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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SuperDave, post: 2759780, member: 1892&quot;]At the risk of being Captain Obvious (and praying no offense is given): <i>Study your customers, not your coins</i>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Is there any pattern to what you&#039;re selling, either from the website or in-person transactions at shows? Anything you can glean from what currently turns over more quickly? I&#039;ve seen your stuff in person; you don&#039;t stock &quot;crap&quot; and everything appeals to an interested party who knows what they&#039;re looking at, so you don&#039;t have to worry about &quot;dogs&quot; fogging the results.</p><p><br /></p><p>Few dealers have instant national recognition; it&#039;s still a hobby where people develop followings which spread fairly slowly via word-of-mouth unless you strictly specialize, which ain&#039;t for the faint of heart. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s difficult, in the absence of such general appeal, for me to imagine that reducing inventory could be of assistance despite the logistical problems it creates. One thing that sticks in the back of my mind, if ever I travel your path as a dealer, is that <b>everything</b> will be imaged in quality sufficient that even if I don&#039;t bring it to a show, I&#039;ll have nice images on the laptop to show a customer who asks for something I don&#039;t have on-hand. You&#039;re backed up by a good website, so it would expand your appeal to have the ability to hook someone at a show - the demographic is those who are seeking specific coins, with a bit of patience - and then when you get home, place the coin on the website by previous arrangement for purchase. </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;d lean towards your third option, if only to protect your investment. Personally, as long as I can look at a coin in-hand my upper limit for raw coin value is whatever the maximum is I can afford that day. Most are more risk-averse, though, so unless you&#039;re going to specialize it&#039;s probably not good business to tie up a bunch of capital in high-end raw stuff.</p><p><br /></p><p>The answer to <b>every</b> numismatic dealer&#039;s inventory problems is more inventory, as long as you can tolerate the investment. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Understanding we can&#039;t really do that, though, maybe it&#039;s an avenue worth exploring to consider how you could carry and sell a <b>bunch</b> more than you physically bring to shows.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, I&#039;ve completely ignored your most pressing question, because the answer to that one is simple and unilateral. The only way you grow your business without occupying more physical volume is to go upmarket, either via individual coin value or strict specialization. There just ain&#039;t no other answer.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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