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 Replies: 30 / Views: 1,968 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
615 Posts |
yea I think your inventory problems could be fixed by having an ebay store. You buy inventory for the B&M store. You sell what you can at retail. What doesn't sell... ebay it to get somewhere between retail and wholesale. If you are buying at wholesale..then all sales should be profitable. If you can get inventory to turn at a good rate, then you should be ok. Assuming margins in the 30% range and 8 inventory turns you could gross $240K off just maintaining $100k in inventory. Getting 30% margins and turning over that fast will be hard though (if not impossible). I would guess that my local shop makes most of his money on buying bulk silver from people. He is paying around 7x face and has to get at least 9x face after fees (I know I could do that on ebay), which isn't 30% but isn't bad considering it would turn over in two weeks if not faster. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
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The question I have is where do I start, whats going to be the hot trend in the future? Why does everyone always think we can see the future? If we could we would all be filthy rich. I ain't even dirty. Quote:
I can rent the space for a month, which has a security system already for the price of renting a couple tables at a coin show. So the overhead will be pretty small. But you will probably have more traffic that weekend at the show than you do in the shop in that month. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
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If we could we would all be filthy rich. I ain't even dirty.
 .......Gotta luv that line !.....  ....and so true it is ! |
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Valued Member
 United States
188 Posts |
Condor, not asking anyone to see the future, just your own personal opinion if you wished to reply! Like I said its really not about the money, the amount of folks I get into my store, inventory or any of that. Its all about how I want to live after I "retire". There is no way I can sit at home all day. I really don't want to get a real job, so this is something I'm going to look into. What I want to do is sit in my store from 9-5 and sort coins/check for varieties and converse with folks about coins. That is what I have done for fun for 2o years, why not make a few bucks at it in retirement. I may in the near future look into the e-bay side of things and get started there and try to get a good reputation. I find myself at coin shops and shows looking at coins saying wow I saw that sell for $40 more on ebay. |
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Valued Member
United States
122 Posts |
My advice: Take it slow. Most businesses fail. Be careful.
- from a fellow jarhead.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1126 Posts |
You sound like you have a good take on what you want by all means do it. It is your retirement it is time to enjoy!
My personal experience is NOT to turn a hobby into a business. I did that back in the early 80s. I use to collect antique guns had a collection of over 300 at one point. A friend talked me into opening a shop. Within a year I was burned out. Now my 16 year old son has more guns than me. Wish I had done it like you said you want to do it. Just
hang out at the shop work on my hobby make a couple bucks if possible if not no problem. I think you have the right idea on how to preserve the fun of the hobby for yourself. Good Luck with the project and let us know when you open up.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
You will attract more customers in today's market if you buy and sell bullion related coins, jewelry and bars. I don't know the ins and outs of that business, but our local dealership makes most of their profit off that and not numasmatics per se. You should also get a professional membership at a few of the TPG companies and provide professional grading services to your customers as well. You might alos want to add a bid board after you have some established customers to keep up the collecting interest and earn some commissions. Just a few ideas I had. Good luck. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3098 Posts |
Also, Mr. Marine, sir, I think you should also have a website in addition to your store. The key to a business is getting the word out and trying to reach the widest market possible. I think if you have a website and get enough traffic, then your business will definitely grow. I know APMEX is a small small brick and mortar store, but it conducts most of its business online. So even if you have a store, a website doesn't hurt. Good luck!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1231 Posts |
My opinion would be to see if you could get hired at a B&M shop. While working there you would gain some insight on the good and bad sides of operating a coin store.
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Valued Member
United States
240 Posts |
If ya need any help setting up a website, I'll be glad to help you! I am currently running one for my computer business *I'm not advertising, just showing for an example!  www.halescomputerservice.com |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
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I have some pretty good methods that I've been using for years as I travel around the world, I'm just going to do it on a larger scale. Please don't bring back any Chinese-produced counterfeits. There are enough of them on the market as it is!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
I dn't know how he does it, but I have a former professor (PhD type) who retired and now deals in nothing but gold coins and bullion but mostly coins (worldwide mintage). No store front, no ebay. Uses only a safety deposit box at a bank and does most of his business there. Have no idea how he finds customers or how they find him, mostly referrals though I think...but how do you get a baseline of customers going is beyond me. He must have had a lot of rich contacts and/or direct mail program. He buys and sells by appointment only. Edited by basicbob101
01/29/2009 3:40 pm
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Valued Member
United States
114 Posts |
It sounds like you have a good attitude going into it. Beware of burnout though. My wife has a real talent at pottery and people are always wanting her to make them this or that and pay her for it. She keeps refusing. When I asked her why she said if I start doing it to make money now it's a job and I won't enjoy it as much. but get her on gift list and you'll get it for free! Good thing for me she isn't in business with that way of thinking. JC
Edited by jayceeg
01/29/2009 7:18 pm
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Valued Member
United States
245 Posts |
"When I asked her why she said if I start doing it to make money now it's a job and I won't enjoy it as much. but get her on gift list and you'll get it for free! Good thing for me she isn't in business with that way of thinking. JC
That's about the way the ball bounces. So many good people on this forum.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1882 Posts |
Your idea sounds like something that I would enjoy someday, too. Quote:
why not make a few bucks at it in retirement. That is much easier said than done. Even selling online, the fees can eat into the margin real quick. Good sources don't grow on trees. There's work to do on both sides of the equation. But you have time to work things out... |
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Replies: 30 / Views: 1,968 |
First Page
Posted 01/28/2009 2:49 pm
