Tell me what you like and don't like about coin shops....

Dealers lose sales all the time from people getting sick of asking for prices or not stopping at their table because they don't know what the price point would be. The back codes have nothing to do with whether or not they display a retail price.

Obviously things like bullion which move a lot a simple sign would be sufficient. Prices don't really have wild extreme swings as quickly as you are suggesting for the majority of items. Retail prices aren't set in stone anyway so it doesn't really matter and you can always have a disclaimer prices are subject to change with the market.

Really not displaying any sort of price is only hurting in the dealer in the long run, so yes from the dealer perspective understanding how many people get turned off having by not having any idea what the price will be or how it will limit their buying when they get sick of asking knowing that is great information to add prices and boost sales

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I have 2 shops I go to. In the KC area I'd say I have 10 or so options but I refuse to go to the other 8 for several reasons.

1. They over price every single coin (by 25% or more) hoping to make money on people who don't know the worth, and they expect to haggle on every single coin purchase. I hate this because I don't want to have to haggle or figure out prices on so many different combinations so I don't even think about purchasing them in the first place.
2. Trying to sell problem coins as straight grades. I always think back to this $0.02 piece but had to be XF for near AU but it had a huge gouge and they were asking $125 as if it was flawless. I very commonly will buy a problem coins around the 5 to 20 range if you label them as problems I will never look at your "straight grade" garbage.
3. Stock and availability. There's a store I won't go to specifically because only about 5% of their stock cycles out. The other 300 coins have been the same for the last two years. If they can't sell it they need to get rid of it or lower the prices but I hate walking in and having to look through hundreds of the same coins just to find the 15 to 30 new ones.
4. Communication. if I can't go in there and talk to you about what I'm doing and you just want to sit behind your counter and watch me look at coins I don't want to come back. I want the store owner to tell me about getting a new coins about things they're excited about, and it want them to know what my interests are so they can show stuff me if I'm not finding what I'm looking for.
5. Lack of variety. Another store I know of is very reasonable in all the things listed above but they only carry about five of every coin at any one time. Then the rest of their inventory is silver and gold or just boxes of culls. It's good for people that don't want nice examples but bad for anything besides cull.
6. If I constantly come back to your store work with me. I stopped going to one store because I felt I constantly with things slightly above price guide values and the one time I asked to lower a price I was treated like a criminal for a $10 discount, never went back.

 

Cool thread...... Best thing about my dealer? I can go fondle the coins. Being an old guy, I prefer to see and feel what I am attracted to. I always call my guy before I go to his shop. As well as he knows me I am confident that he places coins he knows will appeal to me in his central case. Maybe I should stop calling before I head his way!

 

The touchy feely thing is why I'm no longer welcome at local bars.

 

Hey, if you won't let me touch my drink, I'm taking my business elsewhere.

 

I completely agree with this and at coin shows I avoid booths that do not display prices as though they crawled with high levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria. I've wasted more time at these booths than I care to relate. Usually the dealer has to grab a price book, a book of codes, or on occasion even ask a colleague how they would price the coin I'm asking about. 90% of the time I find the prices too high and I wonder if the price was inflated simply because I showed an interest. After I refuse the price, the dealer and I realize that we just wasted considerable time and come out frustrated with each other. I don't think I've ever actually purchased a coin at a booth that didn't display prices because it drives me absolutely crazy and makes me want to chew on metal and kick trees. Plus it just wastes time.

Referring to other comments in this thread, of course I get that not displaying prices is convenient for the dealer, but as a buyer with limited time on my hands I simply don't, or shouldn't, care. I would never buy anything or let down my critical thinking guard on a purchase based on the seller's convenience, because that will almost never work to my advantage. Not only that, not displaying prices puts the dealer at a significant advantage because, as already suggested above, you have to ask to see the coin, which shows that you're interested and a dealer can gauge enthusiasm level without a baseline commitment and price accordingly. In this way the practice even comes across as manipulative and arrogant. Though displaying prices does seem annoying and time consuming, that has nothing to do with me the buyer and I have considerable doubts that it has ever saved me money. If dealers mark up their coin prices because it takes longer to price them, then I will detect the price difference and simply find someone else offering a lower - and fully displayed - price.

Also, there are always a very high percentage of dealers who do manage to price their coins at shows. So how do they do it? I always find these dealers easier to deal with and they almost exclusively get my business. Such dealers have the customer's convenience in mind and make buying much easier and enjoyable by not wasting my time.

 

I go to many coin shops and one coin shop that has a decent variety of coins in the under $300 range. They are usually properly graded according to photograde. They are currently priced at full retail Coins Magazine pricing for the grade. Right above the price are the words "MAKE OFFER". I usually cherry pick varieties. I never tell the dealer what variety they have. I sometimes ask "What's The Best Price You will Accept". They quote a price and I pay their price. Over the past 64 years I have visited many local coin shops and coin shows and have bought many coins. I also like dealers at flea markets. They seem to be very reasonable. I also like dealers who don't read the variety books. I buy many Morgan and Peace dollars and when in a new LCS or show I'll ask if they have any VAM varieties. Of course I like when the dealer says " I don't do varieties". 12 years ago I bought an MS-61, 1878 Morgan VAM 44-A Triple Cotton Blossoms for $50. It was marked by the dealer $65. Read the book before you buy the coin.

 

Simple, I have 5 coin dealers with retail shops in my area and I won't shop in any of them. They have revolving prices and no personality. If I'm not greeted when I enter a coin shop I look and leave.

A dealer needs to greet the customer, be friendly, show an interest in me and a display a willingness to talk with me. That alone makes me look the other way about no prices and poor displays.

I treat dealers at shows the same as if I'm in their shop and I want to be treated the same way by them. I met a dealer at a show last year and his shop is an hour away. I haven't been to his shop but the way he treated me at the show makes me still want to go, which I will in the spring when I get over that way.

I have an online dealer that I buy a lot from. I've never met them but no matter who I talk to, I'm treated with courtesy and respect. One gentleman there has made me feel like a friend. He's so willing to check out anything. And I'm always allowed to return any coin I buy that I don't like when I receive it.

That's what a dealer should be like. It doesn't matter if it's in their store, at a coin show or online (Yes I call them) it all comes down to treat me right if you want my money.

 

EXACTLY.
Especially at coin shows. If a dealer can't display his/her prices for the non-bullion and precious-metal coins, or if the dealer is not able to answer a price inquiry in about one minute, I mostly just walk. And I will probably not come back, especially at a big show and/or busy show. And I notice that I'm not the only customer who does this. So many tables, so little time...

How much business have dealers lost because of such boneheadedness?

I do wonder why some dealers even bother to show up. SOME dealers, not all, have this "the dealer is king" mentality, and us low-class boobs who show up with our money are just wasting their time. I understand that dealing with certain customers is actually a pain. I know some dealers are better at suffering fools than others, so I can cut dealers some slack in that regard. But... a dealer wants people's money, right? So, I can only feel a certain amount of sympathy.

It's not all bad...
If they don't display their prices, I at least appreciate those busier tables that have at least two people manning them so that price inquiries are more rapidly dealt with so that I can ask mine, make my purchase, thank the dealer for bringing his inventory of the stuff that I buy, and move on.

I will tell you that I make 95% of my purchases at coin show tables that DISPLAY prices. Make of that what you will.

 

I love it when I find a shop I can trust and where I feel welcome. I personally have a shop like that where I live but when I was out of state and/or go to other shops due to being young am not taken seriously. Either that or they will not look at me as a fellow collector but instead inferior due to my age. It does not happen too much but enough for me to notice. However, generally speaking and not just my point of view its when you see someone scamming someone who does not know better, but that is more with military stores then it is with coin stores.

 

Preach