Did anyone vew these lots? Or did anybody bid? I got approved for 10,000 and locked in a couple double eagles for less than $800 a piece. Already slabbed, i just put in the bid thinking i cant loose for less than 800. so i bid on like 4-5 maybey more, and the auction ended right after i bid, so can i really loose much money buying these double eagles graded? Also not related to the gold. I got 2 PR62 1869 Pattern Half Dollars... should have the pictures up soon, and ill find out what i won tomarrow
When they give me a $10,000 line of credit I'll look at it. Actaully, I'm so annoyed at Stacks right now i doubt I'll be spending any money on them in the near future.
If you can provide some references from other known dealers - al lyou have to do is ask them and you'll get it
And of course their site goes down as usual right after the sale. They sure need to work on the tech issues.
I had this friend, Ron, an African American gentleman who worked the overnight with me on the upper westside of Manhattan a few year back. He has a bad eye and suffers from headaches, but otherwise the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. He went to Stacks and they loaded him up with a few Morgans that posted here years ago, all of which were whizzed, all at about $30 each which had a value of melt. Not knowing any better myself at that time I posted them here and it was clear that they were all whizzed. They really took advantage of him. I was really unhappy to break the bad news to him. Its a question if this is the type of organization people of good conscious want to do business with. I've also had more than one unpleasant experience, as you know. They really need to clean up their act. I don't see their behavior in this regard any better than SGS, whether Bowles wrote the ANA Grading guild or not. Its a real problem. My feeling like this is getting a $10,000 line of credit from them is like getting a $10,000 line of credit from a casino. Don't do it unless your prepared to lose it. They seem to have a dichotomy about their basic way of doing business which is bad for the hobby. Ruben
Ruben: Thank you for sharing that story, that is interesting. It does contrast what has been my opinion of them, and I cannot help but wonder that someone's in said dealers inner discriminatory beliefs played a significant factor in what is alleged to have occurred.
Ruben - how many times have you heard me say ? - if you don't know what you are buying, then you shouldn't be buying it. This is precisely why many coin dealers get a bad rap when it is not deserved. Now believe me, there are plenty of shady coin dealers out there. But there are plenty of good ones too. Regardless of what one you go to - they are going to sell you what you want to buy. So say you walk into a coin shop and tell the guy you want to buy some Morgans. The dealer shows you a tray full of high grade Morgans priced $350 and up. When you see the prices you shy away and ask - got anything cheaper ? So the dealer brings out more coins or points you to another area. You start looking around, see some circ Morgans and choose to ignore them. Then you see some nice looking ones in the same price range - you ask the dealer, how much are these ? Of course the dealer knows those coins are all whizzed, but he gives you an answer and you buy them. Now later you find out that the coins are whizzed and are deeply mad at the dealer. Now I'm gonna ask you why ? Dealer didn't do anything wrong - you did. You bought coins without knowing enough to recognize and back away from problem coins. Do you really think that the dealer is going to say - hey, you don't want to buy those coins. He has them up for sale to sell them. If someone ask him to buy them he is going to sell them. And there is nothing wrong with that. But if you stop and ask questions like - is there anything wrong with these coins ? Is that why they are so cheap ? Then odds are he will answer your question honestly. But most people don't do that. Most people, especially those who don't know enough to recognize a whizzed coin when they see one are going to keep quiet because they think they are getting a deal. These coins look as good to them as the expensive ones they walked away from. So they scarf them up and run out the door. Only later do they find out their mistake. And when they do of course it's all the dealer's fault. Well it isn't my friend, it's the buyer's fault. Because they don't know what they are buying.
Doug, While I will agree with you that the dealer doesn't have to tell, it is better to tell. I have coin dealer close by that I go to ONLY because he is close by. He at first sold me alot of his problem coins. I now know better so I can handle things pretty well now. However, I have gone to shows, and even shops in other cities around here. When I was newer, I was intersted in everything (as you already know). I remember one shop I went to, I picked out a franklin and asked how much. The guy knew I was new and said "You don't want that, it has been cleaned. But if you still want to buy it I'd sell it at melt." So I passed. And e sold me some quality stuff. To bad that one is in ST. Clair Shores. Now...which one would you think I would prefer if they were both 15 minutes away? My regular dealer, or the one in St. Clair Shores? All I am saying is, it is better to make the problems obvious, as I feel it will get your customers coming back. stainless
I don't disagree stainless. But sometimes people do not want to listen. And when they express that attitude the dealer will sell them what they want to buy. How many times have you seen countless people here on this forum tell someone not to do something - only to have them do it anyway ? When you first came here - you did it yourself. That's what I am trying to say - people don't always listen.
I don't believe this and I think it is an ethics problem. I don't think one should have to walk into a dealer with a grey sheet and 20 years of background not to be taken. If a guy walks in under these circumstances and buys the coins for a reasonable margin over melt, that is one thing. What happened in that case was really something else entirely. If you walk into my Pharmacy you depend on my for professional expertise, and not to get bad information for more expensive drugs with higher margins. When your in a superior position with knowledge or education, you have ethical responsibilities. And I will not purchase from them again for a looong time. Every time I walk into Stacks I KNOW I'm buying coins at well over market values. Sometimes I just get so hard up to buy a coin ... any coin ... that I go in there anyway. But after last time being yelled at when someone asked me an opinion on a coin they were considering buying ... forget it. That is the behavior of someone who is trying cover something up. Of course they don't. And a good dealer helps them bridge that ignorance and prices whizzed coins at whizzed coins prices. I have something else to say about this, but prefer not to make it public. Maybe when folks get together in NY next month we'll discuss it in person over beers. Ruben
They provide the best auctions in NY and they are top notch to upper level clients, in authenticating pedigree and such. That is the dichotomy. A coin that has been sold at a Sacks auction is recorded and authenticated forever. But walk in their shop and buy at retail and you'll get a way different view. Ruben
Ruben, I hear what you are saying and I don't wholly disagree with you, but I really don't think Stack's is interested in selling $30 coins. Your comparison to a casino is ironic. I work in an Atlantic City casino and I think we do the same thing that Stack's does. We concentrate on the big players and routinely forget about the $50 dollar bus customers I am not defending Stack's or the casinos, I am just trying to point out that it is human nature in both businesses to ignore the smaller end customer. Stack's showed total indifference to selling your friend $30 whizzed common date Morgans which is regrettable. However, if they had a client walk in looking for an affordable 1893-S and they had a whizzed example, I am sure the fact that the coin was whizzed would be divulged prior to the sale. Paul
When I walked in off the street, in jeans and a sweater, I thought I might get shunned. But actually I must have impressed them as a potential $$ customer because they went all out to show me the place. I have bought significant purchases from them since then. Until September I never had a problem with them until I bought two items at auction, and received only one of them. I called their New Hampshire office expecting it to be an issue when I told them I had not received the Texas commem half - but they were really quick on it - found the coin - apologized - and expressed mailed it to me so I had it a couple of days later. But then again I am not African American.
wow - that is so different then everyone else's experience I've heard from. Mind you, I have no idea what your buying and when we meet I'd be happy to head over there and see the place again. What did you buy from them? For me a major purchase is at the $200 level, not the $2000 level. Ruben
