Collectors Appearance

kieferscoins

Is there a certain way that you dress for coin shows, meetings? I like for coin shows to wear black BDU pants with six pockets. They are new and look almost like dress pants but hold alot more things. As for the shirt I usually wear a button up one. Anyone else?

Cameron Kiefer

Russ

I'll be going to my first show tomorrow. I'll be wearing my usual old ragged 501's and a t-shirt. I didn't know that special attire was necessary.

Russ, NCNE

nwcs

I dress like a slob if I can in just jeans and a t-shirt.

kieferscoins

Russ:

Special attire isn't necessary. I just feel confortable in those clothes around coin dealers. I just wondered if anybody wore anything special or had a certain "outfit".

Cameron Kiefer

Hoot

Never dress in a way that pegs you for wealth or even status. The best way to tell if a dealer is a kind human being is to look like you know nothing, dress like you make $6.25 an hour, and then see if they pay attention to you when you select a few of your favorite coins to have a look at.

Hoot

goose3

I dress usually in jeans/t shirt or shorts. nothing fancy at all.

I want to look like I need a break on price!! HAHA

DanC

hmmmm... BDU pants. Good call.

I'll have to break mine out for tomorrow's show.

CalGold

Dressing like a poor slob is the wrong approach. If you look a like a poor slob you will be treated like one. Not to offend hourly wage earners, but there is an attitude that if you dont' have money you don't have smarts and therefor are someone who can be sold a bill of goods. So you are really not encouraging respect or fair dealing at all.

Walk in dressed like a gentleman or lady, as the case may be, and dealers will scope you as someone with whom they want to build a dealer-client relationship.

I have found this to be true in many different situations, not just in dealer-buyer situations.

cacheman

Just a thong.........it raises eyebrows, but it's easier to get through security.

CalGold

Cacheman's approach also can work quite well, but only if you look like Michelle Pfeiffer. Otherwise you might find yourself being led away in handcuffs. Also, if you buy a lot of coiins the front of your thong will start looking rather strange (or stranger as the case may be) by the end of the show.

TheNumish

Russ--Is your T-shirt going to say,"Got JFK's?"

mdwoods

I dress like Jesus when he threw the money changers out of the temple. Boy you should see-em scatter. Mark

rkfish

Jeans and a t-shirt.....new tennis shoes if I going with PQPeace!

keithdagen

Dockers shorts and a knit shirt with a collar. Sandals on the feet. No problems with dealers so far not wanting to do business with, at least until they hear my name, recognize it from the PCGS boards, and then run.

RLinn

It really is personal preference, but I agree with CalGold and usually wear a shirt with a collar (Polo or Button). BDUs with extra pockets are useful to keep you "stuff" in to avoid laying it all over the dealers area while you look at potential purchases. I have also used a small fanny pack for this same reason. Respect the dealers time and merchandise and you will usually receive the same respect in return. Attitude can make up for appearance but it doesn't work the other way around.

Blade

Agree that a fanny pack helps and is probably more secure than pockets.

I have worn a nice shirt from my college alma mater. Makes for some interesting discussions.

gmarguli

I agree 100% with Hoot. Don't ever go dressed like you have a lot of money. It's an easy way to get yourself robbed or killed.

I go dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Usually unshaven for a day or two. If a dealer doesn't want to help me because he thinks I can't affor his coins based on the way I look, then I don't want to do business with him. I never refuse to do business witha dealer because he looks like a slob and has a sandwich stuffed in his mouth and on his shirt.

kieferscoins

Fanny pack more secure than pockets? I don't agree. Fanny packs usually have a snap that goes behing on your back. Someone can walk up behind you as you stand at a table (without you knowning) and unlatch it. Drop goes the pack and the robber runs off. Now if he has to reach into several different pockets in my BDUpants to steal them that is alot harder. Grab one hand of the robbers while the other is caught in your pocket and start punching the robber.

Cameron Kiefer

Blade

Kiefer,
My pack has a snap lock over the clasp. I don't see how you could get it off quickly. The only tactic that might work would be to take a box cutter or sharp knife and cut the strap and run. That would be pretty gutsy on a bourse floor.

RotatedRainbows

Just a thong.........it raises eyebrows, but it's easier to get through security.

I thought you get arrested for walking around like that, OH WAIT that is only if you dress like that on the beach.

stman

I may dress presentable, You know clean 501 jeans. If summer time a t shirt, winter time a dress shirt. But in no way would I try to impress any dealer at a show or anywhere else.

I will impress them when I open up my wallet if I decide to buy and thats it. IMO I feel sometimes there is too much thought in impressing a dealer or trying to be too nice and such. Sure be polite and try to work out a good business transaction then and in the future. But if I get treated with respect, so do they. If I get treated like a dog they get treated worse.

stman

Bear

Dress casual and hold a 100 Dollar bill in your teeth !!!!!

DanC

You know... this thread reminds me of a time long ago when I sold cars.
I hated the industry, and didn't last long, but I did hang around long enough to see an old, scruffy looking geezer walk into the showroom one day...

He was wearing stained, worn coveralls, and a dirty shirt. Hadn't shaved in a week - and the snotty high-brow salesmen ignored him.
The receptionist had the good sense to ask how she could help him.

The short story?
He paid CASH (from a HUGE wad in his pocket) for a brand-new Cadillac.
The receptionist got the commission, and the salesmen ate humble pie.

I know a few truly wealthy people, and they all dress like dirt-bags. Taught me to never judge a book by its cover.

TRADERBOBZ

its kind of like going to a strip club!
it doesnt matter what you where or look like your going to get( what you came for i couldnt put the 4 letter word (adding ed LOL) that came to mind

DesertLizard

I like to go as casual as possible and don't shave for 2-3 days. Those dealers who ignore me or treat me with disdain I tell them I am just browsing then go back with my most expensive coin [$5-6k] and ask them if they are interested in buying it? Then I watch their mouth drop. Hehehe.

Those who approach me nicely get my business or I make a note of who they are and always look at their inventory.

Petescorner

The last show I went to I wore a "U.S.Mint." T-shirt. I must have had 4 people, whom I didn't know, comment on it. I figured this might be a good way to fool dealers into thinking I'm some sort of "coin geek" and not the newbie that I really am.

Btw, Cacheman, I bet you wear that thong to coin shows just so dealers will put singles in it to help pay for your coins!

cacheman

Yup, last show I made $3.17.........finally lost the $.17 somewhere

moursund

The problem is that dealers fill your thong with Ikes, which gets uncomfortable in a hurry.

am

truthteller

In my many years in the business, behind a table and in a store. Dress has less to do than attitude. At a show, best attire to get a dealer's attention is a CLEAN button or collar shirt with jeans or slacks. As long as you are not smelly or dirty, a dealer will respect you as long as the buyer has a friendly attitude. A slob with a good attitude can get respect, a slob with a smelly attitude will get ignored, even if you have $1000 in your hand. In many cases, a dealer will dress the same as you at most conventions. A business suit means nothing, and in more cases than not, it tells the dealer he is out of place. Visiting a dealer's store is another matter. A suit and tie will get much more respect and attention that jeans and sandels. In fact, a well dressed, well groomed customer often gets offered the best coins first. A slob will get offered the 'slobby' coins.

TRUTH

kieferscoins

I have done the same thing petescorner. I have two US Mint T-shirts and one nice navy blue one with a stiched emblem of the Treasury seal on the left chest.

What about shoes everyone? I usually wear tennis shoes and rarely wear dress up shoes.

Cameron Kiefer

zenny

sorry guys, a little help. what the heck are BDU pants.

all i can come up with is maybe Big Darn Ugly pants, but i don't think that's it. do i need to start reading those "fashion" catalogs that always come for the people who used to live here?

kieferscoins

BDU (battle Dress uniform) miltary pants they make in different colors. Mine are solid black. I will get a link for you.

Cameron

kieferscoins

Not the best picture but works. Ripstop material, adjustable waist size and 6 pockets.

Cameron Kiefer

zenny

thanks Cameron. look pretty handy for a coin show.

CalGold

Yes, you need to wear battle gear to fend off all of the muggers and murderers that Mr. Margulis fears are lurking about. I wear a kevlar vest under my Armani jacket.

Russ

<< <i>Dressing like a poor slob is the wrong approach. If you look a like a poor slob you will be treated like one. Not to offend hourly wage earners, but there is an attitude that if you dont' have money you don't have smarts. >>



This is actually very true. But, it can also be very, very costly for the one making the assumption.

Years ago, I worked for several very wealthy guys. The kind who, had they an interest in it, would have had no trouble plunking down the money for the '33 Saint. Most of these guys were from the South, and most had grown up in rural areas. One was from New York, but he was the oddball of the group.

Typical dress for them was wrinkly Dockers that looked like they'd slept in them, polos that may, or may not, have holes in the armpits, and hair that saw a comb about once a week. They really didn't give a rip how they looked (if you looked closely though, you might notice that they all wore Rolex's).

My immediate boss decided he wanted to sell his plane and was working through a broker. When he was finalizing the deal - dressed as a slob and looking his usual haggard self - he noticed that the broker was about $10K short of what the net should have been after commission. When my ex-boss called him on it, the guy came up with all kinds of BS that was very unconvincing. They beat on each other for a while, and the broker wouldn't budge.

My ex-boss left his office, immediately called the Seattle Times and spent the $10,000 running full page ads outlining his experience with this broker. He got his money.

Russ, NCNE

kieferscoins

A vest wouldn't be a bad idea. I was with some YN's at the Alanta ANA convention and we were advised if the power went out to hit the floor. They said that they had seen it before and when the lights came back on over half the dealers had handguns and rifles in their hands. I wouldn't want to be caught in that firefight!

Cameron Kiefer

dorkkarl

i'm gonna wear my mc-donald's uniform!

"i'd like some fries to go with this sacagaweenie, please. better super-size it."

K S