The costs of the coin dealer

The mint does not make silver bars. No Ebay dealer is buying Silver Eagles from the mint either. They buy from dealers like us. If silver is melt at $5 I sell in bulk at $5.10 They in turn sell at $6
If the market comes down, yes they lose money. If it stays the same or goes up, they make even more.

 

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So shouldn't you buy silver when it is low and not high? What do you do if silver is at 8.00 an oz and you run out of silver? Do you buy a lot at 8.00 an oz and hope it goes up?
thanks

 

So you don't deal in world coins at all?

 

No, we haven't dealt with world coins. We do buy some bulk deals on very rare occasions, and give the coins and currency out to the kids who participate in our coins in the classroom program.
Somedays it is hard enough to stay up with the American Coins.
As any dealer will tell you, it is very hard to get good help. To be able to offer world coins, I would have to find someone who was very knowledgable in that area. Then try to build a client base for them.
I have personally begun to learn about ancients. These fascinate me. We will probably never offer them, for the same reasons though.



Now onto silver bars question:

As a dealer I do not have the ability to buy low and sell high. I have to provide all of our customers with what they want, when they want it. Despite what the metals market is doing. Now the majority of the time, we make money. Bullion is the hardest area of numismatics. The prices these past 12 months are a perfect example of why this business is tough. The prices went up and down daily. When the market first jumped, we were making an extra $3 an ounce on silver. That is a big number. Two weeks ago, we were losing over $3 an ounce. Now we are back to making around 60 cents. It all evens out when you move lots of material.
It is just the nature of the business. Take the good while you can, and accept the bad when it comes.

 

Okay, who do you buy from? Who is your supplier for silver bullion? So even if silver is up at 8.00 an oz you can get it cheeper than that?
thanks for all your help!!!!

 

My supplier for silver is customers and other dealers. On occasion, I sell to refiners, but that is not often at all. With customers we buy at a small percentage back of melt, and with dealers, it is usually the same, except we buy a minimum of 500 ounces at a time. Those are the numbers that get you good prices.

 

Well if I become a dealer I can't buy from custemers because I won't have a store. What dealers sell silver bullion at a good price?
thanks

 

We don't have any stores. We operate a website, do shows, and have an established customer base. Building customers is not easy, and customer service is what keeps your customers. I can't stress that enough. Take care of the people that take care of you. Remember customers are the ones that buy and sell to you. Without either, you won't be in business long.
Now back to your question. Buying in bulk, you can buy from just about any large dealer. In the beginning, you will have to buy in cash or certified funds. A minimum of 500 ounces at a time.
Silver Eagles are traded a little differently. If you can get them at $1.40 over melt, that is a fantastic number. Again, this is for 500 ounces or more at a time. Silver closed at $6.05 an ounce, so Eagles will be bought at $7.45 with a retail price of $8.10 to $8.25
Now you have to consider what shipping will be on 500 ounces, so that really cuts into the profits.

If you plan on selling on Ebay, it is going to take considerably longer to build your customer base. I would not suggest that you start with bullion. Go out and buy some regular collector coins and start there. Go to a few dealers, and buy in serious bulk. This will get you the best prices available. Get yourself a subscription to the greysheet, and stay between the bid/ask price when buying. Lower if you can. Also, pick the coins that are high for their grade. Once you have been buying and selling for a little while, then consider bullion.
If you put out $3800 for Eagles, and the price fall a quarter, you will lose your shirt quick.

 

realy enjoying this thread its a great insight and very informative.Im quite new to collecting to and i am just starting to spread my wings a little outta the common bullion coins.The best way i feel to learn is to concentrate and learn one coin,learn the prices and buy the books for it ect then when you fell confident move onto another.Its such a massive field of learning no-one could possibly absorbe it all.Personally i got into coins as my dad has an antique shop in scotland and as a general dealer didint know nothing about the coins he picked up as part of his buisness so me intrested started finding out.Another way i find to accumulate silver abnd one of the cheapest is to scoop up all the silver coinage that comes your way.you get some great bargains and throw them in a bag,over time as you learn more you can pull the odd one out that you can make couple bucks on and just keep filling the bag, then seperate out into there diffrent silver content.

i buy and aquire lot of shillings and farthings and sixpences and you can pick these up very cheaply and find the odd rare year.I guess the usa has its same old silver coinage that can be picked up.The great thing is you never realy notice the cost over time as its only a few bucks here and a few bucks there.


ND what can you sell hologramed/boxed silver eagles and rounds for ?in say quantities of 50 ?

 

Well I don't sell anything foriegn at all. I don't deal in rounds either. As far as Eagles go, it is usually a couple of dollars over spot. That price doesn't change until the order is over 500 ounces.

 

yeah i can get a good mark up on stuff like that though.the public always love that kinda thing,the same thing someone buying bullion for profit wouldnt touch with a bargepole like 1g gold bars and proof eagles ect.

i bet you sell a lot of that kinda thing to the passers by

 

We do.
The staff and I try to convert our bullion buyers into real coins, but that is often a losing battle.

I love the design, and the quality, but in the end, they are bullion. They would be much better off buying the real Walking Liberty.

 

"Second is getting your company listed in the Numismatic Dealers Directory."
Which directory? Is it through an organization?

"Safes: Here is another place not to skimp. Big and Heavy are the way to go."
Who has the best safes at a good price?
thnks

 

The numismatic dealers directory is a book published once a year by the coin dealers newsletter. (greysheet)

Safes: http://www.deansafe.com

 

Can you get the numismatic dealers directory alone?
thanks

 

http://greysheet.com/cdn/numdd.asp

 

Just be sure to circle the only blue boxed dealer listing on page 80.

 

Are there any websites on starting a coin shop or recorces?
thanks

 

NO. The biggest reason that this info is not available is to save the newbie from losing their shirt.
The coin business is not cheap, nor easy.

 

"Now onto buying/selling.
This is often where want to be dealers get confused. Buying is often hard work. There are no coin fairies running around selling coins. Join in on the dealer networks. They aren't cheap, but you will find nothing in this business is. These networks allow members to buy and sell coins with each other easily."
What are some dealer networks?
thanks