Do Coin Dealers Charge More At Larger Shows?

From my limited experience, out here in Kansas City at small shows, dealers mark up coins to outrageous figures. I was looking at a 1795 small eagle dollar last month in vg-20 graded by NGC. The dealer wanted $5,500! I find the same ridiculous markups at all other 40 tables at the show. They take Junk Barber halves that I can buy in bulk for $7 and mark them up to $15-$20 a pop. I think it depends on the region you live in.

I don't have any experience at national shows because they don't happen in the lower Midwest. But what from I've seen out here in the Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa region of the Midwest, the best advice would be to avoid shows altogether unless you're trying to get upsidedown in your coin collection.

I have always been a rather obtuse sort of thinker and strategist. Such thinking usually, but not always, works for me.
At the larger coin shows, I tend to aim at the lower valued possible additions to my collection.

Basically, I have a tendency to cherry pick across the whole spectrum of numismatics. That strategy opens up the possibility of finding many more good value for money bargains.

Such a strategy came about because I became increasingly frustrated in finding bargains in my areas of speciality. That is one of the reasons why I have managed to maintain a lifetime interest in numismatics.

no

Sometimes

LOL I was thinking the same thing. I had to double check and make sure the post wasn't a poll.

Living in an area where we have very small, medium and large coin shows and I go to almost all of them, the answer is YES. And this is not only based on me but by dealers I know that go to both. And the reason is simple. At most small or just medium sized shows, dealers are usually from the area. This means they simply go there, rent a table, then leave and go home. Very little expenses. At large shows, many dealers come from far away and must find a place to stay such as motels or hotels and usually for a few days. Then too at large shows table rentals are very high, food prices must be entered in, transportation costs also are added in. All such expenses must come from somewhere and this means from the sale of coins so it becomes necessary to up the prices of the coins to pay for all this.

Not so. You also must factor in the prices of table rentals. The larger the inventory, the more tables are required. And table rentals at some large shows can go for $500 to a few thousand dollars. Normally at smaller shows a table rental is about $50. One dealer I know usually has 3 or 4 tables at small shows but only 1 and sometimes 2 at large shows due to the expense per table.

Not necessarily. Some dealers at the shows here keep a lot of stock below and behind the tables. "What are you looking for?" Pulls box out, puts on table, "Enjoy."

Sure, there are those who want everything out and on display, and they would pay more to show more, but I do not think that is an efficient use of their resources. I do find the better deals are from the dealer with the smaller footprint.

I guess I just need to make my way to a larger show and see for myself. If you guys are right, then I have not really missed anything all these years.