What the Difference between a Collector, a Dealer and an Investor
rooksmith
Posts: 1,159 ✭✭✭✭
- you provide the punchline....
“When you don't know what you're talking about, it's hard to know when you're finished.” - Tommy Smothers
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Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
A dealer looks for a profit
An investor hopes for a profit
Recipient of the coveted "You Suck" award, April 2009 for cherrypicking a 1833 CBHD LM-5, and April 2022 for a 1835 LM-12, and again in Aug 2012 for picking off a 1952 FS-902.
A dealer buys with the intention of selling for profit.
An investor buys with the intention of making big profits in the short term.
All three can be the same person.
The name is LEE!
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
A punchline that gives the same answer: a collector picks the coin, an investor picks the plastic, and a dealer picks your pocket.
<< <i>Sorry, no punchline. The answer is "motive".
A punchline that gives the same answer: a collector picks the coin, an investor picks the plastic, and a dealer picks your pocket.
There is a huckster in 2 out of 3, and only 1 is a numismatist.
But I really like your way of thinking, IGWT.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
A collector knows his losses will be big
An investor hopes his losses won't be big
A dealer knows the difference between an investor and a collector and acts accordingly
Carnac: What are a gatherer, a trafficker, and a shareholder??
A dealer cares what a coin is worth now.
A collector doesn't care what a coin is worth because he doesn't want to sell.*
*I wrote that to fit with the other definitions and to provide a punchline. Some people will tell you that a true collector doesn't care what a coin is worth. I think that's baloney. Not only is it human nature to want to know how much your collectables are worth, it's wise to keep track of their worth in relation to what you paid for them...this is useful information for trading up and improving your collection.
Oh, and what is a "true collector" anyway?
A "pure dealer" acquires coins for resale in anticipation of selling them for a profit. However, there are virtually no dealers who did not start out as colectors. And there are virturally no dealers, who are successful in the long run, who can't understand to collector mentality.
A "pure investor" is often a speculator who knows little about coins and nothing about collectors. His goal is strictly to turn a profit in a fairly short period of time. Often his patience runs out after less than a year. If a coin investor studiys anything at all it's a list of "sure things" from an "investment expert" or worse a dealer who sells only "investment quarlity" material. Most investors can't understand the concept that coins whose prices have exceeded the amounts that collectors are willing to pay are headed for a market crash. When a "pure investor" looses money he often characterizes the hobby as a "rip off" and, if we are lucky, does not return to mess up the market again.
In my view pure investors bring nothing but grief to collectors and to some of the dealers from whom they purchase material.
As a final note, there are very few purists in the hobby, but when they are found they are usually of the investor variety. Collectors and dealers are often hybreds, and some collectors do use coins as a way of saving and preserving their assets. Such collectors differ from investors, however because they bring more knowledge to the table.
Dealer doesn't have to think about it. Buy at wholesale what you think you can sell quickly at retail.
Investor looks for value. Will buy almost anything at a good price if they think they can sell it for more later.
JMHO
<< <i>One's a mark, one's a shark, and one lives on Park (Ave)...
Good one!!!
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
A dealer profits from the sale of a coin;
An investor profits from the price appreciation of a coin;
A collector profits from the history of the coin.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Ever Onward
<< <i>buyer, seller, flipper. >>