Frustrated with coin shops!!!

Since silver and gold have gone up over the past few years, coins shops have become nothing more than bullion traders and junk jewelry buyers. They are melting down foreign coins by the bag full. When they do sell silver foreign they sell it to you at 90% most of which are only 30~50% silver.

They don't even want to see base metal foreign anymore. On top of that they don't even check it's value they just purchase it at a few cents a coin or by the pound. When they do sell valuable foreign coins it's usually at full retail value. There's no negotiation in both buying and selling. I know they have over head costs and the like, but really come on now!

What really ticks me off is when I hear them talking about how they purchased a collection by the pound and then picked out the key date and rare issues, but never mentioned it to the seller. They laugh!

I don't know, just venting.

 

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And another thing...

They hoard a lot of good foreign coins behind the counter in boxes that you can't see or in safes. Then you have to beg to see them, which most of the time they're to busy or lazy to bring them out because they have to stand there and watch over you. They're reasoning is that someone will steal them. I know there's theft now and again, but all retail is subject to that. I know, i used to own a record and cd store. You just have to factor that in.

 

The shop I usually go to is nothing like that. Same location since 1965. Couldn't meet better people. Try some other places.

 

Yeah, all the shops here are like that too.
To make it worse, the local show was like that the last time through.
Shows aren't even a break from the situation anymore.

It's not just world coins either. It is cents, nickels, clad coins, and even collector grade silver.
It's all about bullion rounds/bars and junk silver.

 

I do try to avoid the lousy shops, but i can't help it. Once in a while they do have good items. Just gotta pay for it.
The greater Los Angels area has many coins shops, but not many that deal in foreign.
Koops Collector Galleries in Redlands, Ca is excellent. Nice and honest. Decent place to visit if your in the So Cal area.

 

Maybe some day I'll open a coin shop with a cafe attached with some nightly events like auctions and association meetings.
I used to do that at my record shop before the building was demolished.

Now...back to reality.

 

jlblonde- Make sure it is wifi equipped and decent coffee and people will come.

 

I agree 100% the day dealers stop selling the collector coins people want is the day this hobby goes to heck. I always need to check myself to be sure and keep myself out of the "silver game"

 

I feel your pain! Of the 6 coin stores in the area I find myself going to only two of them because of
1. the others have become more metals dealers than coin stores (which is fine cause I like bullion too, but seriously they have lost touch)
2. they are lazy, and take less and less care with their coins

There is one that is particularly bad and irritating cause I'll drive 10 miles there and back and when I ask to see their Barber halves they say "oh they're at a show today". Yeah... you know those coin shows that are at 3pm on a Wednesday... Meanwhile 2/3 of their shelves are now full of bullion including a 6 foot case with copper. The Barbers are probably in the vault and they're just too lazy to go get them or don't think I have the money. It has happened more than once too. Too bad for them...I took my $500 elsewhere that day, and have spent much more elsewhere since then.

I have not had a single bad experience at a coin show though...although they are becoming more bullion shows and thats kinda sad.

Like others have said, try a different store. It took me a while but I found one where the owner now knows me by name and comes around the counter to shake my hand when I get there. He'll leave me with boxes of coins to look through while he helps his other customers, offers me coffee or something else to drink every time I'm there, will take my wish lists and hold coins for me, and is going to call me when he gets my most recent request in. As a result I will go there first for the rest of the time I collect coins!

Good luck!

 

And there you have it!

I call the phenomena, "Barbarians at the Gate."

It's the same thing that happened to Baseball cards, antiques, hot rod/custom cars, stamps, even your local hardware store. When a "thing" gets publicized and becomes part of the mainstream, those that have otherwise not given it a thought in the past become wrapped up in the hype. Leaving the true collector, artist, dealer or contractor left to pick up the pieces in a wasteland of over commercialized items that have lost their uniqueness and yet cost 75% or more of their original value at a store, yet the resale value doesn't even come close because nobody wants it anymore (because TV said so).

I'm done...sorry.

 

wow...

Not sure where to start.

First I'd say go to another store. I'm sure these people put in their cases what sells. If not then they'd be forced to close the doors.

I got rather upset with a chain retail store at one time...I just quit going there...it quit upsetting me and boom they closed eventually. It's called Circuit City. Maybe the same will happen to you!
On a final note I don't mind the high silver prices for now as you can take a few junk silver peices and trade for a nice date or good quality coin for less.

 

Maybe it's time for you to hit the next town. Visit different coin shops until you find the best one that suits you. I think we all have to do that, at least I did. :thumb:

 

The one thing to keep in mind and I hope you remind your local shops of, is that is that if they are buying metals without a second hand dealers license and the item has a value of over $500.00 they are committing a felony.

 

I have had the same experience too in the US Pacific Northwest. I collect foreign coins(particularly India) and very few stores here have any inventory of foreign coins. Those shops also tend to do a lot of bullion and a buyer like me is of no real value to them. I looked up all the coin shops in the area and methodically visited every single one of them. Very few shops still know something about their foreign coins and very few have the inventory to satisfy my appetite for foreign coins. I have tried coin shows too but after looking at the same dealers inventory more than a dozen times, it gets very boring. Tried road trips to near by states, that's when it got more expensive to drive there than the coins I bought. Is ebay my only option? I hope I find other avenues to buy my Indian coins

 

I would think eBay would have a lot to offer. Are there any eBay type sites in India? Good luck in your pursuits.

 

I am happy with my local suburban coin store now, but have experienced similar situations to the OP in the past.

I saw a lot of overpriced foreign base metal, or complete lack of selection. Some also seemed annoyed by people who just like to collect cheap foreign for fun.

But if you really want to pay too much for silver dollars, go out to Branson Missouri, to Silver Dollar City amusement park. They were selling common Morgans and Peace Dollars for $50 when the silver price was around $25. By now I'm sure they're charging $75.

 

I had a post like this as well a week or two ago.

Welcome to the club.

 

It is getting to be a sad state of affairs for us collectors. I went so far as to completely change gears mid stream with my collection. I really got fed up with most of the dealers around me. There are one or two decent shops, but now that I collect mainly Icelandic coins I have no reason to go there very often. I was totaly fed up and bored to tears collecting Us coins. Not to mention that I cant afford to put their kids thru college. The prices are just getting ridiculous for US coins. 3k for a decent 09 S vdb, REALLY!?, I think not, you can keep it thanks. I am very lucky to have met 2 other Cointalk members who take very good care of me and more often than not have access to what I need for my collection. I would much rather give my money to someone that I have TOTAL confidence in. I know I'm not being raked over the coals and have complete trust with them.

I am now having a great time with collecting again and I might be able to send my daughter to college LOL.

 

when baseball cards started to rely heavily on tpgs, the market fell out. it all became about the highest grade printed on the plastic. sadly, i see the same thing starting to happen with coins. if a coin is slabbed, a dealer is interested. if it's raw, it's "junk" and goes in a bucket.