I know the main thing is to buy and sell but I actually feel I can do that much more effectively online. For instance, selling at a show means selling to a dealer at prices far, far below retail. And, buying at a show is a little tough for me because I don't have ready access to all the online resources for price checks and other stats.
Still, shows in general can be fun. I had fun at a boat show once and I don't even have an interest. Just happened to be in the building and went inside. There were gorgeous cabin cruisers and yachts, some of which they let you tour.
For a coin show, I guess I'd need something like seminars to give me a break from hanging around dealers who mainly just want me to buy stuff.
Anybody a show regular that can shed some light on good things to do at one?
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I setup as a dealer at 15 shows a year and walk the floor at another 15-20. When you are in selling mode, you know what is selling and you need a time to go look for it. Prices are generally lower at shows than you can find online for a lot of things. Things I go table to table for include 90% silver at below melt, rolls of walkers and mercs, proof sets from the 50s-60's (when they are pristine with some frosting, you can break them up at a profit), and small things that will do well in club auction. If you spend a lot of time at a major show, you can buy things at one table and sell them at another one. Most dealers do not have anything like the time it takes to find deals by walking the floor unless they have a staff at their tables. So you can help.
That's interesting, Andrew. Buying something such as junk silver certainly wouldn't require any research on my part. I didn't even think it would be possible to get a deal, though. Lately, I've been buying silver as an investment, too.
When you do go, don't forget to admire the merchandise. You can get closer to more treasures that you could or want to buy. The larger shows always have a dealer with $1,000,000 in gold bullion on display.
At an ANA show in 2012, there was a Brasher Doubloon on display (and sale too if you had a few $million to spare). So it is a mini museum where you can buy the display.
Some also have their "junk" boxes or 50% off bins. If you know your stuff you can get some real bargains.
The show I go to is pretty limited.. but here's my game plan.
#1 - I already have a "want list" made up of items I'm looking for in my very own collection ... so I look for those on display or if they have those items in binders... I won't specifically ask for a certain coin though... I'll ask to see what they have in quarters for instance not saying which date I would like... sometimes you can bundle a few for a good deal.
- these items you should already have your min/max limits of what you'd like to spend and make sure they're on paper. Also helps if you have a few past ebay sales written down so you know you're in the ball park.
#2 as I look through the inventory I look at all the graded material look to see if there's anything that is under graded. (here in Canada a I sometimes look for 2x2's that were graded by a fella by the name of Bob Armstrong. His writing is a bit unique but he's a very conservative grader. Sometimes you can buy a coin Which has been graded by him as an EF but send it in to a TPG and it will come back as AU
#3 I chat... I will sit down and talk to just about anyone about anything... I have found that in this hobby there are some really REALLY good people... so it's nice to sit and talk ask learn more about the people that are in this hobby.
The shows we have don't really offer seminars but if I ever head out to a really big show that would also be on my list of things to do...It's never a bad thing to increase youre level of education on a topic.
Listening is the best thing you can do. Ask questions. Talk to anyone willing to chat.
Not only can you learn a lot, if you ask about someone's given interest it isn't unusual to get a 20 minute miniature lecture.
Fun is why I go. I buy a bit, I sell a bit, but mostly it's the interaction with people.
Bother the screen addicts who can't quit texting, even when you've been looking at their displays for minutes. I enjoy laying out a wad of cash as if I'm counting it, then walking away.
We don't have any coin shows where I live. But we do have a lot of other con show like events, just for other stuff that's equally collectible and equally subjective in pricing.
First, don't forget that you actually have access to the internet via your cell phone. Additionally, make a 'wish list' with a shopping list app where you fill out the coin, grade and price you expect to find online: some apps even allow to ad photos or at least links to online photos for comparison. It's little effort and it gives a lot of advantage to be prepared. Just check your list before you start any possible negotiations with a vendor. Your biggest advantage will be that you hold the coin in your hand instead of having to deal with photos.
I also have a small list with items which I never expect or never expect to be in my price range. Just in case, so to say... and never say never.
Local small show (one conference room): I tend to walk around the entire floor to scope out what/who is there. I make mental notes on where to come back to look closer. Some of the dealers come to the show regularly, so I tend to at least hover over their tables to look at what they have this time.
Large Shows: I tend to find where the modern coin dealers are grouped and roam around there for the most part.
If you go around the show asking what are you asking for 90%, you will quickly find out where the market is and who the low guy is. You will also find out who the high guy is. You can then try to buy from the lowest guy and sell to the highest guy (fyi, this only works at large shows where everybody doesn't know by 10am who is selling what for). Even if you can't there are always a few guys at a large show that are sick of 90% and are willing to blow it out at below melt. It doesn't take much of a move for you to be able to make some money. The same is true of gold. At a recent show I was able to pick up a bunch of 1/10th oz American Eagle golds for spot. The dealer was tired of trying to make $10/coin and selling them slowly and sold them to me at $130 each. There are always deals like this if you look.
When my busy schedule permits it, I seek out coin shows with competitive exhibits and share my knowledge through the display. It also takes planning to create the display. Once the display is up at the show, I walk the show going dealer to dealer seeking out items for my collection. I invite the dealers to check out my display. I also bring a few items from my collection to start conversations with dealers (show them my collector interests). I also visit the surrounding area of the show location as a tourist. After a few days of being a tourist, I return to the coin show with a fresh perspective. On the last day of the show, I pack-up my display. Whether my exhibit wins or loses, I had a mini-vacation with my wife and hobby.
A tourist clip (Pikes Peak Summit) while my display exhibited at the 2017 ANA World's Fair of Money in Denver, Colorado.
Sure. Rolls of Walkers and Mercs with a nice spread of dates (teens, 20's, 30's and up) in average circ can be found for a small premium over 90%, maybe 1/2 a point. This puts average cost right now at $6.50 for halves and $1.30 for dimes. Rolls often include XF - AU+ Walkers and AU/BU mercs in later dates where the Walkers sell for $12 and the dimes $3-$4. There are also many dates that you can sell individually as coins at 2-3 times what you paid. I try to keep at least one of each of the dates/mm in a book for people to go through at a show and then remake the rolls to sell at a small premium to what I paid.
Around me there are so many different kinds of shows, a person just never gets bored. We have coin shows, gun shows, knife shows, computer shows, art shows and on and on and on. Without traveling more than about 25 miles or less, indoor and outdoor flea markets, I could go to a show of some type every weekend. And we have two different baseball teams, a football team, both men and women basket ball teams. We have movie theaters all over the area as well as amusement parks of all sizes. As to what to do at shows. I mostly find someone to just talk to about stuff at the show. Around where I live there are things to do all the time.
Some great ideas here, folks, thanks for sharing. Maybe, I'll meet some of you at a show one day if you're in the NE. I do like talking. It's a great idea to bring one or two items from my own collection as an ice breaker, so to speak.
You're very encouraging, Andrew as to the value of the shows. I really didn't think a participant could make out. I thought only the dealers did.
There's going to be a big, likely prestigious show, at a hotel in NYC in January. And, then there's a local one in NJ every couple of months. I forgot about flea markets. This may be a great place to pick up some deals. They'll be a ton of them next month as we gear up for the holidays.
You're very encouraging, Andrew as to the value of the shows. I really didn't think a participant could make out. I thought only the dealers did.
It is really amazing who you meet and what happens. At one coin show a dealer that I talk to all the time at different shows asked me to watch his table while he went to the washroom. I was a bit scarred to be left with possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff and I didn't sell anything either. Same thing at a flea market. One guy has asked me to watch his table several times now. I must have an honest face.
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Posted 10/30/2017 12:42 pm
