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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Anteater, post: 2517838, member: 81878&quot;]Hi CoinTalkers--</p><p><br /></p><p>First time poster here!&nbsp; I have a question about your experience with dealers.&nbsp; For years, I&#039;ve been buying coins (almost) exclusively at auction.&nbsp; I figured that it would be hard to go wrong as long as I was only paying a token amount more than the second-highest bidder.&nbsp; Recently, I liquidated part of my collection at auction as my interests have changed and I was surprised at how wrong I was.&nbsp; Granted, collecting is not an investment to me and my goal is not so much about money as it is about appreciating the artistry and getting an aesthetically beautiful collection, but I was stunned to see a few pieces sell for as little as half what I paid at auction and wondered if I&#039;d been mistaken about my assumption that auction prices are the fairest prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, I decided to try out a local dealer that gets great reviews.&nbsp; I did my homework beforehand.&nbsp; I walked in knowing exactly what I wanted to see, I studied the price range for comparable (both aesthetically and technically) coins at auction and decided on a target price roughly 10% less than the median auction price on the theory that I was doing the dealer a favor by buying a coin at private sale and saving them from auction fees.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe I&#039;m a sucker, but I was blown away.&nbsp; I asked about the prices and immediately the dealer offered me a price about 5% lower than my target.&nbsp; Feeling like I didn&#039;t have any more ammunition for negotiation being that he immediately offered me a better deal than my goal even, I walked out with two new (gorgeous) coins half an hour later, a satisfied customer.&nbsp; At this point, I&#039;m not even sure that I&#039;m inclined to go back to Heritage.&nbsp; I thought the prices the dealer offered were absolutely fair and I enjoyed the conversation and learned a few things in the process.</p><p><br /></p><p>Should I have asked for a better deal?&nbsp; Come back in a few days?&nbsp; Or, is it not necessary to take such an adversarial view of things, and assume that the dealer wishes to build a relationship with a likely repeat client?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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