My buddy in FL went to a show and saw a raw shield nickel he liked. Here's how the conversation went... My Friend: " How much is your 1867 no rays shield nickel?" Dealer: (Pulls it out, looks at it, and opens the greysheet). "$50. No wait... $85." My Friend: (Sarcastically) "How about $100?" Dealer: "Ok, sure!" My Friend: (Smirking). "Dude, it's a $20 coin. Later."
One of the hardest skills to learn is how to keep your mouth shut - including typing. There are so many times I've said things I wish I hadn't. Very rarely do you regret what you didn't say (other than those perfect comebacks you think of 30 minutes too late.) I keep hoping to improve; I know I'll never master it. It's very difficult to bite your tongue when you know what something is worth and the person selling it thinks you don't. It feels personal, like you've been called stupid. The OPs friend should treat all such interactions like he's playing poker. You don't act excited when you cherrypick something for a low price, put that same face on when you ask about a $10 coin and the dealer says $75. You just learned something about that dealer. File that away in your brain and move on to the next coin.
This happened at the Mardi Gras Casino, Gold Coast Coin Club show. One of my buddies, who is a dealer that buys a spot at this show, Plantation, and WPB told me about this. He was walking the floor and was within earshot of the dealer (just because you buy a table at show does NOT make you a dealer in my opinion) who liked the $100 offer. I am not a dealer. I occasionally sell a coin. Very rare that a coin comes IN the doors, and then goes OUT. Most just stay.
Hilarious. I'm guessing the dealers eyes were floating back and forth on the grey sheet between the rays and no rays varieties.
I bet I even know the dealer who it was. I am guessing a young man (the son) and a father, with a ponytail. In all fairness I did not ask who it was to my bud, it just stood out the way you wrote the numbers. I was thinking "could it possibly be who he was talking about??" If I was a hashtagger, I would hashtag this as: #smallworld #sixdegreesofseparation #stalker
well it's good to know what coins are going for. keep in mind that so called dealers do pay for a spot (tables) is sometimes why their coin might go for alittle more in price, but then you can buy coins at a discount if you by multiple coins.
This shouldn't be true most of the time. Tables go for $50-75 and doubles for $100-125. At least at the 3 large shows in SoFla. I have sat with a few dealer friends who have been trying to get me to partner up in one way or another and watched from beginning to end to get an idea of sales volume, margins, etc. An average dealer should record 25-100 sales per show. Easily. That's $1-2 per coin for "show costs". And I guarantee you they didn't make their show vig from the 2 worn Indian heads they sold a YN for $2. One of my buds does very well there actually.
Did you see the coin in question? Do you agree with the grade the dealer gave it? Did it have an especially attractive attribute that warranted a premium? If not, I guess you automatically believe the sarcastic/possibly rude buyer could not be in error.
The sad part is that probably a few people other than the dealer will remember him. And if he shows up in front of those people, chances are word will spread as to 'who he is' (i.e., tell this story). Of course, the dealer will remember him, too, and probably if he shows up and asks a price on a coin will make it so the guy won't buy it. In effect, by being this way when all he had to do was say, "ok, that's a little too rich for me" or even, "no, but thank you", the guy has put himself up for losing on deals he might actually want. But, then , that's the shakes.
One of the hardest skills to learn is how to keep your mouth shut - including typing. There are so many times I've said things I wish I hadn't. Very rarely do you regret what you didn't say (other than those perfect comebacks you think of 30 minutes too late.) I keep hoping to improve; I know I'll never master it. It's very difficult to bite your tongue when you know what something is worth and the person selling it thinks you don't. It feels personal, like you've been called stupid. The OPs friend should treat all such interactions like he's playing poker. You don't act excited when you cherrypick something for a low price, put that same face on when you ask about a $10 coin and the dealer says $75. You just learned something about that dealer. File that away in your brain and move on to the next coin.
I believe this qualifies as a "best answer" for the thread. Would that be utilizing the function properly?