be able to overcome an obstacle like this in two years when some of these dealers having 30-40 years experience can't?

I was a bartender for 20 years, and I was very, very good at it. I never worked at a bar where I didn't increase sales and profits. In those 20 years, I have met an untold number of "entrepreneurs" who had always wanted to own a bar simply because they spent so many years with their elbow propped on the other side of it. The problem with that is, and I was never able to convince someone like that otherwise, that just because you have the money doesn't mean you know the right way to run a bar.

Sure! It's your money, and you can do what you want, but please let me know when you open your B&M. I'll order a huge shipment from China to sell to you at very good prices.

Chris

 

Simple fact is do you really think a stock trader asks other traders what to buy and what to sall. Your asking the competion for tips of how to grow your business.
About like asking these guys to share a Big Mac.

 

I have been following this thread and decided to weigh in. I'm not going to tell you to bail on this venture or that you are going to fail. It is clear that you and your partner are committed to going forward with a business plan. I can appreciate that you both are educated and experienced in business, and intelligent. The issue you and your business partner face is not ambition and resourcefulness, it is subject matter knowledge. If you want to jump in and learn on a curve, feel free, but realize that any business plan has to consider your knowledge about the business you are jumping into. The coin industry is a very diverse albeit, specific field. Sure you can market and sell, but you have to know what you are selling and more importantly what you are buying. Learn as much as you can, and listen to sage advice I am sure will be offered by other dealers (yes I am sure they will offer advice), and evaluate your progress early on to gauge where you need improvement. Best of luck to you. I hope you do well with your venture.

 

From their last comment My guess is that they know and understand "business", and the have a "business plan".

They say

Which now makes me suspect that what they are planning is to HIRE the numismatic knowledge they need. If they have the money, and are able to hire the right people, they might just be able to make a go of it.

 

I agree. I never count anyone out in business, and hiring expertise is not uncommon.

 

Yes, but you still need to know your stuff. Just because you hire someone to "be your brain", doesn't mean it's gonna be a yellow brick road. Usually this just means that the people you hire turn out to be the ones ripping you off, because one is too ignorant to know otherwise. Happens all the time in business.

 

How to make $1,000,000 selling coins....... first start with $2,000,000......

 

Just because you have experience in business, this does not mean you have experience in the coin business, I think you are diving into shark infested black waters which are way over your head, I have been collecting for a two years now and am nowhere near ready to start dealing, so buying some coins earlier this week doesn't make you a dealer.

 

Personally, if you are deadset on opening a business such as this, narrow your scope a little to protect yourself a little better. Obviously there will always be risks, though. I would recommend maybe just selling bullion, junk coins, and jewelry at first. Stay away from high end coins until you learn more about them. Yes this means that you would have to run a picky business, but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Like many others have said, it will take years and honestly you'll never know everything. But you shouldn't be afraid to start either, afterall that is what America is all about, right.

 

WOW!?!?! I am absolutely speechless at the level of negativity in this forum. And the notion that you know we'll fail with "absolute certainty" is so lacking any level of intellectual acumen that it renders your opinion worthless.

Am I not entitled to a learning curve? The world is full of success people who were told this very thing. I look forward to the "I told you so" that's headed your way.

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It is his opinion that he stated. You were the one to invite opinions on this, and if you want to call the opinions given "worthless" then IMO that is only YOUR opinion.

You certainly are entitled to a learning curve, but most people get that with experience before going into a business "in the dark" so to speak. I, personally, wouldn't jump in with both feet to a business, there are too many variables, and too many people, employees and customers that are there either to rip you off or employees that aren't worth their salt. You will end up micro-managing everything (My Opinion of course) and no-one is so good as to know every facet of what their business needs. You may be the exception, but I doubt it, based on the comments you are giving back to good people that are honestly trying to give you information.

 

Kasia...Please forgive me if I have offended or insulted you. My comment to GDJMSP was strictly pertaining to the intellectual fallacy of speaking in absolutes and how such comments undermine otherwise reasonable arguments.

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I am awaiting the "I told you so" that will happen once somebody sees this thread a year later and you still haven't posted. We are just giving you the hard truth, the chance of you succeeding is extremely slim, maybe you don't know how deep the water is because you've never been in it before.

 

Kasia's post has made me realize that some of my responses have appeared personal.

Please accept my apology if I have insulted or offended anyone. I have learned a lot from this forum and hope to learn a great deal more from it's talented and knowledgeable members.

Thank you all again for ALL the responses in this thread.

And a special apology to GDJMSP if I offended you ...it was the opposite of my intention.

 

No, you haven't offended me or insulted me at all, I think I just reacted viscerally to your statement. (That and I tend to be like Slappy Squirrel sometimes). I may not even be who you are looking for an opinion from, as I have never been a coin dealer. I have, however, sold on eBay and did not the best, I saw the I sold it on Ebay B&M franchise at Clackamas go from a start-up to out of business within a year and the owner/franchisee losing all his money basically because he was confident that he would be able to make a go of it. I also saw my sister's franchise of 1800GotJunk operate for 5 years before she had to sell due to the poor economy not making it feasible for her to continue it. I helped her out and saw first-hand some of the things that go on in a business, including the initial writing of a business plan, and the money lost to bad checks and bad credit cards, employees that didn't care, etc.
Yes, you could make it work, there are many success stories out there of people without a dime to their name making huge successes of themselves and I hope you are successful at what you do. But the majority don't.

 

I think you are entitled to a learning curve, but jumping into a business like this will make a very expensive learning curve I believe sir. I understand about putting together business plans and the like, i have put them together as well, (taught how to do it as well). My point was that most business plans will be rejected if you do not have experience in the industry. A friend wanted to buy a pizza place once, and in the contract he, (at my suggestion), put in the seller had to stay on for 4 months and show him how to run it. He never stops thanking me, since he said he would have been hosed by vendors, and had no clue how to handle various problems that come up.

Again, that is why I was suggesting working in the industry for a while to learn. Business degrees, business plans, and the like are fine, but nothing teaches a man how to do a job better than doing it day in, day out. I have been a collector for over 30 years, have graded umpteen thousand coins, and I would never think of doing what you propose without having some experience actually running a shop and seeing transactions take place.

Just my opinion WarriorPoet.

 

Well, I'm willing to help for a fee.


All kidding aside, why do you feel the need to jump into the coin business so fast? At the LEAST, if you really want to enjoy the hobby, I would think you would sit back, learn the ropes and just collect for a while. Many will say once you turn it into a business, it's hard to enjoy the hobby as much. You might find coins don't even interest you anymore. If you and your buddy are still interested after 10 years, then maybe there's something there.

Truth be told, I've heard dealers are a tight knit group. They buy a lot of inventory between each other at wholesale or less. I've gotten the impression that any Joe Blow off the street that comes along thinking they're going to set the world on fire, isn't going to join the club over night. I think it's a unique business. You better be at the top of your game and highly knowledgeable if you want any respect or expect to turn a profit. It's a different world than most businesses.

I'm just a collector. As an adult, I've collected pretty hard since 2008. I've read and studied a lot. Been to a lot of shows. Have seen a lot.

I feel like I'm up on quite a bit but after a few years, I can't say I have specialized knowledge in any one thing. I can say the counterfeits pouring in from China are scary and you better be able to spot one. Especially the Morgans. I think fake Morgans fool people on these forums occasionally. With the right size, weight, metal content, and look with no major flaws, they fool dealers at shows. A dealer at one show was going to buy a whole set of them for 30k before the seller tipped them off that they were Chinese fakes. And these are people that know what they're doing!! They make fakes of everything nowadays. Not just the key dates. People in the US buy them from China for next to nothing and then re-list them as the real thing for pure profit.

Well good luck with whatever you decide to do. I'm sure you know there's a lot to learn before you jump in the game.

 

I know Vess made that statement in jest, but I actually think it's one of the smartest things you could do if you're dead set on becoming a coin dealer and you've got deep pockets. Hire someone you trust who has years or decades in the business. Let them do your buying/selling initially while you learn. Offer them a salary and incentivize them by offering a cut of the profits as well.

I know the people on this forum have been hard on you, but it is a tough business with lots of potential pitfalls. Everyone who's ever succeeded has been told they couldn't do it at some point. Good Luck!