Dealers: How often do you lose money on a transaction?

Poseidon

I was just curious as to how often dealers either lose money, or break even on a transaction. Say, for example, a dealer buys a coin, and can't sell it at the price necessary to make a profit. Will the dealer simply hold on to the coin, looking for a seller, while his capital is tied up, or will he look to unload it at a break-even price, or even take a loss, in order to free up capital and possibly make money elsewhere?

mbbiker

I'm not a dealer but i've bought coins from a dealer for less than he paid for them.

truthteller

I sometimes lose a small amount when I blow out some old inventory or to raise some cash. Not much. Probably 5% of transactions. It is the net profit at the end of the month that counts

TRUTH

ursabear

On clear shake at the end of the month. I usually have one in 4 that loses (especially after eBay fees, PayPal fees, and mis-estimates on shipping and packaging materials costs).

Please take this with a grain of salt. My margin is teeny. Some would say that my labor alone blows any profitability. But it is a labor of love, and it raises a few sheckels a week for the kids' school, and drops a coin into my collection from time to time.

Over all, if I see that I have a loser, I will drop it to get the working capital back. My money flow is too light to hold inventory for too long.

Some of the pros and some of the big dealers will express different opinions, for sure, but this is where my micro-business goes.

Big bear

dweeberlord

About 5%. It is never very much though. I think of it more as breaking even because it is usually only a few dollars.