how to open a coin shop?

So if I did an eBay store I wouldn't need as much money. Is your own site better or do you think an eBay store is the way to go?

 

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People pawning things in a coin shop, is that normal?

 

Tom B, I do BELIEVE that you and I are in AGREEMENT, LOL. You even thought of some significant issues that I didn't.

The trouble with an eBay Store - you immediately have ten thousand competitors - and you lose the "local" advantage. But it requires much less capital, and you can "work" in your skivvies at 3 a.m., a significant benefit.

You still have a target painted on your back, as crooks know many ways to pry your home address out of you, and having a Post Office box doesn't help, as the USPS is obligated to supply the home address of anyone who engages in commerce. Having a private non-USPS box isn't much help either. As the less-reputable citizens of this bankrupt country become more and more desperate, small business is at the top of their scam list.

Chinese junk? Enters the U.S. by the bucketful. Here's some BU half cents, large cents, and Indians:

 

If anything Tom B has painted much too rosy a picture in certain parts of the country. Think "Hardcore Pawn" but 10X worse. Do you like sleeping with a gun under your pillow? Do you like wondering if every phone call may be suspicious because they are wondering if you are home or in the shop or away? Are you suspicious of cars behind you because they may be following you for the time that is ripe to strike like a mean old rattler snake when you are unsuspecting?

I'm not saying it is like that in calmer or wealthier areas, but it is possible. It could be like "Antiques Roadshow" some days or like going back to college to learn about the royal avocation/vocation of numismatics. Other days it may feel like you are fighting for your life in a warzone. You may need nerves of steel and my hat is off to those who can tough it out and survive through thick and thin and feast and famine.

 

There's a lot of BS in this thread and it seems to be from people who look at the glass as half empty rather than half full. Shoot some of these people thing the glass if full of poison, lol. I own 4 retail stores and taking over a gold buying store at the end of the month. Start small and grow your business. Use craigslist and flea markets. Once you are at the point where you need to do more then look for the best location you can afford. It's all about location and appearance. Spend 1000's on a good sign. It will be worth it!

 

Takes too much money to open a store right off.

I would rent out a booth at the local antique store.

Also I would print out some business cards and hand them out.

NEVER let people come to your house, instead visit theirs. Once people know where you live, then thefts can occur.

Or deal in daylight at mcdonalds.

 

This is the reason we love you, Detecto :smile

 

I prefer to deal under the moonlight.

 

McDonald's needs to develop a diet double cheeseburger for Craigslisters. After all, even after the appointment's agreed upon, you still might have a no-show.

 

I met with someone yesterday at Starbucks to buy some Saints; though I had a currency seller who refused to meet at his Starbucks for fear of security issues.

 

Have you been hanging around my shop???? Aside from the OCCASIONAL nice coin you are spot on.

 

I don't think it would be wise to visit the house of the seller of the items either. A neutral location at a busy public place like a Starbucks would be best.

 

After reading everything everybody has posted i decided to put my story. I have always been interested in coins ever since i was young but never truly dived into into it. About 6 years ago (i am currently 30) my father bought a collection of stuff off of one of his friends sons. It had hundreds of foreign coins, lots of silver coins, and a 10 oz silvertowne bar. He bought this collection for $200. After this purchase and me showing him what it was going for on ebay, he decided to start buying stuff from local stores and selling it on ebay. This went on for over a year, perhaps even two. During this time i really started getting into coins. I read every research book i could buy or borrow, my local coin stores were always teaching me, it was a great experience. After that year or two my father and i decided to start setting up at a local flea market. I know most people think any coin/bullion dealer at a flea market is a rip off, but our goal was to make a million dollars off of a million deals. I do know we went into being dealers before we should have, but at the same time i learned a lot more being on that side of the table then the customer side. We started learning what sells and what doesn't, what made more profit, learning counterfeits from originals. It was probably the best learning experience i could ever have asked for. One person here said starting money with $100,000, and with $1,000,000. We started out with maybe $1500/2000 worth of stuff to sell. We met people, made relationships, had regular customers, and made a little money. we set up at that flea market every week for a couple of years and then I ended up moving to another state. Ironically enough the same month i moved my father and his friend rented out a store front where they could put a pool table in so they had a place to play. It is nothing fancy, rent is cheap, and it was what they wanted. After a couple of months my father decided to make it into a coin/bullion shop so he wouldn't have to go to the flea market anymore. He has put a few thousand dollars into safes and security features for what is now his shop, but he started it with less the ten grand. Yes there are times like this past 2 weeks with the prices dropping he has to sell some stuff at a loss instead of putting it in the safe like most dealers, but he is putting money back in his pocket to buy metals at a new price and making money on it. If somebody wants to try and make a living at this, it is hard, but to say you need at least 5 years worth of income or more ($100,000 and up,i am from volusia county florida, we are poor) i think is crazy. I think what should be pointed out is you will probably be capable of making the business pay for itself, but will not be able to live off of it. If it is something you really want to do, why not give it a shot? Even setting up at a little dirt aisle flea market we were able to see and buy some really interesting things, gain respect from locals and make some money in the process. To bigtree who started this, if you want it, go for it. You might lose, you might win, but what's the fun of doing something if you already know the outcome?

 

An associate of mine is in deep doodoo w/ the law for an incident related to the above. He's been in the resale business since the 1970s, and now he's facing hard time and hefty fines if convicted.

It's scary stuff. You must always be on high alert. You're absolutely right when you say everyone is a potential threat.

 

oh yeah, coins don't sell, everything is either bullion or garbage people bring in like everybody else says

 

Quite a bold statement when you say "everything" is garbage...

We've had plenty of gems walk through our doors. They're not frequent, but it happens.

If you say "everything" that walks in is garbage, that doesn't exactly motivate the OP to follow his dream.

 

i agree, but i mentioned bullion before the garbage! And sure there is always that random thing, i think that one random thing is what drives most of us, i know there is a thread about one person getting a 1942 d over 41 on here, we found an 1844 double date, but it does not happen everyday. Our mod lost dutchman started a thread about items that come into his store. i subscribed to it because he is from a large city, and he has had some amazing things walk in, but for those amazing things, i do not think it would be exaggerating that 200 items or maybe even more came in in between them.

 

Coin-, stamp-, sports card-, Indian relic-, gun-, and many other "collectible" dealmakers reinvent themselves every 10 or 15 years, to adapt to market conditions, scammers, and increased scrutiny by the authorities. The old business models don't work now. Plus, the Internet has changed small business forever. Have you seen a door-to-door salesman recently?

To succeed now, a Seller has to keep a low profile to everyone but his customers, and fly under the radar at all times. I'm waiting for the Government to find an excuse to shut down CraigsList, the last wild and woolly marketplace.

A coin shop makes a great target, as much for the authorities as for the criminals.

 

I know in Vegas, most coin shows are done in the hotels. So in addition to having the promoter provide security, the Casino with their surveillance provides additional security. Most of the time for security reasons the coin shows are in smaller rooms. they may open the partitions to give you a bigger room but there's literally only one way in and one way out. And usually 2-3 guards "milling" around that area. And at that point you still haven't "left the building yet". Not sure if shows in other cities are the same way.