I have been a vocal opponent of the TPG’s. However I do love their on line authentication service and use it regularly. If I am buying a coin on line I research the TPG authenticity service before I place a bid or make an offer. So here’s my question. Is it appropriate to check the authenticity while standing in a dealers place? My number one guy, I wouldn’t consider doing it. But I could see being out of town in a different dealers place perhaps. He doesn’t know me and I don’t know him. And maybe he gets a bit miffed while I check his coin on my phone. And I am savvy enough to know that bad vibes can translate to higher prices. Would you check authenticity while standing in a dealer place?
And, on the other hand, you could explain exactly what you are doing and make light of the situation - that you have no reason not to trust the seller but that you don't want to get burned. Depending on the seller, this may still not be a foolproof plan.
Not only would I do it, I would tell him that I was doing it if he bothered to ask me what I was doing. IMO, there is nothing to hide in this regard.
\ Absolutely.........If he's a reputable soul he won't consider such bad form. It's called doing your homework.
I do it all the time when I'm at a coin show. I look at the piece, I talk to the dealer - I'm up front with him and tell him that I'm going to check the cert before we proceed. I've never met a dealer yet who argued.
I had hoped you would answer. This may sound somewhat silly, but being a southerner you can understand that it’s far too easy to be polite to a fault sometimes at the detriment of a sound business transaction. I still like to believe a mans word is worth something. I am my business lawyers worst nightmare.
I’d not only look it up to view the online pictures (if available) but also to compare his price with the PG values. I don’t mind paying more than PG for the right coin, but I want to know the PG value before closing a deal.
Being polite is great. That's why I tell the dealer what I'm doing. Trust but Verify is also great. I feel that, as a Southerner, conducting a business transaction, I can reconcile those two things.
It's far better to risk decorum and verify authenticity face to face than to bring a coin home only to find that it's a fake or questionable. Then you have a real potential decorum issue on your hands, but the dealer will no longer be present to contest. That begs the question: what do you do if your in person check turns up a bad number? That could also get awkward. Again, I think anyone would be able to tell a good dealer from a bad in such circumstances.
What I would say "Hey, this coin here, the certification doesn't match up, You may want to figure out what is going on with the coin. But for now I will have to pass on it, give me a call if everything turns out alright on the coin"
Any reputable dealer would have done one of two things before even putting the coin in their display: 1. Checked the Cert for themselves or 2. Recognized the hallmarks of a fake slab or fake coin, and not put the coin there in the first place. If you do happen to catch a bad coin (which I have never done at a dealer's table), then the *only* acceptable action for the dealer is to immediately remove it from sale. If there is any question of the integrity of a coin, the dealer must either be able to explain why I am wrong, or retract the coin.
