Dealer business antics

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I was browsing LCS websites today and came across a dealer selling a 1912 S V Nickel in G4 condition for the price I paid for my 1912 S F V Nickel. I nearly... my pants. I thought how scandalous! Also browsing I saw a local LCS had 1 1/10 oz AGE's "dates our choice" for 124.00. Great price right? Then the one I wanted the 2012 1/10th oz for 142.00 Not a bad price. I suppose those discounted "dates our choice" could be problem coins? I haven't gone up there yet to see if there is any difference. Also, I've seen many coins priced differently online, than when you actually go into the shop. I mean, what gives? What is the difference? Online the coins would be cheaper, but when I'd go in and ask for the same coin, I'd be quoted a higher price. I'd mention the price difference and ask why, and they would get so annoyed. The only answer they could give, "dates our choice". Well why didn't you advertise it as such?

 

After 40 plus years in retail... the customer is not always right! However if you just stand there or sit there and make no conversation with your customers then you deserve no business .
Another point people seem to forget you never know who a customer is...rich man, poor man, etc.
I will tell you this I have seen people who have the means to buy us all, whom looked like a bum. And I've seen bums dressed like Warren Buffett.
Never underestimate whom is around you. And how deep or shallow their pockets are. You be surprised . ...

 

I know exactly what u be saying paddy, I have told pushy dealers(which i hate)at shows that im flat azz broke and cant afford their price and have been accused of lying about how much $$$ was in my pocket. Needless to say ive never purchased from the guy. Also, 'round here trashcan charlie is pretty well known for roaming aimlessly and dumpster diving, but the word is he has more $ than most people in the entire city!

 

Without a doubt. And that would be something that frustrated me too, as a young collector sometimes I would save up 600 or 700 looking for a coin and the dealers wouldn't pay attention to me when I asked to see something even though I had the money to buy it. Their loss because I would move on but still incredibly frusterating for me. I grew up in a small farming town and some of the farmers always wear ratty dirty clothes and just look like a regular Joes but a few of them have enough money to buy abut anything they could want. Never judge someone based on their looks.

 

My dad would give his used old business suits to this man the family knew. He always took them and wore them. Well one day the man passed. He was laid out in one of my dad's suits, The man's family ,his sister lived next door to us . So after the funeral and the smoke cleared the family was going through his belongings and ready to sell his house. Well in old tobacco cans he had stashed cash! Did not trust banks. Over $59,000 usd in 1950 money! Any idea how much that is in today's money? As a clue our house that we lived in at that time cost my parents $2500.00.


Answer is $479,373.97

 

This reminds me of the time in the fall of 1963 when I went to the local Chevy dealer to test drive a brand new 1964 Vette. When I asked the salesman, he said, "Yeah, right!" I had just won $5,200 at the local poolroom the day before, and when I pulled the wad out of my pocket all he could do was drop his jaw.

Chris

 

My wife and I are pretty frugal most of the time. Live in a small house, do not spend much on new clothes, etc. Both pretty young. I am flying to Chicago Tuesday to pick up a car we paid $30,000 cash for. Our local dealer would not give me the time of day, so I looked elsewhere.

 

I find it amazing to read all these bad dealer stories. In all the years I have been involved in numismatics, I can recall only one dealer brushing me off as a client and cannot recall myself being rude to any client or potential client I ever interacted with at a show. I have no doubt it must happen. Perhaps I am more thick-skinned? Perhaps less in tune? Perhaps lucky? Maybe it's something else entirely.

 

Tom, you forget that you are reading one story from each person. If one person was reporting all of these stories, I would definitely avoid that person.

As for you, Tom, you are too nice a guy to ever treat someone like that unless they tried to force-feed you hard-shell crabs.

Chris

 

Tom I know you are a good guy and dealer, my posts were nothing against you or any of the other good dealers, as i have met some great ones and ones willing to share knowledge and take time to teach and those guys truly love the hobby. I guess most, not all though, of the dealers who were rude to me growing up were sort of low/mid rate dealers who I think we're only in it for the money. Those with a true enjoyment and fascination for the hobby are awesome and I have dealt with some like that. There just never seem to be any of those guys close to where I live, and I move alot (military now).

Edit: and I consider myself thick skinned haha I am an Infantry officer and you have to have thick skin for that. But it's tough when you are trying to learn at a young age and you get ignored and occasionally belittled, probably not the best thing for the growth of the hobby. I used to sell coins in an antique store in high school too and when young collectors would come in I cut them great deals and gave them coins with stories to support their interest. I still talk to one of them today and he himself is almost graduating high school now and still collects and texts me about his latest buys and finds. It's a good feeling knowing I probably helped with that A bit.

 

Thank you for your service to our country.

Chris

PS. Umm......you did mean US Infantry, didn't you?

 

Haha yes U.S. Infantry

 

So you too have a bad dealer story. I only have one as well, but shared it. If we all share the one bad experience we have had, it makes it sounds like nothing but bad experiences.

 

It wasn't "bad"; it was just someone who didn't have the time to show me something when it appeared to me that he did have the time.

 

There seems to be a larger percentage of dealers with poor customer habits then other retail sales people. The Simpsons comic book guy illustrates who everyone is talking about. Personally my experience is probably 15% of dealers are comic book guys. It really amazes me the huge difference between coin salesmen and salesmen of other retail items in America. This observation has been noted by multiple posters, not just me.

 

Here is a little interaction I overheard at the last local show involving a dealer and some regular guy he was probably 50 years old non collector that came to the show to sell some coins he inherited. This kind of irked me.

Guy "I inherited these coins, and I would like to see what i could get for them."
Dealer "What do you want for them?"
Guy "I dont know. I dont know what they are worth, could you make me an offer?"
Dealer "I dont know, what you looking to get out of them?"
Guy " I dont know, you tell me what they are worth."
Dealer "Well if they were my my coins I would know what they are worth, and would have a price in mind."
Guy "Well, you are a coin dealer and I am not, I dont know what they are worth, could you make me an offer?"
Dealer " If your shopping for offers, I'm not going to spend a bunch of time pricing out this stuff, just so next dealer can come along and beat me out by five bucks.
Guy "Ok, thanks for your time." said sarcastically

Guy walked away, and so did I. I just thought it was a really poor way to handle a customer. I was turned off by the dealer and just stopped looking at his stuff and left.

 

Ah yes. A feeling I have become very familiar with. The "there are cheaper coins in the last case" statement I believe is the biggest coresty issue I have run into. Sometimes dealers think I couldn't have a clue what I'm talking about or have any money because I'm 19 and look like I'm 15; however, I wouldn't even ask to see a coin if I had no clue what I was looking at. I wouldn't walk up to dealer who deals in foreign coins and ask to see something I have no knowledge or interest in just to waste not only the dealers time, but also my own.

 

Believe it or not, I don't have a single 'comic book guy' story. My typical experience is closer to the opposite. For instance, there's the guy whose shop I dropped in on 10 minutes before he closed, because he was nearby and I just wanted to have a glance around. We ended up chatting about commems for 20 minutes just because, and I bought a book from him so I wouldn't leave empty handed.

The worst story I have is really nothing compared to some of the snubs people have posted here. It's really a non-encounter with a couple running a table or 2 at a local show. They had more watches, jewelry, etc. than coins, but they did have a coin I took a look at. It was an MS coin, overgraded by at least 2 points, with ugly black spots all over it. Their price was well over twice what I ended up spending for the same coin, correctly graded and attractively toned, by the end of the show.

I'm actually not sure how these last people stay in business, but they weren't a bit rude to me.

 

My one and only comic book experience was Sargent Rock, from Easy Company. Then I grew up......