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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Publius2, post: 8448781, member: 105571&quot;]No dealer that wants to stay in business is going to pay more in total for a coin at auction than he thinks he can resell for a profit (loss leaders and other special circumstances notwithstanding).&nbsp; There is so much that goes into that calculation that it would be impossible to document here, if I even knew all that&#039;s considered.&nbsp; So, if the coin at auction looks like it&#039;s going to sell at a total cost that is more than the dealer thinks he can make a profit on, he just won&#039;t compete for it.&nbsp; It&#039;s really as simple as that.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is one reason why, sometimes, the auction is a good place for the knowledgeable collector to buy.&nbsp; Ignore however you feel about buyer&#039;s premiums, shipping costs, CC fees and all that other stuff.&nbsp; Only pay attention to what your total cost would be for a particular bid and then do your research to see what you think that coin is worth TO YOU.&nbsp; You can often pick up coins for a price that is somewhere between what it&#039;s worth to a dealer and what that same dealer would sell it to you for. </p><p><br /></p><p>As to dealer&#039;s profit margins, they are all over the place.&nbsp; There are vest-pocket dealers with extremely low overhead and expenses and there are dealers with very high overheads.&nbsp; The coins and customers they pursue are often a function of their expenses but it&#039;s always more complicated than that.&nbsp; But to be successful, a coin dealer must have a margin that is higher than your typical grocery store (2-3%) and less than Apple (20-35%).</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe in the end, to a collector, it is immaterial what a dealer&#039;s business model looks like.&nbsp; Do you like the coin, the price, and the service?&nbsp; Then buy.&nbsp; If not, then walk.&nbsp; Don&#039;t try to second-guess the dealer, it&#039;s a waste of time.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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