My Very Unscientific Coin Show Observations

@MikeF, don't give up yet. Try the show a few more times and/ or look for another one nearby.

Consider going to a really big one where there is more competition.

Consider trying to negotiate some price reductions.

My wife and I went to two big shows where CCF had a booth, Philly and Chicago. It was overwhelming to say the least but great to meet CCF members and founder Bobby and Suelynn (SP?)
We have started to go to the local shows and meet dealers with some success. One of the best things I realized was to get their business cards and make notes for your future meetings.
Be honest and tell them what you are trying to accomplish.

The prices are high because some back and forth bargaining is expected.

I also attended a local coin show but I had some very different observations.

- This show had between 100 and 150 tables.

- While many of the dealers were among the 'regulars' at this show I got no feeling of the 'good ol' boys club'. Many of the dealers were actively engaging the attendees and most of the tables were busy enough that I had to wait for a chair.

- Some of the dealers were well into their retirement years but many of them were younger than me (I'm old though). Of note was one booth being attended by a brother and sister duo in their teenage years (I made it a point to purchase from them in support of their entrepreneurial efforts).

- Almost all of the booths had at least one woman either helping or running the booth.

- The entire show was well attended almost to the point of being overly crowded. Many of the attendees were older men such as myself but there were significant numbers of younger collectors in all age ranges including pre teen youths with either one or both parents. Several teenagers were also there either with their families or on their own.

- The dealers were very trusting and had no problem letting someone browse through their stock without hovering over them.

From my observations I would say that coin collecting in my region is very much alive and very healthy with a great forecast for the future.

It's not that I'm shy. Quite the opposite. It's that I don't like haggling. I negotiate for my business all week. The last thing I want to do after a long week is have to negotiate further. I just want to relax and enjoy the hobby.

It's not all sour grapes though... I didn't come away empty handed.

I got some more stuff for the nephews. I paid $7 dollars a piece for these Barber halves and $1.35 a piece for these 50 Mercury dimes. But the dealer shorted me 1. So 49 Mercury dimes.

I was at the Parsippany NJ show today and, with the exception of the table count (I did not try to count), my experience mirrored that of Oldephriam.

If you are nervous, you might be making the dealer(s) nervous. Get your sense of entitlement on. You belong, so act like you belong.

The dealers know better than you that if they don't show you the coin, they ain't sellin' you the coin.

I try to remember to examine the coin, and remark on the coin, before asking the price.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

GENERALIZATION--The U.S. culture is not a culture that is generally comfortable with "haggling." It's one of the reasons folks don't like buying cars--and one of the reasons some car dealers now have "fixed price" deals. This doesn't fit everybody, but is a broad brush generalization of U.S. culture. We do not go to market with the intent of haggling over the price of everything. Ain't nobody got no time for that! In other cultures, it is an insult to the merchant if the buyer does not haggle. I have had merchants in non-U.S. cultures give me a lower price, even when I was going to pay full asking price!

I am not in this hobby to increase my people interaction and head-butting. Others may be.

I, too, am put off at coin shows when I see prices that I perceive to be too high. I don't feel like asking the dealer to give me a different price--on any and everything I want to look at. When I was young, I used to have fun with coin bid boards and mail order bid sheets--I didn't have to try to haggle with somebody whose interest {likely} is at odds with my interest, and I could take my time to research, compare, and learn about a variety of coins and bid "smartly" (or so I thought {grin}).

Now the internet puts bid boards and bid sheets from all across the world at my easy access, and with much quicker knowledge if I have a "smart/good" bid. So for those of us who do not "enjoy" the face-to-face haggle process, there is a readily-accessible alternative to the "conflict of interest." As has been said, the internet has changed everything from the "good ol' days." But were they so "good"?

30% is higher than average.



It may not be "brick and morter" but a show is still a retail environment. Coins priced at retail should not be unexpected.



They probably were, and they have to be. A dealer may have tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of easily portable and concealable merchandise on his table with lots of people picking them up and looking at them. Theft happens, and they have to worry about it.



Well to a large extent it is. This was your first show , you don't know anyone there and they don't know you. I on the other hand have been going to shows for over 40 years. I know most of the dealers, they know me, I usually know a fair number of the other collectors there as well. But when I started I was just like you, the new guy on the outside looking in.



I hate haggling too, so I don't. I find something of interest I ask them what the need for the coin and they shoot me a price. If it's acceptable I buy it and if it isn't I pass. I don't haggle, I don't counter offer, just a simple yes or no to the price they quote.