Ticked off LCS?

Perhaps. A lot of smaller dealers (in my personal experience) like to fancy themselves as something more than they are...the owners of a small B&M coin shop. I think it's a mistake to not treat every customer like family, every time. Even if you don't make a sale right now...that kind treatment often will pay off in the long run.

 

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You have probably been more of a pain then you are worth, in his eyes. I have offered coins cheaper at first, nobody bites, and then raised the price, and sold them at the higher price. Sometimes I don't know market value, sometimes, I need to move inventory and free up capital. Sometimes I'm fealing generous at the moment.

 

Well, I don't know how many guys you get in once a week, to talk about the day they might finally spring for that filling they would like? I can tell you one thing, if he was a family member, wasting my time like this, I would certainly tell him straight, just like I would any family member.

Being nice, always smiling, even when someone is "going" against the wind while telling you it's raining, is admirable, but, I always prefer to deal with someone who tells it like it is and acts accordingly. In this case, the dealer had enough and pretty much spelt it out for the client. He did such a good job, the client started this thread. Prior to that, the client may not have had a clue that his actions were irritating at best. Political correctness is greatly overrated.

 

I think you are 100% correct...there is a certain etiquette in a shop. That's true...it's an "old school" way of thinking, but it's true. I think it's the same in any small business, or at least it should be.

I also think in this day and age...everyone "wants it their way." It depends on how you want to run your business as to how you react. In my personal case (since a patient being less than committal was brought up)...I'm going to play nice in the hopes they get the work done. But then again, I am young with a pretty new business on a tight budget. If I was older and more established and I didn't "need" that filling (of whatever it is)...I might be more like this dealer too.

I agree that the customer is pushing his limits. I also think depending on what the situation of the dealer is...the reaction might be different.

 

I'm definitely going to back off for a while.

I'm just struggling with doing due diligence vs. Ticking off.

I may go back in a month or so. I'm probably switching my strategy to buying only slabbed coins from reputable shops, probably online. I think that's a shame, but might have to be the way it is.

 

Im curious as to what this unwritten responsibility is on behalf of the collector? I am sure it is common sense, but you left me hanging when you said it was there, and that the OPs methods were the exact opposite of it.

 

You are not in a luxury want industry where people dream of Brasher Doubloons, look at Morgans and walk out with Wheat Cents, once a week. You are in a need or must have done industry, otherwise I wouldn't be there in the first place. I'd be at the local coin shop instead. It's a tough comparison you are trying to make. Most people don't visit you to kick tires. The positive attitude you're displaying, could be the result of a temporary lack of human contact, while trying to get your business up and running.

 

Perhaps it may pay off, or perhaps not, but I guarantee you that if this B&M gave family leniency to every guy what walks in the door, there are those who will take advantage and treat him like a doormat. Once a rug, always a rug. A line needs to be drawn somewhere, and it seems as if this gentleman has reached his.

I get the impression that this B&M has gone out of his way to help a newbie, has accommodated his mistakes, and done more than any ebay seller would have. Chances are that he's given his opinion to the OP's for coins not even purchased from him, and possibly knows or suspects that the OP is taking advice from an anonymous online forum which can, at times and in certain situations, be near worthless. All in all, I think the OP should view this gentleman as an asset and appreciate all he's done for him.

 

I wasn't trying to compare myself to this situation...someone else did and so I used it too. I agree, the needs of my client base and the coin shop's are different. However, you'd be surprised how many people come in to "kick the tires."

 

Sorry, I sort of thought that was what you were comparing throughout the thread. No worries, it's not important.

Sorry to hear it. I guess, as long as you don't mind and have the time, no harm done.

 

I have owned my own business for ten years now and I can tell you that I am always nice, but the PITA customers pay me extra for it. Someone's got to pay for the acting classes.
Here is an idea. Ask the dealers on here what items they make the most on it their shops (not coins so you can get in and out) and then go in and buy fifty to a hundred bucks worth from this guy. It may be an investment that saves you ten times that in the future if you want to salvage this relationship.

 

I'd probably be a little peeved too if someone came in and looked at the same coins multiple times even going so far as taking pictures of them. For all he knows your taking photos and listing the coins for sale on Ebay or something then buying them if they sell at a higher price and making a profit while he holds the inventory.

 

No, I was speaking about dealing with different coin dealers. I have been to many coin shops over the years. Often times, some of the small more established older shops are half hang outs...where the dealer likes to teach as much as sell. Other times, it's the opposite. I think it's important to read the dealer and decide which they are. It's just like a salesman reading the person they are trying to sell too...it might seem backwards, but it's really not.

 

At major coin shows, I almost always ask, "Do you have any room on these?" With an expectation that they may well say, "no." The sellers expect it, in my opinion.

 

I'll agree with that: "If you see a fair price, pay it." The programs at major shows actually have a section often ignored called, "Bourse Floor Etiquette." Among other things it reads (paraphrased):
1. "Do not ask for and expect returns on purchases."
2. "If a dealer quotes you a price and the buyer counters, the dealer is no longer obligated to the originally quoted price."

 

Just my opinion. When I walk into a shop and buy a coin, I'm seeing first hand, I own it.
I would never ask to return it unless it turned out to be a fake.

When it comes to price, I just ask the dealer what he needs for the coin and I say yes or no.