Dealer mistake that benefited me..

Went to the coins store today and I got to chat with the owner for some time today. When I walked in the first thing he said was - I have just the half you are looking for. I figured it was 1815/2 or maybe the 1820 I keep asking him about. He brings out a box with maybe 10 coins in it. Of course the first had to be a 1856 Flying Eagle Cent - it was a nice coin, but not choice(only 10k). Then second coin was 1800 1/2 dime - average G coin. The third coin was a 1795 XF40 to AU50 half dollar. The darned thing was so nice I couldn't believe it and it was only 19.5K. Dam I wish I was rich. Anyway we were chatting about the 10 or so coins in the box - he told me these coins are the ones he does not get very often.

After a few more minutes of talking about pricing - I asked how come he sold me that 1830 capped bust half so cheap. He smiled and I said is there something wrong with the coin that NGC and I missed. He laughed and so no it was a very nice coin. He said I just flat out screwed up when I priced it. He said he did not find out about his mistake until he was talking to another dealer about it. He said I found out that in that grade they go for another 50% of what I sold it to you for. His son waited on me that day and he quoted me the coin and grade (back on 5/17). I was actually surprised he remembered me buying it since his son waited on me.

Needless to say I am grateful to have such a good dealer near me.

 

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Whoa, that sounds like an A+ dealer, nice! :thumb:

Phoenix

 

Always nice to have a good dealer. The fact that you asked him about it also says a lot about you to him. Let's him know that you are honest and dealers have a LOT of respect for that I have found.

clembo

 

Establishing a good rapport with your dealer is a must. :thumb:

Ben

 

I agree with this. I enjoy the conversation with him a lot - I learn a little more each time. He told my father and me today that he has a large counterfeit collection that he plans on donating to the ANA. I am just grateful all of them at the store are friendly.

 

Ditto

I ditto a lot of qoutes because , the person I'm dittoing says it better than I could . Also I'm a lousey typer . LOL
rzage

 

That is a GREAT gesture. His collection will help countless collectors learn how to identify counterfeit coins.

The ANA currently has the largest collection of counterfeit coins in the country. Students who take the 'Detecting Counterfeit & Altered Coins' course at Summer Seminar get to inspect these coins in class. It is infinitely more helpful to have actual counterfeit coins to learn from as opposed to two-dimensional photos.

His donation will be much appreciated. :thumb:

 

Don't you just love it when KARMA works in YOUR favor?!?!?!? Awesome:high5::high5::hail::hail::hail:

 

Sounds like a good honest dealer.

 

Mark, I'm not clear from your post - did you think or strongly suspect or know that the price quote on the 1830 Half was an error? If so, why didn't you say something? You'd want the other person to if the roles were reversed, right? Thanks.

 

I know you did not mean it this way, but you almost make it sound like people that cherry pick should pull the coins out and tell the dealers about it. Let them re-price the coin, then buy it. I know that is not what you meant.

In all honesty I did not know what price these coins in this grade were going at - at that point I had not priced them in that quality of coin. I have found in most cases my dealer is pretty much in the ball park with most other online dealers - usually a little cheaper. I did not know about the price until I started researching the variety and quality of coin - usually I am looking in the vf range. Yesterday was my first chance to talk to him about it - so I asked him flat out why he sold it so cheap? He gave me an honest answer.

This shop does not attribute their bust halves - I have no problem paying their price and getting a R-5 or R-7 coin. I also know that I could probably beat their prices on VF CBH's on ebay - I just like having them in hand before buying. So I do not mind paying their premium. Trust me, they know and I know, they have made way more off me than the $200.

 

Mark, thanks for the reply.

I generally distinguish "cherry-picking", which just about everyone seems to think is perfectly fine, from buying a coin based on a misquote of a price/clerical error, etc. I do have a problem with the latter, but it doesn't sound as if that's what happened in your case. I'm happy for you and give credit to the dealer for his great attitude.

 

LOL, my local B&M shop owner is much too attentive to let something like this slip by.

However, when it comes to internet purchases and (my usual habits) sales under or near $100; I'll proceed without trepidation, have reference book in hand, and will, upon delivery will examine the coin with youthful alacrity. If it proves to be what I suspected -- sometimes a 'Cherry Pick' worth multiples of what was paid for it, the purchase was worth it.

Sometimes a duplicate, those are the breaks and I'm a chance taker...

Ben

 

Mark Feld wrote "I generally distinguish "cherry-picking", which just about everyone seems to think is perfectly fine, from buying a coin based on a misquote of a price/clerical error, etc"

Mark- I admire your sense of ethics, but as a 20 year veteran of retail business, I think you are misunderstanding our world. Human error is part of our business reality. Over the years I have lost thousands due to misquotes and mispricing errors. My staff is taught to congratulate the customer on a great buy, then fix the mistake. The way we handle the loss builds customer loyalty and is better than advertising, as you can see in mark h's post. I would bet that every collector here would love to shop at this dealers store! His $200 mistake will be a net gain in the end because he treated mark h well. If this kind of mistake threatens the dealers survival, then most likely there are other more substantial business issues at play. I always think of these moments as a way of paying tuition.
Don't feel bad about getting a great deal. Sometimes the business gets a great deal when purchasing and makes a few extra bucks as well. Mike

 

Yes - I was thinking about this the whole time I was getting heat stroke cutting the grass - and then I got your drift. If I walked into the store and I saw a marked 1909-S in au for 9.50. Looked at it and saw a VDB on the back I would certainly ask him about it, why it was marked 1909 S and not 1909 SVDB. I have actually asked him about prices several times - I have told him in a couple of cases they go for more on the web - his comment was "Good then you will buy my coins first.".

I think this was a case where they got a coin, marked it based off what they wanted to make - then found out they could have made more. I do not know this for a fact. He will make back that next week will I see some of my modern sets to him. And yes I know I could get more if I sold them myself, but I will let him deal with the selling piece.

Mike is right in the long run they will make it up.

 

hmm i thin ill take a 5 $ chance myself one of these days way to go bone

 

Mark,

So you generally have a problem with a person (such as mark h) purchasing a coin 50% under it's actual value whether oversight or blunder on the Coin Dealer's part and the purchasee should bring this to the attention of the Coin Dealer and end up paying much more for the coin! I think not! Whether oversight or blunder on the Coin Dealers part or not, the purchasee paid the price quoted and which was probably noted on the reverse of the slab at the time. Also, I would bet that the Coin dealer purchased the coin for a lot less than what was noted on the slab, so the Coin Dealer did not suffer in any way.

Cherrypicking is a part of the coin world! If Bill Fivaz and many other big time names in the coin world can do it, then why can't mark h??!! Try that statement on Bill Fivaz and see what he comes back with for a response! I know Bill and he Cherrypicks at practically every single table at a Coin Show that he attends. I learned the hard way to never show Bill a new Error or Variety find.


Frank

 

If you have the reference books you have the advantage. Chuckle, apparently, my mistake was to let (AND STILL DO) the local dealer borrow my Overton #4 book when he has attended coin shows throughout the west.

Now his 'bust coinage' which one might have purchased for $40-$90 has gone up in price considerably. This is one reason I peruse the internet with such gusto on occasion.

Alas
Ben

 

Frank, I thought I was pretty clear in distinguishing "cherry picking" from a misquote due to clerical error, etc. But in case I wasn't...

For example, if a seller looks up a coin on a price sheet and mistakenly quotes a price based on a lower grade (in the wrong column, etc.), and it is obvious to the buyer that a mistake has been made, I believe he should speak up. Ditto for a situation where a seller reads a sell code incorrectly and either quotes a price which leaves off a zero (for example he quotes $300 instead of $3000) or quotes a price with the wrong first digit - perhaps $500 instead of $800 (because he misread the code and confused an 8 for a 5).

Over the years I have occasionally been quoted a price which I thought or knew was so low that it had to be a mistake. In each case I let the seller know and felt good about paying a fair price, rather than taking advantage of an honest mistake. Likewise, if a person gets too much/the wrong amount of change back from a clerk or restaurant - he should speak up, as opposed to celebrating and walking off with the money. It really boils down to honesty and how people SHOULD treat each other, whether they actually choose to do the right thing or not. Again, I have no problem with what transpired in the particular scenario, as Mark described it.