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Cash, check, or wire when you sell: pick the boring option
Cash feels final and trips reporting rules. Checks and wires are how grown-ups move large numbers. Ask what the shop can actually do today.
You sold the metal. Now you want the money in a form that does not make either of you stupid.
Cash
Fast. Final. Heavy. Over $10,000 and Form 8300 is in the room. A shop may not have your number in the drawer. Call ahead. Walking out with a sack of bills is its own risk. Transport.
Check
Boring. Good. Takes a day or two to clear. A shop check from a shop that will still be there next month is a feature.
Wire
For the big ones. Confirm the account details out loud. Wire fraud is a dealer article; the customer version is: nobody should be changing wiring instructions by text.
What not to demand
Crypto. Gift cards. A third-party app you just installed. If a buyer only pays that way, you are not in a coin shop. You are in a story.
Walking away still works until the money has moved.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn
Extra pad history for cash, check, or wire
Cash is fast, final, and heavy. Over $10,000 in cash and Form 8300 is in the room. That is a real shop practice, not a personality. A shop may not have your number in the drawer. Call ahead. Walking out with a sack of bills is its own risk. Transport.
A shop check from a shop that will still be there next month is a feature. It is boring. Good. It takes a day or two to clear. Wires are for the big ones. Confirm the account details out loud. Nobody should be changing wiring instructions by text.
What not to demand
Crypto. Gift cards. A third-party app you just installed. If a buyer only pays that way, you are not in a coin shop. You are in a story. How to tell if a shop is legit. Walking away still works until the money has moved. Take the ticket either way.
This is not tax or legal advice. Form 8300 is their cash report. Your tax life is a CPA conversation. Receipts and cost basis. If you do not want a briefcase, say so on the phone. Check and wire exist so nobody has to be brave in a parking lot.
People also ask
Can I split cash over two days to skip 8300? Do not ask a shop to play that game. Bring ID. Pick a boring payment.
Is a shop check safe? From a shop you can find next month, usually yes.
Will they wire to a new account you texted? They should not. Confirm in person.
Do I need ID for a check too? Often yes. Buying metal is not anonymous retail.