Tried to sell silver to LCS today...bad to worse news

Took eleven items to my LCS today, here are the results:

6 of the items needed verification that they were silver but they would not do it as they had no interest. So I get to do it myself. 2 of these were a. gold-plated 1 oz copper bar and b. nickel-plated brass. The other 3 were casino metal rounds circa 1990. I read that casinos stopped using silver in slot machine tokens in 1964, but none of these are magnetic leading me to believe they could be silver. More to come on this.

1948 Mexico 2 1/2 peso gold piece: Not Interested.
1968 Mexico Olympics type 2 one oz silver: Not interested.
2018 MS70 Silver Kruggerand (encapsulated): “Too hard to authenticate”, Not interested.
1923 Peace dollar, many defects and XF wear: SOLD FOR $1 UNDER MELT ( $17 dollars ).
20 silver Washington quarters, all G4-F12, 1940 to 1962...melt value $86. Numis. value $151. Said I would accept $120, was told they would only buy “under melt”. Declined to sell.

This is the uphill climb we face trying to liquidate our collections. We almost never realize true numismatic value and get taken for a ride when we capitulate and sell for melt. I honestly thought there would be more interest...now a much larger portion of my collection will be gifted to family...sooner than later...imo...Spark

 

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Dang, tough break. I figured silver would be easier to sell with the high prices these days but maybe not

 

Wow Spark. That is not at all what I would have anticipated. Not right now... I am genuinely quite surprised. It was just six weeks ago that my LCS buddy was asking me if I would sell him any of my bullion. That is disheartening.

 

Yes and no. Part of it is learning where to sell. While there are good LCS out there, many can get things much cheaper than they would have to pay you. Taking coins to your LCS can often be the worst way to try and sell. Just because someone has a shop doesn't mean they know what they're doing or aren't trying to rip you off.

Graded by who?

 

A couple clicks up on the silver futures and everybody wants some
A click down, they run for the exits
Hard to find buyers coming into shops these days for anything

 

That’s just so amazingly opposite of what it should be.

 

Wow. I'm surprised they didn't even offer to buy the gold.

 

I think you're being a bit unrealistic if you think G-F 1940-1962 quarters have "numismatic value" above melt. At least, I haven't bought them above melt in ages.

You also have to realize that a store needs to make money to stay in business. They don't do that by buying things at the same price they sell them, and they don't do it by buying things they don't expect they'll be able to sell at all. I can't think of any dealers around here who would be interested in displaying plated base-metal bars.

 

There is an obvious disparity between values listed on price guides and what they end up selling for. I was not being unrealistic when I offered to sell well under the numis values, but very surprised at the lack of interest of this variety of items. I went to the LCS to test the waters and create a rapport for future transactions. Based on today’s experience, future transactions will tend to be limited in scope...Spark

 

I think some of those could sell on the classified forums as you would generally be dealing with knowledgeable members. All the bullion type I saw this month went for a very fair price I thought. no big winner or loser , but a fair price. IMO, Jim

 

I'd go to another LCS. Apparently they don't want your business. I'm surprised they weren't interested in the 1948 2 1/2 peso gold piece. Yes, the dealer has to make money, but to just blow you off like that is inexcusable.

 

Yeah you gotta sell to other collectors. The best I've done on silver is using it as currency on coins I wanted at shows occasionally to help offset the cost. Most dealers are fine doing that. But every dealer wants to give you "just back of melt" regardless of what the item is. Which always blows my mind. You go to ebay today you can't get a quality 1 oz bar from a quality company for less than $32 to $34 PLUS shipping and tax. As soon as you get it, you bring to a dealer and they say they can give you $23 for it.

Had a dealer tell me a pamp suisse bar in a card which carries the largest premium of any silver is worth melt value. Yeah, ok, no. You can say you want to pay melt for that the same as you would pay melt for a dull toned, beat up 1973 Christmas round and if somebody is foolish enough to sell them their pamp bars at melt then more power to them. I think dealers are looking for people desperate for any cash they're willing to give rather than paying what an average collector believes is fair. In the end the dealer buying it is the one that has to re-sell it and if they think they can't re-sell it for a profit, it isn't worth the transaction to help somebody out.

I would like to buy a pamp bar from that dealer for melt... oh wait, wow, they don't have any! Cool.

 

No argument there. NOT a dealer who's going above and beyond to welcome a new customer.

 

Dealers don't want to Nor should they be expected to buy items that they don't think they can sell in a relatively short time. Most retail businesses are Treading Water these days and coin shops are no different.

 

I'm not surprised as there are many people selling gold currently and hardly anyone buying at all. If your LCS doesn't buy gold it's probably because they're low on cash and they are holding more than they want. That would be my guess and the fact that they wouldn't buy silver unless it was below spot price, proves my point, to me anyways! Better luck next time!

 

That makes sense.
I have been wanting some Mexican gold. I am kicking myself for not buying a 20 pesos coin at the last Baltimore show I went to before Covid. They were ~$600. Now melt is almost $900. I guess that ship has sailed.

 

With all due respect, what most collectors think to be a fair price is the retail price.

If not, please define fair. What profit margins suit you before you think that a dealer is cheating people?

I’d be interested to know what you think that dealers should make in honest transactions.

 

Thanks to all who responded or will later. I believe my variety approach was misguided for a LCS. I will follow a different one and post my results asap...Spark

 

Mike, I believe most people accept that to keep their LCS open they will allow 10-15% margin in transactions.

And, keeping things realistic, no one would expect a LCS to lay out cash for a Mickey Mouse Watch...not their bailiwick. The LCS(s) are trending toward more basic transactions ...imo...Spark

 

Okay but please don't sell too low as you will forever regret it! Best place to sell is another collector. It's easy to sell on craigslist but at my age I don't meet anyone alone anymore, too many nutjobs out there!