To Settle An Argument...

What are you thinking about this one...


My friend and I recently did not see eye to eye! His point is that if you purchase a coin at a coin shop for 200 dollars, and went back a month later to sell it back they would only offer 97 dollars max! My thought is that a coin shop is much more fair then that, and would at least offer red book prices minus 10%. Can anyone here help us resolve this? And also, if you were/are a dealer, what would you do?

 

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They generall have about a 20% spread between buying and selling

 

I think more like grey sheet bid or a certain percent less would be the offer. It would depend on how hot the series is, how readily available, if the value recently went up, how bad they need the coin etc. Also, how close to sheet you actually bought the coin at. Redbook is not an accurate price guide.

 

I don't think they ever use a Redbook. Probably greysheet.

 

First off, I would not deal with any coin shop that priced their coins from the Red book. That pricing is just too out of touch.

Second, 100% mark up is also ridiculous at least for a $200 dollar coin. Something in the 30% range would be reasonable, but could vary significantly according to the turnover rate for that coin. Although, a $2 coin might well only get a resale of 50¢ or 300%.

 

No doubt they would offer 97.00 !! almost ALL coin shops are thevies. And what I mean by that is this.....Most coin shops are buyers and sellers of scrap GOLD and SILVER. Just visit your local coin shop one day , and stand around for 1 -2 hours, and watch what happens.....some nice and some drug addicts walk through the doors, wanting to sell either gold or silver that was given or even STOLED by the person. Your shop doesnt care, they are their to rip off both the legit and retarted and thieves of the country... they will offer some low ball offer and thats it. they know the person is desperate for cash , USUALLY.
And the poor coin collector? well, he is going to PAY full price for their coins, because they MAKE their money off of the walk in traffic of people selling gold and silver. they dont care to sell their coins. well for their price, sure..!!
So, you are just icing on the cake, and you will be treated the 3rd person you are..its a a shame, but it is the truth..you are buying their Eye candy at a premium, and it suits them just fine..
I asked my B&M if they had any uncirculated wheat cents in a roll, and they said, yes, but you will have to pay for each one individualy ....I said no thanks...
I hate coin dealers, at least mine..

 

ITR,

I'm sorry you have had such bad experiences with coin dealers. I think it is unfair to paint all coin dealers with such a wide brush. Sure, there are some bad apples out there but I think most of us have had good experiences with coin dealers.

 

I tested a coin dealer today brought 3 different coins in to see what would happen! Incidentally this shop builds itself on the fact that they are the number 1 CC coin shop! (That CC coins is there specialty) I brought with me a tenth ounce American eagle proof with coa, a raw EF40 1938 d Walking liberty Half and a 1878 CC Morgan Dollar also EF40. The gold they offered me melt plus 5 Dollars, the 1938d they offered 50 dollars and the CC dollar they offered a whopping 40 dollars.
At that point I calmly looked at the sales rep and said I would take ten of each at that price, I do not think they will let me in again LOL!

 

I also have to agree that it's sad that ITR has such a negative picture of coin dealers. I have certainly encountered some who did not offer a reasonable price on coins (either for sale or to buy). I also have met many who were very fair in their prices.

I have a dealer in the city I live that I consider to be fair minded. He does not just buy any gold/silver that comes in, I've heard them talk to those customers. If they have any doubts, they ask some questions and get an ID for followup if need be.

If you are a regular, he will typically deduct some amount from his listed prices, especially if you are buying more than one coin.

I am fortunate to live in a state that has many coin dealers. I've checked out many of them from Boston thru Worcester. While I have found a lot of the small shops don't have a great variety, almost all the dealers are willing to work with you and look around if you ask them.

 

I've developed a rapport with a couple of dealers and have had excellent experiences with them. I've gotten some great deals and everytime, I've received more than I had asked for.

I've been in the antiques and collectibles business in the past. We would buy almost anything and would pay according to the desirabilty of the item. I've had a few items, that were priced quite high in catalogues but because they weren't popular in our market area, I priced them a lot lower just to move them. Several times, when I was approached with an item that was "worth" a lot but that I knew I didn't have any hope of ever selling it, I would offer a lot less than catalogue value. The seller would call me all kinds of names. I had to make a living and if I paid what a book said, I would have a museum not a store. There's a reason why they're call price "guides".

I can only assume that being in the coin business would be the same. How popular would a Manitoba commemorative coin be in Texas or Washington where there was no local connection or interest. It might be worth $10 according to the price guide but if it sits in a showcase and nobody wants it, what value does it actually have?

Sure, there are shysters in every business but those that are usually get what's coming to them in the end. I'm sorry you had such bad luck.

 

Just got back from my local dealer.... exact opposite of ITR's idea of what a dealer is. I was there maybe 30 minutes... four or five customers came through the door in that time period. One guy had $12 worth of Washington quarters (silver, common dates); Ken bought them for 10X face (he normally sells junk silver for 12X-15X face). I bought a dozen coins I needed for a type set I'm trying to complete, and got a nice 25% discount off list price (and his list is well below Red Book). He treats all walk-ins with respect, and is friendly and informative. I've only recently gotten back into collecting after many years... and Ken has made it a very pleasurable experience.

 

Don't ever sell to a dealer....unless its your last option, they will eat you alive !!! :eat:

 

"
No doubt they would offer 97.00 !! almost ALL coin shops are thevies. And what I mean by that is this.....Most coin shops are buyers and sellers of scrap GOLD and SILVER. Just visit your local coin shop one day , and stand around for 1 -2 hours, and watch what happens.....some nice and some drug addicts walk through the doors, wanting to sell either gold or silver that was given or even STOLED by the person. Your shop doesnt care, they are their to rip off both the legit and retarted and thieves of the country... they will offer some low ball offer and thats it. they know the person is desperate for cash , USUALLY.
And the poor coin collector? well, he is going to PAY full price for their coins, because they MAKE their money off of the walk in traffic of people selling gold and silver. they dont care to sell their coins. well for their price, sure..!!
So, you are just icing on the cake, and you will be treated the 3rd person you are..its a a shame, but it is the truth..you are buying their Eye candy at a premium, and it suits them just fine..
I asked my B&M if they had any uncirculated wheat cents in a roll, and they said, yes, but you will have to pay for each one individualy ....I said no thanks...
I hate coin dealers, at least mine..



I'll have to agree with you I don't trust dealers AT ALL. I guess thats why my collection is small. Limited to coins that have been in the family for years and the occasional purchase from the mint I just can't find any dealers I trust enough to give my money to or sell anything to. I think they are all out to screw you as fast as look at you. they need to EARN my trust and none are willing to invest the time. They seem to busy rippiing everyone off.

 

Let me re phrase that most of the dealers in MY area are to busy to talk to new customers. They always have the 2 old cronies sitting there and the dealer is more interested in talking to the guys that have been sitting on those stools for the past 100 years. Does the dealer say, here have a seat! What can I help you with? No, it's if you want to see something let me know. Then back to the cronies. I feel like I'm interupting the WW1 story time so I just leave. I can't be bothered to go out of my way to hand them my money! I've been to 3 dealers around here and the funny part is they are all the same. Same cronies sitting in the same stools with the same MISERABLE dealer!

 

If it's a brick & mortar store your friend isn't well known by the proprietor, it's a coin that the dealer won't instantly recognize, and he doesn't negotiate on either front side of the deal -- I'll wager you that your friend wins the bet.

Respectfully...Mike

 

I think a lot of you are way out of touch!!! Think of this... how much does it cost to run the shop?... heat, electricity, a/c, INSURANCE, Credit card machine, advertising, just to name a few. Do you honestly think that they should take a loss on every coin. This thread is about to make me violently ill.

Most dealers are not crooks or thieves. We are just trying to make a decent living. I try to make my 10% to 15% and be on my way. If you only had to deal with druggies and theives everyday then you would see where I am coming from. I honestly will not buy any coin from anyone unless they are willing to give me their ID card and I write down everything. Just think if you purchased $1k worth of coin or more just to have the law come to your shop to confiscate everything.

Sorry if I am getting a little upset over this thread it is just that a lot of you don't understand or see it from the dealers perspective.

 

Wow Merlin... that's sad...

 

Like I said, my dealer is more than fair... he goes out of his way to help me and others. I've never had a problem, I get great deals, and I've seen him treat all his other customers with respect and fairness. Like everything else, there are good and bad. It's a shame Merlin has only seen the bad.

 

Thats for sure.