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Starting a Coin Collection Export Business

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Coin Sales Opportunities

Aug 27, 2009 Daniel Workman

This article shows how to analyze business requirements before setting up a home-based business to sell Winter Olympic souvenir coins in other countries.

American exporters shipped US$321.1 million worth of collectible coins around the world in 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s foreign trade statistics. That number represents a 31.2% improvement over the prior year.

In contrast, Statistics Canada reports that Canadian exports of coin collection pieces declined by 37.4% to US$18.8 million over the same period.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games from February 12 to 28, 2010 represents a promising opportunity for Canadian coin exporters to redeem their slumping sales in the international marketplace. Here’s why.

Olympic Coin Product Analysis

The Royal Canadian Mint announced a dozen new 25-cent coins to honor each of the 12 Winter Olympic events in 2007. On March 12, the RCM released a quarter featuring a speed skater and then a quarter celebrating bobsledding on June 23, 2009. The Royal Canadian Mint will launch three more 25-cent pieces in 2010 honoring the most popular Winter Olympic events as voted by the Canadian public. Each coin will have a circulation of up to 22 million pieces.

Freshly minted 40-coin rolls of the latest Winter Olympic quarters are available at all Royal Bank branches and at participating Petro-Canada gas stations.

Exported Olympic coins involve little risk. This is because these collectible pieces are sold at cost; a set of 40 quarters can be obtained for their face value of $10. As legal Canadian currency, these Olympic coins enable the exporter to recoup his principal capital expenditure at or above par at any time.

In addition, 2010 Olympic coins are a focused niche product expected to experience significant demand leading up to the Winter Olympics Games start next February. Internet searches pertinent to terms associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics has already started, and will spike just before and during competition.

Olympic Coin Audience Analysis

Winter Olympic Game fans represent a vast global audience of consumers interested in receiving valuable coin souvenirs for comparatively low prices. Both visitors to Vancouver during the Winter Olympics and spectators via satellite television and the Internet are expected to want the Olympic coins as souvenirs long after closing ceremonies.

Because the coins are specific to events, fans from countries that win medals are more likely to want to buy souvenir quarters from those events where their nation was victorious. For example, if Australia wins gold in freestyle skiing, Aussie demand for the freestyle skiing quarter will probably be higher.

Even during an economic downturn, inexpensive coin mementos celebrating the 2010 Winter Olympics are “feel-good” items that will attract a large number of sports enthusiasts.

Olympic Coin Export Task Analysis

Startup costs for a home-based coin exporting business can be as low as US$100. The exporter can buy six rolls each with 40 Olympic quarters for C$60. The remaining $40 can go towards the purchase of small coin envelopes, mailing envelopes with windows that show both the destination address and the exporter’s contact information, paper sheets for invoicing plus postage.

By sending a 3-coin set packaged in a letter that weighs less than 5 grams (0.1764 ounces), international mailing costs are currently $1.65 to ship from Canada to Australia.

Overall unit costs can be as low as C$2.52 per shipment, leaving a lot of room for profit margin.

Source: Setting Up A Coin Export Business: Exporting Canadian Collectible Souvenir Coins to Australia for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics (by Daniel Workman, July 2009).

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