I went to a new coin shop that I found. While looking through a box of coins they had, I found 3 really nice toned morgans. There was no price on them so I ask how much they were. She told me she cant sell me two of those because, coins with nice toning they send to dick at great toning. However the third one she said I could buy because the coin is ugly. I didnt really know what to say. She says they dont have alot people looking to buy toned coins here so they send them to great toning. I replied im standing in your store right now looking for toned coins. She wouldnt even name a price. She just said I can buy the ugly coins. I dont think i will go back because it seems they send out their nice coins and leave all the dreck in the store. I kept quiet and left very disapointed.
Sounds like they want to be a glorified cash for precious metals type establishment that has a storefront mainly for buying collections. They are never going to build up a clientele for the nicer items if they treat their customers like this.
Sorry to hear that happened. I would think that if they had items that weren't for sale they would have them pulled and not let the public handle and potentially damage them. I also wouldn't want any random person knowing who my contacts were either. With that said, coin shops are can be quirky and esoteric places enhabited by people whittled to their last nerve by a repeated barrage of stupid questions. If you work in a coin shop for over a week you will find that even the most steadfast interest in the hobby will get chiseled away with answering the same bullion, price guide, grading, offer shopping, "no, your silver penny wont pay for collage", etc and others that just won't do their own homework. As much as its part of a business to groom it's customers, there is some responsibility of the client as well. An advanced collector will be wise to at least acknowledge what the dealer is up against and understand their position at times. These places just aren't WallMart folks, they are not under any standard business model we see and expect when entering a corporate situation. Frankly, I like that about coin shops and I recommend being on ones toes when entering one. I would bet though that if you returned to this shop on a different day, you might have a totally different and possibly positive experience. Just sayin.... Matt
Dick is reliable and a very good businessman. He works hard to establish relationships with other dealers who then funnel coins his way to place into ebay auctions. It is a business model that works well for him. However, the person you spoke with at the shop should not have told you any of those details. There were other, better ways for this person to handle your request. You may want to find a different shop, as you have suggested.
I don't know "Dick" from Adam, but I do know that "great toning" name from eBay. I would personally never bid on one of the "great toning" coins on eBay because the pictures are so horribly juiced. They are so blatantly doctored that you can often see the circular crop around the coin in the holder where the saturation was boosted. I don't consider that kind of behaviour to be that of a "good businessman". Or maybe my definition of "good" differs from yours Tom. But, back to the dealer in question -- just move on. If that is their idea of customer service (i.e., to play favorites with another dealer), then why was the coin in the box for you to find in the first place? I guess they want their customers to do their jobs and find the attractive coins, and then tell them "sorry, you can't buy that one". Bizarre behaviour in my opinion.
I would be upset if that happened to me too. I went into a store to ask a question on a kennedy I had found in a roll and the lady grabbed it (not by the rim) and dropped it on the floor picked it up and said yeah its pretty much worthless and hands it back, not even answering my question. Must have been a bad week to go into coin shop's :dead-horse:
I'll just go with a response to the first paragraph since I can address that one. I've known Dick for about 15-years and he has worked very hard to attract consignments from both dealers and collectors over that time. Years ago Dick handled relatively few coins, but he had a love for pretty coins. He has worked quite hard in the business to get to know scores upon scores of dealers and to attract a rather large following of buying clients. He does large shows, he does small shows, he stays in email contact, he stays in phone contact and he is happy to meet face-to-face in order to sell coins and to either buy coins or obtain consignments. His auctions on ebay must do fairly well since there are many dealers and collectors who are happy to utilize his services. He started at zero and has worked his butt off for many years to be in the position he is currently in with respect to his ebay auctions. I believe that qualifies as being a good businessman. As for his images, he had been taking them himself with older equipment and he is definitely not a photographer. I've discussed this with him and mentioned it in threads on the boards, too. He obviously adjusts at least some of his images to reflect what he believes the coins look like in-hand, but at least he offers a no hassle full return policy, if I recall correctly. I, too, wish his images felt more lifelike, but thus far he has not embraced that opinion. I'm not certain what to make of the statement of yours in bold. It may simply be a case of not being able to determine intent or inflection via the written word, but it reads to me as an awfully demeaning, sarcastic or nasty remark.
That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard a dealer say! They must think we are freaking idiots! What she told you amounted to, we sell all the toned coins to dick at great toning because nobody else will buy them. ??? Yet.............there you stood................waiting to buy. I would have said something along the lines of what I just typed, made a note of the shops name and then approached them at the next coin show. Then I would have looked to see if they had any toners and asked what ole dick was gonna pay for that one?? I've had coin dealers tell me some fairly stupid stuff but that one takes the cake! Just last week I was in a shop looking at some copper nickel clad Kennedy's when I came across one that had been gold plated. I said, "Look, this one;s been plated" Some fella came out of the back room and said "No, it's been dipped." I should have given him his STUPID SIGN but I couldn't see arguing with an idiot. It just makes me look stupid.
