Some advice for coin dealers who want to make more money............................................
ANACONDA
Posts: 4,692 ✭
I think i know a little about coins and a little about business. And, since I don't own a rare coin dealership anymore, I can give advice to my ex-competitors without taking bacon out of my little toddlers mouths.....also, for you newbies, I have two degrees in busines (BBA and MBA; both concentrations in marketing) and ran a successful rare coin dealership for over 10 years. (I also have a law degree, practiced law for almost 20 years, have never been sanctioned by any bar and have no criminal record. Zero.)
Here's my advice:
1. You live in an internet and digital world. If you website sucks, your income will suck. Yes, you can go to all the coin shows in the world and work very hard and you'll make money but why not work smart and make more money? Some dealers brag about not advertising or having websites. They are fools.
2. If your images are bad, you will be eating mac and cheese out of a box at home when you could be going out to Al Biernat's and having crab chowder and Oxtail Ravioli & Lobster Pansotti. Either suck it up and tell the wife she's fired as the photographer and needs to go back to the kitchen or if your nephew is doing the photography and it bites, get him a better job where he will be appreciated, because having him doing it isn't doing anyone any favors. I cannot make this any clearer than that. If your images are bad you need to fire the photographer. If he or she isn't doing it right, they won't be able to. If you don't know whether or not your images suck, ask me in a PM. I will tell you honestly. Have a tissue ready.
3. A good coin website will allow the visitors to easily see many small images of the coins on your inventory pages. If they have to open up a new window each time they want to see a coin and the opening of the window only allows them to see that one coin, they probably won't visit your website NEARLY as often as the would if you allowed them to see many coins all at once. Even if it's your mother. Her time is valuable too.
3.1 Give an obverse image of the entire holder. There's something about seeing an image of the slab with the coin in it that makes "buy neurons" pulse. I don't know what it is, maybe a conditioning thing but I love to see good high quality images of the obverse and reverse AND an image of the coin in the holder.
3.2 Don't be afraid to use photoshop to alter the image but ONLY TO MAKE IT FAIRLY REPRESENT THE COIN. I have been criticized by some people for using contrast, sharpening, lighten and darken as well as other tools, however, there is no shame whatsoever in using Photoshop tools to help make the image look like the coin. If you can shoot images that need no modification, more power to you - you'll save a lot of time but I usually needed to modifiy images to make them accurate. And, I have never had any buyer state that the coin didn't look like the images.
The ideal configuration for coin viewing is to allow the visitors to choose any of the following catagories to view multiple coins on one page:
a. See all coins in inventory beginning with small denomination coins and getting larger as the pages progress.
b. See all coins in inventory beginning with the cheapest coins and going to the most expensive, and vice versa.
c.. See all coins of a particular denomination. Some people are only interested in quarters. Don't make them wade through your three cent trimes to see them.
4. Don't be afraid to have a discounted inventory page. Face it, there are some people that can't resist buying something today that was more expensive last month. List the price that it was in the past and how much it is now.
5. Allow your visitors to see small and fairly large images of the coins. Don't limit them to just small images. multiple small ones on the inventory pages, medium when they click on the small ones and large when they want to see nose hair trimmage.
6. Archive images of sold coins. You've gone to the trouble to buy, image and sell them, so archive the images. Your buyers will appreciate being able to visit their coins on your site at work.
7. Have a good disclaimer page so that if you misprice a coin, you don't have problems. Check out the disclaimer pages of your competitors and plagerize at will. Protect yourself.
8. Give a clear and good return privilege and don't cram it down someone's throat. Make it so it leaves no doubt as to your policy. Give them at least a week after they recieve the coin to put it back in the mail to you. Ask them to call you before a return is made but don't make them have to call you to return a coin. Volunteer to pay postage both ways on a return. You'll almost never have to do it if your images are good. Don't require your clients to have to give a reason for a return. Treat your clients as good as your Mom and they will love you, but not like your Mom, however they will buy more coins then your Mom. I cannot emphasize customer service enough. A good customer is a joy forever.
9. Be upbeat and positive in all that you do and treat people like you want to be treated especially your ex-bosses and ex-employees. There's nothing like somone who knows you well, knows your secrets and then gets motivated to make you look like trash. Like Johnny Depp says: "Be careful who you screw" (and he didn't say 'screw'). Besides, your current boss who sees you bad mouth your last boss, knows he's got it comming when you depart......and if he is smart he'll get rid of you sooner rather than later.
Here's my advice:
1. You live in an internet and digital world. If you website sucks, your income will suck. Yes, you can go to all the coin shows in the world and work very hard and you'll make money but why not work smart and make more money? Some dealers brag about not advertising or having websites. They are fools.
2. If your images are bad, you will be eating mac and cheese out of a box at home when you could be going out to Al Biernat's and having crab chowder and Oxtail Ravioli & Lobster Pansotti. Either suck it up and tell the wife she's fired as the photographer and needs to go back to the kitchen or if your nephew is doing the photography and it bites, get him a better job where he will be appreciated, because having him doing it isn't doing anyone any favors. I cannot make this any clearer than that. If your images are bad you need to fire the photographer. If he or she isn't doing it right, they won't be able to. If you don't know whether or not your images suck, ask me in a PM. I will tell you honestly. Have a tissue ready.
3. A good coin website will allow the visitors to easily see many small images of the coins on your inventory pages. If they have to open up a new window each time they want to see a coin and the opening of the window only allows them to see that one coin, they probably won't visit your website NEARLY as often as the would if you allowed them to see many coins all at once. Even if it's your mother. Her time is valuable too.
3.1 Give an obverse image of the entire holder. There's something about seeing an image of the slab with the coin in it that makes "buy neurons" pulse. I don't know what it is, maybe a conditioning thing but I love to see good high quality images of the obverse and reverse AND an image of the coin in the holder.
3.2 Don't be afraid to use photoshop to alter the image but ONLY TO MAKE IT FAIRLY REPRESENT THE COIN. I have been criticized by some people for using contrast, sharpening, lighten and darken as well as other tools, however, there is no shame whatsoever in using Photoshop tools to help make the image look like the coin. If you can shoot images that need no modification, more power to you - you'll save a lot of time but I usually needed to modifiy images to make them accurate. And, I have never had any buyer state that the coin didn't look like the images.
The ideal configuration for coin viewing is to allow the visitors to choose any of the following catagories to view multiple coins on one page:
a. See all coins in inventory beginning with small denomination coins and getting larger as the pages progress.
b. See all coins in inventory beginning with the cheapest coins and going to the most expensive, and vice versa.
c.. See all coins of a particular denomination. Some people are only interested in quarters. Don't make them wade through your three cent trimes to see them.
4. Don't be afraid to have a discounted inventory page. Face it, there are some people that can't resist buying something today that was more expensive last month. List the price that it was in the past and how much it is now.
5. Allow your visitors to see small and fairly large images of the coins. Don't limit them to just small images. multiple small ones on the inventory pages, medium when they click on the small ones and large when they want to see nose hair trimmage.
6. Archive images of sold coins. You've gone to the trouble to buy, image and sell them, so archive the images. Your buyers will appreciate being able to visit their coins on your site at work.
7. Have a good disclaimer page so that if you misprice a coin, you don't have problems. Check out the disclaimer pages of your competitors and plagerize at will. Protect yourself.
8. Give a clear and good return privilege and don't cram it down someone's throat. Make it so it leaves no doubt as to your policy. Give them at least a week after they recieve the coin to put it back in the mail to you. Ask them to call you before a return is made but don't make them have to call you to return a coin. Volunteer to pay postage both ways on a return. You'll almost never have to do it if your images are good. Don't require your clients to have to give a reason for a return. Treat your clients as good as your Mom and they will love you, but not like your Mom, however they will buy more coins then your Mom. I cannot emphasize customer service enough. A good customer is a joy forever.
9. Be upbeat and positive in all that you do and treat people like you want to be treated especially your ex-bosses and ex-employees. There's nothing like somone who knows you well, knows your secrets and then gets motivated to make you look like trash. Like Johnny Depp says: "Be careful who you screw" (and he didn't say 'screw'). Besides, your current boss who sees you bad mouth your last boss, knows he's got it comming when you depart......and if he is smart he'll get rid of you sooner rather than later.
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Comments
Two comments:
1. I would recommend dealers have a better relationship with their regular customers than I do with my mother.
2. I think that you overemphasize the value of high quality photographs. I have been burned at least as many times by great photos as I have with poor or no photos. A lovely coin image can hide some not-so-lovely flaws.
There are photographs that sell coins, and then photographs which show you what the thing actually looks like.
I construed the imaging advise to mean that all of a coins attributes (and faults) should be discernable to the viewer. Perhaps the attributes are accentuated a bit and the faults not so much but the buyer should not be surprised or mislead by the images.
<< <i>Bravo! I construed the imaging advise to mean that all of a coins attributes (and faults) should be discernable to the viewer. >>
Absolutely, yes. ALL faults and all attributes should be ideally discernable. A coin dealer should never, ever, modify an image to make the coin look better than it would in the real world. It is adviseable to make the image show the coin "in the best light possible" but you should never set up a potential buyer to be disappointed.
Now, if you are creating a piece of art and not an image to sell a coin, sure, make the image look like anything you want.
<< <i>Perhaps the attributes are accentuated a bit and the faults not so much but the buyer should not be surprised or mislead by the images. >>
The objective for a dealer should be am image that will lead the potential buyer to not be disappointed when they get the coin in hand. Showing the coin in the best light possible is adviseable....you are trying to sell the coin.......just don't make an image that shows the coin to be better than it is. There is a fine line. If you have to err on one side or the other, be conservative.
everybody!
Reminds me of looking in the local newspaper at car ads. I would never darken the lot of a car dealer that lists monthly payments instead of prices. Heck, it might be like in the old Cheech and Chong routine about, "1954 Chevy, man. Turquois blue and primer grey man. $50 down and $50 dollars a week, for 50 years man."
Tell the buyer what he wants to know in a language he can understand and it's half the battle.
Ron
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
<< <i>I think your #9 should be your #1, and the emphasis should be with respect to your existing and potential customers. There are some dealers with whom I refuse to do business under any circumstances because they don't understand this concept. >>
I can understand why you would say that. Initially I was wanting to focus on how dissappointing some websites are and started off with that.
Having said that, yes, I COULD NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......................being around or talking to ANYONE who is negative or critical is just a total buzz kill for me. I'm very sensitive to that and I suspect most people are too. There is just too many good things going on in the world to focus on the negative.
On the other hand, it is a joy to be around someone who while they are reasonable and rational, can usually see that there might be a pony somewhere where ever there is a big pile of poop!
I love positive people. I personally strive to focus on the joy in the world. There truly is so much of it there.
This is an excellent post. Thank you for sharing your insights. Most of what you've said is commen sense, but you know what they say about common sense...
Please visit my website Millcitynumismatics.com
Great post, Anaconda!
EAC 6024
I would add one more item, treat your valued employees like the gold they are.
Keep your promises, put every understanding in writing and treat them as you yourself would
like to be treated. Remember, it is always better to be well treated, then badly castrated.
Camelot
<< <i>Great advice. I think I follow most of your points. My images are pretty good, but I get people saying that the coins look even better when they get them in hand. My site won Best dealer website of 2010 for the images, information and ease of use. Its not too glitzy, but if you look closely, you'll see the Eagle wink at you. >>
I agree...your website makes a lot of sense and you deserve the award for your website. Your images are in fact very good and I do recall the nice feeling that you get when a client says something like "I was really pleased when the coin turned out better than I had expected.
I checked on the winking eagle.....you either reeled me in or I need better glasses!
Here's a coin from your site that caught my eye:
The coin
<< <i>Remember, it is always better to be well treated, then badly castrated.
Bear, it's a good thing there weren't any kids sleeping in my house....I would have awakened them with my laughter from your post!