How to Sell Coins Online

Have you been thinking of becoming an online coin dealer? With the rise in market prices of gold and silver over the past 10 years or so, the coin selling business has been generally stable and even thriving. It’s safe to say that now is a good time to enter the industry. To make that happen sooner than later, read on to find out how to sell coins online successfully.

From Collector to Coin Dealer 

Obviously, most coin dealers start as coin collectors. If you’ve been collecting for some time and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, wanting to start a business as a coin dealer would be a natural progression. However, simply having a coin collection is not enough to give you a solid foundation to start a business. You must be a real collector, one who has adequate know-how about numismatics, in order to earn a steady living from your knowledge.

If you’re new to coin collecting, but you have a real passion for it to turn it into a business, one of the things you have to learn is to identify genuine coins from fake and altered ones. You should be able to detect problems with a coin and spot unseen opportunities in the collections of other people or in other coin dealers’ inventories. With knowledge and a keen eye, you will be able to identify different types of valuable coins effortlessly. You will also be able to detect high quality coins that may have been graded incorrectly which you can obtain at a lower price. Sufficient knowledge about coins and the industry would also give you insight on niche markets that you can enter while it is still underdeveloped.

Skills You Need as a Coin Dealer

Most people who enter coin dealership are not knowledgeable about finance, business management or marketing. If you’re one of the fortunate few who are both sharp in business and numismatics, you can definitely make your skill set work for you to realize the most profits. However, if you’re an aspiring coin dealer who is new to coin collecting and/or handling a business, you need to develop a number of skills in addition to having strong knowledge in numismatics and coin grading.

Being good with numbers and history would certainly be helpful as well as being able to communicate effectively. Having good negotiation skills would also benefit your future business. It’s also very important that you know at the very least how to use a computer because you have to take advantage of technology, particularly the Internet, to promote your business. Certainly, great marketing skills are always top skills that any aspiring business owner should acquire.

What’s Your Next Step?

With all the things you need to learn, it can be overwhelming. Here are easy steps to get the learning process started:

1. Read numismatic publications. Newsletters, periodicals and magazines for coin collectors and coin dealers are essential resources if you’re serious about making selling coins a business. These publications will teach you how the coin market works and will keep you on top of the most recent issues in local or foreign coinages.
2. Go to coin shows. You probably do this already as a coin collector so simply go to more shows but this time don’t just focus on looking at the coins. Instead, you should view every show as an opportunity to interact and network with coin dealers and pick up some skills.
3. Understand the market for precious metals. Coin sales comprise of the current market value of a gold or silver coin in addition to the premium charged by a dealer. This means you need to be always aware of the value of your coins in the current market in order to price your items correctly.
4. Become a member of a professional association. Joining professional groups of numismatist is an excellent way to grow your network and enhance your skills. As a member, you will also be included in the group’s directory of authorized coin dealers.
5. Work at a coin dealer shop. Many coin dealers actually started as employees at coin shops prior to launching their own dealerships. The experience will undoubtedly help you know the ins and outs of the industry, which would be valuable down the road when you become a full-time coin dealer.
6. Try out an honest online business training program. As equally important to learning numismatics and the coin market is learning how to run a successful business, especially in today’s market which is heavily influenced by the Internet. With a sound training program on online business and marketing, you can develop savvy internet marketing skills that you can use to open many doors to grow your business.

If you’ve been thinking of being an online coin dealer for some time now but you’re still not ready to make a huge time or financial investment, you can test the waters first of being an online entrepreneur by joining an online affiliate community like Wealthy Affiliate. You don’t have to pay anything to start training but you will be introduced right away to how you can turn a hobby you love to a successful business.