So, as I was randomly watching one of the many Pawn shows on TV, I wondered for the thousandth time, what a shame it is that I didn’t catch that seller before they made it into the shop. I think to myself…man, I would have offered them xxx more dollars for that cool item! Then my mind wanders to the countless times I see unknowing/uncaring people selling their old coins at local coin shops and shows where the dealer barely looks at the coins and offers them a fixed % under melt…and without much argument, they sell. My hypothetical question is, how unethical would it be to approach somebody before they go into a pawn / coin shop and say, “Hey, they are buying at 18x face, if you would be willing to sell to me, I’ll give you cash at 19x.” Or Approaching a seller at a coin show and say something to the effect of, “Find the best offer for your coins and I’ll pay that plus $10 more.” Now, I know several people on this forum own shops or buy and sell coins as their sole form of capital, so please know that this is something of a random thought, not something that I have done, or plan to do. It's just a topic that I assume that a few other collectors like me have considered when they see some incredible deal walk into the shop of a professional on TV. I was just curious as to what other people think.
I do know that it is frowned upon at most coin show becuase the dealers paid good money to have a booth there and if you did that in front of a coin shop, you'd probably have a pretty ****ed owner on your hands.
While there is nothing illegal about that, if the shop owner or booth owner finds out they will be very angry at you. Also, im sure they can have you removed from the premises (If a store) and could ban you from the store so just make sure it's a coin store you don't ever want to go too!
Nothing to stop you from putting an ad on Craigslist that says, "Hey, before you take your coins to the Pawn Shop/Coin Store, give me a call", though.
How would you feel if you took your life savings, opened a store, worked day and night, and someone stands in your parking lot saying dont sell to them they will rip you off. I know if it were me and someone did that, I would probably kick his butt.
I think i read about this in my old edition of the Coin Collectors Survival Manuel.....and they said it's a big no no to interrupt a deal etc. but that ad idea sounds good, even if it's in a local newspaper etc
While I think it's somewhat unethical, I would think the business owner would hammer you with the solicitation first.
I've bought some coins off Craigslist with pretty fair results. There's some deals to be had but, be very careful about who you're meeting where and when.
I feel the same as the rest of you in that it would not be ethical, especially in regard to a physical shop where these sorts of deals pay the rent. However, I'm surprised that there are not stories of collectors chatting up a seller that is clearly trying to unload his/her coins at a coin show and in between dealers. Not that this it is a whole lot different since a dealer still gets cheated out of a buy, but I could see it happening. Perhaps, like most of the people posting on this topic, they see it as a breach of etiquette, and don't even try.
That strategy is not allowed and is sometimes explicitly forbidden. Folks who rent tables pay for those tables and the fees can be quite large such as over $1k at the larger shows. Dealers who purchase early bird badges, but do not take a table, can also be hit for $75 or more just to be able to have an early bird badge and a few more hours on the floor. Attempting to swing a deal between tables will get a warning or will get you thrown out without warning. This is forbidden.
Uh yeah, definitely not a cool practice to deal in. It's one of the more enforced "unwritten" rules at the shows.
I love dealers' mannerism as they are behaving as they aren't interesting in silver coins, but they are willing to flip some cash at 18x-20x face value. However, we all knew dealers' mind they really, really, really want it badly, but at very dirty cheap. However, I have see handful dealers at coin shop don't act like that and I appreciate with their honesty.
I would add caution to the wind as you never know whom you are dealing with....it can be very dangerous if you happen to find the wrong seller or buyer. Even thro you may have a carry permit...in your state...I would not advise going on line to find buyers. Think about it ....as sellers whom go to pawn shops and coin shows are walk ins. Finding a seller or buyer on the net is an open invitation for trouble. acing:
Much would depend on wether or not I was actually ripping people off. If I was, maybe it would be time for a little reflection on my own activities rather than getting angry at the person taking some of my business. We have two coin stores here in town. One of them has been here since the 70's and the other just opened up recently. I'm very happy the second store opened up because the first one has been routinely raping the uneducated. I overheard a couple of transactions and I had a very hard time keeping my mouth shut. But, unless you're ready to burn some bridges, you might want to go the craigslist route. I've done that before and have been pleased with the results.
You just have to be smart about it. When setting up the transaction, don't use anything that can be easily traced back to your home address. i.e. Home phone number, email address that contains your full name, etc. I usually set up meets at my local bank. I meet the person, I look at their coins, and I test them for authenticity. We negotiate a price and I withdraw funds from my bank account. Then I let them know that I'm placing the coins in my safe deposit box at the bank. Doing all of this shows them that there is no vulnerability for them to exploit. It shows them I don't carry a large amount of cash when meeting a person, and that I don't carry valuable coins away from a meeting, and their face is on camera at the bank in case they decide to get stupid. This is a little overkill for the relatively safe town of Bozeman, but I would imagine it would work well in larger cities that do have higher crime levels.
