A local club show offers tables just for that. And a few members rent a table just for a day to do that very thing. But in this situation they are paying for the table which ads money to the show and helps with keeping the show there, advertise for the show to get traffic, security, utilities, set up and take down act... It's way different then trying to Poach deals.
That is a little tougher, since your table fee is so low and they charge an admission fee. Do you know anyone who has a table there? How about offering to split a table with them, saying you just want to post a sign, and maybe put a few coins out so people see you are a real collector. As a bonus, you could get a chair! Just my suggestion. What is really great about splitting a table is that you get to look at the other dealers before the public comes in usually. This itself can be terribly valuable. A friend used to sell stuff at the flea market at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. He always set up ultra fast, and used the extra time to peruse other dealers. He managed to pick up a lot of coins over the years, including a lot of government CC's, since he has first crack at them.
I'd say at least 80% of the tables at our gun shows are people from out of town who sell at all the regional gun shows, so I don't know any of them well enough to try and share a table with them. I was going to share a table with the guy that runs the new coin store in town, so now we're thinking of selling at the next flea market instead. I suppose now might be a good time to look into reserving a table at the next gun show...
What would you think if you reverse it? Your neighbor knows you collect coins. He discovers a 1889 Carson City Silver Dollar--doesn't know much about it and says he will bring it over to sell to you. You say "come on over". On the way yet another neighbor sees him, learns of his mission and tells him he will buy it right there. He sells to that neighbor. Imagine? The difference is that at least you didn't have any money tied up in advertising, licenses, or other expenses required to have a shop open. Perhaps not the greatest example, but one should get the point...
That would be war in my neighborhood! LOL ive kind of done something like this at my local store. I went in and asked if they had any new stuff(really small shop, 3 displays) they didn't but this guy was in there trying to sell some coins. I walked around listening to what he said he had and after a minute or two there's no where else to look or go. So I went out to my car, waiting to see if he had sold them. He came out and I asked if he sold them to the shop and he said no they had to wait for xxxx to look at them. He pulled out one coin to show me, a 2010 ms70 $5 eagle, not my cup of tea but I knew he had more in there. I didn't ask if be would sell them to me, I was just hoping he did sell them to the shop so they'd have something new to look at. Ive done very well on CL postings. I think I'll stick to that.
If they are indeed ripping people off then I wouldn't feel for them. The thing is, these people do not have to sell to them so it isn't ripping people off as much as taking advantage of people who are in need of cash or haven't the clue as to what they have.
Good Morning, Some really great comments over the weekend, wonderful. Duke - Cars/loans compared to selling silver is kinda like apples and oranges. Most of the folks I know selling silver don't have a clue about the market or what they can expect as a fair offer. Compared to cars and bank rates, you can't turn on the TV or radio with out seeing commercials and it's all over the printed press. There is far more information available to the general public so that they can make an informed decision. All the general public knows about selling silver is the "we BUy GOld" adds, the local coin shop in the strip mall next to the dry cleaner or the coin show flyer tacked up on the bulletin board at the grocery store. I'm a grown up, obviously there is more to life than squeezing cents out of people, that's exactly what I am trying to prevent. I'm putting money back in their pockets that other are looking to squeeze. I call squeezing the uninformed childish. Medora - Unfortunately, my hunt for junk silver is something I enjoy when I have a free weekend. Its not a full time activity, it's not even a mission, it's a spare time activity when I see a sign or flyer or have a free day. I dont actively seek out shops, shows or events. Duke - Don't read to much between the lines. I dont want shops and shows to disappear at all. I'm flattered that you think I have that much time and market power to inflict that kind of larm but I don't. I wear my t-shirts all the time and only on occasion frequent shows..there are only 4-5 around here that I know about. You seem to have the wrong impression. I'm not looking to harm dealers, I'm looking to help people, people who dont know what fair is. People who would be walking in to a preditor/prey situation and walk out a loser. I'm giving them information ..Im not making a hard sell. I'm trying to level the playing field because most of the folks I meet are going through tough times and want to change hard assets into cash so that they can pay for day to day life. They deserve to get fair maket value ..using my coin flat** app on my i phone, I show them what spot is ..and show them what fair is. It's all about education and knowlege so they don't get taken advantage of. Thanks so much for the wonderful comments.
At our local show, there are always at least two or three dealers with their silver buy prices posted on whiteboards. At Saturday's show, you would've been in the middle of the pack -- with spot around 20.8x FV, there were people offering 20.3-20.5x. My real point, though, is that dealers are already advertising prices at this show, and the prices are quite reasonable. If dealers were all secretive about their pricing, and were all making lowball offers, I could maybe with the "preventing ripoffs" idea. Still, though, I think you're going about it the wrong way. The economics of our show (charge for tables, free admission) don't work if you can do business without either party buying a table. If you don't like that arrangement, don't deal at the show.
Thanks for the information but I'm not dealing at any show. I might walk through and browse looking for what I collect but I have no aspirations to deal. I get a lot of laughs and snikers as you can imagine. It's a good conversation starter. I actually get approached most at the grocery store, flea market and at softball practice. Most of questions are about how to sell some old roll or baggie full of coins that they have in a drawer or in the closet. The inherent difficulty with a t shirt is that you are locked into a quote regardless of what spot price is doing (for example the nose diver silver has taken recently). Those collectors looking for genuine unsearched rolls and jars might try this approach ..lol. I'm constantly surprised at what people have in their sock drawer and shoeboxes. It's not all junk by any means.
Oh, I'm liking this idea a lot... ...just as long as nobody follows you home to see where you keep your coins.
Dang! Where's the lawyer when you need one. At the risk of hijacking the post, did anyone ever hear anything from Lonegunlawyer?
Yep. I've been quoted 60% of spot for bullion coinage. Obviously some people accept that. I suppose that's true. I know more than one person who has taken his/her car to Carmax and accepted their first offer on the spot. It's like burning cash, but I guess they can do it if they want, right? Quite the contrary. Gold and silver spot prices are published everywhere (including and especially online) and are updated constantly. Now try and find the actual dealer cost on a new car, including holdbacks, incentives, etc. Hint: the "invoice" they show you is totally meaningless.
I was in a LCS once buying a few ASE's when an elderly lady walked in with a bag, and dumped out 150 peace dollars. The guy offered 500 dollars for them all. She took it. I said excuse me, I got no further, both men behind the counter shot me the dirtiest look. I am no math wizard, but I know there is a lot more silver value in 150 peace dollars than 500.00 Also this was at the height of 45.00 silver in 2011. The LCS's around here are not very friendly and some act like you're a bother to deal with.
Sure anyone can google PM prices but who in the real world does this besides geeks, nerds and doomsday preppers? Yeah, ... you guessed it - nobody. Ask any 10 people you meet on the street what spot gold or silver is today and you get blank stares but ask them what their interest is on their saving account and I bet they know it's .ooo1%. If you clear the forrest and look at a tree, my point was that it's been my experience that soccer mom sue and good old uncle joe have no clue what they should get for a roll of silver dimes that dad had in his sock drawer. So when they take it to a show and the dealers says ..i'll give you $30 for the $5.00 roll of dimes ..they think they are getting a deal. All you say is ...hold on there soccer mom sue, that roll is really worth $100.00. Don't sell it for $30.00, I'll give you $80.00.
Financiers and commodities traders, for example. And you don't need to 'google' them, there are charts and apps which you put on your phone or other device that keep you up-to-date 24/7. PM prices are actually a useful (and immediate) proxy for general market conditions, once you understand them.
Walking into a show - where people have paid for a table and the opportunity to buy and sell - wearing a shirt and hiding behind the guise that you are just trying to save the ignorant from being ripped off is utterly pitiful. Anyone smart enough to bring their wares to a group of potential buyers, but too dumb to get more than one offer deserves whatever they get. This nonsense about just wanting to help such people is just that; nonsense. Buy a table like the rest of the dealers you clearly view as scumbags and put your money where your mouth is. Wearing such a shirt in every day life is one thing, but to so at a show is a whole different story. You would be wise to note that as with most everything in life, there is good and bad; it is no different with coin dealers.
A 'We buy gold' shop popped up near my house a couple years ago and there is a guy standing outside holding a sign almost every time I drive by. I often wonder if that place makes any money because I never see any cars in the parking lot. I do know the guy holding the sign out front is being paid $10 an hour because the local newspaper did an article on the previous guy that held a sign for that business. I only go to the local coin show and I've never brought any coins tosell, so I dunno if there are people walking around asking to buy coins from random people. However, at the same place the coin show is(a local multi-use facility I happen to work at)) we have a gun show every six months or so. The rules for both as far as I know are that as long as you keep moving(walking around, not standing in one place) it is OK for people without booths to sell their guns or whatever to someone else who doesn't have a booth. I see people all the time with a rifle slung over their shoulder with a sign sticking out of the barrel with a price on it.
Gun shows are set up differently. There is admission to get in at those shows and the tables are really cheap. So the table costs are not really the driving force of the shows.
