"A lot of these guys (dealers) trade among themselves; they never bother to deal with the publi
Longacre
Posts: 16,717 ✭✭✭
I was at a large coin show last summer and spoke to a well known dealer. He made the comment that went something like, "a lot of these guys (i.e., dealers) just trade coins among themselves; they never even deal with the public." The impression that I got from this dealer and through his statement was that there is something more to dealing that just engaging in a series of flip trades with your dealer-buddies. This comment was interesting and I was wondering whether:
(1) Is it possible to make a living just doing mostly dealer to dealer trades and never selling to the public?
(2) If so, is there a "share the wealth" mentality among these dealers? In other words, if there was a $500 profit built in a coin, do dealers accomodate other dealers by engaging in quick sales/flips in several successions, so that each flipper/flippee takes a piece of that $500 profit, rather than looking to dump it onto the public for the full $500 profit?
(3) Do dealers have an obligation to engage in a retail business for the good of the hobby, or should they just worry about making a profit so that they can eat?
(1) Is it possible to make a living just doing mostly dealer to dealer trades and never selling to the public?
(2) If so, is there a "share the wealth" mentality among these dealers? In other words, if there was a $500 profit built in a coin, do dealers accomodate other dealers by engaging in quick sales/flips in several successions, so that each flipper/flippee takes a piece of that $500 profit, rather than looking to dump it onto the public for the full $500 profit?
(3) Do dealers have an obligation to engage in a retail business for the good of the hobby, or should they just worry about making a profit so that they can eat?
Always took candy from strangers
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
0
Comments
2. yes
3. no
Just my eversohumble opinion.
Cheers,
Bob
In fact dealers in general have more money to spend than the average collector.
A done deal is a done deal you NEVER hear of any whining on the board here on dealer to dealer deals do you?
Do you hear about how a dealer selling an overpriced a coin to a collector on the board? Yes you do.
I fine it easier to sell a PQ coin at ASK+++ to a dealer than to the public (who walk around with greysheets).
other dealers have the money & usually the clients,
they know exactly what they want,
they quickly recognize value for what they seek,
there are no regrets,
there is no whining,
they often pay more...and willingly,
less gamesmanship as a rule, pass or play,
and they often sell you coins at a good price in return.
The only downside to this is that once you sell a coin you
will never get it back from a dealer.
I sell 99% of what I've sold over the years to dealers. Not because I like them anymore but because of the above statements.
I see no shame in only dealer to dealer transactions. It's not that they don't want to deal with the public, it's just that for some, it isn't particularly efficient or financially rewarding to do so. One has to do what works for them. Then there are other dealers who won't sell to dealers as a rule because they want to get full retail from the public, regardless of the time frame involved.
Don't forget that many or most dealers, are the biggest collectors too.
roadrunner
As a dealer, it is my responsability to feed my kids, pay my mortgage and cover my overhead, etc. WHOEVER wants my coins can have them - at a price. If I can't make a profit, I won't be in the business.
Whatever you think of the process in the back rooms, it is what it is.
It seems simple to me!
As far as the fairness of the ever-increasing prices being somehow unfair to current collectors (as I've read here before)... Our country has gone through, and continues to go through a massive commodity inflation. Look at houses, gasoline, eggs... The list goes on and on. Why should coins be exempt? Not to mention that they are a thinly traded commodity subject to wild price swings based upon relatively small changes in demand. It seems that more and more people (at least we hope) are looking at coins as storehouses of value. As collector purists this somehow bothers us as these people aren't "serious" collectors - but I'd far rather see interest (and the co-commitant price increases) in true collector coins than these potentially serious collectors getting burnt buying (essentially) valueless modern crap.
Whew. Sorry for the rant.
Bottom line: more money : higher prices.
Econ 101 - the money has to go somewhere.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
1. Yes. Some of the largest dealers by sales volume will not even talk to the public. For example, the largest dealer of Morgan Dollars in the nation does not sell a single coin to public.
2. It depends on the dealer. Dealers with the "share" mentality will usually be much more pleasurable to deal with, and dealers will look forward to dealing with them instead of doing so out of necessity.
3. Although some wholesale dealers do not interact with the public, many of them are some of the largest contributors of money or materials to organizations such as the ANA and ANS. A strong hobby with a large following can only help their business.
Authorized dealer for PCGS, PCGS Currency, NGC, NCS, PMG, CAC. Member of the PNG, ANA. Member dealer of CoinPlex and CCE/FACTS as "CH5"