What price should you expect to pay at a coin show?

Cool - thanks!!! :thumb:

 

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I'm not either, so don't feel bad.
Guy~

 

When I go to a show I usually have a copy of Greysheet and Coin Prices (like the mag for the mintages).

I do not expect dealers to sell to me at bid in most cases as, more often than not, I'm looking for a tougher date or "sleeper". They have no real reason to "give" these away - they'll find a buyer at full retail in many cases.

Most of the shows I go to have pretty much the same dealers. I frequent three of them due to past transactions that have gone well. I don't bicker and barter. I point out what I'm interested in and ask "what can you do for me?". I usually end up buying as they know I'm not an idiot and they appreciate my business. As one puts it "there's some wiggle room here".

If I want "great bargains" I look through the bargain bins that many dealers have and I have found some good deals over the years but I'm generally more focused.

As for a total newbie to the hobby that walks in toting a Greysheet and quoting prices I have no respect for them. Nothing against newbies but I've seen it too many times and if I have I'm willing to bet the dealer has too. If you go up to a dealer and start telling him/her what you'll pay then don't be surprised if they send you on your way.

I suppose my "bartering" is all done silently through mutual respect. If it's not there then I just move on politely. Etiquette in these situations can go a long way.

 

The price that a dealer (or anyone) paid for a coin should not affect the selling price too much, it is market that determines it mostly. If i bought a load of silver dollars in 1980, I could not expect to get what I paid for them now, let alone a premium. With rarer or auctioned coins, the previous price has more effect on the price.

 

Absolutely, but be prepared to hear the myriad of responses you listed. The greysheet is only useful for some things and good dealers don't always rely on it since it is routinely wrong.

 

I agree with all of this

 

I agree with you, in theory. However, it is human nature for sellers to consider their cost when determining their asking price. You might be surprised at how often sellers price their coins based on cost, as opposed to other factors (such as current market conditions/prices) which should have more relevance/importance.

 

Very well put man. :thumb: Along with many of the other responses on here. :thumb:

Phoenix

 

Excellent thread

My take on it is this. Price guides are starting points for average material, average material in a stable market. They are accurate enough the day they are printed, which may be weeks before release, especially magazines which may have 2-3 months lead time. CDN is by far the most current.

CDN was actually a coin DEALER newsletter with starting points for dealers to trade at with average material.

The term average. In my focus, lets take a 1926-S Lincoln Cent. VF-20 bid/ask is $13.00/$14.50.

The average 1926-S Lincoln is weakly struck with worn dies. Many sellers on ebay will only picture the obverse. The reverse on this date, and many of the early 20's decade are just plain ugly.

( the 1922 screams explanation points on this ).

Finding an average VF-20 1926-S Lincoln is not difficult, and you should expect to pay a price near ask, bid if you find a bargain. Less if there is any problems , such as cleaning, extra soft strike, stains etc.

Finding a superb, well struck 1926-S with full hair and jaw detail, strong and seperated wheats and even lettering, an eye appealing coin with original surfaces, say a VF-30 or 35 that stands out from the rest, you cannot expect to pay CDN ask. There is a premium, and the tougher the date/condition, the higher the premium.

Average Joe looks at the CDN and it says $13 bid. " Why are your prices so high?" The answer is easy you would think.

These are my thought on my subject alone, but I do think they apply industry wide. Will I pay over bid ? You betcha, every day I can, if the material stands out from the rest.

Does my price change on same coin, if I paid well over ask or I sniped it for 60% of bid? NO, it is priced at what the coin is worth to me. I sit on alot of coins for this reason. But, there are collectors who I work with alot, get to know them and their collection, and will always give them the good guy price. They have the better collections too, far above average and worth more than "bid".

Think about it.

I'll put on my flame suit and take the heat on this, but I was asked MY opinion.:kewl:

 

The difference between the first sentence and the second is the “quoting prices” part?

No one should ever act like they know-it-all or act disrespectfully. If a dealer has a new customer walk up - the dealer also will not gain much business if he treats the person disrespectfully just because he has a copy of the Greysheet with them. How people on both sides of the table conduct themselves will generally determine if any business will be done.

I just bought a new SUV – I walked into the dealer with the Invoice pricing/MSRP/Average consumer price for the new car as well as blue book and TMV price on the trade in. All negotiation started from there – he made money and I got a good deal. I came prepared – many people have no clue and it allows the other side to take advantage of the situation. I realize coins are much more complex but that does not take away the right for the buyer to be educated regardless of how many times they have dealt with a specific dealer before.

Generally my bartering consists of selecting a group of coins as asking “what does he want for them”. I have already calculated a number in my head based on what I think the market price is and how desirable the coins are. If he comes close - the deal is done, if not - I may narrow it down to a specific coin I really want and ask the same question, if that price isn’t close - we are done and I move on. Most of the time on the second round the dealer gives me a fair price on the coin I want and makes a second offer on the group. Again – deal is generally done and we are both happy. I don’t go through all the trouble of picking out a group of coins not to spend some money – but I want them at a fair price regardless of how well I know the dealer and if he even treats me even a little disrespectfully - I will gladly spend my money somewhere else.

 

This is where education really pays off! That really does surprise me!!!

 

Doug - What he said!!!

 

Great post - Flamed why? Again desirability, eye appeal, and market conditions will affect the price - in many regards it's very similar to the housing market. When we bought our first house in Boca we had three bought out from under us on the first day they were listed. Throw the price book out the window and pay what you think you need to in order to close the deal. We sold the house a few years later for a nice profit. The guy who bought it - sold it approx. three years later for about 200K more than he bought it. Still kicking myself for not renting it out for a couple years but that's the way it goes - that's a lot of coins I could have bought... It was a good deal for all involved except maybe the current owner???

Be educated and make smart buying decisions.

Thanks again for your post!

 

Darryll:

I don't know if this helps, but as you know, I do some working with a local coin dealer on the side, and when it comes to pricing, we have a pretty standard policy and I think I'll put it out there and you can view this as another differing way of doing it.

We pretty strictly go by CDN, although in ANY case where we ask more, it is because we paid more than sheet for it. As for a policy of price on something... when someone comes up to the table and asks for a price, either to buy or sell, we try to calculate a fair price the FIRST time. If this is an acceptable price, the deal is done, if not, then both of us move on.

Haggling on price is never done at our table. As a dealer, it is incumbent upon me to calculate the best deal I can make on the first try, not feel out a customer for what they want to pay. I feel that if I make my best effort the first time, then most times customers will be direct and either buy or not. There are no hard feelings with either decision, buy or not, but there is also NOT a "can you do a little bit better" price. If I could do a little bit better, I would have and I understand if you feel that you'll want to search more.

Some customers mistake this for not caring, I actually feel it is quite the opposite in the fact that I respect the customer from the start and make a solid attempt to earn his business on the first try.

just a rookie coin dealer spouting off... GREAT thread Darryll!!!

 

Ebay is a different story tho. It is what the site will tolerate, and what goes for what. I have a pretty good grasp on it.

You get so many emails with offers, it is not supposed to be done, but it does anyways, sell offline for less 10% right away, thats roughly store commision price.

Sellers with lousy feedback can't do it due to trust factor, but my repeaters almost always come around the side. Never had a problem.

 

Thanks for your input Mike!!! - I never walk away with hard feelings unless the guy is disrespectful and then I just walk away and make a note not to go back. And I never really haggle in the true sense of the term. Like I said, I like the dealer to make an offer and if it's too high I understand that he may have something that is driving him to offer that price. I don't however believe that all dealers operate the way you do - I wish they did though! I have seen haggling going on over some pretty expensive coins and I watched the dealer come dome a few hundred on a $4000 dollar purchase. I don't pretend to be in the same boat as this guy was so I generally let the dealer set a price and I try to determine if it works for me.

Best Regards

Darryl

 

Once you have a business relationship with someone you trust I think it's smart to go around eBay. They made their money on the initial purchase - anything after that is private if the seller and buyer are comfortable with it!!!

 

I guess I should clarify this a little - I don't really mean fair price - I mean a price I am willing to pay. It may have been a fair price to start! There are different factors that influence the price that I cannot know.

Also, it just may be my ignorance but that's okay as there will be other coins and I should feel comfortable with the deal. Learning and experience is what I hope for but not at the expense of a bad deal. Study and practise, study and practise, study and practise some more, and maybe some day I will have the experience to look at a group of coins and see the best deal without having to worry if I know what I'm doing.

 

We need to meet at some point