Posted 06/10/2013 7:32 pm
For most coin shops, as far as walk-in customers go, you're probably correct in that most of them are bullion buyers/sellers. I don't know the statistics but I did have one dealer tell me a couple of years ago, before the bullion spike, that I was one of the few regular customers who came in just to buy coins. Most of his coin collector customers bought off his website.
The reason, I suspect, is that most hard-core coin collectors are specialized and are looking for specific coins, like Tom above: they're letting Google do the walking for them. Why drive all the way across town (or over to another town) on the off-chance a dealer might have something you're interested in buying, when you can find dozens of virtual dealers all over the world who definitely do have coins you want to buy? It's still worth it for me, because my collecting tastes are broad enough that I'm bound to find something worth making the trip for.
The reason, I suspect, is that most hard-core coin collectors are specialized and are looking for specific coins, like Tom above: they're letting Google do the walking for them. Why drive all the way across town (or over to another town) on the off-chance a dealer might have something you're interested in buying, when you can find dozens of virtual dealers all over the world who definitely do have coins you want to buy? It's still worth it for me, because my collecting tastes are broad enough that I'm bound to find something worth making the trip for.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
