Retail or wholesale, somewhere inbetween?

I think you've already got a lot of competition -

http://www.amazon.com/Comictopia-Coin-Collector-Starter-Kit/dp/B0030JAZ12

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3w5xq3pl3q_b

http://www.amazon.ca/Whitman-Coin-Collecting-Starter-Kit/dp/1582380708

http://www.amazon.ca/Currency-Collecting-Starter-Bundle-Prestige/dp/B008OHT62E

 

You're planning on selling coins as part of your starter kits. Do you really think any coin dealer is going allow you to compete with him in his own shop ? He doesn't want to sell your coins - he wants to sell HIS coins.

 

Brandon -

I admire the fact that you are trying hard to make your idea work. All too few of our young people would even think about trying to start a business, let alone actually try to start one. But what you are trying to do just isn't a viable idea, for many reasons. First and foremost there are already many, many, businesses and some of them big businesses, already doing what you are trying to do. And you simply cannot compete with them - with this particular idea.

What you can do however is become a coin dealer. Read a little about the history of Q. David Bowers. He was your age, or younger, when he got started. And look at what he became.

Becoming a successful coin dealer is not an easy task by any means, but it can be done. And there will never be a better time for you to start than right now while you are as young as you are. In fact your age may well give you an advantage that adults, people much older than you, could never have. So if you wish to pursue business then try going in that direction, consider becoming a coin dealer in the traditional sense, the simple buying and selling of coins.

 

It can be a good way to start, but to be even relatively successful one needs to have a certain level of knowledge first. Honestly, the best advice I can give you would be for you to find a part time job working in a local coin shop, even if it was just cleaning the place up after closing, at first. And being able to hang out a bit. You could pick up a good deal of knowledge just from that exposure. And hopefully, once your desire to learn becomes evident to the owner, he will take the time to actually teach you.

The journey of life begins with small steps. Taking too big of steps, or leaps, often leads to disappointment or even abject failure.

 

Good question, because 99% of the people involved in numismatics know better than to even waste their time looking at the Blue Book. To be honest, I am utterly amazed that it's even printed anymore - but it is.

 

Brandon there is much to know when it comes to coins, more than you can even imagine. To put that into perspective for you I first began studying coins in 1960, and there is still much that I have to learn. I could spend a lot of time here telling you "why" the Blue Book is worthless, but just take my word for it, it is worse than worthless.

I have already given you the best advice I can give you about how to become a coin dealer. There is no easy way and no shortcuts. It requires a lot of work, a lot of study, and a lot of experience. And yes you have to go through all of that.

As for Amazon, forget about it. In a nutshell Amazon failed as a coin selling venue even before ebay became "the" coin venue.