Anyone Ever Had A Coin Dealer Take Advantage Of You.

I think the times when I have overpaid for a coin it was because I wasn't care or didn't negotiate the price I wanted.

Knock on wood, I have not had a problem with any e-bay seller. I tend to say away from any sellers from China, just too many fakes coming out of there.

Years ago I had two gold German 20 Mark coins that I wanted to sell, so being 12 years old and trusting everyone I went to my local coin shop. The owner picked up the coins glanced at them and said. "these are fake, I'll give you $10 each" I believed him and lost two nice gold coins for $20. Only to find out later they were not fake and worth much more. That was over 40 years ago and I never forgot that.

When I was a kid (back around 1955 or so) I used to go look at the coins on display at the People's Street Coin Shop in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was run by a very elderly gentleman who was always kind and courteuos to me. He bought some coins from me I got in change, one I remember in particular was a 1964 Indian cent, he gave me $5 for it, must have been the "L" variety. That may have been a fair price for that time, at least I thought it was at the time, he could have offered me much less since I didn't know anything about the "L"...but I always admired him for the way he treated his customers and tried to impart a little of his knowledge on to them, wish all dealers were the same.

Bryan has a point...in coins, guns or anything that can be sold, traded, etc. the value is set by the buyer, not the seller. I can put $1,000 price tag on a coin...but if no one will pay that, then it's worth something less. On the other hand, if someone pays that price, then that's the value of that coin, at that time, to that buyer.

Now...if I mislead the buyer into thinking my $1000 coin is very rare or somehow special, when I know that it is not, then I'm a thief.

If I'm buying a coin and think it's worth more than the seller is asking, then that just my optimism. If I'm buying from a naive person (say a seven year old kid, or a 70 year old grandma) who really doesn't understand the possible value of a coin, and I low-ball them, again, I'm a thief.

I've bought coins from dealers at full price, when I suspect they had a high figure on their coin expecting to dicker. Of course, I was young and foolish. But the dealer wasn't fraudulent, because I wasn't so young that I shouldn't have known better.

just some thoughts...

exactly!! if they claim it is something it isn't then they are scammers, charging a little too much doesn't make someone a scammer in my book because heaven knows I want the most I can possibly get for each and every coin I sell but I wouldn't go as far as to say its something it isn't to make more money

Kinda already said. People are people. If you go to grocery store and are over charged we all raise hell about that. If they make a mistake and undercharge for something, we all run around bragging about that but don't return the money to the store. Cars, coins, guns, flashlights, Beanie Babies, whatever all the same. When we find something for a cheap price that is worth a lot we don't say anything to the seller. If that same seller trys to sell us something for to much we really complain. I've spent most of my life going to flea markets, have worked at some, have relatives that sold there as well as friends. I've learned from that that when a item has a price, it is almost always negotiable. I never pay full asking price unless it is absolutely necessary. Here is a typical example. A few weeks ago my washing machine died. I checked out the newspaper adds, went to a few stores and then went to an appliance store that brags about beating anyone with prices. I found the machine I've been checking at other places, noted the price was similar, told the salesperson I liked that machine but have to go back to Sears and recheck prices. He said he would throw in delivery, setup, removal of old machine free. I hesitated and said you'ld have to do better. I started to leave. He said wait a minute, checked out something in a book and asked if color was important. I said no and he offered me the same machine in black for an additional $100 of since no one wants a black washer. I now have a black washing machine for about $200 less than Sears. If I had bought a new machine and saw it for a lot less later I would be a raving nut, but since I came out ahead, I'm happy. Same with buying coins. I go to lots of coin shows and play the same game there. I would never, ever pay what a dealer is asking for a coin. Even if it was the greatest price possible, it is just in my blood to chew them down.

I have been so lucky. My dealer is always courteous, knows me and my family by name, fairly prices everything, and handles the very nice coins while wearing gloves.

The only time I was really "turned off" by a dealer was several years ago while visiting our daughter when she lived in Florida. In order to get into the store you had to ring a buzzer, and once I got in I was totally ignored until I decided to leave.

I don't think I have ever been "taken advantage of" by a coin dealer.

All of these stories bring back memories for me ... good and bad. Coin collecting is alot like life ... being informed and prepared usually makes the road a little easier. One technique I use at coin shows is taking a few higher end "expendables" from my collection along with me. If I see something I'm interested in on the floor, I will ask the seller to look at my coins and assess their grade. If I recognize excitement in the seller over my coins I will start the negotiation process for the coin I want. It's usually a win-win and always takes the buyer/seller tension out of the equation.