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 Replies: 85 / Views: 9,284 |
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Valued Member
United States
56 Posts |
I'm all for dealers making a buck or two, I know they have to keep the lights on and all, but it gets a little ridiculous when they don't even offer a quarter of the value of a coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8516 Posts |
Sometimes I'll go through a ton of Indian Head listings on ebay and found a really nice 1908. As I looked at the pics, I noticed the S on the back. I messaged the guy and he just said good find and that he just got done listing about a 1000 pennies. He just said go for it that it was his mistake. Lol, another person spotted it but I made him pay over a hundred for it. Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8516 Posts |
I ran into a really rude coin shop guy. May have been the owners son. I would never ever help that guy out if I spotted something he wrongly priced. If we had another shop I would never ever go back but it is what it is. Their saving grace is a really old guy that really knows his stuff but is really getting on in years and about as nice as they come. I came into the shop and he asked if he could help me. I told him I had called about a 1978 Krugerrand and had come to look at it. He took off to the back of the shop. It must have been 15 minutes and he comes out front, I'm thinking he has the coin. He comes up to me and asks " what can I help you with" ? Lol, we started over. I did get the coin.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
Edited by 52Raymo
05/31/2012 9:37 pm
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Valued Member
United States
131 Posts |
I'm amazed at you guys and gals who have decided to feel guilty. First, it is not dishonest to purchase something at any price. If you decide to insist that the seller charge you more (sounds crazy doesn't it) so as not to have unresolved feelings then you need revisit the dictionary.
If you want to become an employee by proxy for the seller then at least admit to what you are doing.
Buying from a seller is actually like playing a friendly poker game. If you want to fold your full house it's up to you of course but don't pretty it up with "being a good citizen" nonsense.
By the way, returning money you see fall out of someone's hand or pocket is not at all the same thing. They aren't selling anything to you. That does fall under the "good deed" heading. Just don't confuse doing good deeds with allowing yourself (voluntarily) to be used by others.
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Valued Member
Australia
216 Posts |
Ok so I'm new to coins, only been collecting for a year or two but this situation did happen to me. Looking through a bulk Australian penny box I found a 1919 double dot in a VF grade. (approx $500 dollar coin). When I asked the dealer he said it was a 1919 worth about 5 dollars. When I pointed out the dots, you should have seen the look on his face  and started to sputter. I asked him what price and after looking up the catalog said $500 but lets meet half way. So I got my 1919 double dot for $250, we were both happy. The point here is that for me this was the right thing to do, (NO references inferred as to the actions of others in this situation), but in Australian there is also a law that states that the person with the most knowledge has the responsibility to ensure a "fair" trade. Basically if the knowledgeable party buys an item for a grossly undervalued amount they can, and have, been taken to court by the aggrieved party and forced to "make good" the deal. Cheers Peter |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19949 Posts |
I would DEFINATELY tell them about the mistake. I've done it many times and for several different dealers. Most of the time, I wasn't even interested in the coin. I just found the mistake while browsing. One exception I'm guilty of however....I have found lots grade mistakes (under-graded) and not told them.....afterall, grading is just an opinion anyway. It's not really the same thing and if I see they put a grade on the 2x2, that to me was their opinion and the price they want for it. Most of the BM guys I deal with re-look at every coin I'm buying....yet they can still get it wrong now and then....and I'm not telling!  LOL Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
A lot depends on where it would happen for me. If its a store I go to a lot and the owner is nice to me or I have a relationship I would ask if they meant to have all those coins in there or ask if the nicer ones were the same price and let them know.
Now if its a shop where the owner had been trying to rip me off or low ball me on buy and sells and is just not a pleasure to deal with I wouldnt say a word.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Honesty is the best policy! Period! I wouldn't want to know anybody in the coin business that thought otherwise!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
wquinn, in the first case, it is very easy to misread the mm on the V nickel so I would give the store owner the benefit of the doubt. In the case of the bulk bin, it is more clear to me that they couldn't be bothered to sort the coins before selling them. If the dealer accidentally put a 1912S in the bulk bin, you would think that he might sort through the bin to find it again. |
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Valued Member
United States
223 Posts |
I would say if it was a dealer your friendly with and always buy from to tell him about the coin. Otherwise take the coin for the labeled price. Most dealers are out to make money and though many think the tactics they use are unscrupulous its part of business.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
in Australian there is also a law that states that the person with the most knowledge has the responsibility to ensure a "fair" trade.
That is the point I was trying to make regarding expertise. It is a very easy argument to make in your case as a collector of a few years vs. a professional coin dealer, the dealer should be lawfully judged to be the expert in every situation vs. any other non-dealer. |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
I always take advantage of people who don't know what they have. Like one time I got 2.3 ounces of foreign silver coins for $14. A 1876 IHC for $1. 4 Kennedy 40% halves for $10. I don't care. I'm extremely cheap. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
can't count how many times I have seen a coin dealer tell some retiree down on his luck that his collection had only intrinsic value. After they had basically robbed the man blind they would dive in and start sorting through the little horde. If it was a cartoon you would see $$$ in their eyes and hear the cha-ching in the air. If you think about it as a general rule it usually appears that coin dealers are a bit on the dishonest side. And the collectors, again as a general rule, are the fantastically honest people. It is usually noted how a dealers attempt to low ball older, retired, unknowing people. And dealers are always trying to make as much profit as possible. Is it possible that coin collectors are the only really, honest to goodness, truely nice people? So then what turns someone from a nice collector to that horrorible, nasty, dishonest dealer? Makes me wonder where the line is where that change takes place. Sort of if you get to much change from a casheir at a store, do you tell them? If you get short changed, do you also mention that? If they ring up a price that is too high, do you complain? If they ring up a price that is way to low, do you mention that? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2335 Posts |
It's interesting to see other people's perception of what a reasonable profit & how that changes depending on if they are buying or selling. In the antique business the general rule of thumb for "smalls" is that you need to sell it for 3.5 times what you paid to make a profit. The rationale is that 1x pays for the item, 1x is overhead, & .5x is taxes leaving 1x profit. I know for a fact that the dealers in my area that stay in business for any length of time follow that rule of thumb. Those same dealers think anyone buying jewelry, sterling, or coins should pay 95% of melt.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Quote:
Playing Devil's Advocate here, what would you do if you found an otherwise ordinary coin in a dealer's inventory or junk box but it just happens to be a rare die variety? I'll cite some real-life examples of my own, where each of coin or variety is quite obvious--there was no subterfuge on my part; I merely paid the price stated on the dealers' 2x2:  Some of these are real obvious, and some are more specialty collector items.
- 1998 and '99-S Close-AM Lincolns, for $8-12 each.
- 1912-H Australia Penny in AU for $1 ($300 CV)
- 1887 IHC Snow-1 DDO--one of the most obvious in VF; $4.50
- 1894/1894 IHC--another super-obvious variety in VF; $8
- 1897 Snow-1 "1 in Neck" again in VF!, $4
- 1970-S LMC Small date in MS60, $1.50
- Canada 1884 Obverse #1, F15, $4
If you know what to look for, all of these are pretty obvious. And in all cases, I took the dealer's offer--without haggle or protest. So, did I cheat the dealer? And, for those I resold, did I cheat buyers by selling at a multiple of my purchase price--yet still a good buy?  Edited by DVCollector
06/01/2012 1:32 pm
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Replies: 85 / Views: 9,284 |
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Posted 05/31/2012 9:09 pm
