How long would expect a show dealer hold a coin for you?

You ask a dealer to hold a coin where you negotiated the price. You tell him your interested in buying it and can he hold it for you until you make your rounds on the bourse.

How long would you expect him hold it for you?

conversely as a show dealer what is your philosophy on this?

Jimbo of Jimbo / Bimbo Rare Coins says “I charge them $5 to hold it. If they come back and buy it the $5 is refunded otherwise they buy me a beer lol. I give them 90 minutes.”

Frankie in Jersey says “I owe them nothin. If it ain’t here when they come back / too bad so sad. I am not their donkey.”

 

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Depends on how much it costs. Although I find it rude to keep a seller waiting for more than a day.

 

If we negotiated a price as you wrote, I'd get a non-refundable deposit in case you did not finish the deal. Then I would hold the coin the entire show an hope you were just a tire-kicker!

 

I have a set limit on any particular coin I'm interested in, whether it be at a show or auction. Holding to that rule, I have negotiated a price in the past and bought it right then. It seems rude to walk around, find it cheaper else where and leave the other dealer hanging. So I could see them requesting a hold fee until paid.

 

A person examines a coin. The person negotiates with the seller and.... a bit of an assumption....a willing buyer and a willing seller have concluded the price. The person then asks the seller to hold the coin while the person reviews the rest of the Bourse.

My answer would be no, I am not holding the coin. I, as the seller, could miss out on a sale of the coin. I, as the seller, would conclude the buyer is not finished negotiating, and not bargaining in good faith, and is more than likely perusing a similar offering/price points review advice from other sellers/collectors, etc. It is human nature. I, as the seller, would advise the buyer that if the coin is still available upon the potential buyer's return, I would sell it for the previous negotiated price, but no later than the end of that day's scheduled closing.

 

A few hours would be a reasonable guess under the circumstances that @Derek2200 put forth.


In my personal experience, I have never asked a dealer at a show to hold an item for me. However, a few years ago, a local dealer whom I knew well offered to hold a set of George V Canadian 50 Cent pieces for up to a week so I could decide whether or not I would be interested in purchasing the set. Granted, I would not have expected the same courtesy from the very same dealer had I walked into the shop for the very first time that day.

 

I voted not at all, but...I think it depends entirely upon the relationship between dealer and customer. If of long acquaintance, good relations, and profitable prior dealings, then the customer should expect greater consideration from the dealer and the dealer should be willing to extend that customer more leeway.

For all situations and relationships, the dealer should expect the customer to not abuse any privileges offered and the customer should make it a point to be fair to the dealer.

On a slightly different point, if the dealer has some reason why he would not hold the coin for longer than some period of time, then the dealer should say so, even if that period of time is zero.

This situation arose for me just a week ago: I was looking seriously at an expensive coin ($1750) at a recent show from a dealer that I didn't know. He could tell I was serious about it and quoted his best price. I told him I hadn't finished making my rounds of the bourse and that I would probably be back for the coin but I didn't guarantee nor let him believe that was firmly the case. I returned within the hour to find he had set the coin away for me and I promptly bought it. Even though we didn't know each other, we had each sent and received the appropriate signals. He'll be happy to see me again and vice versa.

Had I decided to not buy the coin, I would have made it a point to return as soon as possible to tell him that.

 

There is another, fully valid reason for a customer to hold off on buying a coin where the price has been negotiated and that is where the customer has a budget and may well find a different coin that he would rather have but has insufficient funds to buy both.

I have never asked a dealer to hold a coin for me while I "shopped the deal" although I do understand that there are customers and dealers who routinely resort to this tactic. It's not the "shopping" itself that's distasteful, it's asking someone to hold their goods back from sale while the shopping is done.

 

Hold it for however long was agreed upon. Both are free to come to whatever agreement they want

 

At FUN 2020, I did a bunch of little buys and this took my cash reserve down very low. Getting back to the hotel was a PITA, so since the coin I wanted to buy was costing me over $3,000 (a 1923-D Saint) I asked the dealer to hold it for me. They asked me for $100 but said if I changed my mind they'd refund the $$$.

I showed up during the close and gave them the balance of the $$$ for the coin.

 

I'm gald it worked out. Honestly though without some written contract I would never put a deposit down on a coin at a show for the same reasons a dealer may not want to hold a coin for a customer. They could very easily just claim you never made that deal and pocket your money. Most people are only going to see a dealer maybe once or twice a year at most at a show unless they're local where you wouldnt need the show to see them anyways.

Just because someone has a table doesnt mean they're honest or trustworthy. While there are good ones, I have seen many many bad ones too during times at shows

 

I would not hold the coin but tell him if he came back that day and it still there would honor negotiated price. Beyond that best I can do.

 

I have gone to a show with the intention of trading up which meant that I had to sell a couple of other things to finance what I realy wanted. The table I wanted to sell too was extremely busy so I wandered to where I found what I wanted and asked if they could hold it until I returned. The dealer was gracious enough to do so while I stood in line to make a deal at a table across the bourse eventhough he had no clue what I was doing.

 

He will hold it until the next buyer comes along

 

I voted not at all. If we agreed on a price, I feel I should make the purchase then! The dealer is there to sell not hold and wait! If I was the dealer I might say "with a nonrefundable deposit I will hold it as long as I don't get a better offer", but I would not hold it unconditionally!

 

@charley and @Publius2 articulated it well. My generic answer/vote is "not at all" but I admit there are exceptions. If it's someone you know and trust, I can see holding it. My experiences with holding items (online not at a show) are mixed. Some people keep their word and buy the item while others come back with an excuse or just disappear with no communication.

 

Sorry.. He's at a show... cash is king.. an hour even 2 but that's max... even then I'd expect them to accept a better offer

 

The dealer is not a storage facility for you. You buy and take with you or you take a chance on not getting the coin. If you both agreed on a price you need to treat the dealer with respect and pay him and take the coin with you.

 

If you are in negotiations for anything, and the two parties agree on the terms of the deal and you ask the seller to hold the item to scour the neighboring dealers, that negotiation was not done in good faith IMO. As the seller/dealer I would frown upon that self purported buyer and possibly accept a lower offer from the next interested party just to say it sold if the first person returned to make the purchase.

If an item is of interest at a dealers table, and you're considering the purchase, don't negotiate until you're ready to pony up the cash. I find it rude and inconsiderate to use what the seller negotiates as his final price against him in a potential bidding war.

I'm sorry, I'm old school. You shake my hand at the conclusion of a negotiation and then say let me go to your competitors to see if I can do better, that's a slap in the face.

 

My thought was that I wouldn't make an offer on a coin and then stroll the show to try and find a better deal - I'd check everything I could first and THEN make a deal, but Hommer made me think that there might be circumstances where I would ask a seller to hold a coin for a while that were actually reasonable -