Who Will Be the Vintage Back Issue Dealers of Tomorrow???

[oakman29]

I hope to work for Foolkiller (Brian K.) some day! .

Don't we all.

[r100comics]

I am going to steal a few ideas coin collectors discuss quite often.

 

1. Many modern coin collectors do not require vintage dealers at all. They buy from the mint directly (a

comic store), they can buy from other collectors once the mint stops selling the item (ebay), they

refer to auction prices as their price guide, and if dealers disappeared over night it would not bother

them in the least. As long as their is a way to get new releases and buy from other collectors

they are perfectly happy. So every collector is also a "dealer" by nature as they buy and sell to

craft their collection into what they desire.

 

There is no reason, with the creation of 3rd party grading, the internet, and collector forums that

they could just do without full time dealers. It is already happening with some aspects of hobbies.

 

2. A successful dealer is one who creates a two way market for what they buy and sell. Nothing

can be as bad as buying a comic for 1000 and going back to the same dealer to sell it a year later

and they offer you 200 bucks cash or 300 in trade. This all assumes the market has not

drastically changed for the item in question.

 

That situation basically shows that they are just in the biz to make money selling their goods

and have no desire to buy it back for a reasonable amount. It is all one way. They would prefer

to get their own material slabbed at a very cheap cost and just sell it off. In no way do they want

to buy it back for any significant fraction of what they sell it for.

 

In general, a successful dealer is one who creates a two way market and desires to buy back his

own material as he has confidence in it. I like to think a dealer who does this will stand the test

of time.

 

3. Often the best dealers are ones who used to be collectors and wanted to make a career out of

it. You can really tell the difference between dealers who like what they do and others who do

not seem to care so much anymore. It is just a biz to them now.

 

Great post.