Seeking advice about club coin show

Hey guys,

I joined a small local club about a year ago and it has been plagued with declining show size and dealer attendance (I'm sure this is a frequent issue). So I have been brain storming and among many ideas I came up with one that I wanted to ask you alls opinion about.

I am, among other things to boost turnout and generate income, contemplating hosting a club table at the show or 'renting' a table myself and selling any coins I want to get rid of as well as acting like the clubs own retailer for anything the members may want to sell.

Either way it would work all prices would be agreed upon before hand, percentages and haggling allowances discussed, etc. However the most important fee or percentage would be the fee for actually selling the club members merchandise at top dollar, that would be say 10% of the sale price of the coin/item.

That 10% would be the donation to the club for hosting the show, having the opportunity to sell your coins to an engaged audience, etc.

This would be to generate income in order to advertise more thoroughly for the next show and to help implement ideas to merge two counties under one club to combine forces and potential show turnout, etc.

Now my hesitation comes with respect to the dealers that are paying for the same audience and now the host is or has direct competition on the floor. How do you dealers and collectors feel about the idea?

 

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If this show is plagued by declining attendance, is it really fair to say that there is an "engaged audience" ready and willing to pay top dollar? Perhaps I have misunderstood you, but another table offering coins at premium prices isn't likely to drive people through the doors. It has been my experience that at small local club shows, price is the biggest selling point, even above quality, so while the idea may sound good, I am not so sure that the results would be as hoped for. I'm not sure how others would feel about the host club also having a table, but is something that you should discuss with dealers already renting and the club in general before giving this too much more thought. With that said, there should be nothing stopping you from renting your own table and accepting consignments from other club members, and if either of you feel a percentage dontation is something you want to do, I don't see why there would be any problems.

 

The problem seems to be like everywhere else, less dealers taking a chance and more folks moving to an online venue to buy and sell.

I am actively looking for easy ways to generate income for the club to tackle some of these problems.

You are misunderstanding me on the engaged audience. I am saying that most of our members don't even know how to sell their coins and are relying on dealers to buy them or things like craigslist. That's not an engaged audience. Most dealers are hawking for the chance for them to make money and often giving around 50% for the coin to the club member. What I am proposing is simply putting those same coins up for sale at retail at a show where people are looking for collectible coins. Not a way to further their business or take advantage of an elderly person.

I also think it would be a service to the club members as they would be closer to getting top dollar instead of 20-50% below wholesale. 10% below retail is a much better scenario.

I also agree this needs talked about among the club. I was just seeing how dealers would feel about the competition aspect.

I also have several other ideas to help boost this show, just none of those ideas would really be worth discussing here as they are location relevant or involve making a new club and merging it with the current one. Things like that.

 

I have no problem with the competition.

However, 20% below retail is more reasonable.

 

The 10% is the consignment charge that club would make for hosting the table for the members. I think the club member receiving full market value for their coins minus the 10% will leave everyone happy in this situation.

 

You seem to be under the impression that obtaining full retail in such a setting, especially with lower attendance, is a walk in the park, and while I commend you for such a noble undertaking, I also fear you are setting yourself up for a big surprise, at least if you continue with this insisting on receiving "full market" or "retail" for anything consigned minus the 10% "donation". I don't know where you're located and therefore am unfamiliar with your local show, but with those that I am familiar with, and as mentioned earlier, the biggest selling point is price. Even with less common/plentiful material, unless priced below to well below bid, it usually sits; with truly common/plentiful material it is even worwe, and these shows, like yours, have suffered from similar attendance issues. If you wish to help club members unload unwanted material, that is great, but just be sure to know your market before making any promises/assumptions. Oftentimes there is good reason why some dealers pay whatmay seem to be very low prices.

 

Put it this way, most of the guys don't have a clue as to price or how to sell it. So researching eBay prices and having a general idea of what the markets are would largely be my task as an advisement type role.

I'm not talking a full dealer inventory either, just various items that the members have and want to sell.

The item also doesn't have to necessarily sell as well, I don't imagine dealers sell out of inventory every show they attend. Plus no one has anything to lose. If it sells, the club gets the 10% and the member gets their asking price (as advised and agreed upon) minus the fee. If it doesn't sell, the member get theirs item back and everyone goes home.

It only has an upside for the club and member. My concern is how other dealers would feel about us doing this. We would be playing the role of host and competition.

I've thought about performing the role of 'dealer' at a show if that ever becomes a problem too. I have another angle that would allow me to work that side and that may be my better option. I've got a local LCS that is a one man operation, he is just too busy to attend the show and I've thought about acting as his agent with a small inventory to add to the feel of more dealers present at the show.

We are also considering expanding and combing other collectibles to the show. Stamps want no part, but post cards, civil war stuff, and Masonic memorabilia, as well as Coke and Pepsi would all do well I think.

I believe more targeted advertising would be beneficial too. The current advertising situation is pathetic to say the least. We aren't even collecting addresses or saving them from our raffle. That was close to 500 unique people that we have no record of now and no way to email a show reminder or mail out a show card. My town and general area is a HOT bed for retirees coming down from up North, several communities fit the target demographic of the average coin collector, but no targeted advertising to get them to come out. There aren't even posters being distributed at my local LCS and he would have a HUGE incentive to draw people to the show, as he attended years past. As well as no posters at any antique malls.

I'm gonna address changing dates to more tourist intensive times of year, or around major summer holidays. The show is at the beach so there is a festival weekend, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and any of those would generate more public traffic.

I also considered addressing a venue change. The show is near the beach the last weekend of September. I've thought about moving it to the beach front hotel the second or third week in October to maybe entice dealers down for a last glimpse of summer at the beach. Also with the thought of reduced room rates and convention hall rates since it would be out of season and not near any major holidays.

Those are just a few ideas, some of which require funds, which I was trying to raise by the original thought of this thread. Hosting a club table to sell club members unwanted coins for a 10% consignment donation to the club if the item sells.

 

My local club does bi-annual shows. We early on decided to limit the number of tables available to be sold. The dealers see a coin buying audience and more tables means a smaller share of the pie for them.

We have focused on advertising our shows. Small flyers are available at every local coin show within a 3-4 hour driving distance. A dealer friend carry's them to those shows for us. In a small city we have had great success with our local AM radio station. We also ask each person that comes into our show, how they heard about us. Was it the local radio, Coin World ad, newspaper ads (both free circulars and paid press), local signs/posters, a local dealer that referred them, etc? This information helps us focus on advertising that works.

Bringing in buyers is what it is all about. With good traffic you can sell out your available tables and have dealers on a wait list for a table.

Edited to add:
Do you keep attendance records? We give out a free hourly door prize ticket to each man, woman or child that comes in the door. It's easy to subract the first ticket number from the last one to get total attendance. The hall we rent is an American Legion hall. The legions auxullary runs the kitchen. They make a little money and provide a needed service. The dealers like the 6 different sandwiches they offer, with chips, drink and a cookie for $5.00. Happy dealers are worth a lot

 

Right now we have 10-15 tables and that is about half the size it was 10 years ago from what I am told.

I have several ideas to implement and advertising is my major focus alongside fund raising to pay for it.

I appreciate all the feedback and help. I really want to build our local area up with this hobby and am working diligently to find solutions to the problems I am seeing.

 

I don't think you would have a problem with the dealers as long as you PAY the club for the table just like they do and not just get a free one. And you probably shouldn't take a choice location right at the entrace. Most dealers tend to prefer to be close to the entrance and work there way there over the years as closer dealers stop coming. If someone new just steps in and takes a choice location it could cause resentment.

 

Paying for the table would depend on how it was advertised. If it was advertised as So-and-So Coin Club Table it shouldn't cost anything.

If I am acting and representing myself as a dealer/broker and selling my coins for a profit with no donations, etc, while selling the coin club members coins too. Then the table fee should be paid.

 

I'm not exactly sure what the difference is here. No matter what color you paint it, if you set up a table and try to sell coins, you are "acting and representing" yourself as a "dealer". Whether it's your own inventory or selling other's coins on consignment (which in essence is what you propose to do), you'll be in direct competition with the other dealers who are probably paying for table space, and rely on the sales to supplement or provide their income, and I think this is a bad idea. It's a losing proposition, because if you try to sell for "retail pricing", the bigger dealers would undercut you. If you try to sell at a discount, undercutting the paying dealers will pretty much insure they won't be back next year.

It sounds to me like what you're trying to do is "fund raising" for the club. Nothing wrong with that, but you need to find a unique way to raise money for the club that (1) doesn't directly compete with the paying dealers and (2) enhances the show in some way.

Rather than sell coins, find something else to sell. Is there a food vendor? If not, consider setting up some type of concession stand, even if it's only donuts, hot dogs, and soft drinks. You'd be surprised with what you can do with an ice chest and a couple of roasters. A lot of retailers with work with a non-profit organization to help them out by donating or providing discounts. If you already bring in a food vendor, consider taking a percentage of the sales rather than a flat rate from them. Design a club logo and sell items imprinted with that. T-shirts come to mind, probably not practical but there are all kinds of items (use the internet and your imagination) you can put a logo on and sell. Add a collection can asking for donations.

I'm not trying to downplay your ideas. If what I think is true, it's admirable that you want to get involved in this. I just think you might be more successful at what it appears you want to accomplish by avoiding selling coins at your own show.

 

The big dogs can't undercut their wholesale price.

Look at it like this. A club member has a coin. It's worth $100.

He takes it to the best dealer in the room. He gets an offer of $55. The dealer down plays the coin, says he has expenses, and leaves himself some haggle room to come down on, so $55 is pretty reasonable.

Now the club member could put that coin at the table (we could rotate members manning it) with $100 on it. He may say his absolute lowest is $65, but the closer to $100 the better. Even if the coin sold for his lowest amount of $65, he would still walk away with more money than the dealer offered him to begin with. The club would generate $6.50 for hosting the table and everyone would win (except the dealer who lost both the buying opportunity AND the potential profitable sale).

There is no way that dealer could feasibly buy the coin at $55 and sell it for $65 and it realistically leave a profit after travel expenses, show costs, etc.

My point is that there are very few losing scenarios for the club and members by hosting a table or acting as a consigning agent to donate a portion of the proceeds to the club.

 

Haven't thought of food, that's a really good idea.

 

If your club is a non-profit, most local radio and news papers have some kind of community calendar, make sure your on all of them you can get on.

Take advantage of sites that offer free listings, don't worry if the free listing is on a site that is not coin related. I can help with this one PM me.

Ask dealers to create a page on their site listing their schedule and make sure your club show is listed on it. I can help with this one too, PM me.

Twitter & Facebook like it or not are 2 of the top 10 websites (traffic wise) in the world. Make sure your club has an active page/account on both....

 

Oh and just a little clarification, I am enthusiastic about raising money for the club, but that's not the only reason. I have heard several inquiries from the members on how to sell their coins and at fair prices. Many have a negative thought towards selling to dealers and being low balled, many are completely turned off from THAT idea.

Our club auctions are rather hit and miss with matching up coins and interested buyers. Many things go back home with the members. So I thought this would kill two birds with one stone. Raise money and facilitate more favorable conditions for the club members to sell their extras and such.

 

Been working on Facebook page already.

Not sure about non-profit status.

I'm trying to be more involved with the dealers, but from what I can tell most are too small and don't have sites. Seem to rely on shows it seems.

Advertising will be my biggest focus this year. That will be easier to implement and won't require too much outside help if no one is interested in helping me.

 

In my opinion your show is in the position its in now because your advertising and not marketing.....

edited to add: this is not meant as a slam, there is a big difference in marketing and advertising.

 

In response to this specific question . . .

Here in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill metro, we have shows hosted by several different parties, one of which is a local dealer. This particular dealer hosts four shows a year, and always has a table at the shows. I've yet to hear any dealer complain about competition from the host.

 

Advertising has been just about nil. Maybe two ads in coin related publications and a local news ad. Besides that, not much else.

I want to focus on gathering contact info and compiling a database from our raffle tickets. This way I can mail or email directly to previous attendees.

Then I want to upgrade our posters and send out mail cards that are up to date as well. That way we can personally remind all the previous folks and then have more attractive posters to draw people from related venues like antique stores.