Poll: Why Do You Visit Coin Dealers?

I usually buy from my local dealer, with low cost items on line, and from members here. I like my local dealer, as he knows me, knows what I like, and will usually put coins aside that I may be interested in. If it's something I don't want, he just puts it in his display, no complaints at all. He's a cool, grumpy old man, and it will be sad when he's gone. He's taught me a lot about the hobby, and I like going in there just to hang out sometimes. There is another shop in town that, imho, is way too "professional" and less kicked back. The employees are a bit too business like and their prices are a bit high, although if you can get specials you can get deals there, and they are the best bullion dealers I've found anywhere, including on line. They sell bullion at not uch over spot, and will give the best prices under spot for buying, so usually that is the business they get from me.

I just don't trust ebay, as I'm way too new and it would be easy for me to get ripped off. I also have a problem with the outrageous fees, which do affect the customer, and the whole monopoly with pay pal, etc. They're making money on both ends, and I guess it kind of bugs me, makes me feel used a bit.

I do buy alot at shows also, and at club auctions, which are my favorite ways to obtain coins, as I'm getting them from friends and the club gets a bit of money.

Overall, though, my local coin club is my favorite place to acquire coins.

925dealer: you really should get out more and go to coin shows in other areas. Your statement about them sounds like someone that visited one once or twice and gave up. If you go to numerous coin shows in an area where there are many of them, you would find that you could get to know many, many dealers. In our area there are 4 coin shows a Month, every Month, all year long, withing about 15+ miles of me. Some of the dealers are the same ones at all of them. We also have a few of the really large ones at times also and again, many of the dealers are the same. Knowing one dealer or two at a coin store is sort of relying on a small area of expertise. At these coin shows, as you get to know dealers, you can ask questions, have them search for items for you, get much, much better deals since you get to know them. There are so many benifits to numerous coin shows over a coin store that there is really no comparison.

I live in such a small town that there are no coin shops around (last one closed up Dec 31 2008).

I like going to dealers because I'm a young collector (16) they sometimes give me discounts on their normal price.

I like to stop in at my local dealer to buy old stuff out of the junk box for next to nothing. A Flying Eagle cent in FR-2 condition, an 1848 large cent that looks like it survived a fire, an 1868 Shield nickel that was only identifiable after a week in vinegar--my son and I have a lot of fun with these things.

Best answer yet!

Ive been dealing with my local dealer for 25 years and weve become pretty good friends....I usually get pretty good deals from him and he's usually on par or cheaper than ebay...

Yes, I visit dealers, plural, as I visit all that are reachable in my metropolis, traffic permiting. I get to know them and they get to know my collection. Dealers are great for tracing and hunting down specific ordered coins at an agreed price interesting to them.

I have been told that dealers stock their coins based on saleability and price, so I know they won't stock on the coins I'm looking for. But a sure buyer for a specific coin is something else.

This had unexpectedly created a buyer-source web chain for me that has flushed out really beautiful world pieces (beautiful for me that is), that otherwise the sellers may fail to unload and I would have had an impossible time finding it.