Dealer, Collector, Dealer/Collector?

Yup

 

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When I was a kid we had hip-pocket bootleggers who would carry half-pint bottles of whiskey in their back pocket to sell...

 

You raise a good point. But suppose you do various odd-jobs like you described with enough frequency that you'd consider it a part-time job in addition to your day job? I guess I'm asking: can one be a part time dealer? I would think: surely, if one is constantly devoting, say, 20 hours a week to it . . .

But, to each (definition) his own! ;-)

As for me: part time collector. I hardly ever sell anything (except for some quick purchase-and-flip-'em instances)

 

I deal to pay for school. It’s fun to an extent, but I don’t enjoy the stress of selling and the pressure of finding material. It takes up a lot of my free time.

Otherwise, I just buy an excess of what I like at a wholesale price, keep what I want, and casually move the rest on to new homes to pay for what I keep.

 

DUDE!!!

 

You could also work as a waiter in a restaurant. No stress, no pressure.

 

I’m working full-time as an engineering intern. I just need a little more than I will make at the end of it.

 

Fun stuff, hope you make a ton in selling your coins.

 

The goal is around $2500. I made $6000 last summer from coins.

One more semester of school left!

 

I started out as a collector at 18, quickly started flipping to fund the collection. Within a few years I started selling to fund major expenses. Over time I developed relationships with a few dealers and started working as a vest-pocket guy while I completed 5 years of graduate school. After school when my discretionary income boosted I had the increased capital to really start dealing on the side in order to fund my collection. After a few more years of that we moved out to California and I contacted an auction house on a whim to see if I could play a bit while I found another "real" job.

Six years later I'm having more fun and making more money as a numismatist than I had planned to with my chosen career. I have limited motivation to ever return to real work, but I guess the education is good as a backup plan.

For obvious reasons, I've learned more in 6 years than I had in the previous 12, but the 12 spent grinding were absolutely essential to being able to operate at a higher level. When we look for new numismatists the thing we consistently struggle to find are people who understand the basics. If anyone wants to be a dealer on the side or do this full-time, start with cheap stuff and don't pigeon-hole yourself into anything too specific at first. Learn everything and be willing to flip things for a couple dollars profit (or loss). Your numismatic education comes from the grind. I didn't really understand that until I did this professionally.

 

What branch of engineering?

 

Aerospace

 

Collector, and only fair to middlin' at that.

 

The survey should have had another option; a collector who periodically sells to support life changes. I selected collector in the survey because I buy coins as a hobby to satisfy my current interest. However, I sold most of my collection twice; the first to pay off debt and the other to help finance a second home before retirement. Overall I paid more money than I got selling them. I have no regrets in that regard since in both instances I ended up in a better personal situation. Coin collecting is a hobby and entertainment for me. What I lost monetarily selling the coins was well worth the entertainment factor.

 

My girl friend (at the time), who attended EKU was a bootleg whiskey source for our weekend batch-mix parties at college in Ohio in the early ‘70s.

To the point of the OP, I am a collector in the true sense of the word, selling only low grade duplicates.

 

I only sell any coins that I have upgraded from which is only about 5-10 coins a year. Used to be a lot more.

 

Gotta ask...where would you sell "low grade duplicates"?

 

Other collectors who want to fill spots or dealers who want inexpensive stock... usually at monthly coin club meetings. In this case low grade is good to very fine.

 

I was a collector but was buying all over the place when I liked stuff. I made the big step of taking a table at a show a decent size regional show and did well and got hooked. I’ve bought more to sell than for myself since life made me sell a large part of my collection too but I’m also a full time antique dealer to and have my restoration woodwork business too