I often see and hear from customers that they’re unhappy they have missed out on the newest release that has sold out. These customers are left with only the option to purchase the release on the secondary market for much more than RRP (Recommended Retail Price).
Another complaint is that dealers are selling these products above RRP following the initial release. This article aims to try and help collectors find the most likely way to gain access to newly released products.
The first element to understand is that RRP is only a recommendation. RAM distributors are under no obligation to sell their products at RRP. Additionally, not all coin dealers are direct RAM distributors. These businesses also have no obligation to release coins at RRP.
Both direct RAM dealers and secondary dealers work hard for their profits. It’s a lot of work managing orders for a new release. There are also significant costs in running a coin dealership.
Coin dealers are subject to the same market forces as all other businesses. Sometimes releases don’t sell well and dealers are forced to discount their items, potentially selling at a loss. Other times, the market value increases and dealers will increase prices in line with the market, over time.
Secondly, most dealers know their customer base well. Some customers are only interested in items they can ‘flip’ for a quick profit on the secondary market. They’re not interested in collecting and are only after products that have a track record of creating ‘fear of missing out’ buying or have low enough mintages that the value of the coins are likely to increase drastically following their release.
As a registered business that pays GST and income tax, it’s doesn’t make sense for me to sell my prized allocation of difficult to acquire items to customers who are essentially running an unregistered business without the overheads I have. I will always prioritise this allocation to customers I have built a long-term relationship with.
It’s also unrealistic to expect a coin dealer to sell a coin that had a release price of $25 when the market value is $100. This just encourages the growth of the secondary highly speculative market and in the long run, does damage to the industry. If the market changes, so will dealers pricing.
The reality is that when an item is in high demand, it’s as equally difficult for dealers to get sufficient allocations as it is for customers. There are occasions when dealers are unable to secure even a fraction of the required allocation to met demand.
Given the above, the key to getting high demand items from coin dealers is to build a strong relationship with them. If you’ve supported them, most dealers are happy to return the favour. I have had several customers who have missed out on coins that have increased in value on release ask if I had stock. If it’s a customer I’ve built a strong relationship with, I do my best from them and often they can get a pretty good deal!
The same is not true for a customer who is only looking to on-sell my item for much more profit than I make. I and most coin dealers will prioritise those customers who have built a relationship with me.