How successful can a part time dealer be?

BBN · May 21, 2005 6:05AM

I've thought about doing some buying and selling in a couple of years. What is the potential out there for you guys that sell? I assume it varies. Thanks

VAMs4U2BuyHere · May 21, 2005 6:26AM

The potential is unlimited.

The business plan is simple. It is used by almost every company in the world... Buy low & sell high.

TommyType · May 21, 2005 6:31AM

I'm guessing it's a much easier job part-time than as a sole source of income!

I've been playing with the idea of dealing once I retire from my "real" job in about 15 years. Do a couple of monthly shows, shop for bargains online, make a couple hundered bucks a month...maybe...beer money.

I don't think I could do it if my life depended on it, but as a hobby/minor source of income, it might be fun.

(Oh, crap! I'm a Wannabe!!)

BBN · May 21, 2005 6:32AM

Excellent.

Is buying usually at 50% retail when you buy from customers?

BBN · May 21, 2005 6:35AM

That is my case. I already work fulltime with a great career so this would be a hobby I could profit from. I work midnights and am home and in bed by 6:30 am and up by 12:30. I've been getting sick of sitting around the house all afternoon doing nothing and would love to earn money, but with my own set hours and pace.

TommyType · May 21, 2005 6:35AM

I think you'd get a very bad reputation in a hurry if you tried to buy at 50%!

I've only sold a few times in my collecting life, but usually got more like 75%-80% of retail, but I was selling some fairly nice stuff. I didn't follow the Coin Dealers Newsletter at the time, so I don't know what my sales rate relative to wholesale was.

(I have alot to learn before I make the leap....but my goals are low, so I'm probably alright.)

BBN · May 21, 2005 6:38AM

That's a reason why I'm waiting for awhile to start. Study up on the business.

GAT · May 21, 2005 6:43AM

I have noticed over the years that almost everyone that posts on this forum on a regular basis becomes a vest pocket dealer. I believe this flipping a common coin for a small profit is harder then it looks. The real money is made by having a wealthy customer base and being able to locate and buy the rare dates. This is harder then it sounds and takes a lot of working capital

Russ · May 21, 2005 6:52AM

Right now, nice coins are easy to sell. It's finding them that is the tough part. Crap coins don't sell for much, and they're easy to find.

Russ, NCNE

BBN · May 21, 2005 7:03AM

That's a good point Russ. Crap coins are good for bulk hoarders and that's about it while I've noticed nice ones tend to appreciate in value. Probably what I need to do is just scan ebay daily for nice coins that aren't bidded up too high. I've gotten nice ones in the past this way. The biggest thing is starting out. Have a base amount of money to start. That's the tricky part.

Of course I've seen beginners alot of the time, start out buying G-VG just to have more items and over time get better quality coins. That's what I've done over time. At one time I boasted about 200 coins in my collection but were almost all in the G-VF range. I've since traded them all in for MS graded coins and my collection is currently only 15 strong, but I'm much more proud of it now.

streeter · May 21, 2005 7:04AM

I just got back from the dealer who submitted some coins across the street for me.

I commented on how his display inventory looked a little pale.....he said buying coins right now was very hard. He knows what I'm looking for and we agreed to hold each others hand at Long Beach. Figureatively, of course.

Now I know why........ most big dealers do not respect these discussions.TM

I haven't bought a coin in a month -geesh.

VAMs4U2BuyHere · May 21, 2005 7:05AM

<< <i>I have noticed over the years that almost everyone that posts on this forum on a regular basis becomes a vest pocket dealer. I believe this flipping a common coin for a small profit is harder then it looks. The real money is made by having a wealthy customer base and being able to locate and buy the rare dates. This is harder then it sounds and takes a lot of working capital >>

So very, very true.

Bill Gates didn't start with a monopoly, he built one.

David Hall didn't start with the largest and most respected TPG in the world, he built it.

The point here is that almost everybody needs to start somewhere, and those born with a silver spoon up their

it's usually not at the top. With enough drive, time, effort, and a bit of luck, it can be done. It will certainly take rare dates & wealthy customers, and a strong business sense to become truly successful.

I started part time with wheat cents, moved up to buffalo nickels, into some foreign coins, into Walkers, up into Morgans & Peace. Today I am fast becoming recognized, and, I hope, respected in the VAM community. I've been credited with 23 discovery coins by Leroy Van Allen in just the last month. Something even more astounding than that, I didn't even know what a VAM was until 6 months ago.

I started raw, tried some NTC (my biggest mistake, still selling off the last of it), moved up into ANACS, and now trying to get into the NGC, ICG & PCGS market. At every increase in coin level, was an increase in working capital necessary to succeed. Every dollar I make, I put right back into the business. And while I may just be an eBay seller today, that will change as I acquire better coins, use better grading services, and acquire wealthier customers. It can be done with hard work & determination.

markglicker · May 21, 2005 7:20AM

Sell coins in the crappy TPG holders, and you can make a fortune. You just may not sleep well.

topstuf · May 21, 2005 7:48AM

291fifth · May 21, 2005 7:54AM

If you are knowledgeable in the field you plan to deal in you have a chance. You also need to be considered a "player" by the other dealers in the field. A source of supply is critical and is often the place where the part-timers fail...they don't a have a shop the widows come into to sell their late husband's collection for pennies on the dollar.
You need to have a nitch in the market. In my area a part-time currency dealer was very successful over a period of several decades. Unfortunately, he passed away earlier this year.

roadrunner · May 21, 2005 8:28AM

The key is being able to find the coins and build up a reputation where people start coming to you. And buying those coins right is just as important. I've seen decent collections worth from $50K-100K show up and get purchased for 30-90% of wholesale and wonder how these dealers do it? Rather than get competing offers where sellers could likely fetch up to 100% of wholesale they give the stuff away too cheap. It's not hard to make a profit when you buy a coin that is bid for $1000 for $800......and is undergraded to boot! And even if "bid" is paid on an upgradeable coin, the seller is still be taken to the cleaners.

Being able to grade is actually the smaller part of the equation. Being able to buy right consistently is the major barrier.

roadrunner

Deadhorse · May 21, 2005 9:20AM

I've done fairly well dealing with bullion. The trick is of course to buy low and sell high. That's not so easy in a volitile market like bullion. The best way is to have the funds such that you can sit on it if need be. Start small, don't do anything silly and slowly build up. Along the way I've learned what to buy and what not to buy in the coin market. Well, at least usually. I don't consider myself to be a dealer at all, more of a speculator, but my tax attorney does.

It's taken me years but now I have local dealers calling me for bullion when they have a buyer with $ burning a hole in his pocket. They know I've usually got a few bags or ounces of what they are looking for and for the right price, well I'll be right over with just what they need.

I pay attention to the Greysheet and usually sell/wholesale perhaps 80 - 100 coins to them per year along the way.

I couldn't do it as my sole source of income, I wouldn't want to try, but it adds up over a year. You'd be surprised. I always seem to have a pretty hefty capitol gain tax to pay every April.

michael · May 21, 2005 11:34AM

How successful can a part time dealer be? extremely so even if you have half a brain

you got to be brain dead if you cant make a decent amount vest pocket dealing

How successful can a part time dealer be?

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