Any Weekend Dealers On Here?

In light of your current stable occupation my suggestion for the new venture would be to:

1) only focus on areas that would not become a customer service nightmare that could potentially negatively influence your performance at your current job and

2) initially limit your coin product/service offerings to no more than three or four maximum: ie buying/selling all years of Indian head pennies, selling coin and/or currency packaging/display materials and buying/selling all years of Buffalo nickels etc.

Any business always requires follow-up with the customer in the unlikely event of a negative issue.

And by initially limiting yourself to just two or three types of coin types at max you will become known as the local expert in those types of coins.

An analogy could be somewhat similar to Ford customer looking to buy another Ford; this customer would most likely be inclined to do business with a knowledgeable Ford dealership that knows all of the idiosyncrasies (w/r/t coins-rare dates, errors, price breaks etc...)

By osmosis your business will naturally grow at a moderate and controlled pace when your satisfied customers ask you to purchase coins that you currently are not concentrating on.

I have always been of the mindset of initially not wanting to purchase anything from individuals claiming to be an expert in all subcategories of any discipline in question.

If someone propositioned me by stating that he could reasonably and effectively assist me to create a desired list of Indian head pennies, for example, I would be much more inclined to hear him out if he said that he primarily works with only three coin groups max in an effort to gain expertise in just those areas.

As your business grows and you ascertain that this new coin profession has the potential to sustain you financially independent of your current job, you may want to consider a further diversification of your current product offerings to attract greater numbers and types of customers.

The goal here is to first crawl without falling in an attempt to avoid walking into a wall blindfolded.

I hope your endeavor turns out well.

Good luck,

Although I have a locked display case in a local antique mall I don't do shows. My case costs $55/month & the front desk people handle unlocking the case for customers & deal with collecting & paying sales tax. The best part is in my area I don't have to have any sort of license. Most of what I sell is either sterling jewelry that is too nice to send to the refiner or coins.

Most of my income is from buying mispriced items & reselling them so I have to go through the mall once a week to look for things anyway....it's no hassle to take a few items to restock my case while I'm there.

I considered a booth. Rent around here is comparable to the prices you mention. I decided against it because I don't have any interest in moving heavy/bulky items around. I mainly got my display case so I could put up a sign saying "I Buy". That hasn't done much for me but talking with other people that have booth's I've found that I clear as much from my cheapo case as they do with their booth.

Hey Wolverine! I like your idea of selling supplies..but I'm worried that after the cost of the table and your lunch...you wouldnt make very much.But it does sound like fun even if you just try it a few times! Good luck.

How good is the profit margin on supplies? I know back in the day when I did baseball card shows, supplies did not have a good markup. I still carried some so I could satisfy my customers, but the profit was in the individual cards.

Jack, I live on the mass/ri line. If you've ever been to the wrentham outlets you've driven by my house. I usually go to the dedham show, which I believe is tomorrow

Hi wolverine/Dave -- I have tried to contact you 3 times via e-mail (5/13, 5/17 & 5/23) and on CCF e-mail today with no response. I'm hoping it is only a problem with your Sprint phone since you have previously returned e-mails promptly. I have not received the supplies I paid for on 4/1 that you said you mailed out on 5/1. Can you please contact me or post here so we can figure this out? Sorry to post this on here but I have tried the only avenues I know to get in contact with you. I'm hoping you have a subscription to this thread or you'll see it on here since your last visit on CCF was 5/23. Have a good day.

docsfishn

Hi wolverine,

Hope you are in local clubs, In our club we have people that will help you learn how to sell at shows, Set up, table cost, even how to and what to sell.
I have a full time Job and twice a year do a show, It's a lot work, but so is your job, I don't have a large inventory but will sell 3 to $5000. You will meet a lot of good people and dealers will usually give you a break on coin's you want to resale. Each time you will learn more and start to fit in.
Another good way to start is ebay, I bought and sold there for years, make sure you know the rules, I don't sell there any more due to a conflict with pay pal...
just start and have fun and don't worry if you don't make a killing right away, Good luck...