Local coin shop. Should I deal with this place?

Hi all.

So there's this local coin shop I used to frequent when I was younger. The last time I went the prices were very good and I purchased a few coins. However, I stopped going there because the owners were very rude and insulting and had little patience for a young coin enthusiast. I've been looking at their coin listings online now and noticed their prices have gone up dramatically. I called in today to see if I could come in to purchase some coins instead of ordering online because the last time I went the owner had a fit and told me to order online if I didn't like the prices.

Anyway, I created a list of coins I am interested in and will post a cell phone photo of it below. However, I wanted you guys to weigh in on whether or not I should patronize this place. Here are some pros and cons:

Cons: Rude proprietors, high prices, and not able to view the coins until I buy them (no pictures)

Pros: I am able to use cash which is how I am paid, coins are always unofficially graded appropriately (the assigned quality is always spot on), the place is close by to my home, and I've always been happy with my past purchases from here.

I guess what I am asking is given my situation do the prices look fair for th assigned grade? Is not viewing the coin before hand a deal breaker? If you believe some coins are worth it and others aren't please let me know. Check out my photo list below...

 

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Developing a relationship w/local dealer is the best way to get coins at good prices once you are "IN." It will take some time and some purchases on the high side in the beginning. You my confine your buys to generic stuff like proof sets that should not be way over priced. Key is go visit plenty and ALWAYS leave some money behind. Do not question any prices or grading. If you come across anything that does not fit your interests, take them to the dealer and give him a price he loves. Ask if he ever needs help doing the yearly inventory you can help. Just be a nice friendly guy and buy stuff. Show him a coin (tell him your wife gave you a present) and ask what he thinks about it. Remember, he knows more than everyone...

Over time, you should get some great prices, get to look at Newps, have a place to hang out, and best of all you'll get to put stuff you cannot afford on layaway!

We had almost a dozen coin shops in the metro area. As a rookie collector, I was thrown out of four of them for one reason or another. Several of them were rude. Within, a few years it all changed. All became friends who valued my opinion and treated me like a king!

 

I will always vote with my dollar and would not spend my money there. I will not tolerate rudeness.

 

I agree with what Insider said...except I wouldn't go to that store.

 

I almost feel the rudeness is tolerable if the prices are right. So, since the guys there are so rude, if I were to shop there I'd bring the list of coins I want pay and walk away quietly saying as few words as possible.

 

I've had good and bad experiences at shops. I prefer to go to coin shows to meet my needs though. Prices are usually way better.

 

Punt, they are idiots

 

....in return for the privilege of paying absolute top-of-retail in a slab for raw pieces? I checked only the two Dollars and the 1917 SLQ's; each were among the highest prices I could find having been paid for one in a PCGS slab at auction, with the large majority of similar pieces going for much less. Those were enough to show me what this dealer is charging. Heck, somebody has to pay his rent.

Buy a reloadable VISA and hit the Internet, where people don't have such overhead to cover.

 

First, you say the prices are a lot higher now. How long since you have been there? Check some price guides from when you last went and check some guides now to see if the coins have increased in value. Rudeness-on what level? Everyone can be having a bad day now and then. Sometimes it's not intentional. If it's persistant, then no, I would find somewhere else to go but a least give them a chance. You could always inflate their ego to some degree by paying compliments after a rude comment. Maybe they will back off some. And of course, it's always better to see your coins in hand than an online venue.

 

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the feedback. Where do you usually shop for coins? I've been on eBay in the past and find the prices aren't always the best there either. I looked at heritage and it seems a bit more complicated for my liking. What do you recommend ?

 

The last time I went there was about 8 years ago. Their prices were good in my opinion. I paid $85 for a xf capped half dollar back then. Prices have gone up significantly as u can see in the photo above. Their rudeness could be classified as a lack of patience in exhibiting and negotiating coins and their prices.

 

You can't buy coins sight unseen.

 

My "recommendation" is to practice the two most difficult behaviors for any human being, much less a collector: patience and iteration.

Your lack of comfort in certain venues is wholly due to inexperience, and not any insufficient capability on your part. Me, I buy almost exclusively online and at what coin shows I'm able to attend; I've been in a B&M coin shop once in the last five years and that was to sell. I don't buy in sufficient volume to get onto a dealer's "A list," and to do so I'd have to give the guy pretty much all my business which isn't a good look for me because I'm then dependent upon him having everything I want. I have dealers and Ebay sellers I "know" and trust, and I always check everything offered for sale at places like Coin Talk against the possibility of buying from a peer here (I just bought a Morgan from C-B-D, for instance).

The trouble for you is, I can say this because I've been actively buying and selling on Ebay since 1999, and know enough about both coin photography and interpreting coin images of varying quality to teach it here. That's where "patience and iteration" comes in. You're only going to hurt yourself if you set out to fill the entire list above in, say, a six-month period. Sometimes the "right" coin for you doesn't appear within a calendar year, much less some self-imposed timeframe. And when you consider the sheer volume of coinage available online (as we speak, there are almost 100 1842 Seated Dollars listed on Ebay alone), it becomes obvious that the opportunities are boundless if you'll just avail yourself of them.

That means patience. I have the impression of you that, in hand, you'll be up to making intelligent decisions about grade and originality. So, your next steps involve learning how to translate online imagery into in-hand reality, and iterative searching of the various online venues (retail as well as auction) to acquire comfort levels with the process. With experience, you can minimize the downside of buying online.

Make use of the exhaustive imagery database at Heritage Auctions (membership is free; no financial information required). They have over 600 auction records of 1842 Dollars alone, and many/most will have high-resolution imagery to help you to learn what the grade on the slab looks like in digital imagery. Bookmark the PCGS Auction Results site (the entire Heritage archive is just a subset of PCGS' records of existing sales; they have 800 records of 1842 Dollars) and have it open in a tab whenever you browse online sales.

Use the aggregators (Ebay, Collectors Corner, and the like) to determine who has what, and then - when possible - visit the individual dealer's Web presence for the coin that catches your eye. The coin they list on Ebay or CC is priced to compensate the overhead related to that listing, and often they'll have the same coin for less money on their own website.

Buying on Ebay is as much about evaluating the seller as it is evaluating the coin. There are high-volume Ebay sellers with Feedback ratings of "99.7%" who sell so much that that statistic still means they're getting three or four Negatives a month; you want to find this and identify why they're getting those black marks. It's not always their fault, but sometimes it is....

The amount if numismatic stock available for purchase online is staggering and overwhelming. From that standpoint, we live in the Golden Age of buying. It's never been so easy to find the coin you want. But by the same token, knowledge and due diligence has never been so important either.

And never forget the immense concentration of experience and knowledge available at online communities like this one.

 

Many classic U.S. series have seen significant increases over this amount of time. I cannot speak for the Capped or Seated series, but if you check the Barber series, these have gone through the roof in higher end grades. You might make yourself a "cheat sheet" before you visit. A short list of your wants, the current guide price ( Not the Red or Blue book ) or end of sale prices for similar coins on Ebay or Heritage and a price you think is reasonable. Reasonable means, don't expect miracles or prices from 8 years ago. Many dealers in smaller shops do not have the time to keep changing the fluctuating prices on their coins, possibly due to there being only the owner working there alone. And remember that LCS's have overhead, rent, electric, phone, insurance, etc., so they must factor that in also. And do not overwhelm them by asking to see too many different types/series at once, making them jump hoops. Try to focus on a particular series each time you go. Every dealer is a bit different than another, so you will have to hone your negotiating skills to match. A little kindness and consideration will go a long ways in the end, to develop a good relationship. You will probably see that rudeness go away after awhile.

 

Why would you want to give your hard earned dollars to someone who does not treat you with respect.


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Wow. Dave thank you very much for such an informative reply. So it seems eBay is actually a pretty good source of decently priced coins when authenticity and pictuRe quality can be interpreted. I've been using eBay sparingly when I purchase coins online and I've already learned so much. Posting here has become a priority before making purchases. Patience and persistence is indeed important. Thanks again.

 

I do not spend my hard earned money on rudeness! It takes time to develop a relationship with the dealer but once you do, you will get better prices, better deals on coins they don't have on display and better customer service.

 

Mutual respect must be earned, not handed out like candy. "Patience is a virtue" still holds true today. Imagine 10 people walking into your store, all look, make a dealer jump hoops, and then walk out buying nothing and not necessarily because the dealer "might" have been rude. Imagine also, rude comments by walk in's also, that might set anyone off after a long day at the counter. Imagine also, walking into a store with a list like this, asking to see every tray of possibilities, buying nothing and walking out. I would not be rude, but I would be disappointed.

 

You're 100% right. And the key is you still after all of that would not be rude. I own both a retail business and a personal services business. People have wasted my time over and over again. But I'd never ever think of being condescending or rude.

What if a customer walks in with a list like that, looks at every coin and buys nothing. But returns tomorrow and buys them all? And then he tells all his friends how great of a business that place is and his friends come and buy more.

On the flip side, what if that person is turned away because he was wasting time? Now not only does the business not get his money but every single person he tells and trust me he will talk and talk and talk.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning customers purposefully wasting people's time. But a retail business will die a quick death if they treat non-buyers any different than top tier customers (not with price but with service)


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Great points from both of you guys. I work in food service and know what it's like to get treated disrespectfully. I also know that if I don't treat that customer good no matter how they treat me they will not be coming back to give me their money. At the end of the day respect should go both ways but the person paying should be shown patience in order to keep them coming back.