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headstashcrystals
Joined: 03 Mar 2014
Posts: 4
Location: california
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Posted: Jan 10, 2015 17:10 Post subject: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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Hello my friends at the mineral forum, I'm writing today because I love minerals and I aspire to pursue a career in the mineral world. I was wondering if someone out there could offer me some advice and maybe shed some light on the aspects of being a mineral dealer. The things I would like to know include; The pros and cons, the do's and don'ts, Maybe a little direction, and anything else that would help me achieve my dreams. I hope this topic is appropriate for the forum. I don't personally know any dealers so i thought i would throw this out to the web. Thank you very much. |
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Jordi Fabre
Overall coordinator of the Forum
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4888
Location: Barcelona
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Posted: Jan 10, 2015 17:40 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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headstashcrystals wrote: | ....I hope this topic is appropriate for the forum... |
Yes is appropriate as far as you don't propose anything to sell or try to do publicity here of your own business or yourself because this is a non-commercial forum.
About being a dealer in the mineral world my initial two main suggestions are:
- Have tons of patience
- Be willing to work very hard
;-) ;-) ;-) |
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chris
Site Admin
Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Posts: 538
Location: Grenoble
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Posted: Jan 11, 2015 04:08 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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Hi,
Even if I'm not a mineral dealer myself, some of the dealers I know told me it was wiser to put a barrier between your personal collection and the rocks you buy for your business.
Another guess, but I might be wrong (Jordi ?) : It takes time to get a good reputation and much less time to lose it.
Good luck
Christophe |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Jan 11, 2015 04:38 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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headstashcrystals wrote: | Hello my friends at the mineral forum, I'm writing today because I love minerals and I aspire to pursue a career in the mineral world. I was wondering if someone out there could offer me some advice and maybe shed some light on the aspects of being a mineral dealer. The things I would like to know include; The pros and cons, the do's and don'ts, Maybe a little direction, and anything else that would help me achieve my dreams. I hope this topic is appropriate for the forum. I don't personally know any dealers so i thought i would throw this out to the web. Thank you very much. |
Jordi's words are so true: patience and hard work!!! It takes years to build up a good business, not forgetting honesty and good relationships with clients . If you have a large budget it would be wise to hold on to your present job also. If you have a passion for rocks as well as commitment and are prepared to burn the candle, you will be successful. I wish you success if you choose this route. Regards _________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Matt_Zukowski
Site Admin
Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 707
Location: Alaska
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Posted: Jan 11, 2015 04:44 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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You say you don't know any dealers. My first bit of advice is to go to mineral shows and rock shops and befriend some. Ask them how they got started, what you should do to get started, what they like most and least about mineral dealing, what is the hardest and easiest thing about dealing, etc. Watch how they deal with customers and what customers are like to deal with. Try to figure out what attracts the type of customers you would like to sell to.
As is obvious, dealing involves buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price. Before I'd invest any significant money in inventory, I'd need to convince myself that I can find inventory at low enough prices and customers to sell to at higher prices so that I can make a reasonable return on my investment in time and money. Also, any entrepreneur needs to believe that they have or will eventually have something unique to offer the market. Do you now have or believe you can develop sources of material that are unique? Do you have unique access to a set of customers? Mull these questions over to understand where you are and where you might like to get to. Finally, after gathering some data and mulling over some ideas, I would ask myself the hard question of whether this is something I really want to do. If so, go for it. I never got anywhere by knowing so much where I was going as just putting my head down and start running. If you do the same, eventually you will get someplace you want to be.
PS: I would like to second what Chris said. In the end all we have is our reputation. Never do anything that you wouldn't want on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. |
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alfredo
Site Admin
Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 979
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Posted: Jan 11, 2015 06:35 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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Everyone here has given you very good advice; I agree with all of it. And I'll add one more thing:
In your first few years in the business, you will be in competition with other dealers who have much more experience, knowledge and personal customer contacts than you do. So in order to be successful you need to find your natural advantages and use them. You can't make a living just running around shows buying stones from other dealers and then doubling the price to resell to someone else. (I've seen a lot of young dealers start out trying to do that. Why would customers want to pay you $200 for a rock they could buy for $100 somewhere else? You have to give them a REASON to want to pay you more.)
Buying from other dealers, for resale, can work IF you have a LOT of knowledge about specimen mineralogy. Then you can go around looking for "sleepers" - rare or old overlooked material that the other dealer has priced too low.
Do you live in, or often travel to, a little-known mining district, where you could buy material inexpensively from local field collectors, trim it, clean it up, and market it at distant mineral shows where no one has seen this "new" material before? If so, you will do well.
Even if you just have experience with chemical and physical cleaning of minerals, you can make money buying dirty ugly rocks cheap and beautifying them for resale at a higher price. Remember: You have to give your customers a REASON to want to buy a rock from you for a higher price than it had before.
Do you yourself have field collecting experience, so you could sell minerals you dig yourself? (A few dealers manage to do this successfully, but it's HARD work!) Do you have experience with mining and mining equipment, so you could lease a property and hire helpers to mine it for specimens?
Do you perhaps speak any foreign languages or have experience travelling in mineral-rich foreign countries, where you could go to buy large lots at a wholesale price? Remember, you get the best prices for buying larger lots of material, ie. buying wholesale, then breaking up the lot to sell individual pieces at a higher, retail price.) There are lots of mineral-rich parts of the globe that other dealers haven't been to yet. Dealers are like sheep - they flock to the most famous producing regions. The first dealer to open up a new territory can generally make money, after an initial investment in time, money and patience to develop contacts with the producers.
Are you connected to some potential group of new customers that is not yet being served by the traditional dealer community? The first dealer to establish a good relationship with a new group of customers generally makes out very well. (Phosphorescent "magic" minerals for witchdoctors? Sharp pointy crystals for acupuncturists? - just joking, but perhaps you get the message: start marketing to a new group of people who don't know any other dealers, and you will make real money, for a while, before other people jump on the same bandwagon.)
So figure out what advantages you have and use them. |
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colin robinson
Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 82
Location: Cumbria
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Posted: Jan 30, 2015 17:23 Post subject: Re: Advice for an aspiring mineral dealer |
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My personal experience and that of friends in the trade is that we accidentally became dealers after years of field collecting and amassing stocks of surplus material. I'd been very actively field collecting for about 15 years and slowly honing my knowledge before I approached a dealer I knew and asked if he wanted any of my surplus. He took some and then so did other people I approached so that was how it started. I was lucky to live in the specimen-rich north of England at a time when it was easy to collect. I joined a few societies to learn more, I visited shows and gradually got to know people and it just gathered momentum from there. Initially I just wholesaled all my stock and did the odd show but eventually moved over to all internet sales. That's the way I like it. I'm a digger, not a business man but the thing I will say is that knowledge is the most important thing you need. There are plenty of folks out there ready to trip you up if you make a mistake. |
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