Walked into a coin store.....

I guess it shouldn't because it happens so often, but it never fails to surprise me when I read threads like this. And they're all pretty much the same. Check that, they typically fall into 1 of 2 groups: negative threads with complaints and expressions of disappointment and usually for similar reasons, or positive threads expressing satisfaction and contentment, also for similar reasons. But I would say that the majority of them are in the negative vein.

In the end it kind of boils down to the direction of the threads being determined by whether or not the dealer(s) in question had what you the clients wanted, or not.

But here's the thing. I believe most end up being disappointed with their dealer shop experiences because of the preconceived expectations they have before ever walking in the shop. Based on the reports, posts, and threads I've read over the years, and there's been a lot, it seems that most collectors kind of expect that a coin dealer is going to have - well, basically everything in his shop. Hopefully what they want specifically, but at least a selection of the kind, type of coin(s) they are looking for. And when they don't - oh, well, that coin shop's no good and it's not worth going to. I will definitely not be back !

Now here's the other thing, and it's something that I don't think most realize or are even aware of given the way threads like this one tend to go. And it's a very simple concept, a basic of the coin business if you will - even a given. Almost no coin dealer is going to have everything. In point of fact, the selections that most coin dealers have are going to be very, very, limited. Why ? Because almost all of them operate in a small niche of the coin market - not the entire spectrum of the coin market. And their available selections are going to be limited to that small niche. Each coin dealer will cater to a specific clientele - and for the most part, only that clientele !

Oh sure, a lot of them are going to have some the basic stuff like mint products and bullion. The kind of stuff that the average Joe Public comes in and buys on a regular basis. But the rest of their inventory is going to be pretty much relegated to a particular area of collecting. It might be inexpensive, common date, common circ grade coins of the 1900's - and they won't have much of anything else, if anything else at all ! And some of them in that niche will only carry raw coins, others will only carry slabbed coins. Some might have some gold, others no gold at all. And still others will have mostly gold. But pretty much all of it will be in that 1 small niche of common date, common circ grade coins of the 1900's.

Then there will be some who cater to a different niche, a bit higher end maybe. But still no expensive coins to speak of, depending on how one defines expensive of course. Maybe low to mid 4 figure coins, with a few more than that thrown in here and there. But again their inventory will be limited to a particular area, a time period.

Then you'll have the guys who only deal in higher end stuff, and then the guys who deal in coins of the 1800's, but only those graded Au and lower, and the guys who deal in early coinage, or even colonial. And there's the world coin guys, with a hundred more niches. The point is they all have their niche, and they very, very seldom ever step out of it. Again, why ? Because that's what they know - their knowledge, their experience, is with those coins and only those coins.

In one way coin dealers are just like collectors - they specialize ! Sometimes they even specialize more so than collectors do. And because they specialize you simply can't expect to walk into a coin shop looking for common date circ Walkers when the guy deals mostly with coins of the 1800's. You can't walk into Legend's shop looking to buy coins that cost $300-$800 when everything they have starts in the low 5 figures - and up !

And some say well I did my homework, I looked for and read the reviews, they were all good. Well, OK, they were all good, but the good reviews were written by somebody who went into that shop and found exactly what they were looking for. And if you don't go to a shop because what you found were bad reviews - did you stop to think that maybe the reason the reviews were bad was because the guy simply didn't have what that reviewer wanted ? If he didn't have what he wanted, then yeah, the reviews will probably be bad, or at least not good.

Ya see, reviews are just like feedback on ebay - you have no idea who wrote it or why they wrote it the way they did. The writer might know absolutely nothing about coins, (thinks he does but he really doesn't), and because the dealer had what he wanted he wrote a great review. But he bought a problem coin as problem free and doesn't even know it. Or vice versa - it goes both ways.

Another common complaint is - he/they didn't pay enough attention to me, he wasn't as courteous as he should have been. And yeah, I've been in a thousand and one coin shops and yeah it happens - a lot. But consider this and put yourself in their shoes. You're running a business where 90% or more of the people who walk into your shop, walked in by mistake to begin with. Not because they didn't mean to walk into a coin shop, but because they walked into a coin shop that simply doesn't carry what they are looking for. This dealer specializes in A and you're looking for G. And when you discover the dealer doesn't have G - you turn around and walk out. Do that 20-30 times a day, for years - and then see how you react when somebody walks in.

And yeah, I know, they are running a business, they are REQUIRED to be attentive, courteous to their potential customers - if they want to sell stuff. But don't forget, coin dealers are still just people, they are only human. And they are going to act like people. They are going to act just like everybody complains about them acting.

However, if you by chance get lucky and walk into the right coin shop, one that has the stuff you want to buy. Those very same inattentive and discourteous people in that shop - well, they're going to start treating you just exactly the way you want to be treated. The way you expected to be treated.

It's stuff like this that collectors - are required to know. Or at the very least should be required to know.

BigTee kind of of hit the nail on the head when he said -

This right here, this is the problem in a nutshell. You have expectations, but they are completely unrealistic expectations for all of the reasons that I explained above - you simply don't know it. Aren't aware of it.

I don't think ya need to wonder any more, pretty sure you know the answer now

Now don't get me wrong, like I said above coin dealers are just people. And just like you'll find with all people - some of them are just plain jerks. Yup, they exist, they are most definitely out there ! But it works pretty much the same, there's a whole lot of good people out there too. And some of them are even going to have what ya want