Why Some Coin Dealers Don't Post Photos Coins for Sale on Their Website...

I can understand where Penny Lady is coming from.
We maintain a website at work and it does surprisingly well actually.

We also have the brick and mortar where I work and another as well.

I handle a lot of the floor sales and research. My coworker does it ALL. Runs the website, bookkeeping, research and helps me on the floor if we get swamped (usually at lunch for some reason)

We have many repeat customers from all over the U.S. Most are for modern stuff from the mint. Proof sets, Commemoratives etc. We don't bother even listing any gold actually. Too volatile.

VERY few pics of coins for this reason as we don't need them. Paper money is different. EVERY note has a picture.
To me buying a VG 1931-D Lincoln Cent vs. buying a VG $2 Educational requires a pic of the note as it is worth a lot more.

We don't even list the common coins as not enough time and not really cost effective whatsoever. This may work fine for some but we have over 40 years worth of "stuff" laying around.

When we got to the point of having over 100,000 wheats in stock AGAIN we put an add in a few magazines. $250 per bag delivered. Getting top dollar for a small ad and I can actually walk in that area of the counter again.

One thing to look for on ANY website is a good return policy. We don't charge the restocking mumbo jumbo. Send it back and you get your money back less postage. We've had a few returns and some rather ridiculous but we honor it.

We also have people calling our toll free number looking for stuff. We get a number and go looking. We call them back no matter what but if we find what someone is looking for we give them a detailed description and the right to return. Don't think we've ever had any of those returned. Repeat business generated here.

Sure, everyone wants to see a coin but it's not always convenient. There are only so many hours in a day and our shop does very well as it is. We basically keep the website simple and it works for us.

It's different for every dealer.

 

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I've bought several thousand dollar coins from dealers before w/o any photo being supplied. I did that because I've trusted the dealer's experience and description of the coin and I've trusted the dealer's impression of the sort of coins I wanted in my collection. and of course, I had the opportunity to return the coins if I ended up not liking them once I received them

In addition to the difficulty/cost of supplying images of each and every coin, you really need to learn and then remember that a single photo of a coin douen't necessarily tell you what a coin will look like in hand. Sure, it helps you get an idea, but photos can be deceptive (intentionally or unintentionally).

 

My opinion - it boils down to trusting the opinion of the dealer. Too many that post pictures make it easy to see and determine if the coin is worth the price. It is very tough starting a relationship with a dealer - but having dealt with you I can trust your opinion. And like you on the flip side I do not want to go to all that trouble of shipping coins to me, then shipping them back. There are several dealers I have used that I would certainly not trust without pictures - not saying they are bad, but just that we may not agree on the grading and conditions of the raw coin.

And Clembo - what is the web site? If I find something I am interested in I could always PM you for detail. Plus you get to see some of what I collect on this site - so you would know if it fits in or not. You can always PM me the site.

I am going to admit I broke one of my cardinal rules today - I purchased a coin from a dealer with the worst pictures available. I found a thread on this site where others have used them and were happy. Now it is a matter of wait and see. At least it was a PCGS coin.

 

I always prefer having a photo if I can't see the coin in hand first. Particularly with toned coins, I want to be able to visualize it. But solo dealers or even two person shops can't image everything unless they happen to be adept (and fast) photographers as well.
Charmy, I think your arrangement with Todd is the right way to go for you. My sense is that you are not as interested in photography as you are copper coins. I feel the same way -- I bought a camera and tried to play around with photographing my collection but I didn't have the patience to stick with it and improve. I ended up hiring Todd to do my higher end coins and it's worked out great. Like you, I won't hire him to photograph my whole collection because many of the coins simply aren't worth it.
Are you losing sales on lower end coins? Maybe, but I would think you're better off selling such coins at shows than over the net anyway.

 

No pictures no bidding and most sell their coins at their grade but buyers beware.

 

I would never buy a coin without a picture... just my M.O.... I also think that more pics in dealer sites would increase thier sales.... maybe take a pic and post it for every coin over $200 or so.... that should exclude a large bulk and keep the better coins posted in all thier glory.... I think it would be the easiest way for some dealers to increase thier sales and almost no cost to them... just abit of time over the weekend. As also stated in this thread, the abundance of pics on ebay is a key attribute that keeps me bay'ing.

 

You bet i like graded coins and paper money. If you can get them below trends value then your collection will increase in value if you want to sell you can make a profit.

 

I kinds find it annoying when there is a coin I am interested in and their is no pic but if the website/dealer offers a service to take a picture of it then I have no problems. Ive only had to ask a few times with my coin purchases online and I have been pleased.

 

Now that just makes "Cents" sorry for the pun, But i just couldnt
Resist

As a dealer in Mpc (Military Payment Certificates) Things just go to
Fast to be constantly taking of photos of your inventory especialy
In raw grades, Thats why i like TPG,S, Sight unseen!!:goofer:

 

Maybe that is okay in MPC's, but with coins sometimes that can get you burned. Especially with some of the really high end expensive coins. CAC should help this, but some of the premiums I see with CAC coins are not worth it in my opinion. Again not sure about MPC's, but 10 coins in the same grade can all look different, drive different premiums(or not) and have different eye appeal. I do agree not all the coins should be pictured - but some dealers(they have been recommended here) I would not even buy low grade coins from without pictures period. But The Penny Lady I can trust with descriptions and with a quick email.

 

If imaging each coin doesn't fit your business model, then so be it. Lots of dealers solve this by only selling higher-end coins anyway.

Its the same way when attributing ancients professionally. If its a $20,000 coin, then its definitely worth the time to hunt down all the best references, check all the die studies,and research any possibly pedigree (which is a pain!!). But, if the coin only sells for $100, its not worth the time you're paying the cataloger for.

 

I think mintage has a lot to do with the price in raw or graded form

 

Charmy, it's a tough call. You don't have time to do all the work required, but having more photos would likely allow you to sell more. But then selling more, would require more work for you to begin with, and it starts to become a catch-22.

And what do you do with the pictures of coins you've sold? In theory they will begin to outnumber the coins you have on hand within a matter of months.

What I would do, with coins I sold, if I were into selling coins, I would keep all the old images as a gallery of things I've sold in the past. One of the comic shops I frequented when we could afford to collect Golden Age comics scanned the covers of the major comics they sold and used them as wall decorations in the store. It was impressive!

I know how much time it takes to do photos. I have nearly 10,000 on my website, which has been an accumulation dating back to August of 2004. It takes a TON of time to work through them, especially if each one is properly labeled (I've been saying I will label everything since 2004, so far I've done one album that has only about 675 photos, and the few things that are labeled before I upload them.

If I lived closer to you, I would do photographs for you in exchange for lower circulated common dates. But, I happen to live pretty much exactly opposite of the continent! That, and I have not mastered photographing cents yet. I can do dollars pretty good though

By the way, here is my website in case anyone wants to visit it. The numismatic section is locked but there's tons of stuff on there. I am especially proud of the Nature Shots and Trips section. Especially the later parts of the albums, as my photography skills have vastly improved over the years!
http://public.fotki.com/ElCaminoBilly/

 

Will have my own table at the coin show in april hope to do well so can get rid of my overflow raw coins and paper money. Have about 4000 raw coins and 100 bills on display.

 

I have no problems buying coins without pictures, I do so fairly often. I also bid in mail bid auctions and buy from mailed dealer stock lists. I guess that makes me somewhat old-fashioned.

When you collect outside of the mainstream, you have to do all of the above. I honestly believe that I've never been ripped off by any dealer, most are friendly, knowledgeable and more than willing to share that knowledge with interested collectors.

 

I would never buy a coin off ebay without a picture. I have purchased many Buffalo Nickels from a dealer whose website is "Dave's, the collectors friend", and he has no pictures. I have never been disappointed in a purchase from him. But, he came highly recommended to me and I was still very skeptical in the beginning.

I wouldn't purchase a slabbed a coin especially a Buffalo Nickel from NGC or PGCS without a picture, although I have read many people purchase slabbed coins by these two companies sight unseen. I disagree with so many of their grades in the Buffalo's. I guess it would be okay if a buyer and seller had a long relationship.

I do understand why dealers are reluctant to photo low price and grade coins.

 

Is this a case where maybe everyone has an "Achille's Heel" - a weakness or are skill challenged?

As the OP says in the original post, there are so many different tasks invovled in this. Some people will fall apart when it comes to setting up an attractive table at the coin shows. Others will struggle to keep up with user's want lists. Others will drag their feet on upgrading the inventory sheets. And so on.

Oh sure, you can probably do a couple hundred photos in a short time. But for many, that would be pure and sheer drudgery. For others, no problem at all.

Finally, as one who doesn't get out much, I agree with Clembo that a lot of sites don't even LIST cheaper coins let along show photos!

And for those who do have to collect "long distance", it's super important to establish some relations with dealers - it is possible, even if you don't see them face to face.