Considering becoming a flea market coin dealer. Any advice?

Besides being a collector I've been playing hobbyist dealer for years. Usually selling at 1 to 3 yard sales a year. I've done OK with it and grown my inventory.
Now I'm seriously considering moving up and trying my hand at the local flea markets with it.
This is still just a hobby and not intended to be an income or anything like that.
I'm wondering if anyone here has gone that route? Any advice or things I should know going into it?

 

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I know I've seen a lot of ridiculously overpriced coins as flea markets. I'm sure there's a booth rental fee you have to take into consideration. Also, I think it would be wise to have it within eye sight of workers. I haven't sold at a flea market, but as a customer I like cases orderly and not stuffed full. The best I ever saw looked like an old jewelry case with several shelves. It turned and coins were set up on little plastic stands. Plus, it locked.

 

Just be fair. The worst advertisement in the world are people talking poorly about your price or your product. Be fair and be honest and customers will flock to your door.

 

Try to change your inventory as frequently as possible. Most people don't want to revisit a display case with mostly the same items month after month.

 

Your business depends on your honesty and word of mouth advertising. You’d have to make deals. If you don’t no one will buy from you. Yard sales are fine but as a flea market dealer you’ll need to keep records for federal, state and local taxes. It’s an entirely different ball game so I’d suggest you contact a local tax representative.

 

All great points and advice from the posters above.

Do not forget, or downplay, the necessity for security. Not always so much getting to the market, but certainly during the market hours and even moreso after the market closes and you're leaving and also while heading home. Being followed and robbed or burglarized is a very real threat.

I would definitely zigzag your route going home while constantly checking your rear view mirror for anyone possibly following you.

Remember, you'll be publicly displaying your possessions of value. Not everyone has nefarious intent, but all it takes is one.

Be safe. Best of luck in your new venture.

 

just bring the wives along for security.

 

Breaks my heart that we live in a world where these are genuine and very valid concerns. We used to have a fellow here that posted regularly that was shot in the head by a crook in his shop. He played dead on the floor of his shop until the criminal left and praise the good Lord, somehow survived the ordeal.

 

Oh flea markets. Brings back memories of high school. I had a large collection of sports cards and would set up a table every weekend at the flea market. As I recall I ended-up purchasing more than I sold.

 

My boy worked at a flea market close to my old house. He worked there every weekend leading up to Fathers Day when he was a kid emptying garbage and sweeping floors. Did all that to buy me three really pretty Morgans he saw down there. They were very pretty and very bogus. Edges weren’t even reeded. That was twenty years ago. I still have them and never told the boy to this day that he worked himself all those weekends for bogus Morgans.

 

What a sweet and king loving son!

 

I'm truly sorry that they were bogus. But, the act itself was totally real and from the heart and you can't put a price on that. You raised a good kid, that, I have no doubt, is now a good man! Way to go "Dad"!!!

 

Thanks everyone.

I hope to keep my prices fair. So far with yard sales the only people who have weren't happy with my prices were those who wanted collector coins at melt.
I do have some concerns as flea market customers like to haggle and I'm not sure yet how far i can lower my prices and still make enough to cover the new expenses.

Security i don't think will be much more of an issue. i already have to take precautions as people already know i have coins from the yard sales.
I pay attention to my surroundings and have a license to carry.

This is actually something I've considered. But sealing more often and having fees to cover I'm worried I'll be pushing my ability to bring new stock in.
Selling in person I can easily buy from the public. I lose out on that option at the local antique places.

 

Everyone has a different strategy. Personally, I like to price my items for slightly less than what I think is retail or if I got that item for a great price I sometimes mark it lower than I usually would to "pass the deal down". When I give my best price, that's my best price, I'm not going to haggle down from there. My best price may also change depending on the customer. The guy who makes an offer on everything just to feel like he got a deal, generally gets a different price than the young person buying their first silver half dollar or the repeat customer who's friendly and respectful.

 

At least he looks happy and has a Cigar.
Maybe some food also from @dwhiz and his Donut shop.

 

I currently set up at a flea market, and some months business is incredible, while other months it's not so good.

How much you will get per month depends on location, competition, and who you are targeting. Most of my sales are composed of items for a few dollars, or silver, which quickly adds up either way. The most I've done in a month is just over $800 (was in October, which seems to be a good month for me in coin dealing), and the least I've closed out at was about $180, which was in my first month.

Take the advice of Mike (ToughCOINS) and put it to good use. The only problem with declaring profits is that in a traditional flea market, how you know what you've sold can all depend on who is working and what they type into the register. If I see I sold a coin for $5, and it says something like "buffalo", I have a good idea of what it is, but if it says "coin", and I have multiple $5 items, it can get difficult.

Once you pull out of the flea market, it can be really hard to get back in (most of them around me have waiting lists as long as a year), so if you have a rough month with selling, it's best to stay there for at least a little while longer.

The first month will likely be somewhat uneventful as people start to see your case. If you have what they like, it can pick up fast.

If your customers are happy with your prices, then you're doing good even if it's not as much monetarily.

Finally, expect it to be completely unpredictable. You could have someone buy $200 or more in a single transaction, or someome could buy a coin for $0.20 - personally, I perfer consistency. If you can sell $10 every day, that beats selling $300 in a single transaction for the entire month, because $10 each day likely signifies returning customers.

Yeah, this is kinda long but I hope it helps. I'd recommend doing it.