Got kicked out of my first coin shop

well, asked to leave.

I went to a random coin shop today for the first time. As I was looking around, I asked why he had no prices listed on the coins. He explains to me that coin prices change weekly. So I asked for the price of a particular coin, and he pulls out a 2012 redbook, and shoots out an extremely high prices. So I started laughing and asked him if coin prices change weekly why are you quoting me 2012 redbook prices. He did not find it funny, and said I should probably go.

Yes, I antagonized him, and I dont care how someone runs their business, I just thought it was funny and could not restrain myself

 

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Maybe there is no contradiction. Last week he based the prices on 2012 redbook and added 10%, this week he is adding 15%. Or maybe doing some other weird calculations. His shop - his right to come up with prices.

 

It is not that uncommon for B&Ms to first reach for the redbook or trends, so instead of laughing, it may have been better to talk to the man. A little pleasantness and personality can go a long way.

When in his house, you play by his rules; no one likes a hotshot on the other side of the table (or counter).

 

Wow... "flagged" from the LCS. You bad!

 

Its a good thing he kicked you out! That way, you wouldn't be tempted to overpay for his stuff since he's obviously playing by a different rule book than legitimate coin dealers.

What a dummy.

 

dont ask to look at his gray sheat that is if he had one


hey maybe you might profit by selling to some one who uses 2012 book

 

I find this hilarious bkozak.

Normally I agree with someone who would say "it's his place and he can charge whatever he wants", but pulling out a redbook? I would have probably laughed as well, while I threw myself out.

I suppose it could be worse, he could guess the grades as MS66's and look at PCGS price giude.

 

That's true when the dealer is honest and principled. But crude business practices (even if legally within the law) begets crude customer criticisms.

 

Congratulations! But keep in mind that the guys behind the counter are actually decent folks once they get to know you.

 

I've never been in a coin store that had no prices on coins. That alone is odd. Some coin shops have little "price codes" or random letters/numbers they used to look up the price.

Now with that said, it appears the way the guy conducted himself, sounds like you did yourself a favor.

Coin dealers, like any business, can have great owners, and some have terrible owners.

 

It sounds to me like he was either a con artist, and he kicked you out because he realized you figured him out, or he has little knowledge of the coin market and is just making things up as he goes along. But those are merely guesses and I could be wrong. Either way I think it would be in your best interest to steer clear. Just to play it safe.

 

So, let me get this straight.
In order for these guys to not try and rip off a new customer, or be decent in general to you at all, they have to get to know you?
I wasn't a business major, but that sounds like a terrible business model.

 

Exactly. My local coin dealer was nice to me the first time I walked into his shop 16 years ago, and still is to this day.

 

I have in the past had these same type of experiences with dealers at shops and at shows. The ones that are fair and honest the first time I bought from them, are the ones that I still continue to do business with. And yes as relationships build, both buying from and selling to these dealers their willingness to deal does improve.
But the dealers like the one in the OP never get my business in the first place, so I guess I'll never know whether or not they'll decide to stop trying to rip me off after they get to know me.

 

HI-LAR-I-OUS! I appreciate the quick reponse, the wit, and the "a-hem" fortitude.

 

And what are this dealer's crude business practices? Other than not pricing his offerings - which is not that great of a sin - the OP did not provide enough information for you, me, or anyone else to make such a call. While chances are that it is safe to assume whatever coins in question were being priced high, it is simply foolish to make such a statement without knowing the whole story.

 

I think that I would of very calmly asked if hey buys by the same book.. You could of made some serious sales..

 

I can see both sides since i have dealt with all types. Of course there are friendly dealers, but with unfriendly ones there are two types. One is the type who gets mad if you don't pay their prices and want nothing to do with you. I don't like this type, but its his business. The second type APPEARS like the first when he doesn't know you, but upon seeing you around and you not falling for overpriced crap or asking him stupid questions, he recognizes you are a serious collector. He then treats you better, and you start getting offered the better coins. I call these gruff dealers. I have no idea why they behave this way, but they are some of the most knowledgable dealers around, and usually have nice coins that many do not know about because of their personality. Maybe they are just tired of answering the same stupid questions for the 100,000th time.

Problem is, until you know what kind of ill tempered dealer this is, you might have froze yourself out of a tremendous resource. One of my favorite US dealers were like this, and he always had great coins he would only show you if he could stand you. He also taught me a LOT.

So, i recommend killing every dealer with kindness, (not dumb purchases, but politeness), until you are sure.

Just my opinion.

 

This and what BooksB4Coins mentioned is by far the best advice on the matter

 

Well, it might not have been laughable if he hadn't said that "prices change weekly" and then proceeded to take out a RedBook which happened to be nearly a year out of print!