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There's a big coin show in Long Beach coming up and I was considering taking some of my numi's with me to try and sell. I've seen at gun shows where people walk around with a price list attached to their backback to make private sales. The seems like a great idea versus selling on ebay, but I would be competing with dealers who may also have similar coins. Is this method acceptable or shunned? I suppose it would be possible to sell copper pennies this way also.

find a dealer that has the coins that you have to sell and offer them to him/her in a manner that exhibits your confidence in both retail and wholesale value. Don't be offended with low offers, and don't be afraid to ask, "is that the best price you can give me?" If it doesn't work for you. don't be afraid to walk away from a deal.

The coins I'm looking to sell are all graded or ungraded from the 25th anniversary silver eagle sets. I have a pretty good idea of what a dealer would offer for them. If I could sell to a private party at the coin show it would be a better price for both the private buyer and myself. What I basically want to know is if there would be any complaints from the dealers who paid to have a table at the show, or the promoters. Cash and carry is the goal to avoid ebay fees and the hassle of shipping and handling.

Guns shows, or at least the ones I have been to here in PA, specifically prohibit private sales; they require all transactions to be run through dealers. Handgun sales have to be run through dealers anyway to do the transfer. Private sales of long guns are legal in PA, but the show organizers require that they be transferred through a dealer. Pick a dealer, any dealer, doesn't really matter, but they don't want guns being sold without the PICS check. So at the very least, a dealer gets a few bucks to do the transfer.

At a coin show, I would say sell to dealers, or if you happen to strike up a conversation with another attendee and work out a deal, fine. But walking around advertising that you have coins for sale with a sign is poor etiquette in my opinion. If you want to advertise, pay for a table like the rest of the sellers.

I suspect the dealers would run you out of town. they pay a hefty price to have a seat there.

I have only been to a small monthly coin show in the town where I work around 10 times or so. It's usually around 20-25 dealers and they are mostly regulars. I have never seen any private party to private party transactions going on there. I would suspect that at some of the biggers shows it goes on a lot more.

At the guns show it's a different situation -- 500 tables and private sales going on everywhere inside and outside

It would be considered "Bad Form" to transact business on the bourse floor with other collectors.

As mentioned above, the dealers paid to be there and wouldn't take kindly to this sort of activity.

Some shows allow "vest pocket" dealers to transact business if they pay a fee to enter, but that isn't too normal.

Try to join the local coin club and that may be productive to sell items at the local meetings.

So much depends on where you are for any kind of sales. As one person noted at thier gun shows, on floor private sales are not acceptable. By me they go on all the time. At all the coin shows, camera shows, knife shows, computer shows I go to, private individuals walk around all the time attempting to sell something. In my area those can not be stopped since a show of any kind is sort of a flea market of that item. And the only main difference from a flea market to a coin show is basically a coin show is supposed to be specific on a certain item, coins.

Market Harmony wrote:find a dealer that has the coins that you have to sell and offer them to him/her in a manner that exhibits your confidence in both retail and wholesale value. Don't be offended with low offers, and don't be afraid to ask, "is that the best price you can give me?" If it doesn't work for you. don't be afraid to walk away from a deal.

yep, what Mike said.

Is there any chance a consignment type of deal might work? If the dealer didn't have to tie up capital and take the chance of holding the inventory, he might be willing to split his normal markup.

Maybe I've never been to the kinds of shows some of you guys are talking about, but every show I've been to - gun, knife, coin, baseball card - required me to pay an admission fee. As far as I'm concerned private transactions on the floor are OK.

Pachucko wrote:Maybe I've never been to the kinds of shows some of you guys are talking about, but every show I've been to - gun, knife, coin, baseball card - required me to pay an admission fee. As far as I'm concerned private transactions on the floor are OK.

When I was a total noob I thought the same way. I got kicked out of a show for trying to snipe a deal on the floor... wanted to buy about 8 10oz bars of silver from a guy when it was about $10 an oz... a table dealer overheard me and ratted me out. Security escorted me from the premises. It was not one of my highest points in life. However, after my embarrassment subsided, I went to the bank and bought a bunch of $25 penny bricks... percentages were about 35% then, and I got a whole bunch of wheats.

I was initially angered by getting kicked out. After reflection, I learned the hard way that it is completely unethical to suppose that you can walk onto the bourse floor and expect to be a roaming dealer. If you want to deal with the public then buy a table, drive from wherever you come from, set up your wares early in the morning, compete against the other dealers, and then lug home everything after everyone leaves. Public admission to the show keeps the costs down so that the dealers are more willing to go through this process so that the show can even happen in the first place. It is not the same as buying a ticket to an open market.

Pachucko wrote:every show I've been to - gun, knife, coin, baseball card - required me to pay an admission fee.

Dealer's table fees are much greater than the admission fee. And like Market Harmony said, the admission fee keeps the dealers fees from being even higher.
I have had times when I was next to a patron at a table, and wanted to speak up and say "that's not a good deal" but I don't. I've also had times when the dealer would buy a few bucks worth of silver and sell it immediately to me for more than they bought it for, but for less than they had it for sale on their table.

present company excluded, i find coin dealers to be among the biggest jerks and liars on the planet.

I have had several lie to my face, bad mouth competitors, etc.

i really see little point to coin shows that you cant do better with via online forums, ebay, and craigslist. sure, there are risks with those but in most cases less than with your LCS or coin show.

I went to the Long Beach Show earlier this month and had the worst experience ever. After spending so much time online chatting and watching deals happen left and right, I was in for a big schock.
When I entered on the floor I was looking for Half's and Kook's - I politely would ask dealers excuse me do you have any... I had people not even look up from the newspaper they were reading to say anything. The dealer who did engage with me wanted $75.00 for a 1 oz kook. When I asked him if that was his best price he yelled at me to get away and that I was wasting his time. I could buy them online from reputable people for less than that - why should I pay him a unrealistic number? Overall I was very dissapointed with what I saw.

Lemon Thrower wrote:present company excluded, i find coin dealers to be among the biggest jerks and liars on the planet.

I have had several lie to my face, bad mouth competitors, etc.

I don't know if they are the biggest, but they are definitely top contenders...

We have coins shows almost on a weekly basis here, I have gotten to know, or know almost all of them. About 3/4 of them I wouldn't give the time of day to save his/her life. The other 25% are truly good folks. They don't even like the others...

it apparently is a regional thing. Here in MI private floor sales at a coin show is a big no-no. it is actually posted at the bigger ones right at the entrance,

Gun shows on the other hand, are the complete opposite. I have bought, sold and traded quite a few a firearms doing just that. Walking around with a sign attached either to my back or a flag sticking out of the muzzle of a shouldered long arm.

Now the coin shows are free admission, the gun shows are not. If that is the reason why, I truly don't know.

I was at a baseball card shop about 20 years ago. There was a guy trying to sell a few cards to the dealer. Of course the dealer offered less than half what he would turn around and put it on sale for. There was another customer standing there listening and offered more than the dealer for the cards. That dealer got pissed, understandably so, and banned him from the store. The other guy didn't sell to the dealer and when I left I saw the two of them in the parking lot trading FRNs and cards.

I got kicked out of a show for trying to snipe a deal on the floor... wanted to buy about 8 10oz bars of silver from a guy when it was about $10 an oz... a table dealer overheard me and ratted me out.

I think if they're going to do that there should be signs, or at least warnings given first.

Public admission to the show keeps the costs down so that the dealers are more willing to go through this process so that the show can even happen in the first place.

Dealer's table fees are much greater than the admission fee. And like Market Harmony said, the admission fee keeps the dealers fees from being even higher.

10-4. That makes sense.

I have had times when I was next to a patron at a table, and wanted to speak up and say "that's not a good deal" but I don't.

I wouldn't do that either. I've had the same thing happen in stores too. The way I see it, you need to do your diligence before going out to buy, wherever you go.

tractorman wrote:I was at a baseball card shop about 20 years ago. There was a guy trying to sell a few cards to the dealer. Of course the dealer offered less than half what he would turn around and put it on sale for. There was another customer standing there listening and offered more than the dealer for the cards. That dealer got pissed, understandably so, and banned him from the store. The other guy didn't sell to the dealer and when I left I saw the two of them in the parking lot trading FRNs and cards.

I've wanted to do that at gun stores and pawn shops a couple of times. I wouldn't do it in someone else's store though. Now if the customer rejected the price, I wouldn't have any problem with following them out the door and making an offer outside.