Recently, articles appeared in local coin club newsletters and in the major coin magazines about coin shows. In particular these articles discussed how many of the dealers leave early and how coin show management should “fix” this problem. They further commented that people do not attend the last day of a three or four day show because they know very few dealers will be there.
Well, this problem resembles the chicken and egg mystery. Though, a recent study using a super computer in Edinburgh claims scientific proof that the chicken came before the egg.
In the case of coins, did the dealers start leaving early first? Or, was it guests who first did not attend in large numbers on the show’s last day?
In all likelihood, the last day’s fewer dealers and less traffic could be attributed to actions by both the dealers and the guests.
Let’s explore some of the reasons why dealers leave early. Depending on the dealer, their reasons could be safety, monetary, personal or a mixture of all of them.
Some dealers have long drives of eight hours or more. As such, they want to be on the road in daylight hours for safety reasons. They don’t want to drive late into the night while tired from a long show day and with significant valuables in their vehicle.
Eight plus hours? That’s a long drive. Why don’t they fly? Think about it. Coin inventory can be bulky. With today’s baggage limits and TSA horror stories, dealers do not fly with coins unless they can keep their valuables with them at all times. This means dealers who bring large inventory must drive their coins to a show.
Then there are the monetary reasons. People who attend the last day generally do not buy very much if anything at all. These people are lookers. Will they buy at some point? Sure. Is it worthwhile for the numismatic community to have coins they can peruse? In general, yes.
But, individually, from a dealer’s perspective, spending all day on the last day when very few purchases are made – usually for small amounts of money – just does not make financial sense for them to stay. Some dealers leave the evening prior to the last day to save both the time and the hotel expense. Others value their time over the little monetary reward and leave either the night before or the morning of the last day.
More importantly, perhaps the biggest reason dealers leave early is that they need personal time. Many of the dealers open their coin shops every day. Some dealers work at other businesses during the week. Others want time with family, kids and grandkids on the weekend. Some just want some kick-back time. If the monetary rewards on the last day are small, they leave to enjoy time away from coins for awhile.
But why did the guests not attend as much on the last day?
One reason could be that the last day of a three or four day show historically fell on a Sunday. Some people prefer not to do any business on a Sunday. They would walk the bourse and look at the various coins on display, but they would not purchase.
Another reason could be that many dedicated collectors attended the coin shows as early as possible such that they would have the greatest number of coins to review. The numismatist wants to look at several versions of the coins within their area of interest and select the best coin or coins to add to their collection. Casual collectors would wait until the last day and not spend much money.
So, what’s the solution?
Today, some shows use the carrot approach. Others use the stick.
For example, the ANA penalizes dealers who leave before the end of the show. However, many of the ANA dealers work around this requirement. They leave one person behind with a very limited amount of coins (sometimes just one) on display. They meet the ANA’s “stick” requirement, but the guests do not benefit from their staying.
Other shows solve their guests’ issue with business on Sunday by having the show earlier and ending on Saturday.
Still other shows use a “carrot” approach by drawing nice gifts for dealers who are still at their tables on the afternoon of the last day. Perhaps this approach keeps some dealers, but several dealers still leave the show early.
Can the bourse chairman “fix” the problem? Probably not.
The issue remains the unsolved “chicken and egg” conundrum. If the business is there then the dealers will stay. But, the numismatists and investors know that a lot of dealers leave early so the larger buyers do not come at the end of a show.
Furthermore, the dealers and the guests are individuals making their own choices. A bourse chairman has limited (very limited) control over either the dealers or the guests.