Flea market booth......

IndianHeadMan

Scam or good deal let me know:


I entered a "antique shop" and looked at the only half of a glass case of coins in the whole building. I had the owner show me a couple coins, but of course most were way over priced. I told her that I could beat the prices of these coins and I buy coins at retail. She then said that she wanted more "coin booths" at the place since they sell well and bring in customers. She offered me the first glass display case as you walk in the main entry. The prime spot in the store, if I would fill it with coins to sell. (its about 4 feet long 3 feet deep). She said it would cost me $20 month + 10% of sell price. Is she just trying to get me to rent a booth or does she really want more coins in the shop? Also there were no contracts either, I would rent the space month to month. Please let me know what you think.

Iampoorman2

That's why the other coins in the store were higher. The booth operators are having to cover thier overhead. You will have to do the same (rent + 10%) adds up.

OnlyBuffalos

It may or not be a good deal. In any event it does not seem like much of a risk since you do not have much to lose. Why not make a counter offer on her initial terms. "I'm a little reluctant to do this. How about your droppimg the 10% commission for the first month?"

TheNumish

Actually sounds fair to me. They have to be the ones standing there waiting on the people. For the cost it's worth trying. If you already have the coins to put out I think you should try it. If you have to go out and buy coins to stock it it's not as good of a deal.

One thing you need to find out is what happens if someone steals something. Do you take the hit or does she?

Pushkin

It doesn't look like a bad deal. You don't seem to have much to lose by giving it a try, and as pointed out earlier here, you can always try to negotiate to improve your potential profit. Might be worth a try with limited risk involved. Need a partner?

MICHAELDIXON

Sounds very reasonable to me. When I was in Kentucky, I rented one at an antique mall for $40. a month plus 10% and it paid off well. Go for it!

Coulport

Rent and commission sound fair.
Keep good records yourself. Don't rely on them.
No contract is a little iffy.
Might be good to establish how often you settle up. (Sales minus costs)
This would be a good time to start and 2 or 3 months duration will let you know if the location and traffic will pay off for you.

TWODOGS

The 10% is cheap when it comes to having another person dealing with the general public for you. She will be the one having to answer people's questions when they pull out their pocket change and ask what it's worth. Also fielding the famous "I've got this coin that has someone's head on one side and a bird on the other, what's that worth?"

WELL worth 10%.

IndianHeadMan

Just talked to the biggest coin dealer in the nearest major city(2hours away) he said he would sell me coins at "wholesale". Can someone help me out a little bit here. I didn't want to sound stupid on the phone so what exactly did he mean when he said wholesale? Bluebook? ????

TWODOGS

Hopefully he meant Greysheet "Ask." Better ask him for a little clarification.

Coulport

A major dealer is generally refering to the Gray Sheet.
Now all you have to find out is whether he wants Bid, Ask or some percentage over either.

baccaruda

i'd ask her to drop the $20 rent for the first month and just pay the 10% so you can see how it goes. if she actually wants a coin guy in there then she should have no problem with it.

coin prices are always high at antique shops. i wouldn't imagine anyone who knows anything about coins would buy coins at an antique shop, but it's a great place to sell them to people who would like antiques. they probably don't have any coins and don't know much about them. they probably think old coins are very cool though (since they probably like history if they're there in the first place) and probably think "wow, that coin is over 100 years old and in near perfect condition, it must be worth a lot". they may not even care if it's worth a lot and may be willing to pay a huge premium because they only want 1 old coin anyway. before i got into coins i used to think this way when i went to antique shops.

i remember paying $20 for a common peace dollar in XF-AU condition because i just wanted a coin and had no idea what is was worth. keep in mind you'd be catering to a different type of buyer than what you'd encounter at a coin show. you don't want to display rare dates or varieties as no one will appreciate that. common date, common condition old coins would probably sell well.

gmarguli

These types of stores are great if you want to sell VG Walkers for $8 or VF Morgans for $18 or XF Franklins for $8. The buyers frequently know nothing.

The deal seems fine. If the place doesn't do any business all you're out is $20. If you can't afford that then you shouldn't even be buying coins.

A dealer that will sell you coins at "wholesale" means nothing. I would hope he would mean Greysheet bid, but he probably doesn't.

As was stated, stick to generic stuff.

roadrunner

Wholesale can range from 40% off greysheet bid right up to ask. What about the quality of the coin? If he is selling you cleaned raw coins or low end slabs (never mind ACG) at "wholesale" he's offering to rip you off.


roadrunner

truthteller

Greg is correct. These antique stores/malls have customers who will pay a few bucks extra for an 'interesting' coin. They are not coin collectors and have no incentive to pay $100 for an unc. 84cc dollar when a $15 unc dollar will be just as good. If you want to sell coins for a resonable profit, place coins that are large, unusual, catch the eye and are under $20. You will not be selling high ticket coins, only coins that the customers feel are unusual. Many foreign countries have large, cheap coins as well as medals from the US and around the world. Good luck.

TRUTH

petertdavis

Of course she's trying to rent you the space. She's not just there to entertain people! But, as to whether it's worth it. Couple of points... $20 isn't much to test it out for a month. But, do you have enough stock to fill the space, and do you trust that your stuff won't vanish? I've heard from a few people that have done spaces in the antique malls mention that theft is a big problem. Theoretically, this would be solved by having a secure, locked cabinet, but somebody's got to have the key.