Just for fun - Guess the dealers offer

A quote from the dealer’s sales letter:

BUYING: I PAY FAIR PRICES. PLEASE TRY ME.

I had two coins I thought he might like so I sent these pictures and asked if he had any interest. Not world class photography but you get a fair idea of condition and can clearly identify the coins.








The offer was for both coins so let’s hear your best guess. I’ll reveal the offer tonight.

Jim

 

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Well I don't know anything about these, but I'm guessing that with the surface and rim issues, he seriously lowballed you on the first one. The second one looks attractive, but if he doesn't have a market for it, he probably lowballed on that one too. Interested to hear what the actual offers were!

 

Well, they don't look like coins. I see no denomination and not even a date on the first. You also don't say what metal. So, not knowing anything else about them, I would guess they are not easily resalable and so a dealer would offer very little. I'm not a dealer, but I would not be interested for even $20, probably much less.

 

$14.50

 

After a bit of Googling, that second appears to be an 1/8th Taler from Nurnberg. NGC price guide has it listed at $400 in EF condition. I'll guess he offered you $100 for it.

 

Well I had one of those Pidcock Farthings on Ebay just a few weeks ago, in better condition and it got no bid at £35. So I am guessing he would allow no more than $5 to 10 on that. I know nothing about the other one.

 

Well I’m sure all 4 of you are on the edge of your seat, so drumroll and

$60 for both
I didn’t get a breakdown on how that $60 was divided but I really didn’t care. The conder token is relatively common but as @physics-fan3.14 said, here is the info on the klippe from NGC.

 

Did you tell him you would be happy to buy all of his he has in similar condition for a for a nice 50% markup from his offer?

 

If that’s a “fair offer” what do the unscrupulous dealers offer?

 

Right. Just imagine what it would have been if they thought you were clueless. It’s only fair if they sell them for pennies on the dollar too

 

What sort of dealer/market does this person have? Before I jump to condemn him, he might have perfectly fair offers for Morgans and Walkers, but no market for this esoteric sort of thing.

 

I’d rather not publicly condemn him either but he deals with both common and unusual world coins and ancients so there would be a lot of eyeballs at least.

 

A valid point. The faster the dealer can turn over the coin, the more generous an offer he can afford to make. The key is to keep his capital working for him rather than being tied up in inventory that sits around forever waiting for a buyer.

Assuming that the items being offered to the dealer are the sort of thing for which he has a client base, then I suggest that one should not judge a dealer based on his asking prices for a coin. Instead, judge him by what he pays for the stuff he sells.

 

I agree Paying 50 for something you sell you 80 is a much better offer than someone who pays a 100 and sells it for 400. It’s all relative. I don’t have a problem if dealers pay low that sell low they definitely have to buy lower than they sell. Buying low and selling market or higher though is a different story.

 

If a dealer feels the need to proclaim themselves as being fair/honest/reputable, I find this to be a red flag towards the opposite. Reputation speaks much louder than words.

 

Totally agree. Especially if they loudly proclaim they are 'Christian' and/or a 'disabled+/-veteran'. Those seem to be self applied labels used by those who try to bolster their plausibility when in reality their behavior is not Christian, and the latter is used as a tool to badger anyone who calls them out for their shenanigans.

 

I find that a dealer's actions speak far louder than any labels they may apply to themselves....

I've met dealers who proclaimed things that weren't true, and I've met dealers who didn't proclaim anything but everyone knew it was true.

 

I think it also depends on the coin. I’ll give you an example. Recently I picked up a German coin that cost me a little over $200. I felt the price was reasonable for the market. It’s a very interesting piece but kind of a niche piece. If I walked into a random local dealer with that coin and a $200 Morgan Dollar trying to sell both I guanrantee you I’d get a better number for the Morgan even though they are worth the same. It’s sinply because the Morgan is far easier to move. I’m sure I’d get a low ball offer for the German coin even though it’s far more rare because it’s going to be harder to find a buyer.

 

Comepletely agree. Whether or not they ever deal with that type of material plays a big role