I was talking to my eldest son the other day about our collections and he reminded me that the same thing that happenend to me, happened to him also-at the same dealer! Imagine that! So thanks Coleguy, I will not go back. it's really a great loss to him as I have just recently started a complete upgrade on a lot of my U.S. series and we could have had a nice, long, benificial relationship.
From my oldtimers personal experience. Back in the 80's and 90's I had a retail shop and was on the worldwide Facts Coin Teletype network as A50. I dealt with all the dealers mentioned in the Skyline thread. Another dealer, here in Saginaw, MI, (who also was on Facts used to "laugh in discust" at the daily pounding of buy messages over the teletype by these named dealers. What were they in the urgent need for??? You may have guessed it already. Messages like this: BUYING BUYING BUYING --- Need up to 3000 Choice Gem AU slider Morgan Dollars. Under 1000 pieces just ship. Paying $xx per coin. Also need up to 5000 Choice AU slider Walkers. Paying $xx per coin. Will COC to knowns. (COC) means "Check on Confirmation". Coins and Check pass in the mail. THEN..............Coin World ad of theirs is selling "Choice Select BU Morgan Dollars" and "Gem UNCIRCULATED Walking Liberty Halves". Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Saw this happen on a daily basis for several years. I also, as a dealer, bought accross the counter 20 Original Bank Wrapped rolls of Walkers dating from 35 to 47. Superb rolls, 2 end coins toned, etc. etc. I offered them to several of those dealers on Facts and they were not interested. :-(( Anyway.....buyer beware.
In general, the large display ads cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. It's either making a little less on each item and making it up on the volume of sales, or... ...something else. This is not only true of coin-related advertisements.
1 that in Coin World I have used R&I Coin and found them to be a very fair coin dealer. I am not promoting them just saying I have dealt with them in the pass
I will not bad mouth any dealers. You can find that info in past threads. I will say that Alaska Coin Exchange has honest grading, reasonable prices, and fast service. Their selection is limited on many series, but it depends what you collect.
I have done a lot of dealing with APMEX. I really like those guys! Although their coin selection is somewhat limited, as I see them as a bullion dealer first, they are spot on. I wouldn't shy away from dealing with them. I havent really dealt with anyone else online though, probably wont.
I would like to add Thomas Waggoner to my list of good dealers. I have made two purchases recently, a 1909s and 1914d Lincoln cents and both were fairly priced and properly graded with very reasonable shipping charges. His list goes out monthly and is chock full of better grades and dates of most US series.It's nice to find good dealers and they should be appluded when they do a good job. This is not a plug, just my opinion.:secret:
Darn. Why is it every time I want to say something, some else says the exact same thing. Are there mind readers on this forum? As noted though that is a really important item. If you hear or see a company doing constant adds all over the place, remember that someone is paying for that. Of course eveyone knows that buinesses can write off advertising, but they still must pay for them. Most places know that if they keep on saying their name you just get so used to it you only can remember that name when it comes to buying something. Example: Try to name a manufacturer that makes facial tissues besides Klenex. See, fooled you. It's Kleenex.
Sounds like the Cash For Gold commercials that will give you "more money than you ever could have imagined." Too bad they only give you about 25% of what a reputable local jeweler would so they can pay for all those annoying ads every commercial break.
I too had a very bad experience with SKYLINE.....I call to place an order from their ad it was a month ahead....anyway the woman pn the phone said it was not the right month I need to call the following month....well I did as per this woman (no names) and she told me "oh that was for last month".....I really wanted to finish up my halves to date but I was unable too......She was rude and was talking down to me....very very wrong.......never again.....for skyline.........The order was appox 6k but their lose....to bad......
I can't say I have had a bad experiance with Skyline thus far. And it's sad that you did. You said 6K you were spending? As in $6,000.00? This was their loss to be sure. I have sent many orders in by mail that were outdated by a couple weeks away from the newest catalog and never had any problem. And they are always receptive to discounts above and beyond when ordering multiple items from the same catagory. Perhaps you should have asked to speak to management instead of your order taker. This might not have turned out so badly. It only takes one bad, unresolved experiance to spread like wildfire and darken a dealers rep. Frankly, I would write to the owner with a consise description of your experiance and mention the name of your order taker. You might be plesantly surprised at the outcome. It would be worth the ten min. time invested and a 42 cent stamp to really find out if they found in your favor. It's always nice to establish a good, long term relationship with a dealer, be it one of the big box shops or your local dealer. Good luck.encil:
Thank-you tommyc03, but you understand, SERVICE is everything and the 6 thou dollar order was spread out between two loacal dealers and a place in Washington State. Customer Service is what is important to me. But thanks for your help
You are absolutely right about customer service. It is sorely lacking in all buisness's in this country these days. In another forum I wrote about a local dealer who had spurned both me and my son and we will never do buisness with him again. And this is not exactly a time for any buisness not to develop a good relationship with their customers. Eventually most buisness's that do not provide a quality customer experiance will be weeded out and the strong will survive. Take care.
