Is this criminal?

In response to the original question, I have to agree with @GDJMSP that at the end of the day you are in no way wrong for using specialized knowledge to come out on the better side of deals. Full stop.

I've done it several times and I'll be honest, it's the only way I could possibly afford to build the collection I currently have. For me the question is not hypothetical at all, my avatar coin was a similar case where I knew what I was looking at AND was able to convince myself with bad eBay pictures of an uncleaned coin that tit was authentic. I did my homework and put hundreds of hours of study into Roman Republic coins to get to the point where I could quickly gauge authenticity and verify that I'd correctly ID'd this particular coin within minutes and convince myself to buy it. If the seller had done his homework he probably could have got far more money for the coin but at the end of the day he didn't and we reached a price that day that we were both happy with. If the seller comes across this post he might suddenly be less happy with the price we agreed to but that's the price of not knowing what you've got and our hobby is one that rewards those who do their homework and doesn't work out terribly well for those who don't. I really don't care who the seller is, if they aren't willing to do their homework and figure out the value of their coins it's not my place to do that for them.

The coin in question:


For comparison, this example is the best example I've ever seen sell at public auction(NAC 61, October 5-6 2011, lot 467). My example was less than a fifth of the price and has, in my opinion, far superior style and is in much better condition:

 

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Nothing criminal at all.

Comes down to personal ethics.

I would like to read a Yelp review from a customer who received fair market value from some dealer. When the customer thought he had nothing.

That dealer would get my business, and I assume plenty more.

 

If you're ever in central NC, look up Josh Bobbitt.

Example: he's going through a stack of Morgans I'm selling to him, naming buy prices. "$27. $32. $30. ... $165." I do a double-take, and realize that I'd put an 1880-CC, VF-ish, in with the commons. That's less than 30% back of Numismedia full retail. I elected not to sell it, but the offer was completely fair.

YES he gets my business. He isn't always the highest offer, but I don't have to watch him like a hawk over every coin, either. Yesterday I sold him 84 Morgans, and I won't lose a minute's sleep over any of them.

 

I've had similiar experiences with some of the EAC dealers, Shawn Yancey and Tom Reynolds in particular.

 

Clearly I need to change my interests if some of these trust worthy guys exist in other areas

 

I have dealers in the metro area that move more of the different items. Some I get great deals when they are moving the certain type that I am selling. Just to give a low price, and spend his buying money without replenishing the stash, that isn't cause to call him a derelict.