Advice on opening a Coin Shop

VTCoins

I am in the very early exploratory stages of looking into opening a coin shop here in Rutland, VT.

The last sentence is intentionally vague and non-comittal because it probably won't happen.

There are a few reasons I would like to open a shop:

1. I need more room to work. I want to expand my business to do more Coin World and Numismatic News ads and maybe start producing catalogs. To do this, I need more room than my small office in my basement.
2. Security. While I don't keep coins in my home, it is still a security risk for my family.
3. I would obviously be able to buy and sell a lot more stuff with a formal storefront. I would be able to sell the jewelry I buy that is too pretty to scrap. I would be able to sell the crappy stuff (colored coins, "Americana" sets, etc.) that come in with large collections. Also coin supplies.
4. I could help start a local coin community with a more public prescence. Maybe even a coin club.

I actually found a building that is just about perfect. It is two doors down from the Police station, has a shop area that is approximately 400 square feet (just the right size for me to handle), two nice offices and a kitchen type area. The building is in great shape and would not be too complicated to secure well. It does not have off street parking, but there is a shopping plaza almost directly across the street and street parking out front. The building needs almost no work and is priced right.

Since I already have a successful online business, the business I do out of the shop would not have to carry the business.

What do you guys (and gals) think? Am I biting off more than I can chew (just me and my wife run the business)?

What are important elements for a good coin shop?

I know that one thing that people will mention is keeping regular hours. This will be tough for me because I will be the only person working the shop. I may be able to convince my father to work a couple hours a week, but other than that, it will be just me. While I will be available 90% of the time, there will be times when I will need to go visit clients, attend coin shows and take personal time.

1921obsession

In all honesty, Tim, I don't think Rutland is big enough to support a brick-and-mortar shop. For the record, I'm from Bennington, and I don't think that town is big enough either.

1jester

I think you should go for it; it would be a natural expansion of your current business, and would give you great pleasure, no doubt!



PS: Please promise to never sell or use any PVC supplies.

Cladiator

<< <i>It is two doors down from the Police station >>

That is very cool. From a security standpoint.

morganbarber

You must keep regular hours when people know you will be open. Put them on your answering machine. Even if only four hours a day, four days a week, at least people can plan and come when you are open.
Edited to add:
People may drive hours to get there, so area is not as important as them knowing when to come

RedneckHB

Do it!!

CarlWohlforth

Are you talking about buying the building? Can you rent out the offices? If so would that rent cover most of the expenses of the building? If so I would do it. It is nice to own real estate. You could limit the hours you are open to the public.

Some people rent office space to run their coin business from. If your business is to the point where you can afford to spend a bit on expenses you could have a comfortable office/store.

Personally I would only do it if owning the building made sense as an investment. If you end up not wanting to run the store front or it wasn't working you could rent out that space too.

messydesk

None of your reasons were "I've always dreamed of owning a shop," which tells me that this isn't going to be an emotional decision.

Does it make sense from a financial standpoint if you were simply to relocate your home office to a distinct retail location? It sounds like if nothing else, it will give you a better space to work at your internet-based business, which you state you need, anyway. Any walk-in business would be gravy.

What are the tangible tradeoffs between this and leasing extra working space in an office park somewhere? Another question you should ask is who was in the building earlier, and why did they leave?

slipgate

Don't do it, you'll regret it, without a doubt.

Why kill yourself running a B&M working 18 hour days only to maybe break even?

You'll never make enough to cover your overhead from the store alone - your online sales profits will have to go towards keeping the B&M open.

Put your money into a better website and then advertise it. You could easily put $30-50k into your website and really make it great.

The point is to make money no? While it is nice to have the storefront for that personal touch, it is not smart from a business standpoint - especially with certified coins and the Internet.

VTCoins

In all honesty, Tim, I don't think Rutland is big enough to support a brick-and-mortar shop. For the record, I'm from Bennington, and I don't think that town is big enough either.

Rutland is not big enough to support a brick-and-mortar shop if all of your business relies on local business. Since I already have a successful online business, opening a shop would give me more room to expand my online/mail order business, give me a secure place to do business and allow me to not have to buy a bigger house (my wife and I are considering having children).

You must keep regular hours when people know you will be open. Put them on your answering machine. Even if only four hours a day, four days a week, at least people can plan and come when you are open.

Keeping regular hours for even four hours a day is a great idea. I could probably swing that!

Are you talking about buying the building? Can you rent out the offices?

Right now, I am thinking about buying the building. The offices would not be rented out and would be used by my wife and I to run the business. The building is quite small, but perfect for our needs.

VTCoins

None of your reasons were "I've always dreamed of owning a shop," which tells me that this isn't going to be an emotional decision.

It really isn't an emotional decision. It is more practical. I need more space and I would like the better security. The business I do out of the shop would be a bonus and would allow me sell some of the material that I have that I don't have an outlet for. It also might help me to improve the coin community in this part of VT.

What are the tangible tradeoffs between this and leasing extra working space in an office park somewhere? Another question you should ask is who was in the building earlier, and why did they leave?

The benefits of buying this building is the location and price. My guess is that if I lease the space elswhere, the costs would be possibly more monthly and I would not own the building. An insurance agency was in the building before, and they moved out awhile ago.

Steve27

How close is the nearest competition, and how is their business?

VTCoins

Why kill yourself running a B&M working 18 hour days only to maybe break even? You'll never make enough to cover your overhead from the store alone - your online sales profits will have to go towards keeping the B&M open.

I don't think they will be 18 hour days. I plan to crunch the numbers and see what the monthly damage would be. Without looking at the numbers, I think the biz I would do out of the shop would cover them.

Put your money into a better website and then advertise it. You could easily put $30-50k into your website and really make it great.

This is something I am also considering.

The point is to make money no? While it is nice to have the storefront for that personal touch, it is not smart from a business standpoint - especially with certified coins and the Internet.

My whole life doesn't revolve around making money. I was on the fast-track in NY working for ad agencies and got burned out. I am trying to find a way that my wife and I can make a living, without hiring people and killing ourselves, and still be happy. I could hire people and sell $20 million a year in coins, but I don't want or need the stress.

Geoman

"...You must keep regular hours when people know you will be open..."

This statement is more important than most people think. There is one "brick and mortar" in the town where I live (pop ~100,000) and the dealer does not keep regular business hours. It is very frustrating driving there, only to find he is closed. Sometimes there is a hand scribble sign taped to his door, saying Closed for the day. Sometimes there is a clock saying will return at such and such time. I have called ahead, only to go there and find he closed the shop for the day. Others I have talked to have vented this same frustration. A lot of us, including myself, have stopped going there or trying to buy coins from him because of this.

See this link.

Edited to add: I think it is still possible to make a go of it with a brick and mortar shop. But besides just selling/buying there, you would need an internet/eBay presence, and maybe deal in bullion too.

I think I may be a few years behind you. I was working on setting up a onlin coin store, got side-tracked, but am starting to work on that again. Then the local dealer here in town wants to retire in 5 years, and have thought about looking into buying that if all goes well.

tmot99

My thought is why do you care about the walk in business? It sounds like you have reason enough to get an extra location for your business whether it be a new house or lease an office. If this is in your budget, why not go for it. The walk-in business would only add to the profit and pay bills which you would have either way.

VTCoins

How close is the nearest competition, and how is their business?

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).

VTCoins

My thought is why do you care about the walk in business? It sounds like you have reason enough to get an extra location for your business whether it be a new house or lease an office. If this is in your budget, why not go for it. The walk-in business would only add to the profit and pay bills which you would have either way.

This is right on the money. We like our current home and need the space. And I sincerely believe that the stuff I buy and sell out of the store would cover the additional costs. And I would be building equity while owning the building. Plus, better security.

Barndog

I've heard from local dealers that a financial benefit of a brick and mortar shop is the bullion trade. In fact one local dealer says he gets more than 90% of his revenue from buying and selling gold and silver. Add this to your business model and maybe you have something?

I'm all for improvements in the website too!

topstuf

Opening a new business and planning a new family sounds like a DISASTER!

Each require FULL ATTENTION.

NEW coin shops have a tough climb. Most folks sell their stuff where they bought it. It can be done but not without at least $100,000 in non borrowed capital and an equivalent inventory.

You'll need a minimum of a bag of silver, 1000 oz ea in 100 oz Ag and 1 oz Ag rounds, also a minimum 50 oz of gold bullion.

And >........INSURANCE..... Have you gotten quotes? Don't forget the security....both installation and continuing service. Now.....the FUN part...... paying the YELLOW PAGE ads. The small town will require one and naturally the OTHER directories that service your area. Also remember that phone contracts with any directory OTHER than your primary service directory will require full payment for the term of the ad even if you go OUT of bizz.

(I paid 10 months of service for a DEAD ad in a book that was not in my primary area.....And NO amount of negotiation worked. Other than payment in full)

Then the question of whether you can shoot someone dead if he comes in to rob you.

A lot on the plate of a new dad.

????????????

marmac

I say go for it. Although, from talking to a few dealer friends, one in particular, the most ideal is to buy a pre-existing coin shop. Something that has been around for awhile and is established. For example I have two shops within a couple miles of my house. One has been around forever and recently sold to a father/son team. The other is a brand new shop.

The father/son shop has stuff coming in frequently that was purchased there way back when. People inheriting the coins, seeing the address and name of the shop on all the reciepts and 2x2's and they naturally are coming back in to liquidate.People stopping by all the time, because the shop has been established for a long time.

On the other hand the other guy, who opened the new shop is having a tough go at it. He is doing all right, but he works his but off to keep inventory coming in the door. He is doing a great job of it, as between the two shops it is the one of my preference- but it is tough to keep things moving in and out. If doing it all over again, I think he would have hunted down a preexisting shop to buy. But that is'nt always possible and poses some geographical obstacles if there is nothing around town in your area.

If I had to list the criteria for "the perfect shop", in my opinion these would be the key components-

1- Good lighting
2- Lots of display cases with lots of inventory in plain view. (I find a lot of dealers like to keep stuff in the safe, so you never even know what they got).
3- A good spread of value. Meaning High end to low end stuff. Equal opportunity for all collectors. The guy who comes in every saturday searching the junk boxes for ten bucks worth of stuff could somewhere down the road be the guy dropping big dollars.
4- Variety- Type coins, type coins,type coins...thats what draws me to a shop.
5- Honest and open environment. If a coin has a rim ding or is cleaned, note it on the holder. That earns my respect.
6- Work local want lists and produce. Even if the margin is small, it makes for very loyal customers.
7-Be open on the weekend if at all possible. Thats when father/kid are out and about.
8- Throw a fresh one at your customers once in awhile. Nothing better than when I get a call from a dealer telling me this or that just came thru the door at he thought it was right up my alley. It builds relationships and loyality.
9- Keep new stuff coming in the door,how? your guess is as good as mine. I lose interest real fast in a shop if I start recognizing the same stuff in the display cases over and over.


Well that is my two cents....

topstuf

Another RULE of mine. NEVER buy your own building. Real estate and your enterprise should be separate so you don't make location decisions on your own place. If you buy a building and rent it out and depreciate it and use the rent to pay rent on YOUR business, you'll make better decisions. Buying a building for YOUR use and then discovering a better location (or a civic "improvement") can bust yer boils.

Good luck.

topstuf

I just can't shut up. Is your DAD a "coin person?"

I let my dad in my shop for ONE day. He could NOT resist "ooh-ing" and "aaah-ing" at every coin that came in and saying "WOW" for every one that sold.

"Gee, how can you sell something like that? Have you had it a long time?"

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRHHHHHHHH !!!!!

RedTiger

Most people that aspire to opening a coin shop have a romantic view. You seem realistic so I vote "yay." The positives are better security and more space vs. working at home. If the price is right on the building, seems like an easy decision. You would have to either buy a bigger home, or rent out office space somewhere else to expand and this location seems a good one.

You can be like the 3-day suit stores, only open a few hours during the week during prime time. I suggest a full day Saturday, 2 hours noon to two a couple of days, and maybe 2 hours, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on one or two days. This adds up to maybe a total of 20 hours a week for regular hours. Also add that you can make appointments for viewing or selling.

Real coin collectors are a diligent bunch and will adapt to your hours. People looking to sell, will either call to schedule an appointment or will come when you are open. New casual collectors or passerbys might be shut out, but these are not prime customers.

Security is perhaps the #1 problem, and you seem to have a good handle on that. Finding suppliers is often overlooked, and you already have that lined up. Paying the rent (or mortgage) is high on the list, but again you have a good handle on that. Not many negatives that I can see. You are looking for more space, a safer space anyway, and the fact that you can do some walk-in business is a bonus. If you are not already friends with the local police, this will be a good time to make new friends .

mirabela

<< <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?

Longacre

If the economics work, and you don't mind working regular hours like the rest of us working stiffs, then go for it. At the very least, you will have a valuable asset in a building, and one that you can rent out or sell if you decide to close the shop.

au58

Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THE BUILDING. At least not yet. Either rent it or, preferably, arrange a "rent with option to buy" lease.

Do not confuse running a coin business with investing in real estate. If you want to invest in real estate, then invest in real estate.

If you've done your homework and the numbers work, go for it. As John Paul Jones said "He who will not risk cannot win".

VTCoins

Thank you for the advice from everyone and keep it coming!

I like hearing the good and the bad. I'm going to have my wife read this posting to see what she thinks.


NEW coin shops have a tough climb. Most folks sell their stuff where they bought it. It can be done but not without at least $100,000 in non borrowed capital and an equivalent inventory.

There are no other shops in the area, so whatever material that would be sold would likely be material that people inherited. For the collectors, they would have had to buy most of their coins through the mail, so there may be a chance that they would not want to ship them out.


You'll need a minimum of a bag of silver, 1000 oz ea in 100 oz Ag and 1 oz Ag rounds, also a minimum 50 oz of gold bullion.

I would stock very little bullion. With the 6% VT sales tax, I usually recommend that people buy there bullion out of state. If they insist on buying it from me, I can always order it in and take a small commission.


And >........INSURANCE..... Have you gotten quotes? Don't forget the security....both installation and continuing service. Now.....the FUN part...... paying the YELLOW PAGE ads. The small town will require one and naturally the OTHER directories that service your area. Also remember that phone contracts with any directory OTHER than your primary service directory will require full payment for the term of the ad even if you go OUT of bizz.

I'll have to look into the insurance. Regarding advertising ... I am already in the yellow pages. Expensive, but it pays for itself ten times over.


Then the question of whether you can shoot someone dead if he comes in to rob you.

I have absolutely no qualms about shooting someone. In another post, I'll tell you a little about my father and his "incident."


I just can't shut up. Is your DAD a "coin person?"

My father is indeed a coin person. BigJohnVT on eBay.


1- Good lighting, etc.

The points 1-9 were greatly appreciated and I will add them to my list.


You can be like the 3-day suit stores, only open a few hours during the week during prime time. I suggest a full day Saturday, 2 hours noon to two a couple of days, and maybe 2 hours, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on one or two days. This adds up to maybe a total of 20 hours a week for regular hours. Also add that you can make appointments for viewing or selling.

Off the top of my head, I was thinking 10 AM to 2 PM five days a week and 3 PM to 7 PM one day a week. If business is really good, I would expand the hours.



Hey! How come I don't know about these guys?

Matt ... you must know who these guys are!


Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THE BUILDING. At least not yet. Either rent it or, preferably, arrange a "rent with option to buy" lease.

Something I had not considered. I'm going to meet with some business advisors and look into that.

topstuf

Well, heck, you aren't GREEN. I would think your experience would be the asset that most new shops don't have. I am still an advocate of OWNING a building for renting out and USING a rented space. If only for succession reasons. If you dropped dead, your family would still collect rent from your owned building and only have to negotiate on what was left of your lease. If you do bizz from a building you OWN, you limit your flexibility and increase your liability.

I consider them to be two separate business entities. When you combine them, you lose some perspective.

But .....other than the possible "new family" (and its demands) it sounds as if you're seasoned enough to make more than a "stab" at it.

VTCoins

ttt

librtyhead

dont just sell coins sell some old books maybe a few antiques some old cards, maybe a few odd things to get people in .........

topstuf

Add ......pawn...... and yer in CLOVER!!!!
I pawned numismatic coins, gold, silver, quartz nuggets......all that good stuff. VERY good combo.
Along with the usual jewelry and cars.

mrearlygold

Sometimes I think that I would LOVE to have a coin shop again. I had one on Rte 9 in Bayville NJ back in 1979, the at Highway 88 at the laurelton circle in Bricktown NJ, and the coolest one on main street in Belmar NJ in 1982.

It's a different world now and I think this is a part of the past I just won't try to revive.

Good luck!

Tom

lathmach

I have a friend that runs an antique store and coin shop.
He used to rent tables at my coin shows.
He told me he's closing this business when his lease is up.
Reason is there's not enough business volume.
There's 2 small towns here, with a total population of around 5500.
There's no other coin shop within 45 miles.
My friend says sometimes he'll have only one sale all day.
You can't pay the overhead without volume.
Now, here's an idea.
Sell stuff for people on Ebay on consignment out of your coin shop.
You're selling there anyway, so run an Ebay consignment store, along with a coin store.
That might get you the sales you need to pay your expenses.

Ray

ModernDollarNut

Tim, I don't know you all that well, but from what I have observed of your tables at various VT coin shows, you have the discipline to handle B&M, whether rental or owned. I know I would make the trip to Rutland on occasion to buy and to sell Ikes and SBAs, my speciality, as there is nothing in Burlington that lights my fire. Rutland may be small on the scale of cities but it is centrally located in the tourist belt and I bet over time you could generate repeat tourist-coin-collector trade.

The only advice I can add to this fine thread: your attitude will determine how well your store does far more than any particular. If you communicate a combination of enthusiasm and honesty, your business will do well. Just MHO.

See you Sunday at the Burlington, VT show! Rob

VTCoins

dont just sell coins sell some old books maybe a few antiques some old cards, maybe a few odd things to get people in .....

Nice idea. We would definitely sell our sterling that we buy, and maybe look for some nice "smalls" at auctions and flea markets.


Add ......pawn...... and yer in CLOVER!!!!

Pawn shops are illegal in VT.


You're selling there anyway, so run an Ebay consignment store, along with a coin store.

I did think of this. It would also draw some traffic to the shop

1921obsession

I revise my previous position, in view of everything I've learned since that post. You appear to have thought out the important considerations (I should have expected no less from a Green Mountain Boy), and there's good reason to move your total operation offsite. If that move also allows you to establish a retail presence, all the better. I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge available on this forum, and the willingness to share shown by the real experts.

Just don't forget to target advertising in Manchester and Stratton.

VTCoins

Rob

I'll see you in Burlington tomorrow. Thanks for the encouragment.

1921obsession ... take a ride up Route 7 to Burlington tomorrow for the coin show. Holiday Inn on Williston Road.

roadrunner

I'd suggest running your thoughts by other B&M dealers in the northeast to get their ideas. Guilford Coin in CT (PCGS reg dealer) is a good one to get some info from. Steve Luter took over that shop in 1999 and would be a wealth of information. Taking over an established shop is a KEY point and a major boost. The bullion trade is also key. This alone could be worth $30-50K per year of base income. Or at least it should be in this current market. I know one CT dealer who barely even buys the stuff. Says he can't be bothered!!!!!!

With PM's expected to continue to rise for several years to come,
the amount of money to be made off bullion will be staggering. If you are stuck under 6% salex tax laws in VT, I'd say find a more accomodating state with a $1,000 exemption. The casino trade in CT has made bullion coins much more profitable than in the past. And it will only get better as PM prices rise. Being in a B&M shop in a well-populated, but ruralish New England town will bode very well for the owners. I believe the other NE states have some sort of bullion exemption over $1000.

Expect to work 9 to 6 each day, with Saturdays as well. It's a pretty grueling life style but in the right market (ie. today), can be very rewarding.

roadrunner

topstuf

Got a better idea. Open a Japanese restaurant.

Tim Puro's Tempura.

grooooaaaaannnnn............

originalisbest

Tim, good luck - it certainly seems as though you're not rushing into the decision without considering all the angles. Too bad about the VT tax on bullion, as a lot of Illinois dealers I know like to have the bullion transactions going to and fro.

What did you do in the ad agency world in NY - exec stuff? That would tend to have a high burnout factor - glad you're planning for the future with an eye on truly enjoying what you do!

originalisbest

That joke was painful, topstuf.

It's nice to see so many experienced hands sharing their knowledge and advice - it's a pretty friendly board when it wants to be!

topstuf

The whole thing might change with eBay's "new" format. Dunno what it is but their announcement looks like they are looking into non-auction fixed price listings in some format other than store.

Bullion is also getting to be a bear with the Inet dealers like Tulving in it and more coming.

Only thing left is onesie-twosies for locals. The big stuff will go to the big dealers. Bullion won't be like 1979-80.

roadrunner

Disagree Topstuff. I see local dealers doing up to $10-100K bullion deals mutliple times during the year. The average guy isn't always going to go in the internet to save 1-3%. He also wants privacy as well. I've seen some deals done for Bullion will be very big at the B&M shops in the coming years. While silver can't be as nutty as it was, due to supplies being dried up, gold supplies in the public are far greater than they were in 1980. That 15,000 tons of central bank gold had to go somewhere to keep the price of gold down in the last 10 years. Toss in 20 years of US gold eagles (Krugs, Maple Leafs, Philharmonics, Sovs) $20 Saint/Lib hoards continuing to come back to the US (and slabbed), and you have more gold availability now than since the 1920's.

roadrunner

VTCoins

I'd suggest running your thoughts by other B&M dealers in the northeast to get their ideas. Guilford Coin in CT (PCGS reg dealer) is a good one to get some info from. Steve Luter took over that shop in 1999 and would be a wealth of information. Taking over an established shop is a KEY point and a major boost. The bullion trade is also key. This alone could be worth $30-50K per year of base income. Or at least it should be in this current market. I know one CT dealer who barely even buys the stuff. Says he can't be bothered!!!!!!

I'm a Vermonter ... pretty sure I am here for life (unless I win Powerball them it will be Maui). I'll have to deal with the tax situation here. I already buy most of the bullion in the area, and sell it when people absolutely have to have it.


Expect to work 9 to 6 each day, with Saturdays as well. It's a pretty grueling life style but in the right market (ie. today), can be very rewarding.

I am doing these type of hours and more right now. But I enjoy it. And I will have a little help with my wife and father. If I ever hire someone (shudder at the thought), there are a few retired collectors in the area that are always nagging me for a job.


Got a better idea. Open a Japanese restaurant. Tim Puro's Tempura.

That joke has only been told to me one other time in my life. I worked for an ad agency in Dallas for about ten minutes (actually six months, but I am trying to block out that time of my life ), and one of the copywriters always called me "Shrimp." I'm six feet tall and about 220, and the writer was about 5'7", so I had no idea why he would call me that. He told me on the day I left Dallas ... Shrimp timpuro. Ugh!


What did you do in the ad agency world in NY - exec stuff? That would tend to have a high burnout factor - glad you're planning for the future with an eye on truly enjoying what you do!

I was in account management (liason between the client and the agency) for some of the largest agencies in the world. Worked on the following accounts: Advil, Budget Gourmet, AT&T, USPS, Panasonic, etc. Worked hard and played hard. Came back to VT, took a huge pay cut and I am happier than I have ever been. I do miss NYC, though.


I am out of town until Sunday night, but I would appreciate it if everyone could keep posting comments. This has been really helpful.

If I decide to go through with it, I will plan on asking advice from everyone on all aspects of the store.

Proof

I have very little knowledge of Rutland VT. , but I have been there, and my concern is: would you have enough customers ??

A few years ago I was in the Rutland Mall at Christmass time and I could practically count the number of people in the entire mall. DEAD !

I noticed many farms and not too many people.
Are there enough people to keep you busy ? How many people collect coins out of the sparse population there ??

It seems as though the internet has just about eliminated the "coin shop".

Having said this, I wish you luck, if you do take a stab at the location you have found.

VTCoins

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, what business I would do out of the shop would be a bit of a bonus. The shop would give me more room to conduct business in a secure place. I think the shop would more than pay for itself, but it might not make enough money to fully support a growing family. My other sales outlets will cover that.

I plan to meet with some business advisors this week, and we'll see how it goes.

originalisbest

VTCoins - ack! One of the most thankless tasks in advertising.

Good luck with your future plans!

Coinhusker1

Sounds like a great idea to me.

If you open shop I will try to stop by next time I ski the Killington / Pico area.

michael

What are important elements for a good coin shop?


you are really only there to buy from the public

selling is the gravy and this gravy is to be visited by many dealers who are buying

most IMPORTANTLY you need a feeder someone or something businesswise that is guaranteed to pay all your operating expenses for a couple of years or more untill you get established

so to sum up you need these three things to be successful

1 a feeder
2 being able to buy from the public
3 visited by many dealers on a regular basis that are coming to buy

retail selling to the public is only a necessary evil and even if you do not get anyone this is better for you

VTCoins

VTCoins - ack! One of the most thankless tasks in advertising.

I actually enjoyed it, but I think I would have been better as a copywriter. I enjoyed most of my accounts, and loved managing photo shoots, radio production and TV production.


so to sum up you need these three things to be successful
1 a feeder
I think the bullion that I buy from the public will be my sort of "cash cow".
2 being able to buy from the public
Collectible coins bought from the public will definitely be a bonus and will help out my web site.
3 visited by many dealers on a regular basis that are coming to buy
I don't anticipate a heck of a lot of dealers making their way to VT.

solid

Tim,

Good luck if you go for it - and keep us posted!

Ken