Suppose someone walks into your shop, with a number of coins, and asks; "How much are these worth?". How do you handle this situation? Do you have a standard policy on appraisals?
Jody thanks for posting this here. It's a good question. I don't know how other dealers handle this but here's how I do it. When you come to me with coins I'll ask if you just want them appraised or if you're looking to sell them. Sometimes I appraise large collections or estates and I do charge for that. Sometimes I do appraisals for insurance reasons...again, for a fee. But 99% of the time I don't charge. If you come with a small quantity of coins I'll typically tell you what I'd pay for them, AND what I'd sell them for. If you choose to sell them to me it's ok, and if you decide to keep them that's cool too. If you come to my shop and you have boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff, I'll tell you that I charge a fee for appraisals but if you decide to sell them to me I'll waive the appraisal fee. It's not fair to charge that fee AND buy the coins. If I appraise an estate then I buy it after the estate is settled, I also return the appraisal fee as a courtesy. Nick
I follow the same standards. We do appraisals for lawyers and investment firms on a regular basis. We charge a small fee if we do not have the opportunity to buy all or part of the collection. We also set up times at special educational seminars for people to come in and have coins and currency appraised for free. Regular customers also get the free appraisal if time permits.
One more thought. If collections are large enough, and we have the ability to purchase, we will also fly anywhere in the world.
