Becomming a dealer

Hello all,
I am fairly new to collecting bank notes and would like to try my hand at becomming a dealer. I have a few notes, in my own collection that I can start offering for sale (on ebay etc) but the question I have is how do I go about getting notes at wholesale prices so that I can resell them on.. I understand that this may be a sensitive topic and that people would not want to share their secrets to the greater community online, so if anyone has any suggestions to offer and is willing to share, please contact me offline on tegwin_15 at yahoo.co.uk.

Thanks
Best Regardss

teg

 

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run ads saying cash for you cash then offer 1/2 what you can sell it for. Sort of like those American Picker dudes do. The principal is the same in all sales. buy low, sell high. Start out by hanging out at Senior Centers and see who wants to sell their old stuff for half what a collector might pay for it. kidding! sort of.. but thats the idea.

it'll cost 20% or so to sell on eBay, which I have heard is far cheaper than trying run a B&M.. EBay is super competitive, build a better mousetrap. rots a ruck!

 

Teg,

You might also want to consider taking consignments to offer on eBay for your friends and acquaintances. This can enable you to build a good reputation on a local level, and provide a small amount of commission income to help fund your own purchases. Keep in mind that these consignors may also become buyers who could use your services to locate other items and produce additional commission income for you.

Chris

 

First of all, don't quit your day job. You will need to fist start out as a part time dealer or whats known as a vest pocket dealer. I also hope your properly capitalized in order to buy when the opportunity presents itself. Another flag here is your comment of just starting out to be a collector and already you want to be a dealer. Will you be buying correctly? Will you be able to tell when you have a good wholesale price? Will you be able to sit on some of your inventory while you wait for the correct buyer to come along? That said, I would recommend you go to the larger shows were they have dealer day prior to opening up to the public. It may cost $100 or so to get early entrance, but if this isn't affordable, you are telling me your under capitalized before you start. You probably should join the ANA so you have something going for your legitimacy. These dealers are going to be talking about spending $1000+, and you being new, will need to have cash on hand. It's never as easy as it looks. We all would be dealers if it was.

 

Thanks guys for all the help. I will start by looking on ebay. I am a member of IBNS, so have some legitimacy through that.

 

Thansk all ..I will give ebay a go.. Any ideas on the people on ebay to look out for who I can purchase wholesale from

 

To be successful on the bay you really need to have items that are on the rarer side
The competition is just to great on run of the mill items plus the fees charged will
take away any and all profit,s take it from a former e-bay power seller!

 

Yes I was just thinking of starting a website and selling on that (as well as ebay).. So I would keep most of the profits. Its just where to buy them from

 

naaaaa.... I am at 40% gross on common Certified wheats. 20% net. success! of course it breaks down to about an dollar an hour. Now if I could just figure out how to multiply the volume by 100x using the same amount of time.

 

If you're buying currency online, beware of raw un-graded notes that look really good...washing and ironing ugly notes to make them more attractive (higher grade) is a common "trick" of the selling trade. Some may argue that washing and ironing does really add value to the note if it's done well - on the other hand, a tampered with note may be hard to re-sell later on.

before:


after - same note:

 

Here's another wash-job example...

before:


and after (same note):

 

I asked a similar question when visiting my dealer friends at FUN in Tampa earlier this year; "How and/or where do you find the notes in your inventory?" I asked Billy & Willie at USA Rare, Alex at ADP Currency, and several other dealers with internet and eBay sales, and everyone agreed that buying currency is harder than selling currency. They also said that coin/currency shows draw sellers as well as buyers, estate sales, auctions, word of mouth, and being at the right place at the right time. Being able to grade, and authenticate is crucial if you're dealing with raw notes, and remember Cash is King when buying or selling at major shows.

 

I think way too many people get their thoughts twisted in terms of identity. There is a big difference between a dealer of raw currency and someone trying to sell some or all of their collection independently. They associate the profits and benefits of being a dealer with a sellers attitude of little risk and being able to come and go in the market as they please. One is a business the other a past time. A business requires more than an inventory to be successful for a long run.

 

WOW, yoyo! Are you going to resubmit to a grading service?
Steve

 

Run ads and pay fair but not top pricing unless you can make money.

 

That is a potentially dangerous combination. My advice would be to learn all you can about the notes you plan to deal in before you actually start dealing. You will need to know how to accurately authenticate, grade, and price notes to be successful. Most collectors do not start out with those skills. Without those skills you open yourself up to making mistakes that could cost you a lot of money as well as harming your reputation.

 

my advice is to not deal in anything of which you would not consider yourself an expert

 

+1

 

No one is a wholesaler on ebay.

 

"Becoming a dealer ?" = Do the crime, do the time !