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 Replies: 17 / Views: 2,684 |
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Valued Member
United States
362 Posts |
Thought this was interesting. I typically ignore the cost of driving to a coin store. Tomorrow morning, I was thinking about going to my cities monthly coin show. It is 18.4 miles away, which means 36.8 miles of driving. and using http://www.nytimes.com/packages/htm...er_mile.html(I put a rough estimate in, gas in my area is really high right now, at $3.75 a gallon, and my car gets about 18-22 MPG, depending on highway vs interstate) SOOO that comes out to about $0.22 a mile, which comes to a total of $8 for simply driving to the coin show and back! Of course this depends on your circumstances. But APMEX and similar stores usually charge like 17$ for shipping. So its still cheaper! But I enjoy going to the coin stores and shows, so I'm not really concerned with this, but thought it was an interesting thought, and was curious if anyone else took this into consideration |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
808 Posts |
Great post! This is a valid point. You absolutely should factor in your own fuel costs and YOUR TIME when making that run to your coin dealer or a regional coin show. Since I've gotten more serious about my collecting (and increased my buying) I'm still amazed by all the little extra costs that creep into that final purchase total: shipping costs, commission fees, volume purchase tiers, premiums for different grades (of negligible value for pure bullion purchases IMHO), expedited shipping (huh?), and so on. More than once have I passed on a *good deal* because the extra costs revealed at checkout to actually get it to my door made it no deal at all. I love this hobby (and the investment potential) but coins are expensive enough as it is. the smart play is to watch every cost.
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Valued Member
United States
385 Posts |
There are countless benefits of purchasing coins from an online vendor, as it saves you your time, the most valuable asset a person an have. But if you're just bored and have no other thing to do other than traveling a lot of miles to your local coin show in order to grab some numismatic items or just buy some precious metals then go ahead!
or you could just take the bus like I do :D which is more inexpensive and allows you to exercise.
Personally, I stop by my local coin shop while coming to the college campus by bus which takes a whole lot off my schedule rather than prioritizing my trip.
I hope this helps :)
- Michael
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
There IS a certain amount of value inherent in actually being able to see and touch the merchandise before buying. Not sure how this would add to the equation here but it should be considered. Also, it is FUN to attend a coin show or prowl a good coin shop for that next purchase. I would no more put a time value on this than I would reading a book or watching a movie. It is not time lost or wasted; it is time enjoyed!  As to what the on-line vendors charge for shipping... my thought is that their charges for this are reasonable IF we order a decent amount of PMs. If we just buy a few coins, then the shipping cost on a per coin basis is pretty high. I usually buy 100-200 oz. of silver at a time with a shipping cost of $20-25, so the cost per oz. is quite reasonable. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
619 Posts |
I have a couple of nearby flea markets that sell coins, but the closest one charges for parking. I also have a nice coin shop I go to maybe once a month. I usually buy most of my coins online, usually from ebay. However, I just ordered some 90% from Silvertowne with free shipping. Great deal, especially considering silver went up after I ordered. By the time I got it three days later, I paid right at melt. They sent some nice coins; some of them were AU! Edited by CPC24
03/10/2012 11:39 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
808 Posts |
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Also, it is FUN to attend a coin show or prowl a good coin shop for that next purchase. If someone is lucky enough to have access to a great local coin shop, I agree that's time well spent. However, even in the big city, good ones are becoming hard to find. Edited by coinwatch
03/11/2012 7:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
The one factor you overlooked was what we humans seem to crave, and that would be the instant gratification we get when buying from a shop or show. Also you get a health bonus from shops and shows in the form of reduced stress from the absence of the anxiety build up waiting for the purchase to arrive. So isn't the couple of bucks worth satisfaction and bliss that comes from seeing all the choices we have right in our own hand?  Wait a minute and let me rethink this one. All those choices can cause unhealthy stress and anxiety. |
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Valued Member
United States
264 Posts |
If gas is a concern, I would just buy more at once. Cost of gas + Markup (Southland Coins in Lake Charles, LA charges $7.50 above spot for ASE) + Taxes + Spot = Buying silver in coin stores  Shipping cost + Overhead of ebay Fees + Spot = Online coin buying I refuse to support my local coin store as a result. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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However, even in the big city, good ones are becoming are hard to find. No argument there. Good coin shops are difficult to find in most places. If you do luck out and come across one, it can be a real treasure to a coin or bullion collector. |
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Valued Member
344 Posts |
I know of a dude in LA if you are buying bulk that will give you under 2$ premium on ASE plus no tax (legally you are not supposed to be charged tax on bullion anyways if amount is over 1500) But you gotta be buying big stacks to use him. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
I have two cars, one which drinks fuel like a fish (a 30 year old 6.9 litre Mercedes) and another, which is far more sane to drive. I live on the outskirts of Sydney near a rail station, and so use a consession ticket to travel wherever possible. A 50 mile round trip on the train costs $2.50. So I visit coin shows and dealers on the cheap, travel wise. Easy to see why ebay is so attractive for low value coins, even in your own City. For high value coins you have to pay the premium for buying from a dealer or auction with the highest reputation, or travel, to exmine the coin in hand before deciding to buy. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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I have two cars, one which drinks fuel like a fish (a 30 year old 6.9 litre Mercedes)... Man, that is one big engine! Ford used to sell a 6.9L International diesel V-8 engine in some of their heavier light duty trucks (F250-F450). Typically, these would give 15-18 mpg when just driving around and maybe 11-12 when hauling or towing. I never realized that Mercedes had an engine that size for any of their non-limo cars. It's definitely a biggie! Quote:
I live on the outskirts of Sydney near a rail station, and so use a consession ticket to travel wherever possible. A 50 mile round trip on the train costs $2.50. Considering the price of fuel these days, that's quite a bargain.  |
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Valued Member
United States
410 Posts |
You could always combine your coin show trip with other errands. That is what my wife and I do. We run our errands for the week on Saturday morning. We combine trips even though fuel prices don't effect us that much. 10 years ago we traded a 15mpg truck for a 45mpg Jetta TDI.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Most of us are combining trips to save gas these days. The local prices for regular gas right now is right at $4 a gallon. We found an Arco station with regular at $3.90 a gallon this morning, so filled the tank.  That Jetta TDI is a nice little car. I would not at all mind having one of those or the Passat TDI. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Another useless calculator. Even the IRS figgers it costs over 50¢ a mile to run a car. 75¢ is closer on lots of them.
The danger of using a gas calculator is you get gobsmacked when you get a $321 bill to replace a water pump and misc, like I did last week. That's 1146 miles @ the 28¢ a mile the calculator is ignoring.
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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I have a couple of nearby flea markets that sell coins, but the closest one charges for parking. Washington CH, Ahia used to have a great year-round flea market. Parking was 50¢, and that included guys with big trux and tow chains who'd pull you out if you got stuck in the mud, free!  |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,684 |
Posted 03/10/2012 10:42 pm
