I am 25 yrs old and have only been collecting for about 4-5 years can't remember exactly, but I really love coins and I've learned a lot from this forum and others, still have a lot to learn though. So here's my question: I've been thinking of opening a business, and I was considering a coin shop. What are your thoughts in today's market? Also, where do dealers get their supply of coins? I assume other dealers sell them coins they can't move, and coin shows, but are there any special places to get started? Finally, is it better to be online only right now or is it better to have both a physical shop and a virtual shop? Thank you very much for your help! Jarrid
You had better get a bunch more experience under your belt before you consider doing this. Dealing coins is tricky business!
Hello & welcome to Cointalk. Check out this thread - DEALERS I would agree with Badthad- Online & vest pocket 1st if you have to.
Best advice I can deliver on this is get another 20 years minimum of experience in the hobby and then see if that is still what you want to do. No sense drowning yourself and your finances in a business you haven't had the time to learn. Guy~
Search posts on CoinTalk There have been and are many posts on CoinTalk that will help you learn about coin dealing, and yes it is very tricky. One company used to take new buyers to a major show give them $2000 and tell then to spend it all and make back at least $1500 (of course you must document all transactions) and they would be doing AAAA+ - now many of us would like to think we could do that but when your in the trenches, well, it's not as easy as you think. Search on here for How Dealers, or Where do dealers, or just Coin Dealers and you should be able to pull up plenty of info. and one more thing, One more thing, BUY the book, BUY the book, BUY the book, BUY the book, BUY the book,
Most definitely start off with just a small online (or as BG said, "vest pocket") type of selling first. You need to get your feet wet and just see how shark infested the waters are before taking a full dive. I would have to ask, though, what are your motivations in all of this? Your motivations and goals well most definitely play a roll in the type of dealer you would likely become.
Jarrid, I know it may seem that others are being rather "negative" with their responses but they are good responses. At age 46 I have worked in a successful shop for less than a year now and see what it takes and it takes a lot. We deal with several "vest pocket" dealers and believe me those guys run their butts off What they get in return though is contacts with MANY different dealers. Two of our vest pocket dealers ran shops at some point. One works for us on occasion if we're really swamped. They run errands for us that usually in volve a lot of driving, money and time. They are compensated for it. Start small with shows perhaps and do your reading. Make the contacts. Learn the ropes. You'll find there is a lot of hard work involved. As you grow THEN think if you can really make a living at it.
If you have to ask, you are not ready and like others have said...you will need more years of experience regarding the coin market/hobby as well as good business practices in general. But, if you insist on jumping into the shark pool head first I agree with the ebay/vest pocket model or specializing in a certain niche such as a certain type or series. It is pretty easy to get cherry picked and leave money on the table when buying and selling if you have very little knowledge on a wide breadth of series or types. The most successful dealers usually have studied a single series or type and built their business around that primary focus Don't forget that you'll need plenty of liquid capital-cash...and many who wish to be more than bullion traders find that they must get involved in the national and regional coin show circuit in order to build relationships w/ other dealers and find fresh material for inventory. There's a lot more but, it is very similar to any business (restaurants, hotels, real estate, retail) ... You have to have a solid financial base to weather the bad times and knowledge of your product.
Making money buying and selling coins is a pretty difficult thing to do. If you do decide you want to do this now, make sure you don't invest more than you can afford to lose.
I whole heatedly agree with what others have said... With the advent of EBay most start up brick and mortar coin shops are struggling. I am 26 and got into an established coin shop and eventually ended up owning it. I tell you it was all luck... I have been doing coins since age 7 and buying and selling for more then 10 years. Find local and regional shows to attend at first to get your feet wet and then as you get more advanced you buy a table and set up. The hard part is to find the inventory... That is where established brick and mortar shops have the advantage. We definitely wholesale lots of extra inventory to show dealers... but you really have to know your stuff to buy that way or you'll just make the shop dealer mad.
I have a friend who wants to do the same thing. I'm not sure what kind of loans you'll be able to get in this economy though. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
thank you all for your comments. i will take them to heart, it was just an idea that i was kicking around, but i understand that i don't know everything. what i kinda considered was a pawn shop that actually dealt in coins (unlike some that really don't mess with coins at all), because i have a lot of different skills that mesh with the whole pawn shop thing, like for example i build guitars as a hobby and play 9 musical instruments as well as own a recording studio, so i have a lot of experience in that area, but i just really thought it would be neat to add coins into the mix since i really love researching coins and collecting coins, and i thought i might be able to use some of my collection to start with, but i guess it's a bad idea lol thanks again jarrid
I wouldn't say it's a bad idea...just something that needs serious thought (like any business endeavor). Why not "volunteer" or become an apprentice for one of the local B&Ms in your area...or work as an assistant for one on the weekends at local/regional shows? This would give you a clear idea of what to expect in the biz without being heavily invested...and you might learn a thing or two?
i wish i could do that, but unfortunately there arent any coin stores within a 2 hour driving distance from where i live any other ideas? there is a pawn shop that kind of deals with coins about an hour away?
In 4 days, my 1st year anniversary of my website/ show dealing happens,. I will have a very insightful thread from a newbies perspective:goofer:
In all honesty, to get a first hand look at what it's like selling. I would advise you sell and trade online stuff, so you get an idea what stuff "actually" sells for. An dset up a table at a show. Maybe not a coinshow, that's pretty heavy stuff, but maybe an antique show or something. I've set up a table at an antique show twice now and it has taught me alot about what moves and what doesn't.
how much cash and how much in inventory for an online store? and what is a good general basis on inventory (i.e. in general, what should i stock?)
