Dealer Vs US Mint Pricing: Whats Going On?`

You mean Littleton, the Collector's Friend?

Do coin dealers get a discount from the US Mint for Mint products, or do they have to pay full retail price like everyone else?

If a dealership has to pay full or near-full price for mint products they're buying from the Mint, they're going to need to make profit out of them somehow - because on-selling them for the Mint's RRP would mean little or no profit for them. They're a business, not a charity.

As for Litteleton, they're big enough and have been in the business long enough to be able to run the statistics. They know from past experience how many sets they should buy in, how quickly they can onsell, the ticket price they can get away with just comes out of the sales algorithm.

Thank you for grading me. I can only go up from here.

That's exactly what I was doing, using Google to research coin pricing. All those groups Livingwater mentioned, including Littleton, show up in results. So I look at ALL the data. My post was intended to help me understand this hobby's landscape. IMHO I'm progressing quite well, thank you.

That said, some are reading more into my initial post than intended. So let me clarify.

A portion of my collection came from Littleton. I can only guess that my Father-in law saw a circular or magazine ad and started buying from Littleton. I, too, see some of those 'hook' ads. "Get 5 great coins for just $14.95, limit 1 per family." Wow, that's gotta be a good deal. Hogwash. Not interested.

I have not made any purchase from Littleton nor do I intend to. I have bought from a LCD and visit antique shops to peruse their coin collections. I would also mention that the "coin collectors friend's" ads show up in popup ads on this very site.

LivingWater: Nothing offensive in your post.

I had no idea my Father-in-law had a coin collection until he passed and it was given to me. But he was a sucker for a good ad. He'd get pounds of mail from different organizations asking for donations. I'm guessing he gave, hence all the mail.

Well we all have different opinions and experiences with dealers. I've bought from MBarr on ebay, never had one photo that misrepresented a coin when the photo is the actual coin bought. But lots of sellers use stock photos which in that case you don't know what a coin will look like. MBarr also offers 30 day returns. There are others on ebay that doctor photo shop pics.

Are we saying M Barr Coins sells junk or as advertised coins?

Unfortunately there are companies that are in it to make the most profit possible, you need to do your homework before purchasing. "Let the Buyer Beware"