Is this a good deal?

Littleton has been in business for a very long time, and employed the very same marketing technique for a very long time. A long time ago when I was a kid, I thought stamp collecting would be a nice side to collecting coins. I did get unsolicited items from them, when I merely sent a request for a catalog. They employed a ship and buy on approval system. We now have similar businesses we call subscription services. For a kid with a meager allowance it was not the best of deals. The items were original and in decent condition, but the prices were a bit high. My problem with their marketing business was the small print that said you were going to be getting items on an approval basis. For a 12 yr old that part got missed.

 

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Wouldn't every single coin shop be 'retail' in that scenario? No coin shops have the same super high prices as Littleton. They really do seem to take advantage of the uninformed casual collector. Just like coin segments on the home shopping network, telling watchers to act fast before these highly collectible state quarters that will only go up in value are gone forever...

 

Littleton also owns Coinstar so someones castoff are sold to anyone at 5-10X face.I don't mind company making a profit but that just a bit too much as Coinstar as charges a fee for giving them profit!

 

Do you remember coin stores in the mall? I do, they were quite high priced. There are still ancient coin stores in the malls in Vegas, one in Caesars, one in Venetian, and one used to be in Luxor. All of them had $200 ancient coins for $1100. That is true retail. Coin shows, scouring Ebay auctions, searching out delas, is not retail. Those places on TV are also retail, when they sell genuine collectible coins they are high priced, right?

Look, this has nothing to do with Littleton. It has to do with retail versus wholesale. If I walk into almost any traditional retail store, like malls, Bloomies, etc. I will be paying a premium price. Look at jewelry again. I am somewhat knowledgable in it, and know where to go to get a good price on a nice watch. I am not going to pay full retail for a watch since I have the KNOWLEDGE of how and where to buy cheaper. I as an ancient collector know how to pay $200, but the general public does not so they pay $1100. Are those stores ripoffs? No. People pay higher for their lack of knowledge. This happens every day in every city around the world. Its life. I know for a fact I overpay for most things, and if I had more knowledge on where to get the better deals I would benefit, yet I don't. I am sure everyone here is in the same boat as well. Are supermarkets "ripoffs" because they charge more than farmers?

Chris

 

I agree Chris. My basic philosophy is that if you don't like the way they do business, take your business elsewhere. Buyer beware is also one of my favorite pieces of advice.

Gene

 

I don't think Littleton is unethical. They sell coins for the price they want to sell them at. Are they high prices? Yes they are...but it is the responsibility of the buyer to know if what he/she is purchasing is priced correctly or not. They don't twist anyone's arm to buy anything and they don't sell coins with problems.

I know you mentioned their good deals to get you on their monthly mailing list. I bought one of those good deals in the past and got enrolled too. I didn't buy any of the silver dollars they sent me because they were too expensive and after a couple times I wrote them and asked to be taken off the list...and I was with no questions asked. I looked at the next "good deal" from them to see if enrollment was mentioned in the ad and sure enough it was. By purchasing it, you agree to be enrolled in that program. It says it on every ad.