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How do you start a coin business?
mattpayne777
Posts: 2
Hello All,
I am interested where do you need to go or what do you need to do in order to start a coin business? My idea would be to sell them them Ebay or some form of online forum. I am all about honesty and intregity though. I have read some stories in these forums that come close to scaring me away from this such as how a person can buy a coin on EBay for $35 and then more less touch it up and then turn it around sell it for $3500. I have no problem with making a profit, but I don't want to lie to people.
Where do most coin sellers buy their coins? I have read some accounts on Ebay where a guy says he gets a huge load of coins in every week. Where does he get these coins? I have searched the net up and down to try to find out this stuff but so far nothing. I am interested in learning about it though. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Matthew
I am interested where do you need to go or what do you need to do in order to start a coin business? My idea would be to sell them them Ebay or some form of online forum. I am all about honesty and intregity though. I have read some stories in these forums that come close to scaring me away from this such as how a person can buy a coin on EBay for $35 and then more less touch it up and then turn it around sell it for $3500. I have no problem with making a profit, but I don't want to lie to people.
Where do most coin sellers buy their coins? I have read some accounts on Ebay where a guy says he gets a huge load of coins in every week. Where does he get these coins? I have searched the net up and down to try to find out this stuff but so far nothing. I am interested in learning about it though. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Matthew
0
Comments
From the public, they open up coin shops mostly to buy coins.
A Brief Description of the NumisEXPERT software system
October 2, 2004
This suite of three integrated programs creates a safe and secure on-line environment for collectors and dealers to communicate, collect, buy, sell, trade, and show U.S. coins. It is organized from the perspective of the collector, as he is, after all, the foundation of the industry. The intention is to provide real-time accurate information on all U.S. coins to help the collector make the right decisions in buying, selling, maintaining and improving his collection, and to provide him immediate access to expert information, sellers, graders, and buyers, information on errors and varieties, and so on, in expanding or improving his collection. The software will analyze his collection to automatically create “want lists” against different albums, registry sets, or types of collections then match dealers’ (and other collectors’) coins against his requirements.
Our price list covers every U.S. coin since 1616 in every numerical grade from 1 thru 70 for mint state and 40 thru 70 in proof with errors, varieties, grading services, attributes, and pedigree. The prices are compiled in real-time from actual transactions and are available weekly for collectors, or in real-time for dealers. A wide variety of reports and analyses are available.
There is a version for collectors and a more sophisticated and automated version for dealers. Our CoinWebListing is a virtual coin show, coin newspaper, ecommerce site and the interface between dealers and collectors. We have been writing enterprise level software for past twenty-five years for many of the leading companies of the world. We feel this software is our best effort yet and among our satisfied customers we count Lockheed Corp, FBI, DEA, USAF, Lawrence Livermore & Sandia Labs, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan Bank, TI, Buick, Chevrolet, Aetna, Cigna, W.R. Grace, Southwestern Bell Telephone, American Re, Swiss Re, Mercantile & General, The British Consulates of South American, several Universities, foreign governments, and many others.
We are just about ready to release beta versions to knowledgeable coin collectors or dealers – if anyone is interested or has questions, please contact me at janschwenk@ripi.com. All current users of NumisEXPERT will receive a free upgrade. The software is written in the Dot.NET environment and should run on just about any machine or operating system out there.
Jan Schwenk
Resource International Publishing, Inc.
The first thing to do is get as much education about coins (or any business you might want to start) before you start the business. Subscribe to the coin newspapers, read the articles, and the ads, get some books and visit shows and shops. Set your goals: how much can you invest, what you want to accomplish and which area you want to specialize in. Every business shares the same basic priciples - you have to make a profit to stay in business - so the question becomes "how do you make a profit?" Profit comes from sales price being greater than costs. Your example of a person buying a coin on Ebay for $35 then selling it for $3500 is highly unlikely. However, if you become expert in an area and buy a coin that the seller does not realize is a variety or an error, you could make a substantial profit. So you might want to specialize in varieties and/or errors. Join CONECA or other organizations that cover those areas of coins. With knowledge you can make money by buying coins on Ebay and other webs. The key is knowledge.
A friend of mine collected coins as a child and had gotten away from it for many years. The coins in his collection were all from circulation and he valued them at what he paid - face value. Neither his children, nor his grandchildren is interested in coins so he asked me if I could help him sell his collection which he valued at "a few hundred dollars". I gave him a copy of our coin collecting software so he could get a reasonable current market value on his collection. As you might have guessed, he had some very nice coins that had appreciated substantially from when he had acquired them - the best of which is an AU 1795 Silver Dollar, but several of which were also very valuable. He is now actively interested in coins again and has been appraising collections that his friends have inherited. He is generating an income of several thousands a month now, and at the same time is upgrading his collection, and amassing a substantial "inventory" of coins.
The point to all this is that you must have the knowledge and information, and most importantly, the gumption to get involved (buying, selling, finding new sources, learning, etc). Don't expect to buy for $35 then sell for $3500. It could happen but probably not very often. The most important and desirable character a businessman in any field can have is honesty. Set that as a goal, stick to it, and you will do well in any business you undertake.
Good luck!
Jan
David
My Gosh! Coin dealers spring full grown and fully knowledgeable, like Medussa from Zeus's head?
Wow! Mythology come to life.
For myself, I must admit I had to work very hard to become what I am - I wasn't born with it, nor did I inherit it.
I don't mean to be mean either.
Rgds
Jan
It seems to me that if you are asking those questions, then you have a long way to go. There are a lot of sharks in this business, and you have to really know your stuff to make money. Why not start by becoming a collector. Pick one of two series, and build a couple of sets. You will soon learn a lot of the ropes. After awhile you can start selling some of your duplicates. Once you have built an entire set, then sell it. At some point you will know enough to evolve into a dealer. But, Legend is correct, you have a lot of work to do. As an alternative, why not try to get a job with an important dealer. Maybe put stuff up on ebay for them. Watch and learn.
Greg
If you are asking this question, then you should not start a coin business yet. it would be much better if you started as a collector,
asked questions from dealers and collectors, and started a planned reading program.
There is a very old and wise saying in collecting : " buy the book , before you buy the coin " The book would only cost a few dollars, and you would gain a wealth of knowledge.
however, books will only supply a fraction of the information that you need. the business of buying and selling coins takes years, and years of experience to be successful.
grading skills and a feel for the market, you are setting yourself up to
fail.
If you want to get your feet wet, try going to a large flea market and
getting a table. Have lower grade, generic coins for sale and see how
successful you are at making your table fee. Go for a few weeks, and
let people know that you are buying coins. If you get completely turned
off by people bringing in the junk that they bought as an investment (i.e.
the mail/tv order $19.95 private mint "coins") and calling you a crook for
not offering the $100's of dollars that it must have grown in value to, then
you have a cheap lesson. If you still like it, then maybe you should look
further into it.
I don't fancy myself as a coin dealer. I do buy and sell coins, and I've been collecting for a long time, but what I really do is run a small software company. About five years ago after getting active in collecting coins again I wanted to organize my collection as I had only a vague idea of what I had. I went out and bought every coin program on the market and didn't find any that did what I wanted, so I decided to have my guys work on our own when they had the free time. My background is JIT, ERP, etc. so I thought it might be fun to incorporate some of those concepts into a coin program. About a year ago it was time for a test. I ran around the Dallas area buying coins from shops, dealers, shows, etc. I didn't bargain but assume I got a little better than retail as I would buy around $5K per purchase. I opened accounts on Yahoo and Ebay and started posting auctions (through the software). In three months I had sold over $75K at a better than 30% net. Presto! Changeo! Instant Dealer? That came to about $7,500/month, not enough to live on perhaps, but it was clear (even paid sales tax!).
My question is, why can't anyone do that? You don't have to start at the same level - all you need is a willingness to learn and the gumption to do it. I like to think the software helped but it only made things fast and easy. Instead of spending all day putzing, I only wanted to spend a few minutes, but then again, I was just playing around.
I had an old friend many years ago. At first I thought he was a little dim and dull, but he became President of the U.S. and I sure as Heck have not! "Harry", I used to say, "You gotta get off your duff and get a little ambition". He said, "Jan, I'll just keep selling clothes, I like that, and you can go ahead and write some software for coin collectors that want to be dealers--after they invent the computer, of course. I'll just stay where I am. You don't think I'd want to fire a five star general, or something, do you?"
Never thought he would, but he did! So why can't a guy (young or old) become a coin dealer? It ain't magic, is it?
There are several ways that people get into dealing. One of the most common is that
they start small and build business and contacts over a long period until they are able
to do it full time. However you attempt it be sure you at least know the pitfalls before
you give up the day job.