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Doing my first show, opinions needed

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Currently I have 42 Australian 2012 colorized dragons that I am thinking of having graded. My cost into each is about 45 dollars, do you think is worth it? The reason I ask is that I a, doing my first show with a dealer booth in October and have seen that these graded do pretty well. I do admit that at most shows I have been to there are very few dealers that carry foreign stuff, most of it is old school Morgan's and American coins. I would like to bring a variety of everything. I do have plenty of morgans, silver eagles, peace dollars and modern comments but I would like to stand out with stuff you don't see much of at shows.

 

right now I plan on bringing a whole lot of libertads, kooks, koalas, crocks, spiders, a whole set of lunar series 1 coinage and less known Canadian stuff like the 2013 high relief coins as well as others. What else would you recommend?

 

as far as my silver eagles, I have 9 2008 reverse of 07, 5 ms70 and 4 ms69, all the anniversary coins especially the reverse proofs, several burnished full series, hall of fame dollrs, 2001 silver buffalo's, silver and gold bullion, pandas and plenty of other stabbed US stuff. The 2008 reverse of 07 are coins I want to keep for the long term but I thought I would test the waters with them by pricing them high not really wanting to sell them.

 

 

Those who have been to a lot of shows, what's your take on modern sovereign coinage? Is there anything else I should bring?

 

your feedback is greatly appreciated. My goal is to be different

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Only you can decide if there will be sufficient buyers for these NCLT pieces to justify the show costs and your time. Having the colored pieces authenticated and graded seems a lot of expense, but I admit to knowing little about who buys these things and why.

 

If you want to stand out, try using angled cases that let people see coins as they walk by. Put an attractive cover on your table and a nice backup sign (if the promoters will permit it). If the promoters have those flimsy plastic folding chairs, bring your own metal chairs -- your customers (many are overweight) will appreciate it.

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Thanks, we are looking for those exact things ND the chair idea is a good one. My goal is to have a little of everything as I am sick of seeing the old timers with ungraded Morgans by the thousands asking for full red book prices. I am just trying to think outside the box.

 

When I was at the Baltimore show there was a guy who had 3 huge boxes of cleaned morgans for 30 bucks each, crazy ND I think he went home with most of them. I have found most dealers at the shows HD to constantly look up their prices in the Grey sheet or red book as nothing was marked, those tables I just kept on walking by. I plan to have my prices very clearly marked.

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The 2008 reverse of 07 are coins I want to keep for the long term but I thought I would test the waters with them by pricing them high not really wanting to sell them.

 

My advice is if you don't really want to sell something, don't put it out. I think that it would be a mistake to put "a good keeping price" on such items. As a collector and coin buyer, I avoid the dealers who are known to charge very high prices relative to the market. If you get a reputation as a high priced dealer, it is going to hurt you.

 

A better strategy if you want to "test the market" is to do some research on the web. Check out the leading auction houses and see what they are getting. Auction prices realized seem to be more like retail than wholesale results these days.

 

I know that there are some dealers who ask prices that are "high as quinine." I don't know how they stay in business, but somehow they do. If you can become a member of that elite group, more power to you. But for the rest of us plebeians, market forces generally have kept us from making our day on the first sale.

 

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The 2008 reverse of 07 are coins I want to keep for the long term but I thought I would test the waters with them by pricing them high not really wanting to sell them.

 

My advice is if you don't really want to sell something, don't put it out. I think that it would be a mistake to put "a good keeping price" on such items. As a collector and coin buyer, I avoid the dealers who are known to charge very high prices relative to the market. If you get a reputation as a high priced dealer, it is going to hurt you.

 

A better strategy if you want to "test the market" is to do some research on the web. Check out the leading auction houses and see what they are getting. Auction prices realized seem to be more like retail than wholesale results these days.

 

I know that there are some dealers who ask prices that are "high as quinine." I don't know how they stay in business, but somehow they do. If you can become a member of that elite group, more power to you. But for the rest of us plebeians, market forces generally have kept us from making our day on the first sale.

 

many good points, and I'll add that if you want to do your homework, study on ebay. Why? Because ebay is the worlds largest bourse for US coins and there are usually many multiples for any specific coin. Want to test your skills at grading and pricing at a level most would think reasonable? Sell some of your raw coins on ebay. If you are close to their expectations, they'll keep the coin and it will be reflected in poor star ratings. If you exceed their expectations you should keep almost all 5 stars close to solid gold. If you can do this for years on end, you can compete with the big boys imho.

 

oh, and definitely agree about those who price unreasonably- it leaves no middle ground for anyone to make an offer and I usually keep on going...

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a general observation- don't be rude in any way, even if you didn;t realize it was rude. Many dealers used to blow smoke in your face, that is likely not going to happen these days with the no-smoking rules everywhere, but eating is still allowed, and that is the second rudest thing a dealer can do in my humble opinion- spread his lunch out over the display case. Also rude is piling papers or price guides on the display cases- put a small table behind your table for that stuff. And the biggest mistake that I think dealers make is talking to other dealers and ignoring the customer who is trying to get your attention to move all the junk off your display cases- they didn't come to the show for any of these things- they came for an unimpeded view of the coins and some friendly attention to their needs. After attending hundreds of shows, large and tiny, I can say that those are the major offenses that bother most private show-goers. If there is one thing I learned from my two decades in serving the public it is that if you give them as much attention as you would your loved ones, they will come back and bring others in their wake for a lifetime. I know this to be fact because when I finally sold my business I was asked by many of my former customers to take them as private customers, and that is the reason they all gave. Food for thought, no food on the tables for better profit...

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One thing you need to realize is that as "the new guy on the block" some dealers are going to descend on you like a swarm of locusts. They will be looking to see if you are knowledgeable and see if you are "a mark" whom they will be able to "pick off." This might be the hardest period of the day for you, and it will probably be the first thing you with which you need to address.

 

My advice is stick to your guns, but don't avoid making deals if it is in your interest. Wholesale work can be one of the most important aspects of your business. Sales to other dealers can turn a crumby show into a good one. They can also establish relationships that can be very valuable to you in the future. Don't be a jerk. Treat other dealers with respect knowing that their goals are the same as yours.

 

The thing you have to have is knowledge. If you know what the market is, that's well over half the battle.

 

I would also advise you to try some smaller local shows. You can learn from those experiences, and don't go in there with the attitude that everyone in the room is "Penny Annie." I've sold as much at $50,000 worth of material (unusual but true) at a local show and made contacts for more business in the future. You can't judge books by their covers.

 

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One thing you need to realize is that as "the new guy on the block" some dealers are going to descend on you like a swarm of locusts. They will be looking to see if you are knowledgeable and see if you are "a mark" whom they will be able to "pick off." This might be the hardest period of the day for you, and it will probably be the first thing you with which you need to address.

 

My advice is stick to your guns, but don't avoid making deals if it is in your interest. Wholesale work can be one of the most important aspects of your business. Sales to other dealers can turn a crumby show into a good one. They can also establish relationships that can be very valuable to you in the future. Don't be a jerk. Treat other dealers with respect knowing that their goals are the same as yours.

 

The thing you have to have is knowledge. If you know what the market is, that's well over half the battle.

 

I would also advise you to try some smaller local shows. You can learn from those experiences, and don't go in there with the attitude that everyone in the room is "Penny Annie." I've sold as much at $50,000 worth of material (unusual but true) at a local show and made contacts for more business in the future. You can't judge books by their covers.

 

you are full of good points today Bill, every one was important for this gentleman starting out. Making frends along the way is a good way to ensure a place to 'dump' coins when you get into a bind rather than ship them off to a wholesaler and take a much bigger hit. I have always viewed each aquaintence, dealer or collector (I am merely a collector, never went pro), as a potential future trading partner.

 

That last point was the best one though: you can't judge a book by it's cover!

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It takes a few shows before you get the hang of it, and meanwhile have to observe security issues, temptations to buy too high or sell too low. One solution to that is to put prices on coins with removeable stickers. Stick to your guns, if you know what stuff is worth and you paid good money don't go too cheap. I see lots of dealers doing very little business at shows but the sharp ones look for their opportunities and seize them.

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