I can understand that and agree with the entire post! The shop I mentioned is organized more like my attic and nothing like the rest of my house! The pricier shop I sometimes visit looks more like the one you described.
Excellent point your Noodleness! One of my dealers is rather disorganized and I like it. He buys stuff all the time then forgets. I am a VERY trusted customer so he will often give me a box of "stuff" and let me go through it or even peruse behind the counter if it's lunchtime. Over the years I've sorted "junk" silver, tons of Whitmans and boxes of miscellaneous for him. If I find something worthwhile I let him know immediately. It pays to keep his trust as I get some good deals this way. Once found a higher end AU 1813 Bust Half in a box. He put it in the case at $600. Sat there for a long time before I asked what he could really do for me on it. Quoted me $425 and my "credit is good". Fine slapped in layaway till I could really afford it. Love that coin. When I wanted to "beef up" my buffalo nickels I'd just pick out certain Whitmans and he'd give me a price for the whole folder. Paid a buck each for one folder that had an XF 31-S and an F12 19-S. Think I paid $30 for a folder of 30 coins but two made it well worth my while. Soooo.... back to the original post. Find a good dealer and get to know him. Gain his trust by EARNING it. Deals will start to flow after time. clembo
Also too a good thing to do to see possibly how long a dealer has had a coin, check the 2x2 and staples, if the 2x2 is going yellow, and the staples are rusty, then chances are good he's had it awhile. Not all the time, but I would say it is fair to say most of the time. Phoenix
Flat out..... If it is priced at a flea market, a coin shop, or a show.....WITH A PRICE MARKED...... Not only will I Argue you down, but will hold you to the price marked. Many states, including the Socialist Republic of NEW JERSEY where I live, require retailers to post a selling price on an item. Once that price is displayed, posted, or whatever, the retailer cannot tell you once you go to the "register" so to speak that "OH NO! Thats an Old Price!!" It is State Law at least here in the Demorcratic Socialist Republic of New Jersey, that that is the law, as I am sure it is mostly nationwide, not just here in the left wing, Hillary Loving Socialist Northeast!!!..... Once a Price is posted, listed, displayed, at least in a retail setting, you CANNOT ask for more than that price.
That is pretty ridiculous. Seems like they were trying to jip you. I wouldn't purchase from there if they just changed the prices on me. That is pretty unethical.
Yes, I have run into it as well. The dealer thought that everything in his shop needed to be based on current market prices. I do not go there anymore. The dealer that I do deal with has two types of coins, those with fixed prices, and those with no prices. If you purchase a fixed price coin, and are a good customer, he will often deal DOWN the cost and cut you a break. However, ask about a coin that is in a no price holder, and you know he is going to look at gray sheet prices before quoting you a price. And 99.9% of the time, he is going to re-inspect that coin as well before quoting a price. I have no problem with this situation. You know right up front, that fixed price coins are probably the run of the mill coins, and not that rare. Non-priced coins are upper grade and or rare coins, and if you want it, you will be paying current market price for it.
Like most issues this one isn't black and white. Some will argue that if the price is marked it must sell at that price. If that were the case there would be so many criminals working at high end jewelry stores, coin shops and retail shops "accidentally" mispricing the items so their friends and family members could profit, and the business would suffer. I've worked in retail for many years and "sliding" and "shrinkage" by employees cause a greater loss than theft by customers. Customers also switch price tags on items. Retail pricing laws govern over the integrity of advertised prices to the scanned prices and the shelf and signage prices, but they don't unconditionally require that the item be sold at the marked price. In this case "the kid" decided that the price needed to be verified and adjusted upward. He was probably trained to do that by the owner. If it were the shop owner I would hope he would try to appease the customer by offering some type of discount. The merchant should be trying to win over a customer, and at the same time a customer should behave in a manner that the merchant would welcome. Retailers are beginning to blacklist certain customers with abusive behavior and practices. I don't think "the kid" had the authority or tact to offer any concession. If it were an adult and you were not treated with respect in the handling of this situation you should take your business elsewhere............but that wouldn't be so easy if it were the only shop in town, now would it? just my .02 worth.........
lol when i say kid i mean he was younger than me probably 19 or 20 where i am 41. i am probably going to get flamed for that because of all the young coin collectors on here. but thats ok. thanks for all the support and feedback. Jon
You forgot the property tax I hate this state. Hope to move to the south soon. They keep electing these lefty's
Philly: You think that you have problems? Look at New York, we got Hillary! Get out of NY before it's too late!
Until I gain the trust of a dealer I just want a fair deal. I don't have the time nor the patience to worry about building a rappor - that may happen over time - hey great - until then - just treat me fairly. IMHO that was the OP's general concern about his experience. I have no problem paying fair market value and I will never expect anything but that. I realize he needs to make a living and I want the most for the price. Trust is a two way street and the dealer generally has more to gain in the short term. Both people should always come away happy.
isnt the gray sheet just a guide....if it is then there really is no price you can go by you are allowed to ask for a lower price..people do all the time but if you are going to raise the price you shouldnt do it when someone is about to buy it... i dont get why he did it anyways he had the coin basically sold...
No doubt Darryl and I understand his post but as usual we (and I) got off on a tangent. Reading posts like these I realize that not everyone had a convenient, honest dealer. The dealer he mentioned I would not do business with. Building a rapport can be very handy though. When my dealers figured out what I like they would call or email me if they thought something may interest me. Yes, it does take time but if you find a good dealer is it horrible to spend some time in a coin shop? I love it myself. He also introduces me to a lot of other regular customers. I am lucky. I have four dealers within 15 miles of my house. I only go to two of them as the others, even though they have nice inventories, do overcharge. Their loss as until recently I would average about $500 a month on coins.
It is likely that the dealer isn't trying to be dishonest. He's just a bad businessman. I don't know if bad businessmen are attracted to the coin dealer business, or if becomming a coin dealer turns a person into a bad businessman. But business skill and coins don't seem to go together. This is a traditional "mom and pop" business that is ripe for improvement and potential consolidation by a person or company with genuine 21st century business skills.
I know that most states have a sell as price marked law for retailers. Thats how I've bought a few items in my house that I never would have been able to afford otherwise. However, when it comes to coins, my dealer bought out my old dealer. The stuff in that store has been there for decades in some cases, so when I pick out a piece, he looks it up in the greysheet, after asking what I grade it and quotes me a fair price, sometimes you've got to flex on marked prices since the market in the last five years have been volitile, conversely I've walked out of other shops, when they changed the price because I thought they were attempting to gouge me, grading the coin a whole grade higher than it should have been and using not the grey sheet, but the magazine coin values to quote me the price, so what should have been a $3-5 dollar coin was $15. I never went back, and this was a place where I spent thousands of dollars, including purchasing some very nice toned high appeal coins for above retail.
