Tips on haggling a pawn shop.

Sorry! I should have tried to be more explicit. What I meant was that nitpicking at a pawn shop may get you a lower price, but nitpicking with a coin dealer is more apt to get you the boot.

Chris

 

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split the difference between what he wants, and what you want to pay, fair for both you as the buyer, and him the seller. I do however agree with JCB. I wouldnt haggle over a 30 dollar coin man. Whats seven dollars difference? Lowballing a 30 dollar coin?

 

Yep, I know that, had my eyes on a nicely banged up 3c at a coin show in Portland, OR

 

The best way to haggle is to have a conversation with the owner first. Try to get on his good side and then ask him for a better price. If the price is still too high ask for a few bucks lower. Most of the time it works, I have used this method and have saved hundreds of dollars on collectibles.
Also I know that we all know the going price on ebay. But pawn shops and stores have to markup the price because they have to pay rent.

 

You could always go with the door-in-the-face tactic, and offer him an absurdly low price that he will definitely deny, and when he does you can raise your offer to the price you'd like to pay. It might offend him, but it's a psychological tactic proven to work in certain situations!

 

on coins what i usually do is offer, for say on a $30 coin offer half. and work up. when you get about 5-10 dollars from what you are wanting to pay say what do you really need to get from this coin. that just about always does it for me.

 

If there is a chance this might be a good source, act ethical and professional as you know what you are doing. Haggling doesn't do that at first. Give him a price and contact info, and say if I haven't bought another one, we have a deal. Write down the coin ID#, and say thanks. Haggling indicates you are unsure of the price for your use. Staying with a set price, shows you know pricing and coins. Eventually, unless he thinks he is a coin grader and expert, he will start to trust your opinions. I am often ask to evaluate a local shops incoming, and I give a fair price I will pay and why, and let it go. Often they think they can do better, and if they do, congratulations to them. If not, they have my offer, and I will either take it or decline ( I may already found other), I won't haqgle past the first offer as that doesn't show respect and professionalism. These shops think everyone is trying to cheat them and maybe so.

Jim

 

If the pawn shop believes he can sell the coin for his asking price to one of the next few customers who walk in the door, there's no reason to bargain with you --- only if the coin has been sitting around for a long time might he want to get rid of it for a reduced profit.

 

Here's what you do: Get a friend with no respect to walk in and offer $20 and not budge. The next day, you come in and offer $20 and work up to $25. Who knows, It may work. But seriously don't try it

 

This is way too much time and effort involved to purchase a coin of this calibre. It sounds to me that this coin isn't high on your "must buy" list. It is more likely you practicing your negotiation skills. If not, go where you get the best deal. There is no real reason why you must buy locally. If it is that important, you may always over pay for your mechandise. What are you really buying, the coin or the location?

 

Proof is not a grade, it is a method of manufacture.
Proofs can and do contain flaws.
If they did not, the grading companies would grade them all at PF70.

 

Dude, you really need to advance beyond using the Red Book as your price guide. The Red Book is a good reference for a lot of things but it is NOT a good price guide.

Do yourself a favor and buy a set of Grey Sheets and learn how to use them. That way you will have a much more reliable source of coin prices and you will also not look like such a newbie (which is what you probably look like when you pull out your Red Book).

 

Penny wise; pound foolish. If you follow that advice you will probably spend more on gasoline for you and your friend to drive to the pawn shop multiple times than you will save on the coin.

 

Maybe I am misunderstanding, or maybe my experiences are a-typical, but... you are having trouble haggling at a pawn shop? I have only ever come across 1 pawn shop that doesn't haggle as a matter of course, and about 50% of them will look at my intended purchases, add them up, and knock a bit off even without haggling.

Almost any pawn shop I have been in, if somethign has "x" amount on the label, if I make an lower offer thats not a complete lowball, they will simply accept it with a smile on their face. Everything from games to blades to coins to jewelry, tools to DVDs to etc., I have, as I said, seen only ONE place that has any problems at all with lowering from their asking price. Easily.

Maybe that is just me?

My suggestion - just ask!

 

I'm surprised a pawn shop priced the coin in the manner you stated, by checking asking prices on eBay.

But in any case, offer him $20 for it. I know for a fact he paid $5 under melt for it regardless if it's in a slab or not.

 

Unless (of course) you're an old guy like me carrying the last Red Book I purchased (12th edition, 1959).

 

I have yet to pay full asking price for anything at a pawn shop. I've purchased cameras, guitars and all sorts of things. The camera was priced at $150 and I just asked what his best price was and I bought it for $90 (which I was very happy with). Some of the other items, I've haggled and within a couple of minutes got down to my (comfort) price.

Turning over stock for a profit is the name of the game for most shops. The faster the better. Only museums don't care if they keep their items on the shelf forever.

 

Haggling is one of those things that some people are good at and some not. Most of the time it has to happen spontaneous, you have to read the seller's actions and how he is with dealing with his customers. The more out going a seller is the more he will seam to deal. If the seller is quite or reserved, then he is going to more apt to hold his price. I have people call me all the time to go haggle a deal for them. Making deals or low balling needs to be done in a manner to not insult anyone. Most dealers and pawn shop owners have seen it all. But you want to keep your door open, so don't let one deal make the owner seem like every time you come in he is going to be on guard. Make a good relationship and you will get great deals from most pawn shops and dealers. They know your coming back to other deals is more important than one sell.
Big Ed

 

That is the most solid advice I have heard yet. There was in old saying in the Army "If somone out ranks you and is being unprofessional, the only way you can beat them is by acting more professional."

 

I agree, Jim's advice is good. These people are professional hagglers, you will not out haggle them. Once you start haggling they think its a competition with no boundaries. If you act like you really know what you are doing on coins, (they are not coin experts), make an offer, and move on maybe the first or second deal you may not get, but they will learn your offer is firm, take it or leave it, and start treating you that way. I have a few dealers who knew me when I collected US halves. They knew I made an offer, and if their answer was a no I moved on. I like to think I new my narrow little area I collected maybe better than them, and had a price in mind. Sometimes, shockingly to them, I would pay list price for a new half they had if it was fair. Other times, they were off and I would offer $50 less than they had it for.

Just to be honest, I will admit I am terrible at haggling, so I tried to buy this way. Know your strengths, if you are not a better haggler than them, beat them with knowledge. The other thing I would say is that there is ALWAYS another coin. If you know that next week you will find something else you like, then getting this one is not critical, and you will act that way. Dealers love it when a customer is mesmerized by a coin, they know they can charge more for it. Be professional, act like you've done this before, and you would buy this coin at a price, but not for a cent higher.