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Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 521401, member: 6036"]When thinking of "margin"... often dealers sell coins they have NO money in. They take coins on consignment from collectors etc.  In addition, sometimes they fill want lists from clients by getting coins from other dealers without putting up cash. They go to a show (FUN, Long Beach, EAC, etc) and the dealers check out each other's stash - during setup time BEFORE the public shows up.  Let's say Dealer A has a great coin but no buyer. Dealer B has someone back home who might be interested. A fronts the coin to B who then goes back home and offers it to his client. If the coin sells, A makes some profit and so does B, who never put money into it in the first place. In a sense, B makes money based on service rendered, not merchandise. If the coin doesn't sell, B brings it to the next show and returns it to A. Or maybe they work some other deal - trade, etc. In some ways, dealers are in competition. In other ways they work with each other. There's a lot of money flyin' around based on trust and a handshake. It's opportunistic, almost like a barter system.[/QUOTE]