What makes a dealer a good dealer?

I'm curious about this having seen so many negative things said about dealers as of late.
People just slamming dealers left and right it seems and yes, I am biased on this, working in a shop.

Now granted, as in anything else, there are good and bad dealers. My question is what makes a dealer a "good" dealer.

Have at it folks.

clembo

 

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A VERY incomplete list -

A good dealer

• has a very good understanding of the coins he handles
• grades accurately and fairly
• pays a fair price when buying coins from the public
• prices his coins at a fair price allowing for a reasonable profit after expenses
• treats his customers with respect
• takes the time to answer customers' questions and offer honest advice

 

A good dealer is one who can make a collector happy buying or selling and still be happy/ make money with the deal. One who makes a collector feel a special bond with them and pushes forth the collectors education. Also a good dealer will do things to further advance the hobby.

 

Honesty and integrity are what separate good from bad dealers. Knowlege is what separates the good ones.

 

What Hobo said. It also doesn't hurt to get to know your customers either. If it becomes more than just a transaction of goods and money, that dealer will always have a customer, a friend, and maybe even a good work experience.
Guy~

 

Hobo nailed it.

-steve

 

Hobo is my hero

 

For me a good dealer needs to be interesting to talk to. I'd buy coins reasonably above market price from a dealer who I like to spend time with and talk shop.

Ruben

 

(The check is in the mail, Jack.)

 

Three things:

good eye
fair prices on buy and sell side
honest

I can count on one hand how many dealers I've worked with that all three of the above apply.

 

Hobo summed it up well.
These are the things that are most important to me. The dealer should be knowledgable and honest enough not to stick you with a counterfeit ( I know WE as buyers should have that knowledge, but....), they should have fair prices and one of the most important qualities is that the dealer doesn't look down on me. I am much more likely to buy a coin from a dealer that treats me like a human and not an inconvienience.

 

I was in London at a coin shop recently and I asked for a selection of coins to be bought to me (they were all out the back) so I could look at them in hand and then decide which one to buy.

When I didn't buy all of them he seemed quite annoyed.

'so I have to take all these back do I?'



I don't think I'll be going back any time soon, maybe it's because I'm a young whipper snapper.

 

Hobo did do a good job but left out 1 very important item.

Hobo did do a good job but left out 1 very important item.
That thing is buying right - coin dealers make their money buying not selling coins.
Time and time again I heard this said and was always sort of confused about it but now (after many years) I "get it".
Coin dealers learn "how to buy".
What do I mean?
They learn not only all that has been said but they learn the fact, "none, (at least very little) of this stuff is rare". It's just not. Now before you'all jump and say, "what about my such and such or this or that listen.
Go to any coin shop and look at the coins in the display cases and ask yourself, how many of these have I seen? Are they online? Don't or haven't I owned those? Don't I know someone that has these? Have I not bought and sold some of those? I think you get the picture.
Each time you are in the process of buying coins think to yourself 1st, this will not be my last or only shot at that particular item.
Very few coins are rare and unavailable ever - lord help us if all this stuff comes on the market at once. Is it not true that every time you are introduced to somebody or a relative or someone finds out you into coins isn't the very next words out of the mouth, "oh, I have some old coins at home my such and such put back in 19?? and I don't know what they are worth.
You can and should treat all customers with the utmost respect but you do not need to buy every deal that crosses your path - you can pass on the deal. That plus your offer is your offer, you have to build in things like, market fluctuations, how long will you have to hold it, how many do you have, do you have a place to go with it - these are legitimate business considerations.
So if you can only pay 30% to 40% back of bid for mint and proof sets, for you, at this time, it can and should be considered a legitamint offer. You do not have to buy anything for that matter. In reality (before you all jump up in the air about 40% not being a fair offer) who is to blame for somebodies mint and proof sets only being worth 30 to 40% - it ain't me or the dealer making that offer - it's the mint and the over proliferation of so called collectibles and the amount currently on the market - that's the reason why period. Go and try to sell your newly bought furniture or jewelry and see if you even come close to 30 or 40% back of what you paid. More likely you will be lucky to get 20% how what you paid.
A good dealer has "to buy right" or he will never stay in business very long.

 

I would have to agree with Hobo as well.
The big issue I have is being a fairly new collector that I am I have questions. I was lucky enough to find a dealer just last week who gave me a VERY good price on a roll of Kennedy halfs AND he took some time with me to talk. That dealer now has a new loyal customer!
Excellent topic Clembo!

 

Yes

This was exactly my point before. The most important thing with any hobby is a Brick and Mortor dealer who you feel comfortable with and who is willing to share his knowledge and experience in the hobby with you. I spent two hours yesterday talking to my local dealer and he blustered away, much to my entertainment, has we walked through his inventory from 10,000 coins to 3 dollar coins. We talked old coppers, old auctions, war stories, rarities, strikes, commems. And then he offered me a war nickel set that I had ask him about for around $90. Now I can probably shop this set for less, but I'll get it anyway from Frank, along with a nice MS67 mercury he has...without even looking up the prices. Why? Because I trust him, he feeds my hobby regularly, increases my knowledge about coins, and has never put me down a blind alley or sold me a bum coin. In many ways, like my grocer, coffee shop and News stand, he is a good neighbor who I don't see often enough.

Ruben

 

I agree but with a few additions. Remember names! I have heard so many times a person walk up to one particular dealers table and be called by their name and say wow, I cant believe you remember my name. A good dealer will ask what are you collecting and why, then show you items of interest to your collecting habits.

I go to shows and dealers stop me and say Hey Jim, I have picked up a few BHD's or Large Cents stop back by when you get a chance and I will pull them out for you. These obviously are the dealers I gravatate towards first when I go to shows. Remember your customers.

Be honest and keep your integrity! There is one dealer that I had purchased a few items (~$4000.00) from at a show. Went to the next show and was standing next to a guy buying a 1949S BU Franklin. He paid the dealer, was holding the coin in his hand and said, you know. I like the other 49S better, can I have that instead. (Same Prices) The dealer said he would but this guy would have to pay 20% because he owned the coin now and the transaction would require the dealer to repurchase the first one. I looked at the dealer who KNOWS me and told him to give the guy the other coin. I let the dealer have it when this guy left the table, I will NOT purchase another coin from this guy regardless of the price based on our discussion after this transaction. He felt that the guy had purchased a coin and was wanting to sell it to him at that point to purchase another coin. To me it was a blatant ripoff of a customer.

 

To me a good dealer cares about what his customers want and treats his customers the same way he would want to be treated. They display their coins in a manner that they can be easily viewed and know how to approach a customer or answer a question without acting like they are "The God of Coin Collecting".

 

This is a great post. I gave it a Clinker nomination.

 

Beat me to that list. Exactly what I would say.
Going to coin shows a real lot I meet many dealers and there really are some like that.
I suspect that when most people meet a dealer, it is after they have already had their fill of the average idiot all day long.