Like any business, you have to be a People Person, be able to talk with them and show mutual respect. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, so keep your customers happy by treating them fair, don't be rude, and again honesty. Pay attention to the youth groups, cub scouts or boy scouts, these will be your future customers (help out with a local coin club). Be willing to educate your customers when asked, you might spend 15 minutes with someone and no sale, but what about the "word of mouth" advertising and future coin sales you will do. Have fun.
<< <i>One is an hour away in a great location and does well. Another is an hour away in a smaller town and does well (though they also sell hobby stuff and he has a huge wholesale business). >>
Hey! How come I don't know about these guys? >>
ditto. I lived in Rutland for a few years. I live an hour away now. I have an idea of the two places you might be talking about... but am not sure.
About your original question, I really don't know. I've heard having a store front will bring in more people selling coins. It might increase your inventory even more. Could be a way to increase web sales.
like a small office inside a bank building and then you can use ther daily safe dep box facilities it might cramp your hours to get at your stock but a safer option and more cost effective till you get more established
<< <i>possibly just an office instead of a storefront
like a small office inside a bank building and then you can use ther daily safe dep box facilities it might cramp your hours to get at your stock but a safer option and more cost effective till you get more established
and then only visitors by appointment only
not a walk in street address >>
If I'm not mistaken, that's more or less where the original poster has been at for a while & is looking to expand from that.
Tim - It sounds to me like you can make a go of this, and you are doing it for the right reasons.
My largest concern would be security. In my opinion, the police being two doors away is irrelevant. Thieves are utter morons, they probably wouldn’t even notice. You pretty much have to assume anything could happen. If you are working alone, the odds get even higher of some loser showing up at some point. As Michael mentioned, an office in a bank would be ideal, although I imagine that could get pricey. Might be worth looking into.
I’ve known two dealers in Seattle who exchanged gunfire during separate holdups attempts. One dealer, sadly, was killed; the other escaped without harm. But it really drives home the point how crucial bank-like security is in a venture like this. But assuming you can handle this important aspect, I say go for it!
Good luck - Dave
Always looking for original, better date VF20-VF35 Barber quarters and halves, and a quality beer.
I disagree as to not buying a building. If you put in a coin shop you'll need a large safe that may have to be built in to the structure. Maybe a hidden back room. Not many owners would allow you to modify thier building to that extent. You will want to add lighting and outlets where they are needed, not where they may be now. Extensive security systems may have to be installed with such things as hidden cameras, direct lines to the police stations, etc. More building modifications that an owner may not appreciate. And as to the nearness of a police station. Hah. At a parking lot for a commuter train station exactly next to a police station a car was stripped in braod daylight. The owner of the car stormed into the police station and was simply told to watch a parking lot was not big on thier agenda. You will probably need removable bars on the windows and doors or just really strong ones. Heavily bolted back door that can not be kicked in. Front and rear out door camera security systems.
Other things to consider is you shouldn't try to do this all by yourself. What about the day your sick and can't get to the store and somebody drives for a half hour to get there to find it's closed. Do you close every time you want to go to a coin show? Do you close to take a luch break? Do you close to go to the washroom? Do you close to take your family somewhere for the weekend? Do you close if a family member has to go to a dentist or doctor? Just one more thing to consider. Then naturally there are the hours to be open. If your only open when everyone is at school or working, you will not have to many customers.
Then there is versitility. It has been said that every year about 85 % of all new buisnesses shut down. Around here I've seen that many at least. Mostly I think it's a lack of versitility and just poor locations. Few places can live on one item alone. You would have to add coin books, 2x2's, albums, magazines, magnifing lenses for coins. Then there would have to be something else such as stamps, little cars such as Hot Wheels, baseball / football cards, etc. I've seen shoe repair places carry cigars, lighters, etc just to get that variety. I remember a new store downtown Chicago that only sold Fudge. That store didn't make it for a second month. You will want customers to go to your store for any reason and the coins will then have a better future. To end up paying for bills such as gas, water, electricity, telephones, etc. will require more than a casual coin buying customer.
Then there is access to your store to consider. I don't know how it is by you but around here there are so many places I refuse to go to because there is no place to park. Of course this is the Chicago area so that is normal. Thing is here that if you do find a place to park, you always wonder if your car will still be there when you go back for it.
By the way when are you going stop listing all the SOLD coins on your web site. I used to be a customer of yours but stopped visiting the web site when all I ever saw for what I wanted was SOLD.
Like any business, you have to be a People Person, be able to talk with them and show mutual respect. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, so keep your customers happy by treating them fair, don't be rude, and again honesty. Pay attention to the youth groups, cub scouts or boy scouts, these will be your future customers (help out with a local coin club). Be willing to educate your customers when asked, you might spend 15 minutes with someone and no sale, but what about the "word of mouth" advertising and future coin sales you will do. Have fun.
This is very good advice. I'm pretty good with people ... I just have to make sure I don't get too impatient. I was thinking about putting together a "busy" box where I can 2x2 coins or price some of the low-end coins while I am speaking to people who come in to the shop. That way I can still keep the customer happy, and get some stuff done while I am doing it.
you will need at least 200k if not 800k in available cash or credit to be able to buy
Michael, I would be interested to hear why you would think I would need access to this much cash. I don't plan to stock a bunch of bullion, and I anticipate the shop to be a bit of a low volume location. There has only been one deal in my seven years of doing business that I was unable to handle, and I brought in a big guy and split it with him.
My largest concern would be security. In my opinion, the police being two doors away is irrelevant. Thieves are utter morons, they probably wouldn’t even notice. You pretty much have to assume anything could happen. If you are working alone, the odds get even higher of some loser showing up at some point. As Michael mentioned, an office in a bank would be ideal, although I imagine that could get pricey. Might be worth looking into.
I definitely do not think having the cops next door is irrelavant. Most thieves are utter morons, but if they break in the place and the alarm goes off, the cops don't have a long drive. And some of them may notice the cop cars parked a few doors down from the building.
I’ve known two dealers in Seattle who exchanged gunfire during separate holdups attempts. One dealer, sadly, was killed; the other escaped without harm. But it really drives home the point how crucial bank-like security is in a venture like this. But assuming you can handle this important aspect, I say go for it!
I pray that this does not happen to us, but I can tell you this ... I have no problem with protecting my family and what is mine.
Other things to consider is you shouldn't try to do this all by yourself. What about the day your sick and can't get to the store and somebody drives for a half hour to get there to find it's closed. Do you close every time you want to go to a coin show? Do you close to take a luch break? Do you close to go to the washroom? Do you close to take your family somewhere for the weekend? Do you close if a family member has to go to a dentist or doctor? Just one more thing to consider. Then naturally there are the hours to be open. If your only open when everyone is at school or working, you will not have to many customers.
I'm not too worried about this. I would have limited posted hours, but I would likely be in the office during most normal work hours. I have my father to cover me during the times when I am not able to be in the office during posted hours.
Then there is versitility. It has been said that every year about 85 % of all new buisnesses shut down. Around here I've seen that many at least. Mostly I think it's a lack of versitility and just poor locations. Few places can live on one item alone. You would have to add coin books, 2x2's, albums, magazines, magnifing lenses for coins. Then there would have to be something else such as stamps, little cars such as Hot Wheels, baseball / football cards, etc.
Since a majority of my business is done online, I would not have to rely exclusively on the store business. I need more space to work, and instead of selling my house (which I love) and buying a larger one, I thought buying a secure place to work and opening a shop would work. We'll see.
Then there is access to your store to consider. I don't know how it is by you but around here there are so many places I refuse to go to because there is no place to park. Of course this is the Chicago area so that is normal. Thing is here that if you do find a place to park, you always wonder if your car will still be there when you go back for it.
There is no off street parking, but the building is in the downtown area and is in a safer part of town.
By the way when are you going stop listing all the SOLD coins on your web site. I used to be a customer of yours but stopped visiting the web site when all I ever saw for what I wanted was SOLD.
I have over 6,000 listings on my web site and less than 100 "SOLD" markers. I don't see what the problem is.
well i have found that people who i have known who are buyers in coins to make money or even just collectors looking for that special once in a lifetime coin collector deal
usually
lost the best deals as they did not have the $$$$ to pony up and buy when the time was right
for me there is only one thing that is king in coins
I am interested to hear what other similar type dealers feel they need for available cash. I am not talking about Heritage or DLRC (that deal with 6-figure coins), but the 1 person brick and mortar coin shop dealer. How much cash do you think is needed on hand?
For example, is $10,000 okay, if you have a business account where you can write checks? Or do you see that people bringing in coins to sell only will take cash? One example, I brought in some silver junk coins recently, and my local dealer didn't have the cash to pay me. He gave me $500 in cash, and a business check for $1500. I was fine with that.
I see that a post mentioned at least 200k if not 800k in available cash or credit . So I would assume if you needed to make a bigger purchase, the "credit" portion of your available cash could be used. However, I would tend to believe that a brick and mortar shop will not take in a coin collection worth $100,000 plus. Those type of collections would go to Heritage, etc. But instead, the brick and mortar shop would see collections to buy anywhere from $10 to $10,000. So my guess is $10,000 available cash is plenty, and not $100,000 on hand.
Any other brick and mortar shop owners want to pipe in?
I think a distinction needs to be made here between a Heritage, Legend, David Lawrence, etc who deals in "high end coins" to a 1-person brick and mortar coin shop. Big different in money, big difference in daily business strategies.
You need to figure out how much you need to earn to make a living and to forgo other income opportunities. Then you need to figure out how much turn over of inventory at a designated mark-up is needed to attain that income, taking into account overhead and variable costs. If you start with $10,000 in inventory and mark it up 20%, you would make only $2,000 before expenses if you sell 100% of that inventory. How long will it take for that to happen? Then you need to replenish the sold inventory, which may require travel to shows and auctions, so there will be a time lag during which your inventory will be low and your cash flow will suffer. So starting with $10,000 in inventory does not sound like a business plan that will work.
Remember, one of the biggest causes of business failures is under-capitalization.
Read most of the thread----and must say I have little to no business experience. That said--if what you mainly need is room to expand--why not consider adding on space to to your house with a good security system and real safe. Could be much cheaper than buying a building--of course you'd have no customers coming in and wouldn't advertise your address (except via PO box) for security reasons. The up side is that you could always retro it later into living space. Also no fixed hours--and you wouldn't have to put up with guys like me who want to hang out and talk coins for an hour or so. Whatever you do--the best of luck!
My largest concern would be security. In my opinion, the police being two doors away is irrelevant. Thieves are utter morons, they probably wouldn’t even notice. You pretty much have to assume anything could happen. If you are working alone, the odds get even higher of some loser showing up at some point. As Michael mentioned, an office in a bank would be ideal, although I imagine that could get pricey. Might be worth looking into.
I definitely do not think having the cops next door is irrelavant. Most thieves are utter morons, but if they break in the place and the alarm goes off, the cops don't have a long drive. And some of them may notice the cop cars parked a few doors down from the building.
I'm less concerned about a break-in at night; I'm much more concerned about personal safety. A good alarm system and a bolted down 1,200 lb safe (along with the cops next door) will handle the first issue.
I'd be more concerned about a jerk walking in and waving a 9mm around. That's why a bank office, or a mall setting is ideal. The more people around the better. Of course, that adds a lot of overhead costs. Tough call...
Dave
Always looking for original, better date VF20-VF35 Barber quarters and halves, and a quality beer.
Read most of the thread----and must say I have little to no business experience. That said--if what you mainly need is room to expand--why not consider adding on space to to your house with a good security system and real safe. Could be much cheaper than buying a building--of course you'd have no customers coming in and wouldn't advertise your address (except via PO box) for security reasons. The up side is that you could always retro it later into living space. Also no fixed hours--and you wouldn't have to put up with guys like me who want to hang out and talk coins for an hour or so. Whatever you do--the best of luck!
Because of the way my house is currently set up, adding on is not really realistic. I could build another building, but by the time I get through with that, the costs would be similar to buying this building. And then I would not have the bonus business of walk-in traffic.
I'd be more concerned about a jerk walking in and waving a 9mm around. That's why a bank office, or a mall setting is ideal. The more people around the better. Of course, that adds a lot of overhead costs. Tough call...
You seem to have excellent answers for every concern that has been raised in this thread--a good sign of a person who has really considered all the angles---so go for it---living in Texas I'll probably never get to Vermont---but who knows?-- if I do, I'll stop by Rutland and talk about coins--might even buy something!!
Edited to add: Not sure how many folks in VT have 9mm's (not like here)--for some reason my image of Vermont is peaceful--but you can always buy a .44 magnum for under the counter--or better yet a 12 gauge Mossberg.
Not sure how many folks in VT have 9mm's (not like here)--for some reason my image of Vermont is peaceful--but you can always buy a .44 magnum for under the counter--or better yet a 12 gauge Mossberg.
Vermont is quiet and peaceful, but drugs and gangs are starting to get worse here. I am armed and have no qualms about protecting myself.
I wish you hadn't said...because it probably won't happen I hope you do it! You won't know if you have all you ducks in a row until you are well along or flopped. The only advice I can come up with is put in a Bid Board.
Comments
<< <i>Advice on opening a Coin Shop >>
Be honest, and honest, and honest!
Like any business, you have to be a People Person, be able to talk with them and show mutual respect. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, so keep your customers happy by treating them fair, don't be rude, and again honesty. Pay attention to the youth groups, cub scouts or boy scouts, these will be your future customers (help out with a local coin club). Be willing to educate your customers when asked, you might spend 15 minutes with someone and no sale, but what about the "word of mouth" advertising and future coin sales you will do. Have fun.
Tim
<< <i>
<< <i>One is an hour away in a great location and does well. Another is an hour away in a smaller town and does well (though they also sell hobby stuff and he has a huge wholesale business). >>
Hey! How come I don't know about these guys?
ditto.
I lived in Rutland for a few years. I live an hour away now. I have an idea of the two places you might be talking about... but am not sure.
About your original question, I really don't know. I've heard having a store front will bring in more people selling coins. It might increase your inventory even more. Could be a way to increase web sales.
but also you got to have a good cash flow
you will need at least 200k if not 800k in available cash or credit to be able to buy
you got to get sellers into your store
and i guerss if you got a good web site and ebay you might do okie
but it will be at least 70 hours of work a week to start for the first two years
like a small office inside a bank building and then you can use ther daily safe dep box facilities it might cramp your hours to get at your stock but a safer option and more cost effective till you get more established
and then only visitors by appointment only
not a walk in street address
<< <i>possibly just an office instead of a storefront
like a small office inside a bank building and then you can use ther daily safe dep box facilities it might cramp your hours to get at your stock but a safer option and more cost effective till you get more established
and then only visitors by appointment only
not a walk in street address >>
If I'm not mistaken, that's more or less where the original poster has been at for a while & is looking to expand from that.
My largest concern would be security. In my opinion, the police being two doors away is irrelevant. Thieves are utter morons, they probably wouldn’t even notice. You pretty much have to assume anything could happen. If you are working alone, the odds get even higher of some loser showing up at some point. As Michael mentioned, an office in a bank would be ideal, although I imagine that could get pricey. Might be worth looking into.
I’ve known two dealers in Seattle who exchanged gunfire during separate holdups attempts. One dealer, sadly, was killed; the other escaped without harm. But it really drives home the point how crucial bank-like security is in a venture like this. But assuming you can handle this important aspect, I say go for it!
Good luck -
Dave
Other things to consider is you shouldn't try to do this all by yourself. What about the day your sick and can't get to the store and somebody drives for a half hour to get there to find it's closed. Do you close every time you want to go to a coin show? Do you close to take a luch break? Do you close to go to the washroom? Do you close to take your family somewhere for the weekend? Do you close if a family member has to go to a dentist or doctor? Just one more thing to consider. Then naturally there are the hours to be open. If your only open when everyone is at school or working, you will not have to many customers.
Then there is versitility. It has been said that every year about 85 % of all new buisnesses shut down. Around here I've seen that many at least. Mostly I think it's a lack of versitility and just poor locations. Few places can live on one item alone. You would have to add coin books, 2x2's, albums, magazines, magnifing lenses for coins. Then there would have to be something else such as stamps, little cars such as Hot Wheels, baseball / football cards, etc.
I've seen shoe repair places carry cigars, lighters, etc just to get that variety. I remember a new store downtown Chicago that only sold Fudge. That store didn't make it for a second month. You will want customers to go to your store for any reason and the coins will then have a better future. To end up paying for bills such as gas, water, electricity, telephones, etc. will require more than a casual coin buying customer.
Then there is access to your store to consider. I don't know how it is by you but around here there are so many places I refuse to go to because there is no place to park. Of course this is the Chicago area so that is normal. Thing is here that if you do find a place to park, you always wonder if your car will still be there when you go back for it.
By the way when are you going stop listing all the SOLD coins on your web site. I used to be a customer of yours but stopped visiting the web site when all I ever saw for what I wanted was SOLD.
This is very good advice. I'm pretty good with people ... I just have to make sure I don't get too impatient. I was thinking about putting together a "busy" box where I can 2x2 coins or price some of the low-end coins while I am speaking to people who come in to the shop. That way I can still keep the customer happy, and get some stuff done while I am doing it.
you will need at least 200k if not 800k in available cash or credit to be able to buy
Michael, I would be interested to hear why you would think I would need access to this much cash. I don't plan to stock a bunch of bullion, and I anticipate the shop to be a bit of a low volume location. There has only been one deal in my seven years of doing business that I was unable to handle, and I brought in a big guy and split it with him.
My largest concern would be security. In my opinion, the police being two doors away is irrelevant. Thieves are utter morons, they probably wouldn’t even notice. You pretty much have to assume anything could happen. If you are working alone, the odds get even higher of some loser showing up at some point. As Michael mentioned, an office in a bank would be ideal, although I imagine that could get pricey. Might be worth looking into.
I definitely do not think having the cops next door is irrelavant. Most thieves are utter morons, but if they break in the place and the alarm goes off, the cops don't have a long drive. And some of them may notice the cop cars parked a few doors down from the building.
I’ve known two dealers in Seattle who exchanged gunfire during separate holdups attempts. One dealer, sadly, was killed; the other escaped without harm. But it really drives home the point how crucial bank-like security is in a venture like this. But assuming you can handle this important aspect, I say go for it!
I pray that this does not happen to us, but I can tell you this ... I have no problem with protecting my family and what is mine.
Other things to consider is you shouldn't try to do this all by yourself. What about the day your sick and can't get to the store and somebody drives for a half hour to get there to find it's closed. Do you close every time you want to go to a coin show? Do you close to take a luch break? Do you close to go to the washroom? Do you close to take your family somewhere for the weekend? Do you close if a family member has to go to a dentist or doctor? Just one more thing to consider. Then naturally there are the hours to be open. If your only open when everyone is at school or working, you will not have to many customers.
I'm not too worried about this. I would have limited posted hours, but I would likely be in the office during most normal work hours. I have my father to cover me during the times when I am not able to be in the office during posted hours.
Then there is versitility. It has been said that every year about 85 % of all new buisnesses shut down. Around here I've seen that many at least. Mostly I think it's a lack of versitility and just poor locations. Few places can live on one item alone. You would have to add coin books, 2x2's, albums, magazines, magnifing lenses for coins. Then there would have to be something else such as stamps, little cars such as Hot Wheels, baseball / football cards, etc.
Since a majority of my business is done online, I would not have to rely exclusively on the store business. I need more space to work, and instead of selling my house (which I love) and buying a larger one, I thought buying a secure place to work and opening a shop would work. We'll see.
Then there is access to your store to consider. I don't know how it is by you but around here there are so many places I refuse to go to because there is no place to park. Of course this is the Chicago area so that is normal. Thing is here that if you do find a place to park, you always wonder if your car will still be there when you go back for it.
There is no off street parking, but the building is in the downtown area and is in a safer part of town.
By the way when are you going stop listing all the SOLD coins on your web site. I used to be a customer of yours but stopped visiting the web site when all I ever saw for what I wanted was SOLD.
I have over 6,000 listings on my web site and less than 100 "SOLD" markers. I don't see what the problem is.
Puro's Coins and Jewelry
Rutland, VT
(802)773-3883
Link to my website www.vtcoins.com
Link to my eBay auctions
Buy, sell and trade all coins, US paper money, jewelry, diamonds and anything made of gold, silver or platinum.
usually
lost the best deals as they did not have the $$$$ to pony up and buy when the time was right
for me there is only one thing that is king in coins
and this is cash
For example, is $10,000 okay, if you have a business account where you can write checks? Or do you see that people bringing in coins to sell only will take cash? One example, I brought in some silver junk coins recently, and my local dealer didn't have the cash to pay me. He gave me $500 in cash, and a business check for $1500. I was fine with that.
I see that a post mentioned at least 200k if not 800k in available cash or credit . So I would assume if you needed to make a bigger purchase, the "credit" portion of your available cash could be used. However, I would tend to believe that a brick and mortar shop will not take in a coin collection worth $100,000 plus. Those type of collections would go to Heritage, etc. But instead, the brick and mortar shop would see collections to buy anywhere from $10 to $10,000. So my guess is $10,000 available cash is plenty, and not $100,000 on hand.
Any other brick and mortar shop owners want to pipe in?
I think a distinction needs to be made here between a Heritage, Legend, David Lawrence, etc who deals in "high end coins" to a 1-person brick and mortar coin shop. Big different in money, big difference in daily business strategies.
Remember, one of the biggest causes of business failures is under-capitalization.
CG
I definitely do not think having the cops next door is irrelavant. Most thieves are utter morons, but if they break in the place and the alarm goes off, the cops don't have a long drive. And some of them may notice the cop cars parked a few doors down from the building.
I'm less concerned about a break-in at night; I'm much more concerned about personal safety. A good alarm system and a bolted down 1,200 lb safe (along with the cops next door) will handle the first issue.
I'd be more concerned about a jerk walking in and waving a 9mm around. That's why a bank office, or a mall setting is ideal. The more people around the better. Of course, that adds a lot of overhead costs. Tough call...
Dave
Because of the way my house is currently set up, adding on is not really realistic. I could build another building, but by the time I get through with that, the costs would be similar to buying this building. And then I would not have the bonus business of walk-in traffic.
I'd be more concerned about a jerk walking in and waving a 9mm around. That's why a bank office, or a mall setting is ideal. The more people around the better. Of course, that adds a lot of overhead costs. Tough call...
This is definitely a concern.
Puro's Coins and Jewelry
Rutland, VT
(802)773-3883
Link to my website www.vtcoins.com
Link to my eBay auctions
Buy, sell and trade all coins, US paper money, jewelry, diamonds and anything made of gold, silver or platinum.
Edited to add: Not sure how many folks in VT have 9mm's (not like here)--for some reason my image of Vermont is peaceful--but you can always buy a .44 magnum for under the counter--or better yet a 12 gauge Mossberg.
Vermont is quiet and peaceful, but drugs and gangs are starting to get worse here. I am armed and have no qualms about protecting myself.
Puro's Coins and Jewelry
Rutland, VT
(802)773-3883
Link to my website www.vtcoins.com
Link to my eBay auctions
Buy, sell and trade all coins, US paper money, jewelry, diamonds and anything made of gold, silver or platinum.
Jerry