Does anyone have any thoughts on the negotiating techniques that they use when making coin purchases or sales? This is the least enjoyable aspect of the hobby, in my opinion. For example, I was looking to sell a particular gold coin and I called a few local dealers. One offered a sight unseen price of $300. However, when I went there to sell it, he wanted to get into a long discussion on pricing, and he put it upon me to substantiate the $300 purchase price (the greysheets had a price for AU-50 and then AU-58 or MS-60 (can't remember), and my coin was AU-55). The $300 price that we discussed was at just above the AU-50 price, and substantially lower than the next grade level price. When he offered me $235, I decided to politely leave, only to be chased in the parking lot with his "revised offer" of $275. It was such a bush-league move that I didn't even consider his new offer. What experiences have you had with buying and selling? I usually like to start at the sheet prices, and then discount or add some percentage depending on whether I am buying or selling so that it is fair to all parties. Any thoughts/experiences?
The best suggestion that I can offer is give your selling price to the dealer. Let them either buy or pass. Most people have some idea of what they want for their coin(s). Shopping around for the best price is basically trying to get the dealers to bid on material. Sometimes that will work, but most times you are going to be wasting your time and the dealers. Dealers like everyone else want to buy as cheaply as possible. If you go shopping for a price, you have to expect low offers. If you walk into the next shop and lay the coin on the counter as set the price, you either get told yes or no. Just one dealers opinion.
