Should dealers update their prices?

If he's too busy to change the prices he should have never put prices on them in the first place. Any dealer with any experience at any level knows the price of coins and metal changes daily, so why would any dealer put a price tag on any coin? I've never been to a coin show or store for that matter where a dealer had a written price on anything. They always go by either the Grey Sheet or the daily spot. I say if he has them marked thats what he should be obligated to sell them at. Chalk it up to a lesson learned on his part, because you know if the situation were reversed thats what he'd tell you.
Guy

 

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If I were marking up a dealer's inventory, I would mark the coins with a code instead of a price. Then, I would post a sheet explaining how to translate the code into a price. IE:
A = $0.50
B= $1.00
C= $1.50

Then, when silver prices change significantly, I would only need to reprint the decoding sheet (and not relabel my entire inventory).

 

I agree with responses here. The dealer didn't "have" to update all prices, but he should have had a sign telling patrons that. However, always remember that a listed price is not treated as a contract, it is an invitation to inquire and he has no obligation to sell at that price. A customer can walk away, but I agree a dealer has to price at commodity value. Think of it this way. Its not the price he paid for it, its the price he will have to pay to replace it that matters. I bought most of my silver coins at 3.3 times face. If I sell one I have to pay about 26 time face to replace. THAT is the number I must work off of, my replacement cost, not my purchase cost.

 

I think it's sort of interesting to think about how long some of these dealers have been carrying around the same coins. I probably average about one coin show per month and I would bet a lot of these guys carry the same coins in and out of a lot of shows. I'm not sure how long they want to hold their "inventory" - with silver prices going up and up they probably don't mind.

Who knows when the coins were originally priced. I agree with coleguy's comment about why even price them in the first place if you're just going to whip out your calculator and make up a new one.

BTW - I did get a free penny that was flattened in one of those machines with the logo from the coin show so that's a bonus.

 

Ahh, you must of been at the Howell show Last Sat. I was there most of the day myself. The hint was the elongated cent giveaway.

 

Selling at whatever price you wish is fine; however, don't have your coins sitting around with clearly marked prices on them only to change them at the time of the transaction. That's gross negligence, and ****-poor business practice. I can't believe people are giving coin dealers a pass on such an atrocity when you would all be raising absolute hell if you encountered this(one price on the item another at the register) at any other place of business.

 

Silver is tough to constantly re-price, the 2X2 would run out of room.

A simple sign would suffice or a few simple words.

Any customer should know that basic junk silver like a 40 something quarter is not going to be $5. Stuff in a 2x2 should be a bit better than regular junk as well, like maybe Fine + common 40's halves, or 30's and 40's quarters with mintmarks or Fine grade Merc dimes, or BU 60's silver.

some common sense should prevail on both sides of the counter....

Now if it is cheap junk non-silver like low grade common wheaties from the teens and twenties or slighty better date worn buff nicks, or maybe AG/Good/ VG Indian cents and V-nickels....that stuff should stay the same price for a long time. That is almost kid's stuff on the low grade indian cents from 1885-1909 and other similar items.....price doesn't move much unlike a slider 1963 half. I'd be ****ed if I Had a son and he was starting out with this low-end non silver stuff and the dealer jacked the price on me/ him.

Silver shouldn't be a huge issue....Sir, these prices are old, 30X face minimum on silver in the books now, hey I'm buying at 24X, I cant sell at 20X.

 

I'd make him hold to the listed prices... it's absolutely his responsibility to reprice his merchandise if he is going to list prices individually.

 

+1. Absolutely.

 

And if he refused to sell for the listed prices, I'd take issue with that... and I would contact the show promoter/manager/whatever and complain.

 

No argument here. After the first couple of customers sat over his coins for half an hour, then left in a huff when he asked for more than the marked prices, he should've sprung for a book of blank stickers and started covering them up.

Failing to track metal prices means you'll go out of business quick. ****ing off your customers will put you out of business even quicker.

 

verbally should be quite enough. I presume the binder of slightly better than junk silver merc dimes ( up to maybe $20 retail coins) must be requested before you can flip through it ?

at that time you tell the customer the prices on the 2 X2's aren't up to date given the volatile silver market and disregard them, obviously I can't sell silver dimes for $1.50, today.

You watch a customer looking through your stuff ( as a dealer) , so you talk to them as well.

 

Your analogy is flawed. A store might have a price change on an item (actually a few score or hundred of the same item). Their price change effort can be effected with a single shelf label, or someone with a price gun slapping the new price on each item on display. A coin dealer has to analyze each and every item, look up the new price and make the change. A much more involved process than changing the price on 50 boxes of Cheerios.

 

Me thinks ya'll do protest too much. As mentioned before, most dealers don't list prices openly. Those that have prices on a few items probably have had those items in inventory for many years, from when prices were more stable. As far as I'm concerned, if I can't get an item at the price I expect (posted or otherwise) then I'll walk away.

The bottom line is, no dealer is obligated to sell his product at any price other than what he wants for it. And you're not obligated to pay what he wants.

Some stores - grocery stores comes to mind - will sell at a mis-marked price, but that policy is announced up front. A final point - if a dealer has a coin that you want in a 2x2 and it has a price marked on it that is greater than the grey sheet value, would you insist on paying the higher price?

 

I wasn't at Howell but I heard that they had some good stuff there too. There's something about the pressed cents that makes me save them when I get them.

 

Not only was I talking to the guy but I had them lined up on the glass case as I pulled them out. I'm always paranoid that they'll think I'm trying to steal something so I don't keep them in my hand while I keep looking. As a casual collector, I'm not really even up to date most of the time about what the "melt value" of silver is.

I guess coin dealers could get a grocery style pricing gun pretty cheap since Rick Snyder doesn't require item pricing anymore.

 

just a bit of communication is called for here. ...

Dealer: What can I help you with ?

EK: I'm looking for for some 1930's dimes and halves for my short sets in about F/VF grade.

Dealer: OK i have some binders of those, but disregard those old prices,,,, I can't reprice them everday with the silver market, y'know, LOL ! Minimum is 28X face. I'll price them as you select them !

 

The issue with this thread is how each side is viewing the other. I tend to favour the dealer in this case. Why? If the dealer hadn't updated their prices from 1987 through 1994, and you showed up at a coin show, you would tell the dealer that their prices are a bit askew. The result: Dealer would give you a huge price break to account for the drop in bullion prices. The customer would EXPECT this. A similar thing would have happened if the dealer priced for 27x face, and spot pulled back to $30. The buyer would remind the dealer that 27x face was near $37/oz and prices are ~20% below that.

I don't see how this is so different for a dealer adjusting prices to sell at spot on items worth more than spot. (After all, they're in the album, so the assumption is that they're VF+ condition and not beaters.) If you don't agree with the price, you walk away. By complaining to the promoter / show-manager, you'll likely be asked to leave the show. Why? Because it's likely that 80% or more of the dealers haven't updated their prices since silver was at $25 / ozt. (I didn't pull $25 out of my head. It was based upon when I assume the Red Book prices were finalized: Sept-Nov 2010.)

 

It's part of working in retail.

Stop excusing laziness.

 

Personally - I would just get in the habit of asking how much for each item picked. Most dealers have a code on the coin that shows them what they have in the coin and they can quote a price off that. For the items I collect they usually, not always, not a few bucks off the marked price.