how do you become a distributor/wholesaler?

shanks82

Well with all this talk of distibutors/wholesalers i was wondering how do i sign up to be a wholesaler/distributor and also how can i do this with the US Mint so i can buy mass quanities of sets/coins/silver but pay distributor prices?

Russ

<< <i>how can i do this with the US Mint so i can buy mass quanities of sets/coins/silver but pay distributor prices? >>



It's easy. Just have something like $10 million in verifiable assets.

Russ, NCNE

shanks82

the coin shop i go to doesnt look like they would have 10 million in assets?

Russ

I doubt your local coin shop is a US Mint distributor. Most cannot qualify. Might not be $10 mil, but it is some very high number. Plus, to qualify, the business has to agree to purchase a certain amount every year and that amount is no small potatos.

Russ, NCNE

jeffnpcb

My local dealer, Dennis Lane at Laxmi Enterprises, buys his MS silver Eagles from a distributor in Texas. He buys I think, 500 coin boxes, which would be 25, 20 count tubes. It may be 1000, but I can not remember. If your dealer has volume sales in MS silver, gold and platinum coins, he will be getting them from the main distributors for the US Mint!
Maybe there is a list of them, but who has it would be a guess at best!

Jacki

Here is the list:

The United States Mint currently sells American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins to 11 Authorized Purchasers worldwide. The Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers in the United States are: A-Mark Precious Metals in Los Angeles, SCB/Mocatta Bullion in New York, Jack Hunt Coin Brokers in New York, Salomon Smith Barney in New York, Prudential Securities, Inc. (New York), The Gold Center (Illinois) and HSBC Bank in New York, with sales domestically and abroad.

The international Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers are Commerzbank International (Luxembourg), Deutsche Bank A.G. (Germany), Union Bank of Switzerland (Zurich) and Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong).

Authorized Purchasers must meet strict financial and professional criteria, which must be validated by an independent and internationally-recognized accounting firm. The minimum ordering requirement for Authorized Purchasers of the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin is 25,000 ounces. In addition, the Authorized Purchaser must be an experienced and established market-maker in silver bullion coins, as well as provide a two-way market for the coins, have an established broad base of retail customers in which to distribute the coins and must have a tangible net worth of at least $5 million.



Jacki

shanks82

Ok i get it, so there are mint distributors and then the smaller shops get their product from them.

Thanks

kranky

From (slightly edited) the Mint site.

The price of the Silver Eagle, as for all bullion coins, is based on the current market price of silver plus a small premium to cover minting, distribution and marketing costs, and fluctuates daily due to changing market conditions. The Mint does not sell its bullion coins directly to the public but distributes them through a network of official distributors called Authorized Purchasers.

Authorized Purchasers must meet strict financial and professional criteria, which must be validated by an independent and internationally-recognized accounting firm. The minimum ordering requirement for Authorized Purchasers of the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin is 25,000 ounces. In addition, the Authorized Purchaser must be an experienced and established market-maker in silver bullion coins, as well as provide a two-way market for the coins, have an established broad base of retail customers in which to distribute the coins and must have a tangible net worth of at least $5 million.

The United States Mint currently sells American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins to 12 Authorized Purchasers worldwide. The Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers in the United States are: A-Mark Precious Metals in Los Angeles, SCB/Mocatta Bullion in New York, Jack Hunt Coin Brokers in New York, Salomon Smith Barney in New York, Coins ‘N Things, Inc., of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Prudential Securities, Inc. (New York), The Gold Center (Illinois) and HSBC Bank in New York, with sales domestically and abroad. The international Silver Eagle Authorized Purchasers are Commerzbank International (Luxembourg), Deutsche Bank A.G. (Germany), Union Bank of Switzerland (Zurich) and Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong).

[edit] Jacki beat me to it, but I got Coins 'N Things on the list! [/edit]