Owning a coin shop?

[Coppercrazy]

What do you guys think of the idea of owning a coin shop? I'm 16 and I really love coins. Ever since I was little I've wanted to own a business, and it just struck me! A coin shop! I'll get a degree in business, and I already know a ton about coins, more than many employees at coin shops do. I think that as soon as I turn 18 I'm going to find a job at a coin shop. That would be just incredible! I would be doing something I love, just buying and selling coins. Sure, minimum wage isn't the most appealing thing, but hey it's a way to get experience to open my own coin shop once I'm in my late 20's. Also, why does it seem that every coin shop always has older employees, like 50+? Idk, maybe it is just my local coin shops.

 

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[Coppercrazy]

Good thing I'm only 16, so I still have plenty of time to learn. In a sense this would be my dream job.

 

[Dihren]

What do you guys think of the idea of owning a coin shop? I'm 16 and I really love coins. Ever since I was little I've wanted to own a business, and it just struck me! A coin shop! I'll get a degree in business, and I already know a ton about coins, more than many employees at coin shops do. I think that as soon as I turn 18 I'm going to find a job at a coin shop. That would be just incredible! I would be doing something I love, just buying and selling coins. Sure, minimum wage isn't the most appealing thing, but hey it's a way to get experience to open my own coin shop once I'm in my late 20's. Also, why does it seem that every coin shop always has older employees, like 50+? Idk, maybe it is just my local coin shops.

No. Every coins shop here has older employees. It might be because there is less interest in coin collecting now.

 

[Bowen89]

You alwaysssss have to remember the risks involved. My coin shop buys at 75% of melt. If the price of silver falls to below that they could be losing money in the short term. If you wanna do it you have to be committed and i like your attitude towards it. Starting your own business could be easier than you think. Instead of starting big and going for an establishment the internet is going to be your best starter now. If you become profitable you could move to a store later. Keep the ideas up and i hope your dream becomes true

 

[Jason in Enid]

Never! Turning a hobby into a job kills the love. This is why you typically see old men running coin shops. It's a hobby to them, they aren't trying to support a family and mortgage and college, and everything else from it.

 

[usandthem]

Never! Turning a hobby into a job kills the love. This is why you typically see old men running coin shops. It's a hobby to them, they aren't trying to support a family and mortgage and college, and everything else from it.

^ This.

 

[bingbong]

on the bay is prolly your best bet until you know what your doing

 

[Bowen89]

Saying never do it is wrong cause youll think its a job...

Think racecar drivers hate cars and engines and everything about them... no they have such a passion they wake up happy to do it.

If your not passionate about something youll eventually hate it. I love what my work entails but i cannot stand my job cause of the stuff i have to deal with. If i could strictly deal with the part i loved. I would be tremendously happy

 

[nsdq]

go for your dreams if you want it make it happen and good luck an hope it works out for ya ..... happy hunting

 

[Jason in Enid]

Saying never do it is wrong cause youll think its a job...

Think racecar drivers hate cars and engines and everything about them... no they have such a passion they wake up happy to do it.

If your not passionate about something youll eventually hate it. I love what my work entails but i cannot stand my job cause of the stuff i have to deal with. If i could strictly deal with the part i loved. I would be tremendously happy

Are race car drivers spending 12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week behind the wheel? How much would they "love" thier job if it required that?

Yes, everyone should be so lucky to have a job that they love to do every day. But even metal detecting, all day, every day would stop being fun.

 

[Coppercrazy]

Are race car drivers spending 12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week behind the wheel? How much would they "love" thier job if it required that?

Yes, everyone should be so lucky to have a job that they love to do every day. But even metal detecting, all day, every day would stop being fun.

I do see what you are saying. I go out sometimes for 10 hours in one day CRH and I does get a little boring about 5 or 6 hours in.

 

[lastleg]

You have a great positive attitude and if nourished will result in success. You see the trend in business is away from brick and
mortar shops which have tremendous overhead. The security and insurance problems might drive you batty. You say you are
going for a degree which is unnecesary to your aspirations. Colleges charge enormous fees for a diploma and if you get student
loans you are behind the eight ball for years repaying.

Newsweek/Sept issue says college is a lousy investment and tells why that is true. It is possible to get into the coin investment
business without the headaches of a standing business with employee headaches. rent, insurance, permits and security systems.
Send me a PM.

 

[Zavenoa]

I agree a brick and mortar shop isn't the best place to start. On the other hand neither is feebay, between them and paypal you'll lose half your profit or more on low dollar transactions.

I've actually been thinking about this same thing. I have a Bachelors in Business Admin (BSBA) and my MBA, but even with a variety of different methods I have thought of selling to the public (b&m store, feebay, live auctions, flea markets, shows, etc) its tough to put together a business plan that works.

The key here is what several other people have mentioned. If you make your hobby your primary source of income, you will no longer enjoy it like you used to. If you don't have to worry about the money, then the store can be your hobby and if you break even you'll be happy!

Start working on a business plan and hone it over the next several years.

 

[Zavenoa]

I don't necessarily agree that college is a complete waste of money, just a big one. If you are the type of person that will go learn what you need to on your own, then it is a waste of money. However, if you don't have the dedication to learn about the thing you hate, say accounting, you could end up needlessly increasing your overhead without needing to.

Just some things to think about.

 

[Iron Patch]

Damn... I could probably write a post that looks more like a book for this thread. First and foremost, I couldn't disagree more that a person shouldn't make a hobby their job or career, or however you want to put it, if they can make enough money to be happy. If I woke up tomorrow and had to show up somewhere and be told what to do, I'd contemplate a bullet to the head.

As for my reply to this post, the reason most coin shop workers are older was answered in the first reply - the experience. You might know a ton about coins, the only probably is there's a million tons to know, and when you do it for a living/job mistakes cost you money. As for opening an actual coin shop that is just pure insanity in this day and age, because you have the Internet, which doesn't stop you from do physical deals in your neighborhood. You'd have to go on the Internet anyway so that might as well be the place you start, and just consider it a home business. (for both net and in-person deals) If you have a spare room make that your coin shop... it works for me, and has for the last 10 years. There's also no reason to wait, because the real experience you have to gain is on your own and no coin shop is going to hire you unless they need someone to handle the register, or sweep the floor. Again, there's a heck of a lot you have to know before you can feel very confident in doing deals. So start now, just buy a little and sell a little and see how it goes. The coin business in general is doing just fine and that's evident by the amount of competition that is out there, because you do have to work for money most of the time.


I think it would be a huge mistake to abandon an education for the dream of being in the coin business because the rate of failure would be much to high. If you work for someone you make no money, and if you do it on your own you definitely need one of two things... a ton of knowledge to make good deals fast, or a ton of cash. Some of both can work quite well but if the next guy knows more you are not going to come out the winner. I have a pretty good handle on quite a few of the types of things I sell, but am not an expert, but do find myself competing with those that are, once in a while. Generally the way it goes is that if you beat them, there's no money to be made, you just be happy to break even. It's definitely all about the experience and knowledge, but you do need money to make money, and I tell you, you can tie up one pile of cash fast when it comes to decent coins. So I would say do the coins thing on the side and figure out a career path that makes more sense.... and only reverse that if you can prove to yourself that you can make enough money at the coin business. It's great to follow your dreams but dumb not to have a solid back up plan. I also question how much interest the younger generations will have in coins and that might also be another risk when putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

[unclemac]

try setting one up on EBAY right now...start small and see if you have the knack for it.

 

[Dark]

A lot of great advice here, man.
I agree that you should start with an online business to see how things go.
I think the reason there are so many old men working in coin shops is because to work in a position like that you really need to deal with them your whole life. It is not like becoming an engineer and getting out of school with your brain packed with multiple years of physics and calculus and ready to enter the field. Coin collecting as a profession is very very rare. Keep in mind I am talking about real coin collectors, not OMG WE BI UR GOLDZ 4 NOTHING scammers.
I have brought some really obscure coins into my local coin shop and I am always impressed by how they can identify all the little anomalies that occurred with that specific coin for that year that I had to spend time researching to find out.
Then of course they offer me 1/4 of what its worth and I get upset and just sell it on ebay. But now I am just babbling.

 

[papa1956e9]

Never! Turning a hobby into a job kills the love. This is why you typically see old men running coin shops. It's a hobby to them, they aren't trying to support a family and mortgage and college, and everything else from it.

At first I agreed with this, but after I thought about it for a bit I think that having a job that you truly enjoy is what really matters, if your passion is coins and you have the drive to run your own shop and do it well, then don't let anyone tell you shouldn't go for it. I wish in my youth I had the passion for coins to know at 16 I wanted to start my own shop. Just remember to keep you collection separate from your wares and food on the table and clothes for your kids is more important than a bunch of coins sitting in plastic.

 

[Iron Patch]

At first I agreed with this, but after I thought about it for a bit I think that having a job that you truly enjoy is what really matters, if your passion is coins and you have the drive to run your own shop and do it well, then don't let anyone tell you shouldn't go for it. I wish in my youth I had the passion for coins to know at 16 I wanted to start my own shop. Just remember to keep you collection separate from your wares and food on the table and clothes for your kids is more important than a bunch of coins sitting in plastic.

There is one problem though, when you like it so much all you do is work! (for lack of a better term) I enjoy buying and selling every bit as much as detecting and the great thing is I can do it 24/7/365! The one issue you will run into is having to leave the collecting behind because it's very hard to do both.