Can someone explain the whole seller / dealer relationship to me?

If dealers get coins from whole sellers, then who do the whole sellers get coins from?

I've heard that whole sellers only sell to dealers,,, why? If I'm a whole seller and have a roll of 09s cents, then why sell them to a dealer at say $50 per coin, when I could sell them for $25 more on ebay or at a show? ... and how the heck can a whole seller afford to sell at such a discount?,, especially in today's world in which joe public collectors can generally get more $ from thier coins on ebay than selling to someone (guessing whole seller) who puts the "coins wanted" ads in the local rags.
Do whole sellers primarily sell common junk in bulk and then let the dealers peddle them off 1 at a time, or are key dates and other rare coins distributed from whole seller to dealer?

Anyway, I think insight to the movement of coins within the market would be an interesting topic.

Cheers,

Excellent questions that I'm anxious to see the answers too.

If you mean wholesalers, the main difference between the sales they make to dealers and the sales they make to collectors is simply one of quantity. Most collectors don't buy several bags of 90% at a time, so the people selling large lots like that don't bother trying to reach out to a retail market for them.

Dealers also buy from collectors and their heirs, from non-collectors who have found a deal on coins, and from anyone else who is ready to sell.

When you sell your extras to a dealer, you're a wholesaler for that one sale. ;-)

Ask LostDutchman-
I was in his shop and watched him transact a wholesale deal.
Had a great Carson City 20 cent piece in the that deal as well.

Come on Matt, add your take on this thread...

This is how it works guys

I am on the bottom...

I buy coins from the public...I pay about %85 of bid for the coins everyone else opperates in the left over %10-%15

I sell them to a wholesaler....he takes the coins to a show and mainly sells them to other dealers and makes a little bit but since he does so much volume he makes his money....guy at the top is the guy you see at shows with all sorts of stuff and a large table...he sells at full retail to the public and again volume is key...

when it comes to common junk I toss it in a box till I have a few thousand dollars of stuff then I sell it to my wholesaler....I haven't really asked him what he does with it...but I do know he has other dealers who have a market for it and they have certain prices they pay for junk...he gets a big bundle together and mails it off...

OK, I'm in. I'll take 5 rolls of 09s cents @$50 per?
Kidding aside. How does one become a wholesaler (sorry bout' the spelling 28,, hic)? Is there a certification body or something.... Minimum buy to get the discount,,,, and what discount do they get (10% off bid?, 5?), pretty tight margins.

If you are buying in quantity and selling on small margins, my guess is the most important qualification would be money and lots of it. Second would probably be an established reputation as someone who buys it all (no cherrypicking, no returns, etc). Just my guess, though, as I am on the retail buying end of the business.