Shore Collectibles
By Douglas Keefe
I’ll start this article at the “Now” part of my title by addressing the current state of affairs for our area and my business due to the Coronavirus. For the past 6 weeks all but essential businesses have been shut down, with no idea when and how they will be allowed to reopen. The local economy has been devastated, especially with the closure of the casinos, which directly employ over 30,000 people plus the many who provide service and supplies. Unless businesses can reopen prior to the summer season with the areas’ dependency on tourism, things could go from bad to worse. An indication of the uncertainty of what the future holds financially, in the week prior to closing our business, we experienced the highest volume of sales of gold and silver ever, to the extent we sold out and were unable to obtain replacements because our suppliers were sold out. Although we have been closed for 6 weeks, we have been able to pay our employees the entire time with them using vacation time and sick time to help offset some of the cost. Ebay is the only source of revenue at this time, and Linda and I go into the store to ship 6 days a week, even though we are not open.
The ”Beginnings” part of this article started 50 years ago – that’s right, I’ve been in business for 50 years, beginning with a small part time store in Brigantine in 1970, moving to the Shore Mall in 1974 where we operated in various locations for 39 years, and now finally at or current location on the Black Horse Pike. In addition, I also had second locations for a while in both the Deptford Mall and the Hamilton Mall. We grew from a small store dealing in coins, stamps an metal detectors to a huge 10,000 square foot store stocking a wide range of collectibles and sports memorabilia. Now we’ve gone full circle back to a small store. I had hoped my 50th anniversary (which actually is in June) would look different than it appears today, but I have to look to the future, not the past.
So, “Going Forward”, we will remain in business for the foreseeable future, but with some changes to insure the health of everyone, my employees and my customers. I have Federal designation as a “Financial Institution” because we sell and buy gold and silver plus other precious metals. This imposes obligations of operation and reporting, but under state requirements for opening, we are an essential business, meaning we can open at any time. I have not taken the decision to open lightly, as I have said the safety of my employees and customers comes first, so to meet that goal we will be a different business going forward.
The most difficult decision, but most critical is that we are closing our showroom to the public. Because of the small space, social distancing is impossible. However, we are installing a bank style cash drawer so people can sell or buy things from us while standing outside. Our employees will remain inside behind a window and all transactions will be viewable by both parties while providing a safe barrier. We had thought about using our Absecon location for this type of activity because it was formerly a bank, but because it did not have a cash drawer, only pneumatic tubes, it would not work for heavy objects.
We will reopen once the modifications I described are completed, but only our Egg Harbor Township location will be open. We will work to increase our on-line presence to continue to serve our customers’ needs. We will continue to sell supplies and collectibles though the new cash drawer, but customers will need to know what they want beforehand.
Fifty years ago I never thought I would still be in business, in fact I was more worried about lasting another year, and I certainly didn’t think I would be conducting business the way I just described, but in life as business, you either evolve or you don’t go forward.
Douglas Keith is the President of Beachcomber Coins, Inc. He and his wife Linda operate Beachcomber Coins and Collectibles, formally located in the Shore Mall and now located at 6692 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township in the old Wawa building. They also have satellite offices for buying only in Brigantine (Saturday), and in Absecon (Tuesday). Between them, they have over 70 years of experience buying and selling coins, collectibles in precious metals. They are members of the American Numismatic Association, the Industry Council of Tangible Assets, the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation, the Certified Coin Exchange and the Professional Coin Grading Service. Visit their website at www.beachcombercoinsinc.com for video and information.
