Does any dealer know who you are?

Do you have a friendly neighborhood coin dealer?

If you do, now might be the time to pay him a visit.

Michigan dealer Pat Heller wrote in his enewsletter story yesterday that there is some weakness evident in the key coin market.

What that means for you is if you been looking at a hole in your set for far too long, now might be a good time to reach a deal to acquire the coin to fill it.

Coin dealers, like every business, need to pay their monthly rent and other overhead costs. A reasonable business transaction would help fill the bill, especially if it comes from someone who is a regular customer.

The notion of being a regular shop customer might seem quaint in this era of online auctions, but it isn’t.

A dealer who has a regular group of customers can purchase coins that come his way with confidence, knowing that he has a ready sale to a steady customer.

This kind of transaction costs the dealer less because he doesn’t tie up his working capital for an unknown length of time. He gets his profit and can move it into another deal quickly.

A dealer who has a regular group of customers is more inclined to make a deal at better prices.

The price floor is what he can wholesale it off at. That gives both the dealer and collector a lot of room to maneuver.

Of course, if you are a stranger to a coin dealer, he is not likely to know if you are a likely buyer and that your check is good. That can shut the door to a sale at good price.

If things are a little slow, a shop owner will have more time for you to establish an ongoing business relationship.

This kind of relationship has many benefits.

If you are a good customer, you will get the first call when a wonderful deal walks through the door, or comes to the dealer at his most recent coin show.

And being a good customer does not mean spending a million dollars. It simply means the dealer knows what you collect and knows that you are spending a regular amount of money weekly or monthly or even annually.

It takes time to establish this kind of relationship. But in a slower market dealers can spend time with individual collectors. That is the most valuable aspect of any numismatic commercial relationship.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."