How long would expect a show dealer hold a coin for you?

It depends on the relationship with the dealer.

If a dealer, who I have known for a decade has something for me, and I don't have the cash he has held it for me until the next show, usually two weeks later or 4 weeks, depending on his schedule.

 

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Once you negotiate a price you should buy it. Don't waste a dealers time. It makes them mad at the rest of us.

 

Nor would I.
I would do my scouting getting quotes as I wandered, make a decision, then approach your choice.

 

I remember many years ago going to a coin show and saw a nice coin that was on my want list. I asked the dealer what he wanted for the coin and he told me that someone else had just made an offer to him for the coin and that he was holding it for him. Near the end of the show I walked past the dealer's table and he mentioned to me that the guy never came back and that the coin was available if I still wanted it. Unfortunately, I told him that I couldn't buy it since I ended up spending my money elsewhere. My guess is that he probably ended up not selling the coin before he packed up and left.

 

As far as I am concerned, if you negotiate a price, and agree on the price, you should then buy it and take it with you. I think it is bad form to expect a dealer to hold a coin while you try to find a better one! The only time I would ask a dealer to hold a coin was if I had to run to the bank or ATM to get more cash, but then I would at least leave a deposit of some sort as good faith money.

 

Not at all unless we had mutually agreed to a pre-arranged time frame...4 hrs, until a certain time, etc.

 

Mr. Someone Else really showed us how to build a relationship with a dealer!

 

Another reason might be that they need to go to a bank and get additional funds (but want to avoid 2 trips to the bank).

I voted 4 hours, but would expect the buyer to put down a deposit for the coin (medal, token, or currency item). Something like $10 or $20 for a minor item, or $50 for a higher priced piece. I agree with previous comments that the degree of relationship between the buyer and seller would also likely be a factor.

Oh, and if they weren't back in 4 hours, it should be explicit that the deposit was forfeit.

 

Never. I have worked in retail stores in the past still work in sales today and I'm a firm believer in not doing that.. First come first serve.

Back in the day I worked part time in a gas station as a 2nd job. One customer called and ask us to hold a carton of a certain brand of cigarettes. I told him we can't do that. He replied the old manager did that all the time for him. (Which is also a pet peeve of mine saying so and so always did it) I said what someone wants that carton and I can't sell them because I promised them to you and you never show up. That means we lost a sale. He got mad and hung up.

 

Calling a gas station to ask to have them hold a carton of smokes is a WILD move.

 

Takes all kinds. I also worked at Wal-Mart during the Tickle Me Elmo craze and people expected us to have a waiting list for it.

 

I can at least understand that. That was something that shot up in value and was really hard to find. A carton of smokes can literally be found basically anywhere and is just a generic item

 

For small to medium shows I try to do a quick walk around, just to check out the type of dealers at the shows. Once I've done my walk around, I'll go back to the dealers I think may have something of interest. If I ask to look at a coin and I find it of interest, then I begin the discussion about the price. It the price is acceptable I will buy the coin. I don't play games with dealers if we come to an agreement, I buy the coin. However, if I go to some shows often, I get to know he dealers and they get to know me. In cases like that many dealers learn to know what I like and will show me coins that they think I would want. If I hadn't had a chance to do my normal walk around, I ask them to hold it for me for no more than an hour. I then make a point to come back to that dealer.

I do a similar thing at big shows but, it's a lot harder but, I still try to do it.

There are a lot of great dealers out there, so the key is to find those dealers.

 

agreed.

 

I work estate sales, where "cash only" is prominently posted on our door, but a fair number of customers expect to be able to pay via CC on large purchases anyway.

We've found that giving people 30 minutes to go to an ATM works about 75% of the time. Getting even a small cash deposit (like $5 on a $500 item) works around 99% of the time.