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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,530 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2724 Posts |
I need to take a moment to vent. I have just photographed roughly 200 coins. That equals 400 photographs. Add to this that I have to crop both pics and then merge the two together. That equals basically 500 pics. If I am on a roll, I can finish 1 coin in about 4 mintues. That equals 15 per hour. So roughly I will spend 13 hours working with these coins.
Now take into consideration that each and every coin has to be placed into 2x2's and that time increases quite a lot. Plus quite a bit of wear and tear on the hands.
So can anyone offer me a reason why anyone in their right mind would do this on a regular basis??
For my normal business, (high end coins), the time is the same, although I don't normally have 200 coins to deal with. The profits are far better, and I don't have to deal with each and every collector arguing over a few details in the grade.
Just as an example, the coins that I listed here on the forum, I will spend roughly 25 hours on.
So next time you visit a coin shop, or an online dealer think about all the effort it takes to make a little money. As you consider the cost of the coin, consider what you earn in an hour, and think about it that way.
Granted I don't normally deal with these types of coins, and after finishing this little project, it may be quite some time before I do it again.
Just something to think about.........
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Pillar Of The Community
3147 Posts |
A collector/customer spending $10 or $20 bucks today may be spending $10 to $20 thousand some day on a coin purchase. Guess you have to get through the bees to get the honey and last but not least, while the work is long, pay is lousey, the love of the job and the joy of doing something you love really is priceless. And, the fact you are your own man, for the most part, seems like a pretty good reason to meet and serve the little guy just as much as the big guy! I will agree there are hours and hours we collectors will never see but you, as a dealer, have freedoms we have never known but in the end we will all work very hard for our money and sharing, even the smallest part of it, on a hobby we love and with a dealer we can trust and respect and call a friend is more than most hobbiest ever find in a life time! I will take coins and a good dealer over everything else out there!
Edited by crystalk64
11/17/2005 5:38 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
954 Posts |
If you don't service the little guy all your big guys will die off and you will have nobody there to replace them. Then your out of business.
catman
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
While I can understand your frustration, I personally enjoy the work that goes into selling coins. That's why I do what I do for a living.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
Because the little guy will come back next year for more. Doofus the the "astute investor" on the other hand will just shrug, throw away his blue sheet, and move on to the next "investment" cocktail party when things get rough.
Right now it's the big fish coins making the biggest gains. IMO, coins will mimick the rest of U.S society--losing the middle in the same manner that we've been losing the middle class in America. There will be two growth sectors--High and Low--Mr. Big the "astute investor" and Joe collector. The primary trend in coins, IMO, is upward but like all trends there will be counter trends. When those counter trends kick in, dealers serving Mr. Big may find themselves writhing in a 1989 flashback. Dealers taking care of Joe Collector will be filling orders.
"Where are the flashbacks they all warned
us would come."
We are the people our parents warned
us about.---Jimmy Buffett
Edited by longnine009
11/17/2005 6:55 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1203 Posts |
I believe it's a whole lot simpler than the preparation and selling of coins. Let me put it this way, you are doing what you want to do and only you decided to do "it". Those are the best kind of jobs in my way of thinking.
Edited by OldDan
11/17/2005 9:45 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
2684 Posts |
ND, why does anyone go into business for him/herself? It certainly isn't for the money for most of us, so it's gotta be for the love of it. In more than 30 years with my own firm as a wildlife biologist consultant, my secretary made more than I did much of the time and worked far, far fewer hours. However, I gained a great deal of job satisfaction in terms of service to others and personal/professional accomplishments, not to mention I worked in some of the greatest wilderness areas in North America. Despite the fact the work crippled me, I wouldn't have had it any other way, especially as I see friends and family stuck with a dead-end boring mind-killing 8-to-5 job which holds little interest nor motivation with no goals beyond getting old enough to retire. Nosirree, I consider myself one of the lucky few who have been fortunate enough to be in a profession which brought enjoyment and gratification, depsite the many bumps along the way.
Fred
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2270 Posts |
There's a higher mark-up on the lower value coins for just this reason. If you're good at it or can hire someone who's good at it then you can almost compete in these markets on that basis.
Then there's the really low-end markets where you don't need pictures and listings often generate multiple orders. Very few dealers compete across the board and tend to specialize in various niche markets though some brick and mortar dealers nowdays will try to sell everything on e-bay and have some success.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2724 Posts |
I am not really complaining about the coin business as a whole, as I could not imagine myself doing anything else. Normally I do "pay" others to do the day to day tasks, so I forget how much work is involved.
I still remember the days of hauling boxes and boxes to the coin shows, and then packing them up again.
Luckily, I can now go to a show with 2 or 3 NGC boxes.
I also understand that there is a need for people to deal in these lower end coins, I am just thankful that I do not have to do it everyday.
When I purchased this collection (and the 2 coming) I did so just for the members here. Many have asked me to offer "affordable" coins, and I appreciate the fact that I can offer something back to the forum.
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New Member
United States
37 Posts |
Sounds to me you are ready to find a job, maybe slinging hash. Then you'll not have to spend any time taking pictures.
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Rest in Peace
United States
2684 Posts |
ND as a fulltime high-level coin dealer of national stature is easily the most knowledgeable member we have on the forum. I know how he feels about taking pictures (or scans for that matter) since it can be (and for me usually is) the most onerous and time-consuming part of selling coins either online or otherwise for remote potential buyers. I think ND might even prefer slinging hash instead of taking hundreds of pictures of coins for the primary benefit of forum members since that was the reason he was just blowing off a little steam. However, he's got what for many of us is THE dream job; I don't think he's looking for anything else.
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New Member
United States
32 Posts |
I have a great idea, whenever you buy a collection below your normal level just transfer them to my address, I would love to clean up after you!  I'm glad to see you feel comfortable enough to vent with us here, I would hope that it will always be acceptable for us to vent to one another here. As a new member this is good to see. CC |
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Valued Member
United States
253 Posts |
ND. I can fully appreciate your sentiments . please listen to my vent I have suffered the distain of my coin dealer. ignored and generaly looked down upon because I cannot afford to purchase his "highend" coins we who have a two working family and live on a budget .but still manage to stash away a few dollars to add to our small low end collections still deserve the attention and service afforded the ''high end investor" if not just to keep the hobby available and interesting to young perspective collectors and future investors. remember bad service is remembered longer than a good price. my opinion and a 5 dollar bill will get you a cup of coffee. thanks.  coggie |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
980 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by national dealer
I need to take a moment to vent. I have just photographed roughly 200 coins. That equals 400 photographs. Add to this that I have to crop both pics and then merge the two together. That equals basically 500 pics. If I am on a roll, I can finish 1 coin in about 4 mintues. That equals 15 per hour. So roughly I will spend 13 hours working with these coins.
Now take into consideration that each and every coin has to be placed into 2x2's and that time increases quite a lot. Plus quite a bit of wear and tear on the hands.
So can anyone offer me a reason why anyone in their right mind would do this on a regular basis??
For my normal business, (high end coins), the time is the same, although I don't normally have 200 coins to deal with. The profits are far better, and I don't have to deal with each and every collector arguing over a few details in the grade.
Just as an example, the coins that I listed here on the forum, I will spend roughly 25 hours on.
So next time you visit a coin shop, or an online dealer think about all the effort it takes to make a little money. As you consider the cost of the coin, consider what you earn in an hour, and think about it that way.
Granted I don't normally deal with these types of coins, and after finishing this little project, it may be quite some time before I do it again.
Just something to think about.........
Your efforts are APPRECIATED! Hope that all realize that you would lose little, personally, if you never dealt with we small fry. Hope also that CC folks do not take your outreach for granted. Don |
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Valued Member
Canada
309 Posts |
I would like to add something here,from the point of view of a small Joe Blow who just buy coins because he likes them :
1-I am in Canada,and as such,i have asked a dealer close to me once to give me a price on shipping for a particular coin.He never got back to me,after quite a few e-mails.The only thing he did was to give me a price,and that was all.
2-I've just purchased a couple of Australian coins from one of our Aussie members here.Why ?...because he treated me with respect,he was helpfull and it was a pleasure to deal with him.I will keep buying from him,regardless is he is a couple of bucks more.
3-I will never buy or deal with that Canadian dealer who did not have the decency to give me the time of day and was too busy to care.
I will buy the stuff I want ( even if it is Canadian) from somewhere else,even if I have to pay more.
I am not really into buying cheap if I want something...if you treat me right I will buy from you,period.
Maybe it helps a little bit to know that some of us are not only after bargains and appreciate the effort.
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Valued Member
United States
79 Posts |
There is a lot to be said for making your living doing something that you love.when you dont love it anymore its time to do something else.that is why I left what I was doing to pursue the things I love to do:such as coins for fun and profit.I willnever be rich, but I am happy.George Burns said the secret to growing old and happy is to do what you love to do.
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,530 |
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Posted 11/17/2005 5:51 pm
