When I go to my local dealer, I take the prices that are on the coins, and most are marked, as what he wants to sell them for. I have never taken the blue book or red book in with me and bickered over price or condition. Should I? I noticed a guy last week doing just that, on a quarter. I didn't get to hear the conversation as I came in on the tail end of it. How should the buying process go? Should I walk in with the book and start bickering over mint state condition? Is that normal? Or should I go in with an idea, and having researched what I will pay, which is what I always do? It would seem that if I wanted a 1880 CC Morgan and was not prepared to pay his asking price, he either lowers the price, sweetens the deal, or loses the sale. I like my local dealer, and do not want to insult him or wear out my welcome. But I also want to get a good coin for a good price, and get it from him. There have been times when I left without buying because of the price. I have never been much of a "bickerer" I think here, I can get a buyer and sellers perspective. How should the process go? tia
I would not be concerned with asking your dealer if there is any wiggle room in his price. But I would stop short of discussing the grade in order to get him to drop the price unless the coin is slabbed. You see, with a raw coin it is the dealer who assigns the grade and I highly doubt you would be able to get him to change his mind. But with a slabbed coin it is the opinion of a third party and the dealer may agree with you if you think the coin is overgraded and thus overpriced. Most dealers are more than willing to haggle when it comes to price. But the amount of wiggle room can depend on several things. One of them being how good of a customer are you ? If you buy often and have established a relationship then he will likely be willing to give you a break where he might not for a stranger. Another thing that factors into this is what the dealer paid for the coin. This you will never know - but if he got a deal on it then he may be willing to give a regular customer a deal as well. What matters to most dealers is profit and if they can make a sale - show a profit and do so quickly then they are likely going to do it. For they do not like to tie up their capital for long periods. A quick and profitable sale allows them to move on the next purchase and show a profit on that as well. Bottom line - it never hurts to ask.
Another tactic that works pretty well is ask your dealer what the greysheet bid/ask is for the coin you are wanting to purchase. The greysheet is used as a good guideline for us dealers to buy and sell coins. The prices in the greysheet are for buy and sell to other dealers only. DO NOT EXPECT TO GET THESE PRICES. If you use the example of the 1880-CC Morgan in say Uncirculated, the greysheet bid/ask is 375/395. If the dealer believes this coin to be near MS 60 or MS 61 their retail price would be $410 to $420. Red Books and Blue Books are great for referrence, but lousy for prices. Do not be afraid to ask your dealer for deals. Good customers are almost as hard to find as good dealers. Both need to work together so that all concerned are happy. Most of us dealers are happy to move the coin. Like GDJMSP said, it makes room for the next one. This is how we make our money. (Turnover)
My local dealer uses the Greysheet with me when I buy proof and mint sets. He charges me bid price, so obviously he is paying under bid himself and depending on how long he has had the set. Prices usually only go one way (up) so he is making a few bucks on a sale. Another thing, I always pay him in cash, he doesn't bother with any kind of receipt and I could care less. When the mood strikes you to visit a dealer, order the latest copy of the Greysheet. It takes less than a week to get and it's only $4.00.
