How do you become a dealer?

Brianruns10

I've been collecting since I was 5 (I'm now 19). I've got a pretty good sized collection built up, and the though has always been in the back of my head "Why not become a dealer?" My question is "How do you become a dealer?" I mean, you need inventory, but to get inventory, you need to buy. So is it like a period where you just buy all you can, then start dealing at shows and such, or is it a process where you buy and sell, and gradually build up an inventory. Basically, how did some of you get your start in "the biz?"
Best,
BR

Russ

<< <i>How do you become a dealer? >>



You'll need to schedule a lobotomy. Once that's complete, you'll be fully qualified.

Russ, NCNE

jbsteven

I pretty much started as a collector. At one point I decided to sell a few items on Ebay and became hooked. I started going to all the major shows to be able to buy fresh material. I enjoy learning about coins while trning a small profit at the same time. I have been able to see many more coins than if I did not sell them. I believe my knowledge is growing faster plus I am growing my inventory faster than if I was only collecting.

Russ

See example above.

Russ, NCNE

Numismanic

<< <i><< How do you become a dealer? >> >>






<< <i>You'll need to schedule a lobotomy. Once that's complete, you'll be fully qualified. >>

RYK

Another way would be to get a job with one of the big auction houses (like Heritage), big national dealers, or even a local coin store. Learn the business from someone who is already successful.

mgoodm3

Coins are kinda like drugs. You start doing it a little just for fun. Then you have to do it all the time. Then you become a dealer.

Dennis88

I just sold my first coin......And now I'm scared for what to come.

Dennis

jbsteven

<< <i>Coins are kinda like drugs. You start doing it a little just for fun. The you have to do it all the time, then you become a dealer. >>



sounds like my story.

Iwog

Most full time dealers play the estate game. This means advertising in the phone book and trying to get widows and orphans to sell you inherited coin collections at 10-50% of greysheet. Without this source of raw material, it's damn near impossible to make a living at it.

Many people are part time dealers (don't quit your day job) and turn a profit by identifying bargains at coin shows, online, etc. and turning them around. This is a much more enjoyable way to deal in coins and you don't end up hating the world like most professional dealers do.

Russ

<< <i>This means advertising in the phone book and trying to get widows and orphans to sell you inherited coin collections at 10-50% of greysheet. >>



Iwog,

You get screwed somewhere along the line? You level that accusation at the dealer community at every opportunity. Maybe it's time to get over whatever terrible thing some dealer did to you.

Russ, NCNE

jbsteven

Iwog

I advertise in the Yellow pages and can tell you it is not worth the money I spend.

Typical phone call from the Yellow pages:

I have this really rare coin that I want to know how much it is worth.

me: Can you describe the coin to me?

phone caller: It is really old, and has a Indian on the front and Buffalo on the back.

me: what date is it?

caller: It is so old it does not have a date on it.

me: You have a no date buffalo that is worth $.06

caller: Ok, thank you for your time.



Needless to say I will not be renewing my Yellow pages ad next year. For the record Houston does not have a good collector base compared to many Eastern states.

stman

Get an email address, a website, an ebay ID, maybe an ebay store, and you're a dealer. Or a wannabe dealer, same thing.

kranky

There are also people who buy from one dealer and sell to another, making a little on the deal. You'd need to know individual dealers' likes and dislikes.

For example - let's say there's a dealer who needs quantities of dateless Buffalo nickels because he sells them to a place that makes jewelry with them and he pays 15c each. Another dealer you know bought a big pile of them from a person who walked in to the shop. He might be happy to unload them to you for a dime each just to get them out of the way. If you can swing the deal without having to ship them, you can make a few bucks.

Or, if you know your varieties, you might be able to cherrypick good ones from dealers and sell them to specialists.

JrGMan2004

I'm becoming a small part-time dealer, with selling on EBay. So far, I've made a nice profit, but I also have a great supplier

kieferscoins

The key is supply. You gotta keep new coins coming and buying more in order to sell and make a profit. If you just sell what you have now and no plan or way to buy more at good prices you won't last long.

Cameron Kiefer

Iwog

Russ, I think this is less about me being screwed and more about the FACTS of coin dealing.

The FACT is that most dealers offer 10-50% of greysheet for coin estates. I'm sorry this is true, but it is.

You think I'm being too harsh???? I haven't shared half of what I know about this corrupt and arrogant industry. I took my grandfather's raw three legged buffalo nickel (later slabbed by ANACS VF35) to ALL the local coin shop dealers when I was trying to sell his estate. I mixed it in with about 10 other coins, pretended to be ignorant and asked for offers. Now actually getting an offer from a coin dealer is another topic entirely, but suffice to say that this nickel grew another leg that day and was never identified as more than an average circulated buffer by anyone. I did get one dealer to tell me it was counterfeit right before I had it certified however, quite a feat.

One more tip, don't forget to ask for your cash discount the next time you're at a coin show. Most coin dealers generally avoid income taxes wherever possible and a two way cash transaction never happened. Too harsh eh??? If anyone ever cared to test any of these assertions, they would be shocked and amazed.

Russ

You know, Iwog, since the coin business is comprised of mainly crooks and thieves, maybe you should find some other hobby. The "FACT" ( ) that all these criminals are lurking ready to screw anyone they come in contact must weigh heavily on your mind.

Russ, NCNE

Iwog

You're always welcome to directly contradict my statements instead of playing games. Are you insisting that the majority of coin dealers behave otherwise?

Russ

<< <i>Are you insisting that the majority of coin dealers behave otherwise? >>



The majority that I have dealt with do. Maybe you just attract scumbags. Must be bad karma.

Russ, NCNE

jbsteven

nickel

there is no clear cut definition . rent a table at some local show and see what happens....

DoctorOfTone

Great question.

The coins are the fun part of becomming a dealer. The running of the business is the real key. Once you understand that you can really sell almost anything that you want. Most people do not understand business and thus fail. I was always a collector and could never sell a coin until one day I jumped in and found it to be great. I simply applied the skill I had learned from running several other companies to this product and it was a success.

People always ask me where I get my coins and how do I do what I do seemingly so well. It is just a matter of finding something you like to do, work hard, be savy and creative. With some luck you will make profits that are far greater than most think is possible. Don't do it for the money do it for the experience and fun. At your age you will make mistakes but that is how one learns. I really never talk about this subject here because there are so many folks on this forum that dislike sellers or are jealous or whatever but just do it and don't listen to these guys who tell you won't make money. You will earn something much more valuable-experience. At your age I started a company to sell gold charms and jewelry to sorority girls and to frat guys as presents for their girlfriends and others. I made mistakes and I blew the money I made on having fun but it was probably the key to my success after graduate school. It not only helped me get into a top Business school but gave me real life knowledge that I only built on from there. Go for it........

Merc

One guy I know just started as a dealer by getting a table at a local show. He had the more expensive coins in the case and the cheaper ones in folders on top. Well, people would go though the folders and steal coins. He said some must be very good at it since he never caught them and knew it happened more than once. That would take some of the fun out of it. You always have to be careful you "customers" are not theives.

route66

Iwog and Russ are both right. The nature of the beast is that dealers want to buy for as cheap as they can. they [most of the time] will offer less to unknowledgable people, and [all of the time] offer more to their friends, or people who know their stuff. It is the same in any hobby. Consider it the same as cherrypicking. Everyone considers that ethical. Probably is. I don't know about 10% of sheet, but 50% sounds fair to me. Keystoning is the cornerstone in any business. Unless it is a coin that can be turned over fairly easy. There are no more or no less sleazebags in the coin industry as there are in any segment of anything. But, they are there. JMHO. Steve

nankraut

Well, I'm not a dealer, just an old collector. Over the years, I've bought and sold a lot of coins, almost always thru dealers. I've almost always walked away happy. Sure, there are dishonest people in every business. But, IMHO, they are the exception. During the past 5 yrs I've been gradually dispersing my holdings, mostly by selling on EBAY. I've had very few glitches when dealers buy my stuff on EBAY, but the few problems I've encountered have almost always been with collectors. I think that's because of a lack of knowledge. For many years, I lived within 10 miles of Long Beach, and purchased/sold many coins there during the LGB EXPO's. I enjoyed every show I attended, and learned a lot from those experiences. I also observed many instances of rude/obnoxious behavior by dealers and collectors. Well...that's life, folks. If numismatics isn't pleasurable, do something else.

rdunnit

I too agree with Russ and IWOG. Take for instance here in Wichita Kansas. We have about 4 major full-time dealers and most of the time a major estate comes around it goes to all of the dealers and they place bids on the whole lot. Highest bidder wins. Usually the bids are much less than greysheet but these dealers also have storefronts, employees, and a lot more overhead than the average collector. I was told this by the one dealer that I have bought from since he was a "vest pocket" dealer. Lately he has been buying and selling a lot of precious metals. He told me that last year he bought and sold around $24,000 of metals and this year(in early March) he had already dealt in over $75,000 in precious metals. Before there were the 4 major dealers there was only about 2 major dealers and in this case IWOG they put the shaft to a lot of estates. I have heard a lot of stories about this from a lot of people that I have known for years and trust.
I think Ebay would be a good place to start and maybe becoming a vest pocket dealer as well. I recently sold some coins on Ebay and I try to be as honest as possible in all aspects of the coins that I sell. I think that honesty and integrity are the major keys to dealing.
Just my opinion and thoughts as a collector and a someday dealer.

Robert

roadrunner

The dealers I know well and deal with typically buy at around 80-90% of CDN for average stuff and pay bid for key dates, choice UNC or PF type, etc. When I sell my own material I usually start at bid and go up from there. And I don't sell to local storefronts either.

I am well aware of storefront dealers who pay very little and often times it is because they do not know enough. One collector walked into a local shop in my state with a set of matte proof 2-1/2 Indians and was offered $195 per coin. The dealer figured they were cleaned AU-UNC's. The guy walked out. Most of the time it is that the first few dealers don't know enough to pay what the coins are worth. This can be avoided by going to a major show and getting offers. Personally, I can think of no worse way to sell one's coins than over the counter at the local coin shop...that is except selling at a flea market.

In our state there is no sales tax on coins. So forget your 6% discount when you buy a coin.

roadrunner

Russ

<< <i>Iwog and Russ are both right. >>





<< <i>I too agree with Russ and IWOG. >>



I think you guys need to go back and read my posts. I completely disagree with Iwog. He thinks all dealers are scumbags and condemns them with the same accusations every time one of these threads come up.

I, on the other hand, live in the real world where not everyone is a crook.

Russ, NCNE

Barry

Brianruns10 - At your age, I presume you are in college? What else have you considered doing?

I wouldn't be suprised if most collectors, at some point in their lives, toyed with the idea of becoming a dealer. Especially nowadays as prices keep going up and Ebay is a great outlet for the collector to sell. History shows the coin market has not always been a one way street, and I'm sure things will turn around at some point, and nobody knows when or for how long.

There's an old saying - don't sh_t where you eat. It's one thing to have fun collecting coins. It's another if you have the pressure of trying to support yourself (and family) with coins. The fun will probably go away. I wonder how many dealers collect for their personal collection with the same passion that they did before becoming a dealer. I also wonder how many dealers never collected, and just got into it to make a living. Any ideas, anyone?

I have several hobbies, none of which I would consider trying to make a living from (though it's fun to sell coins on EBay from time to time). I have a career that I try not to take home with me at the end of the day, but of course it doesn't quite work out that way The pager which has been on my belt for 20 years, long before everyone and their brother were electronically tethered to their job, speaks for that. But I try my best to keep the two separate.

jdimmick

Great thread, and this thought has also crossed my mind.

I have always been a collector at heart, I enjoy finding coins that have that eye-appeal and my passion is key-date collecting. I have often thought about selling my collection to finance the start of a coin buisness. Due to the "hot market" and the type of coins I purchased, Ive done quite well when selling off unwanted or upgraded coins. But, being a collector, I just cant do it. I love the coins I currently own and do not want to sell them for fear of not being able to replace them, or having to pay double to buy them back.
And, any substantial amount of money that I save up for coins, I like to purchase coins for myself for my collection as a collector.
I have a great job with a good income, so I would not want to quit and try to start a coin buisness. I used to never buy anything for re-sale when I went looking for coins, I always went for myself as the collector. Well lately, I started picking up a coin or two that I thought was nicer for the grade or undergraded. I have also started several people into coins that I interact with through my normal work day. These folks are having me to pick up a coin or two every few weeks, mostly lower dollar items, but they are seeking my help in aquiring various items. I am also on the look out for anything that I think might do well on an E-bay auction. I have improved my knowledge substantially over the past couple of years and am more confident in my purchases and grading skills. The purchases I make for re-sale are on the smaller scale currently (typically between $10-$300) as I curently dont have the extra funds to make larger purchases for re-sale unless of course that super deal came my way.
In conclusion, I see my self continuing along this route, first a collector, then second a little dabbling on the side that will hopefully grow into something bigger in the future. Down the road, I can see myself starting to pick up enough inventory to set up at shows and such, and then maybe something bigger?? who knows?

jim dimmick