The Treatise of the Part-Timer, or "How I Don't Make Money in Numismatics" (Long, no pics!)

DRUNNER

I am going to grease this thread so as it falls off the first page the speed does not cause enough friction to spontaneously combust your keyboard . . .

Exceptionally brief on the background. Passionate numismatist. Historical enthusiast. Lifelong educator (45 years). Transitioned (buzzword) to doing local shows very infrequently as I wind down my teaching career, but am now ramping up to maybe 5-6 per year. Recent discussions with @Moparmonster, and study of @DeplorableDan 's thread inspired me to give a view of the 2024 options for diving into the hobby with a purpose of sustaining ones' self.

Strictly a personal observation using my unique circumstances, but perhaps some generalities may apply as you consider embarking on a numismatic career. MANY threads here over the last 25 years deal with salient points of 'dealing', so perhaps this may direct you to the 'search' function as you contemplate sitting behind a table on the bourse.

OK, if you want to 'do right' by your customers/clients, start off on the right foot, gain a solid reputation, enjoy developing relationships, and last a while before the carcinogens in the hotdogs finally check you off the bourse, you need to:

---Spend a few months (uncompensated) sifting through inventory across the country and cultivating relationships with like-minded, quality-conscious dealers and sources to find the choicest coins.
---Travel regionally to examine and purchase coins that meet a client's expectations.
---Invest upfront finances to purchase quality coins and have them shipped to you.
---Plan for a (debut?) show considering expenses for travel, accommodations, food, peripherals, table fees, lights/cables/cases.
---Prep inventory with current pricing, recent (purchased) price guides, stickers, and codes. Update your hard-copy inventory to make it efficient and quick at show-time.
---Buy enough table accessories for receipting, packaging, and display.
---Dedicate time daily to maintaining current knowledge on pricing, trends, desirability, scarcity, and online communications / apps, while also keeping current communications with potential buyers and sellers.
---Be willing to pay a premium for the choicest coins, eye appeal, or hard-to-find denominations and/or grades.
---Eat certification / stickering costs.

. . . . . . . all so you can show up at set-up time and decide how you are going to answer when the first guy (in suspenders, silver-gray 3/4" nose hairs, and set up down the row from you with 12 yellowed 3-ring binders of AG, cleaned, Indian Cents from 1900-1908) says, "How far back of bid can you go on this one?" (Yup, after you searched the country for the 'perfect coin'.)

I argue we part-timers are the 'bulk' of the dealing individuals in this hobby. Sure . . . Mehl, Bowers, Sperber, Hall, Albanese, etc. have set the foundation for the Chandlers, Coin Geeks, and Acoushas of the world, but for every luminary known in our current numismatic scene, there are 100+ guys and gals who set-up at local and regional shows (in the back) hoping to achieve a numismatic goal of 'making it in the hobby'.

It is rough . . .

Margins are rough. If you are not ripping an unschooled fellow church member for $6k in coins for $60, you are going to have a brutal time covering expenses, which is why (here comes the dirty little secret!) the vast majority of part-timers (and many FULL-timers) are older individuals who have retired, cashed out of a lifelong career and don't need to worry about putting food on the table or supporting a family with this hobby.

So, the point (if there is one) . . .

If you want to 'make-it' in coins and don't have a mentor, benefactor, alternative career, lottery winnings, or internship at Stacks/Bowers, think of the following:

---You will need to be consumed, passionate, and ever-vigilant for opportunity.
---You need to be a 'people-person'. No one likes jerks, even if they price coins behind 'bid'.
---Start slowly. Carve out a 'niche'. (If you are part-timing, this presumes you have financial stability for the long haul.)
---Fairness rules. Sure, you may 'rip' someone once, but that reputation will haunt you like a Scarlet Letter.
---Assess the quality of every coin in your inventory. Does each coin fit your business model?
---Be secure. At home. On the way to the show. At the show. Headed home. Packing (visibly or not) may make you THINK you are 'all that and a bag of chips' . . . but 99 out of 100 dealers who are strapped have no idea what it would be like to deal emotionally with using a firearm. Trust your gut and avoid situational 'lack of awareness'.
---Do the small things. Have a candy bowl. Buy some slab sleeves for your purchasers. Hand out YN coins to all kids.
---Smile and get your a$$ out from behind your phone. Greet people. Shake a few hands. Offer advice. Take a wheeled cooler in to the show with ice, water, snacks for you, and a few snacks for other dealers who didn't think of it.
---Realize all coins don't get looked at during each show. A sale requires a needy buyer. They are not at every show. Relax.
---Get there early. Stay to the end. If this is truly your passion . . . why are you hankering to leave early?
---Your word is your bond. Stay the course on a 'deal'. NEVER shaft a fellow dealer or customer, or go back on your word.
---And lots of other stuff.

OK. Ramblings. Yeah, we need a good "dealer packlist", not some pseudoemotional touchy-feely rant.

I'll do that next time. But for now, if you are exploring this rewarding hobby and thinking of switching table sides . . . be prepared to WORK. Do it for the right reasons, and sit back and enjoy being a cog in this big numismatic wheel. There is room for every dealer with a passion . . . and perhaps some financial result if you are lucky.

Drunner
(Oh . . . and take a small Ziplock of doggie treats. More and more, dogs are making an appearance on the bourse!!!)

DRUNNER

. . . oh, I forgot cats too. I love cats. They taste just like chicken.

Drunner

oldabeintx

What a post. Tried my hand at dealing many years ago, scratched the surface. Couldn’t devote the time to really make a business out if it, but enjoyed the heck out of it. As a retirement activity, health permitting, should be fulfilling if the objective is to enjoy it, make friends and treat it like Hobby++.

yspsales

Just managing an ebay store part time can be a grind.

If I don't invest consistent time (and have access to coins) and other certain rituals, my grading skills dull.

As I learned in my wedding photography days. A traditional wedding from start to finish was about a 40 hour job. Maybe 20 to 25% about photography.

As a second shooter I could net half as much in 10 hours, but it was 100% about the day and the joy of photography.

Like coins, the best business owners were the best at networking and referrals.

My photography experience keeps me grounded and in my numismatic lane.

lermish

Fantastic post, thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

lkenefic

Lots of very insightful comments... thanks for posting

Jacques_Loungecoque

@DRUNNER said:
. . . oh, I forgot cats too. I love cats. They taste just like chicken.

Drunner

The hairballs though! I guess it’s all in the preparation? I liked your treatise. It’s quite informed and obviously from the heart. And yes, the part timers keep the bulk of the business going. Funny enough, I’m a year older than you and I’m just getting going on my teaching career. Finishing my second year now. Thanks for your service!

braddick

I'd much rather simply enjoy this hobby for all it provides to me rather than stress about making it an income maker and all the complexities that accompany that decision.

ElKevvo

Great post...thanks! I thought about becoming a part time dealer a few years ago but then I really thought about it and decided against it. I love collecting coins and I think I would end up with more and more inventory after each show that I did not want to part with.

K

mirabela

Great post! I dabbled just a little in the shallowest end of that pool some years back. All in all I think I'm much happier as a collector, period.

Bochiman

Drunner....

You have some good advice.

One thing I might add, if possible, that I experienced setting up with Lakesammman the last couple of years....take a friend/fellow "dealer"/spouse....someone you can trust.
It will help you when things are slow...someone to chat with and also someone to watch the table while you go browse. Also gives you that buddy to walk out to your vehicle with.

Slade01

Appreciate your post. I retired in the middle of 2022 A year or so before planned because it got so hard to travel by air from my small city. I was bored to death just trading options.

Then I decided to put a coin or two up on EBay, no coin shops anywhere near me so can't buy stock or get stuff CAC stickered. But over the past 3 months it has been a lot of fun buying a few low bid items from GC and the occasional one from Heritage or Stacks.

But the bulk of what I had to sell is gone. It's hard to know what slabbed sells on EBay and I've sold off my limited supply of raw coins. No coin shows around here either, unless you want to go to a gun show and mostly sell bullion at a percent margin. Oh, and I like cats too, and so do my Sheepdogs. They agree on the chicken flavor.

Meltdown

Solid advice Drunner.
I've set up at shows half a dozen times over the years and have really enjoyed the experience each time.
I agree 100%, if you're going to give it a try at all - give it 100%. Stay the whole day, talk to everyone who passes by if you can and never let what a potential "customer" may look like. My last show, I sold a 12 year old kid a $300 coin after a half hour of talking to him about nearly everything in my case... Another guy spent nearly the same amount of time, couldn't decide on half a dozen slabs he had been mulling over and then just decided to buy them all.

Moparmonster

Impeccably written post!!! I’m flabbergasted as to why this is buried on page 2 already and not that many views! This is pure gold!!

After setting up at my first show over a year ago trying to make a go of this business I met @DRUNNER. He has been an incredible mentor to me! I can’t thank him enough. Even with all the countless bones he’s thrown me to help me succeed, the connections I’ve built, having a connection/work experience at the LCS, it’s been a tough slog this past year.

I just wrapped up a show today and had the worst sales total of all the shows I’ve been to since I started! Yes, it’s very difficult to sustain oneself in this hobby/business. Like @DRUNNER said, it takes an incredible amount of passion, knowledge, work ethic, people skills, technical skills, resilience, and a stroke of luck!

SurfinxHI

@Moparmonster But did you have a good buying show? Often when you have a bad selling show, you can have a good buying one. So, I hope you did!

Finishing my show for the weekend....will update another thread.

Moparmonster

@SurfinxHI You’re absolutely right! I didn’t have a huge amount of capital so I wasn’t that in the mood to peruse the bourse. I did manage to score some under graded raw cherry picks. One I was able to flip immediately for a nice profit and the others I’ll make some $$ on in the future. But you’re right sometimes you have to “buy your way out of a show.”

I think it was a good chance to also reevaluate where I’m at and want to be. I’m less inclined now to tie up a large amount of capital and having the cream of the crop coins hoping to find a buyer, rather than having a nice chunk of capital ready to deploy for the right opportunities. Buying is everything. Looking forward to see your report!

spacehayduke

Nice commentary and fairly accurate. The only thing missing is setting up as a sole proprietor or LLC so you can pay your taxes from the profit. That of course has its own series of tasks so you can pay the tax, including record keeping, accounting, many forms to file with your state, etc................ Stay legal if you're gonna do this.

Best, sH