Has anyone here had any dealings with John Paul Sarosi? I purchased a 1935 "year set" from them a few months ago and was pleased with it. I have since received mailings from them and recently a coupon for a "valued customer". I called yesterday to inquire about an 8-coin gold type set (4 Liberty, 1 St. Gaudens, 3 Indian). The man who answered the phone (I presume John Paul, himself) was unbelievably rude. He was impatient, at one point demanding "Who is this?" and then became irritated when I asked about the grade of coins in the catalog, which were listed only as "uncirculated" because I was asking for information that was "already in the ad". I mistakenly believed that they would be glad to hear from a "valued customer", especially one contemplating making such a big purchase. Needless to say, I'll spend my $3,000+ somewhere else.
Sorry to hear the bad news. You must have caught him in a bad mood because the last time I dealt with him he was quite helpful. Oh, I bought a 1916 Merc in MS-66 from him and yes it's one of the better coins in my collection.
What do you think of the comments made in another thread here claiming that Sarosi and several other dealers sell cleaned, whizzed and dipped coins?
My father in law tried to buy off of him last year and they wouldn't even open the door for him. He and his wife we're totally rude. We will not deal with him.
I don't understand it, but this kind of thing seems to be fairly common with large dealers. Many of them have contempt for non-professional collectors. I'm a physician. Can you imagine the reaction if I treated my patients respectfully only if they were also physicians or got annoyed with them for asking questions? All we can do is vote with our feet and give our business to people who want it.
Based on some of the other comments, it would appear that you were the one who caught him on an off day; when he was in a good mood.
my wife has family near where his shop is. although I have gone past it, I never went in. I will be in that area this summer, maybe I will stop in and see how he is in person.
I only dealt with him on the phone and mail. I bought 100 Jeff Nickels from him and about half were 1965, the rest were 1969. I sent them back because I wanted more dates and he was nasty about it.
I ALSO HAD THE A WONDERFUL TIME TALKING WITH THIS (MISERABLE) MAN. AFTER SIMPLY ASKING HIM IF HE WOULD NEED TO KEEP THE COINS I HAVE IN ORDER TO RESERCH THEM (probus 276-282 ad time line on them) HE CALLED ME EVERY NAME IN HIS BOOK THEN THREATENED TO CALL THE POLICE ON ME. HE SAID "WHAT ?, DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO STEAL THEM?" I LIVE AN HOUR AWAY AND JUST DIDNT WANT TO DRIVE BACK TO PICK THEM UP. I HONESTLY DONT KNOW HOW HE IS IN BUSINESS.
I ordered from them 1 time. I ordered from them 1 time. When the order seemed long I called to inquire and the female portion of that company told me in no uncertain terms that "she certainly wasn't going to look for my order becuase it was too much trouble and had not been long enough yet" It was the first and last order from them - I will not be treated like that by anyone much less someone that has already charged my credit card. There are about 4 of "the big guys" in the front portions of Coin World Adds that I have seen that either give bad customer service or send out cleaned coins - I will not name the bad ones but the better ones are L&C , G&F, Rare Coins of New Hamp. Steve Estes and several others- these guys are good!. That's all I have to say about that.
I once bought a coin from them. After 7-8 days I called to get status of coin and Mrs. Sarosi told me they had been on vacation and didn't know when coin would ship. I canceled the order......:hammer:
I have never dealt with Sarosi but I see someone mentioned L&C coins out of California. About 8 years ago I bought a 32-d AU 58 Wash quarter from them on layaway, put 150 down. Well as fate would have it I ran into hard times and could not pay the rest [ 150] .Well to make a long story short about 2 years later I called them and explained the situation. They were very good about it and gave me 2 weeks to pay and I could still get the coin, even though the value had gone quite abit higher since the original purchase date. To me L&C is good people.
"Has anyone here had any dealings with John Paul Sarosi?" I have not, but I know a few collectors who have. My advice to you: DO NOT DEAL WITH HIM.
I am glad to hear that I am not the only one to experience their rudeness. Heck, I got it from both of 'em in a single day. Awhile ago I phoned them about an advertised coin and, after receiving a description from Mrs. S, I asked about a discount (which most dealers readily grant). You would have thought that had asked her for a freebie as I received a barrage of insults. I was so POed that I phoned back and asked for Mr. S to complain about the rude behavior. Then he gave me a load of crap, and was even more insulting and rude. My only crime was trying to negotiate on one of their coin offerings. Suffice to say, I will never try to deal with them again. I occasionally see then at coin shows, and make it a point to beeline past their table.
I agree, I have bought several high grade coins for my registry set from L&C . Excellent service and product.
