How many brick & mortar coin shops are in your community and do you patronize same?
SanctionII
Posts: 12,102 ✭✭✭✭✭
I live in California. While traveling for work I check out phone books to look for brick & motar coin shops. I visit many shops, some only once and some repeatedly. I like the variety of stores you find (grimey holes in the wall with coins and supplies strewn everywhere like a tornado hit it; to nice, clean and organized stores).
Since I got back into the hobby 6 years ago, the shops I have visited have stayed in business (except one) and new shops have opened.
Curiosity compels me to ask:
1. How many brick and motar shops are in your community (and what area of the country do you live in; and do you live in a rural, suburban or urban area)?
2. How often do you visit brick & mortar shops in your community (and how often do you buy/sell in those shops)?
3. Over the past 10 years, have you noticed the number of brick & mortar shops in your community increasing, decreasing or staying the same (and what do you think the cause of same is)?
4. Does the coin collecting hobby have more of a presence in certain parts of the country than in others parts (if so, what areas of the country have a strong presence and what parts of the country have a weak presence; and what is the cause of the difference)?
Looking forward to your insightful replies. SanctionII.
Since I got back into the hobby 6 years ago, the shops I have visited have stayed in business (except one) and new shops have opened.
Curiosity compels me to ask:
1. How many brick and motar shops are in your community (and what area of the country do you live in; and do you live in a rural, suburban or urban area)?
2. How often do you visit brick & mortar shops in your community (and how often do you buy/sell in those shops)?
3. Over the past 10 years, have you noticed the number of brick & mortar shops in your community increasing, decreasing or staying the same (and what do you think the cause of same is)?
4. Does the coin collecting hobby have more of a presence in certain parts of the country than in others parts (if so, what areas of the country have a strong presence and what parts of the country have a weak presence; and what is the cause of the difference)?
Looking forward to your insightful replies. SanctionII.
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2. Don't. Would rather go about 70 miles away to a better shop, and even then they don't really carry the stuff that I collect.
3. there's one in town, not multiplying or dead yet.
4. Not sure.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the Internet, I probably wouldn't even be collecting coins right now.
Why step over the dollar to get to the cent? Because it's a 55DDO.
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"Sou Mangueira......."
I'm in the Northeast Philadelphia, PA vacinity.
One of them. Of the other four... One I consider a crook of sorts, of the other three, they rarely get anything in thats nice and/or new.
Of the one I visit, I try to stop by once a month.
The number of shops is down. Of the 4 I don't frequent, one will be closing soon, so the number we've lost in the last year or two is two.
Web: www.tonyharmer.org
There is one local shop, and a few other spread out over a 20 mile radius from where I live (which is in a suburb).
2. How often do you visit brick & mortar shops in your community (and how often do you buy/sell in those shops)?
Since I go to a local coin show twice a month, I almost never go to the shops.
3. Over the past 10 years, have you noticed the number of brick & mortar shops in your community increasing, decreasing or staying the same (and what do you think the cause of same is)?
The number of shops hasn't changed, probably due to competition from the coin show.
4. Does the coin collecting hobby have more of a presence in certain parts of the country than in others parts (if so, what areas of the country have a strong presence and what parts of the country have a weak presence; and what is the cause of the difference)?
I believe that coin collecting has more of a presence in Sothern California than other parts of the country, due to the number of major shows held there.
2. About once a month. Most of my buying and selling is at one shop.
3. Don't know about trends, but it seems like coin shops are alive and well in this area.
4. Seems like coin collecting has always been strong in the Orange County, CA area. I grew up in OC and it always seemed like a big hobby market. Probably due to the huge number of baby boomers (like me) that grew up there.
IMO coin shops are viable if they have the right location (metropolitan area) and the right business model (buy everything and sell to wholesalers asap).
Remember, coin shops exist to buy coins and not sell them. As coin collectors we all need to realize this when we visit our local shops.
There are two within my normal driving distance (beyond that, it becomes a journey) but around 6 within a hours drive.
One I don't go to much - it's not a browsing shop and more of a place for the guy to buy coins I guess.
The other I always buy something when I go but the prices aren't that great. I probably stop in less then 10 times a year.
I still need to journey up to MNMCoin in Temecula, Lake Elsinore Coin and About Rare Coins in Chino/Pomona
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since 8/1/6
2) never
3) Stays the same. Reason: Dunno exaxctly but I do know this guys shafts alot of unknowing peeps. Our community here is more of a retirement community. There are a few people that set up at the flea market. 1 guy treats me like crap unless my dad is along. 1 who claims he knows a whole lot about coins sells a bunch of circulated and cleaned stuff. He also claims it's impossible to put together a complete UNC morgan set. There is 1 other fella there that sets up only during winter months. He has pretty nice stuff and treats me well so I buy from him when I'm able. His selection is OK.
4) Dunno about that but I will say here in ohio(statewide) there is more coin shows in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincy(Bengals) which would make one believe that coin collectors are more plentiful in those areas. My little Community has 1 coin show per year.
The Internet has the biggest selection. Best place for a coin collector. What's even better about it is you don't have a person standing over you and making you feel obligated to buy something because you shadowed the door. When ya decline on buying anything because you didn't see any pieces that didn't fit into your collection then starts the comments about you. On the Internet you simply don't have that.
Chris
2. I occasionally visit one at the mall, and the owner is very friendly.
3. A couple new coin shops have opened for buisness in the past five years, before that I do not know. I think the reason is that there have been an increasing number of collectors, as can be seen by the increasing number of attenders and dealers at local coin shows.
4. I don't know.
2. I've sold to that shop and visited once during lunch time (there seemed to be a few people also stopping in at lunch)
3. I think the number has stayed the same; the one that I vistited has been around forever
4. I think the hobby is pretty well spread across the country (but I have nothing to base that on)
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