I stopped by a local coin store that I had not been to in a couple years. I was disappointed. It used to be very organized and have "normal" and "basic" items. You could get a small dollar you needed for a book, world coin bin, stuff like that. I'm almost positive it change ownership a while back. Now... It's not well organized, less stock, it's a mess. There is a dog there. Not a problem for me, I have two, but it smells like dog and is part of the mess. I picked up a well loved silver eagle because I was there but I don't see going back anytime soon. Any one else have a similar experience?
Yeah, mine had a bid board with tickets for $0.10 and gave 90%...the new management wants $0.50 for a ticket and pays 75%
My LCS guy retired. Luckily there are two more nearby. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they are overpriced on everything but supplies.
My nearest LCS has a dog too! It's friendly and the shop doesn't smell like dog. When I was a kid, the current owner's father owned the shop and it was downtown in the revived riverfront section. The shop sold stamps, first day covers, jewelry and coins. It was a huge brick building with large windows. His son and grandson inherited the business after he passed. They closed the big downtown shop and moved into, shall we say, a sketchier party of town into a strip mall. Now they seem to focus mostly on bullion and buying scrap gold and such. They do have a fair amount of numismatic material, but it is rarely labeled with the price and they seem to come up with their offer out of thin air. I will say, the shop is very clean and organized. I don't go often because there isn't much of a change in the numismatic inventory, but would probably be a good place to buy/sell precious metals. But, if you ever want to buy a sub sandwich, browse some coins, get your taxes prepared and do a load or two of laundry, I know the perfect location!
I used to go to a local shop all the time. It had been in business for over 50 years. The place was always a mess but that did not bother me. There were boxes and bags of coins stacked everywhere. I must have cherrypicked a hundred variety coins from the shop. There were a few times I had to hand a coin to the dealer and tell him what he really had. There was too much money involved for me to cherrypick the guy. I earned a lot of respect and trust from the dealer for being so honest. He would sometimes bring me behind the counter to help with customers. That was fun. Next thing I knew, I was helping him sort coins and cleaning up the place. In return the guy gave me some great deals and first shot on new inventory that came in. This all taught me to not judge a book by it's cover.
A few words about dogs. I have been to many shops that have a dog on duty. They would not allow anyone behind the counter if the dealer was not standing there and let you in. It was cool to see a dog trained so well. I could never smell a dog in a shop. I'm sure that would turn customers away.
It doesn't bother me either if the place is a little disheveled. In fact, I love when antique shops, flea markets and coin shops are a little unruly. I have just as much fun digging through the offerings in hopes of finding that must have! The shop I referenced previously has a couple huge bags of world poundage. They'll let you sit as long as you want and go through them. I could do that for hours!
My LCS is in a similar location. The same two grizzled grumpy old guys have run the place for like 35 years. The few times I've been in there they act like having a customer bothers them, which has put me off going back. Last time I was there, I picked up a few 2x2s and the guy was reasonably friendly so I suppose it depends on the day.
I haven't been to a local LCS for a bit, maybe I will put that on my things to do for next year. Been up to other things in my life that are taking up my time.
He wasn't just behind the counter, he was all over the place. Nice dog. Didn't seam the guard dog type to me, though. I didn't test him
I always have one, usually two and often three dogs in my office. I couldn’t function without a canine around…… I have two LCS in town. One has been in the same hole in the wall since the 1970’s. His sign still says “Stamp Shop” though he has not sold stamps for decades. The place is tiny and disheveled but I swear he can reach in a nook and come out with most anything…… My main guy runs a very organized shop. He has a dog named Tony that I call Tiny because the dog is 150lbs if she is an ounce. Tony has the green light with me and will come out to play when I come in but no doubt she will protect the store if called upon. Wait…. Was this a dogs at the LCS thread?
There are two local shops near me. I was at the first one today to buy a quarter ounce American Gold Eagle to complete I type set I started a few months ago. They are friendly, but most of their stock is silver and gold bullion with some lower priced collector coins. It's fun to stop by and chat now and then. My neighber had some gold eagles he wanted to sell, and the owner paid a very fair price for them. The other shop is run by egotistical jerk. I did him some favors like reviewing some expensive looking coins that came through the door, which turned out to be counterfeits. He didn't have the expertise to spot them. I also give him the prior month's Grey Sheets because he was too cheap to subscribe. The main thing that keeps him in business is the hight price of gold and silver. If those prices ever calm down, he's toast. I invited him to my local club. That was a mistake. He pushed me out of the club so that he could take over. When I was going to his shop, he kept asking people to rate him on-line. If there were a 0 out of 5, I'd give it to him. Instead I just ignore him.
It can be hard to find a good shop. The closest one to me is really small and seems to only buy stuff to melt or sell online. They have no world coins, which is my forte, and they never seem interested in helping you. It's too bad because if they were better I'd spend a lot of time and money there.
The guy who owns my LCS is also president of our coin club. We have our monthly meetings there. The shop used to be pretty scattered and disorganized but a coin dealer friend of his came out to help him reorganize and it looks much better.
