Out of touch coin dealer or Insane

a few years back there was this guy who owned a "collectors shop" in the nearby town of st helens, i popped in one day to have a look at what he had in the way of coins, one caught my eye in his so called junk box a canadian mounted police 25 cent, i picked it out with a few others and asked him how much, at that point he produced the krause catalogue and proceeded to try and tell me that the values were in pounds not dollars, and that according to the book there was a rarer variety of the canadian coin and guess what? his example was that very same coin he then asked me for £120 for that coin alone. i just started laughing and asked him did he think i was mentally defective? or was i blind, i then showed him my british numismatic society membership card and i told him that he was a con man and that i would contact the society to have him blacklisted as a coin dealer, needless to say i never bought a single item from him but i did have the pleasure in seeing his business collapse after 3 month. these shysters get exactly what they deserve in the end.

 

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Sometimes dealers like that are good to sell to.

 

That's what I was thinking. Do you think he would give me $35 for my junk Morgans? I mean he would still make $15 profit on the ones he sells.

 

Just a business man that'll sell an occasional numismatic piece.

Look, the way I see it is if I could get $19.00 for a proof set, I'd sell it. It beats the heck out of buying it for $5.00 and auctioning it off for $4.00.
If I could buy a proof set for $2.00 and sell it for $10.00, I'd do it.

What I find most amusing (and frustrating) is the doubled edge sword that most collectors live by.
They'll whoop it up and call it a rip (which, let's not mince words here, is short for "rip off" which is short for theft) when they score big time on a purchase yet whine and cry foul when someone apparently over charges for a piece.

Items, whether they are coins or not can always be had cheaper if you know where to look and when to buy. It's called Capitalism and folks use it to their advantage. Buyers need to know what they are buying and the value of what they are buying BEFORE they buy it.

As the OP pointed out, the prices were off the charts and he exercised his "buyer's option" by recognizing that fact and simply leaving the store. Calling the store owner a crook and thief is just not right since anybody that would buy Morgans from an uninformed dealer or seller at $10 each could and rightfully should be called the same things. But......I seriously doubt that folks would actually go into some shop and tell the dealer or proprietor that he's just not charging enough for his items.

Now, if a dealer or seller "misrepresents" his product as something that it's not, then all bet's are off as he's now a thief. I'm refering to counterfeits and or supposed "ultra-rare" coins which happen to be common and or cleaned coins sold as UNC.

 

Well said.

 

Everybody heard about silver getting up to about $50.00 per oz. Not as big of news when it came back down.
Have to wonder when he put the prices on the coins.

 

As someone who sells in an "antique shop / flea market" type of store, the sellers get charged a fee. I got lucky and the store I sell at only charges $25 a month, which is dirt cheap. Most places charge around $70 and up per month, and some places even add commission charges. This is why prices are so high at these types of places. Fortunately I get my inventory from auctions at very low wholesale prices, so I can keep my prices reasonable and make a decent profit. I do this to help fund my hobby, not make a living. So please keep this in mind next time you go to one of these shops and complain about the high prices. If you don't like the price, then move on. If that seller has their prices too high, he/she will not make a profit and eventually move out of the store (no point in paying a booth fee if you're not making $).

 

I know what your saying, once I went to a gun show with my dad and saw a nice buffalo Nickel the guy wanted $7.00 for it next I saw a peace dollar he wanted $50.00 for it.( at the time silver was at $35.00)

 

Hmmm. Is $25.00 out of line for a 1988 Proof Set?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280707416600&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

Maybe if it was the Prestige set, but I wouldn't even pay the starting price of $10 for the regular set. That is just me though.

 

I'll bet his buy prices are also very low.

Sorry, these guys are bad for the hobby !

 

Many of those who sell such at antique stores are not doing so as a business per se, usually they are there more to augment their hobby. A real dealer moves his inventory, those guys are trying to upgrade their personal collections.

 

There is a problem with many young or new collectors today. Many think they should BUY at the Dealer to Dealer published prices. That mindset will seriously diminish your abilities and efforts to build any worthwhile collection. Personally, I have often times paid many multiples of the Dealer Bid/Ask figures to obtain true rarities and issues within a specific grade . Secondly, learn the ART Of Negotiation. It's far more productive than making accusations toward any dealer. Your not compelled to conduct business with anyone. There is a polite way of getting that point across.

 

The guy sells pocket change like it is collectible and rare ( like bicentennial coins). These guys are worse than the HSN sellers on late night TV. Sorry no need for these fringe idiot "dealers".

I can assure you the buy prices would be just as silly.

 

I know what you are saying on my antique booth I pay $ 140.00 a month rent , 10% commission plus $ 10.00 for
ADV. before I make any profit . But I do not complain I just keep it full and pick up my check at the end of the month.
This is why I sell larger items to pay rent and buy more items to place in there
I do not have to pay utilities, etc. handle the money etc.
And still have profit to buy coins & currency for myself and the webstore , I keep
a few business cards in the booth for anyone looking for coins or currency
every once in awhile someone buys someting from the web store and says they grabbed one of my businees cards'

Sandy

 

There are honest and friendly coin dealers in every area; as well as those who are not. If you went to every coin shop in New England, for example, you would be impressed by some and concerned by others who over-grade their coins and price them unrealistically.

There are others that price coins reasonably, and if you can grade accurately, you may actually be able to break even when you go to sell it. Collectibles are an interesting area where you can claim virtually anything--"Pawn Stars" and "Antiques Roadshow" both back up this reality. There are people who think they have something that is priceless, finally the expert exposes the illusion for what it is.