How do you maintain Purchase Discipline?
chesterb
Posts: 962 ✭✭✭✭✭
How do fellow forumites maintain discipline when purchasing coins? For example, I see a coin for sale on my favorite dealer's site. I don't need the coin but I like the eye appeal and I will sometimes go into this weird state which takes me back to my childhood and reminds me of all of the reasons why I ended up a coin collector. Anyway, I talk myself into getting it but then I have to pay for it. I forgot about that aspect!
Is there a twelve step program to protect my bank account from these urges? I can't be the only one! What do you all do when these urges strike you? To make matters worse, I sold off the majority of coins I got bored about and am at the point where it's hard to let the remaining material go. I need "purchase discipline!" Uggh!! 
Comments
If I can't resell the item for at least what I would have to pay for it it is too expensive. If it is an online dealer, it is usually too expensive.
I don't collect sets, so I don't have holes I have to fill, which makes purchasing coins I like much easier. I work with someone putting together a circulated set of Walking Liberty Half Dollars - doesn't interest me in the least - not attractive or have any possibility of increasing in value. And there are/will be many just like it.
What’s purchase discipline? That combination of words isn’t in my vocabulary.
Type collecting is opportunistic since there are many holes to fill. On the other hand, nothing wrong with owning two of a kind, but I try to avoid this. There are always far too many attractive coins available to drain the bank account, so be choosy and be patient to leap for something truly special!
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
.
End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All of Us
ANA LM, LSCC, EAC, FUN
Comparison shop. When you see there are several similar examples of the same coin available online the perceived urgency to buy it right now goes away.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
I guess collecting for fun is out for you.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
That's all I do is collect for fun. When you play sports, do you just play, or do you play to win?
Tell your wife you are thinking of paying X dollars for a coin. She'll discipline you.
U.S. Type Set
There is no reason to play a sport if you are not trying to win.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
@chesterb "How do you maintain Purchase Discipline?"
I don't...I just buy it. I have no self-control whatsoever.
USAF (Ret) 1974 - 1994 - The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Remembering RickO, a brother in arms.
YES She will!!!
I just blew $250 on a rare, conditioned challenged token...
My reasoning was scarcity, less than 10 known. Local and coolness.
For many reasons my budget is severely limited, but this was special.
Forced me to be much better at cherrypicking for color and grade.
Picked three AH Kennedy halves and some cool color so far this year.
Just look at it as a reallocation of meager profits when I flip the picks.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
IMO, Purchase discipline is self discipline. Do I want the coin that much ? Can I afford it now ? Will I be O.K. if I pass on the coin ? Then I question, what is the availability of the coin ? Can I find the same date m/m at a later time possibly with a better appearance, a higher grade or at a better price ? All factors in making a purchase or not.
If it is an auction coin I make my decision as to my maximum bid and place my bid as close as possible to the end. Not so much to snipe the coin from another bidder, but to eliminate the temptation to place another higher bid if I'm not the high bidder when I enter my max.
So I guess I am having fun!
I think you either have purchase discipline or you don't.
I am disciplined in my purchases, but even if I weren't my OCD keeps me in check. If I am unsure about a coin all I have to do is pick up a loupe or magnifier and look at the coin and that is a sure fire way to not buy the coin as I will find something on it that will bother me. On most of the larger coins I no longer use a loupe or magnifier. When I do use a magnifier it is low power. When a dealer sees me looking like I'm unsure and he asks me if I need a loupe to check something, I ask him, are you trying to ruin your chances of making a sale?
As long as your having fun with your purchases then you should be fine. If you find yourself regretting your purchases later, then you need to figure out how to remind yourself of that before making a purchase.
Or if your married you can use @SkyMan 's advice and tell your wife that you are thinking of spending $$$ on a coin and she may solve your problem.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
I don’t. With that said let money (resale potential) be your guide
Edited: my comments were meant from a set building perspective. Obviously have a coin budget (money you can afford to lose) and stick to it.
The way I have purchase discipline is to decide what series I want to collect and focus on those series and try to buy the best that I can the first time.
I do it by remembering when I was pretty indiscriminate in my purchases and when my whims changed I lost money. It took me a while to figure out what I really enjoy and like but once I did it’s been much easier to be patient.
However, that said, I’ve been working on completing some low end raw albums over the last bunch of years. Several are near completion (minus a few keys). Once those are done (except for a few keys) I can just enjoy them and focus on what I really like.
It’s very difficult at times. I think a lot has to do with what you are buying. If your dealer has an attractive Morgan dollar do you really need it? There are probably hundreds of other ones for sale and there’s no reason to make a spontaneous decision. On the other hand when I get an email from CRO or Doug Winter I know if I snooze I lose. But I’ve conditioned myself to slow down. I don’t like buying coins in a circus like atmosphere where I’m unable do my homework and think for more than a few seconds if I really need the coin. I may later have regrets if I purchase the coin and if someone else buys it tomorrow is another day.
as a common everyday collector high priced coins are way out of my reach, so i go for middle to low priced coins instead which i find priced within my budget and i can get nice coins within that middle to low range without going over my limit
coins for sale
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zhzgx5nmxk4H2sM59
Is discipline and self control when bidding the same thing?
If so, I don't have any. If not, nope on both. Another glass of wine please.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
Try to find out how long the coin has been on the market, if it's been listed for months with no takers...you're probably gonna have a hard time selling it.
Wisdom has been chasing you but, you've always been faster
Budget. The money is there or it isn’t. If it isn’t, I usually don’t even look - for months on end sometimes.
I wasn’t always so disciplined, and would sometimes mess up my major financial goals to accomplish lesser collecting goals. Took a few years to sort that out.
Oh, and never, ever buy coins on credit.
I'm at the point in my collection that it is difficult and infrequent to find something I want to buy. It only happens a couple times a year now. Many years ago, it was a couple times a day.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
If I practiced purchase discipline, I would have no coins.
For me it’s easy. It’s a hobby, there is absolutely nothing I need, just want. If prices get too high for what I want there are plenty of other hobbies out there.
I used to be like that but don't buy like I used to, these days. My primary set is practically done. I am more than satisfied with my holdings and I don't feel the need to keep buying more coins, anymore. A coin has to be really special for me to want to pull the trigger, now. Also, yes, I've had auction fever and it's not really a smart strategy but adrenaline and the 'I've got to have it' syndrome, sometimes, kick in, but that hasn't happened in a LONG time.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
It’s called a budget / business plan.
Coins are a hobby for me. I don't expect to profit from them. It's about enjoyment in the hobby for me. I buy what I like when it becomes available. Resale never comes into play. That will be something my heirs will deal with.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
no plan, no budget, I buy what coins I like or may need for a set registry. That is, until I see a price that makes me go, "yeah that's not going to be in my budget."
I mull it over for 20 seconds or so asking my "Life is short and I deserve a little treat" cerebral filter what I should do.
- Jim
Very carefully.
Knowing I’m not wasting money allows me to build a war chest for when the right coin comes along.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
Once I am broke then I save up again and then rinse and repeat.
It is hard but I do have caps on what I am willing to spend. One issue I have right now is I only need a Seated 1$ coin for a basic Seated Type set and those are expensive coins, no way around it. To go along with that I have a long term project to complete an 1853 mint set so I would prefer a dollar from that year to serve 2 goals at once and those dollars are even tougher.
What I have done to distract myself is to collect MS Quarters. I will just search E-bay auctions and watch them go by and I can occasionally snag a mid MS state coin for a dollar (plus shipping). Its a fun game because I don't win a lot and when I do it doesn't really hit to pocket book. Granted that collection is more of a game/distraction for me so I don't go spending hundreds (or more) or my favorite 19th century coins.
I purchase one gold coin per month. Doesn’t matter the country of origin, the year or the weight. From $220-$1200. Whatever the budget allows.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
I have started a completely new series on a whim before, just because I liked the coin. So count me as a bad investor and merely a fun collector.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I save up both cash and honeydo points and then drop hints to cinc living room
100% positive transactions with SurfinxHI, bigole, 1madman, collectorcoins, proofmorgan, Luke Marshall, silver pop, golden egg, point five zero,coin22lover, alohagary, blaircountycoin,joebb21
Easy - I buy what I want today. Tomorrow, I'll figure out how to pay for it.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
I have not bought a single coin on impulse in about 15 years. Since then, I have only bought in the series I collect. In the last 10 years, I have predominantly bought in my primary series and all other purchases (in secondary series) have been of nominal value.
I don't plan to buy anything of "meaningful" value (by my budget) going forward either. I might make an exception for a few coins if it "impossibly difficult" coin in a secondary series at a good price but not otherwise.
purchase discipline is developed over the course of many years. it manifests itself when you end up with a bunch of stuff that you need to get rid of, that doesn't seem to fit anywhere or is suddenly uninteresting. as mentioned by Baley, I think it's almost the sign of a mature collector.
This
If I could go back in time, I would have bought far fewer coins earlier in my recent iteration as a collector until about 2006. I would have used the funds to buy others that were much rarer but so much cheaper versus now which I have not seen since.
Purchase discipline is much easier to achieve when sober.
LOL.
Ran out of room to store my coins. That provides all the discipline I need.
I get where your coming from.
I have no discipline.
I continue to buy coins I like admittedly I am somewhat of a coin addict .
What saves my joy in doing so is coins are a hobby for me.... it does not matter if I lose money on what I buy ...... or not 😊
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
Simple. Be broke.
As a beginning collector going back to sell a coin to a dealer who hyped it up and now wants nothing to do with it pretty much gave me purchase discipline, I can't imagine how many people stopped collecting after assembling a 7070 full of overpriced misfits.
If I like it I’ll buy it. If I don’t like it I won’t buy it. This is all I know. Oh, I forgot, sometimes I just can’t afford it.
Just say no!
And then handling the Non-Buyer's Regret!
One needs the mental discipline (and knowledge) to manage their personal financial affairs. If it is a hobby, then make informed decisions with disposable income. If it is a business, have a business plan and business finances. Cheers, RickO
I have very strict buying requirements. If those are met, I open my wallet every time.