Do Vest Pocket Dealers get the same level of pricing?

ElKevvo

A previous thread that discussed some social miscreant unofficially dealing at a show got me thinking about dealer to dealer transactions. If a dealer is attempting to wholesale some coins or looking to buy some inventory would he be inclined to offer the same deal to someone who was a registered dealer at the show or tend to offer different prices/terms? I am assuming that the items being purchased are generic sorts with no potential for a pick and also, the dealers have no deep relationship other than recognizing one another through seeing each other at various shows.

Your thoughts?

K

Longacre

This sort of gets to what I was thinking. Why should someone get "dealer pricing" if he did not fork over a dime to the show promoters, while the other dealers spent good money to have access to a show? Shouldn't there be another level of fee that the "suitcase" dealers have to pay, to make it fair to the other dealers?

kranky

It is fair. The vest pocket dealers can only transact with the tabled dealers. The dealers with tables can transact with anyone at the show. That is a huge difference. Take a mid-sized show with 50 tables. Out of the 50 tables, some will be foreign/ancients only, some will only do copper, some will be specialists in other areas, then you have the supply dealer, the currency dealer(s)... So that VPD might have a total of 30 or so people he can sell to. The dealer with a table will have hundreds - all the other dealers plus everyone who attends.

I think like any business, there are reasons to give someone wholesale pricing. If a VPD brings a tabled dealer coins that the dealer can sell easily for a profit, then you want that person to continue to bring you business. When selling, wouldn't it make sense to give that VPD a break on the price to nourish the relationship? If you can't work with the VPD both ways (buying AND selling) then the VPD might quit coming to your table to offer coins.

From my observations, dealers know the other dealers. The price can vary depending on who the customer is and they don't change their pricing just because the person is not taking a table at a show. On the other hand, the price might very well go up if it's someone they don't like.

PerryHall

Vest pocket dealers won't pay retail like the general public does so if a table dealer wants to sell to a vest pocket dealer, he has to price his merchandise as if he were selling to another table dealer. By the same token, when a vest pocket dealer sells to a table dealer, he needs to quote a price that gives the table dealer room for a profit. Don't forget that the vest pocket dealer is motivated by profit like any other dealer.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>Why should someone get "dealer pricing" if he did not fork over a dime to the show promoters, while the other dealers spent good money to have access to a show? Shouldn't there be another level of fee that the "suitcase" dealers have to pay, to make it fair to the other dealers? >>

Sellers will charge whatever they think is appropriate for any particular transaction. Why would you think it should be any more regimented than that?

ColonialCoinUnion

<< <i>Sellers will charge whatever they think is appropriate for any particular transaction. Why would you think it should be any more regimented than that? >>



Reading all of these posts, it seems like people are obsessed with this imaginary retail and wholesale distinction.

MikeInFL

<< <i>

<< <i>Sellers will charge whatever they think is appropriate for any particular transaction. Why would you think it should be any more regimented than that? >>



Reading all of these posts, it seems like people are obsessed with this imaginary retail and wholesale distinction. >>



Does this imply there's no distinction between your buy and sell side transactions depending on if the other person is a retail client or other dealer?

While I may agree that there's a bit of an obsession about this topic of late, my impression is that dealers do charge differently depending on who is on the other side of the table. However, I could certainly be wrong, and your post seems to indicate I am.

Thoughts?

ElKevvo

I am not really obsessing, but for me, a plain Joe collector type the world of the dealer is mostly unknown to me and hence a source of wonderment. It would be beneficial if I spent a few hours on the other side of the table observing but I have never had that luxury, hence I ask questions about how that side of business works here....sorry if some of them seem inane and trivial!!

Thanks in advance...

K

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>While I may agree that there's a bit of an obsession about this topic of late, my impression is that dealers do charge differently depending on who is on the other side of the table. However, I could certainly be wrong, and your post seems to indicate I am.

Thoughts? >>

Although I can't speak for anybody else's experience, I know for a fact from personal observation that some dealers *do* charge differently, depending on who is on the other side of the table.

I think the questions regarding wholesale/retail prices are getting hung up in the concept that there's somehow a generally agreed-upon and consistent across the board wholesale and retail pricing system for coins, which seems to only be reinforced by the existence of the various price guides. Although I'm far from being an expert (and I haven't been anywhere near a Holiday Inn Express for months now), I'm thinking that the price of any particular coin (aside from maybe bullion) at any particular point in time is far more fluid than that. But then, that's just me...