Y'all, Here is one of the biggest challenges to my desire to collect...I live in the sticks...literally. I am about 1 hour from the nearest coin dealer. So seeing as my purchasing options are somewhat limited, I have ended up turning to Ebay...which a lot of folks here seem to shy away from. Are there better options? I saw one thread where a few links were tossed out to the crowd and I have seen information about the mail order houses, such a Littleton...advice? Save up the money and make the drive once a month? Continue to be careful about who I Ebay with (yes, I check the feedback and tend to avoid those who are clearly leeching from folks with their insane shipping costs). -- adrian
Howdy and Welcome! There are alot of online dealers that can be trusted----Littleton is trusted but also high priced---normaly you can find things cheaper elsewhere. I would check out: Ebay Heritage Teletrade for starters----and here are some other links. http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=14152 Speedy
What Speedy said + I would try hitting your local coin guy monthly... Pretty soon, he will start to expect you or atleast recognise you and if he starts to look at you as a regular, they might treat you a bit different.... For example, I go to one of my local shops atleast montly and usally every two weeks (when I get paid)... One of the last times Silver was down a few bucks and OZ, I stopped by my local guy and picked up a few 10 OZ Bars and a his last two tubes of those really old "Generic Silver Trade Rounds" that look like really neatly toned Morgans.... (Over time, I had slowly bought the other 6 rolls he had) Anyway, he said, Hey, I have't seen you in in abit... He then says Smart guy, you always buy my silver when its in a bit of a dip.... He said, if your smart you'll keep putting it away... Today I was in there and I bought 6 Items at what I thought were marked at fair prices ; and as he was ringing them up, he knocked like 3-5 bucks off each thing... I thought it was great as I didn't even ask, he just did it... I saved enough to buy an extra Ounce and a Magazine... Last time I was there, he threw in a Magazine and a coin (for 2x2s) for free... I always listen to what they have to say and thank them for their time and say, welp, see ya next time...
I'm nearly an hour from my nearest dealer. I save up my money and go there occasionally. But I set most of my collecting budget aside for shows. I drive almost 2 hours to St. Louis for coin shows about 3 or 4 times a year, and get most of my coins there. I think it well worth the wait, and the drive. You get a HUGE slection to look at, and see all of the coins up close in person.
Hello, I have about an hour drive to the nearest coin shop as well. I joined a coin club that is about an hour and ten minutes away that meets once a month. Many of the members set up and sell coin and such. We also have an auction where members can put coins up for auction. I ussually get some good buys there. It may be worthing checking and see if there are any coin clubs close by. As far as Ebay goes I have purchased some very nice coins but I get out bid about 20 times to evry one I win.
If you can get to a dealer 10 times a year, that's probably enough. What Speedy pointed out is probably what more and more serious collectors are doing these days. It makes life tough on the local dealers, but it permits the collector to browse through more coins.
I have the same problem. the only dealer that I would call a dealer and not a thief is almost an hour from me. I try a trip or two a month in conjunction with a nice meal or something and a trip to the mall for the wife. Other than that, look at antique stores or thrift stores that have booths rented to people. I have gotten a lot of F XF barber halves and Mercs for a hair over spot form places like that
