Will Never Return To One Of My LCS's Ever Again.

Forget the signs, stop being the victim. Throw a $20 on the counter and see what you get for it. My local dealer usually knocks down the price that is written on 2x2's that he has purchased from other dealers.
It isn't all about money, I expect him to make an honest profit for his time and investment. The real test is when you go into the shop to sell. My local dealer has paid much more to buy back what he has sold me. And he is a rather well to do gentleman.
He is not fair or even generous because he is financially comfortable. He is financially comfortable because he is fair and often times generous.

Mullen, I should have expected someone to call me on this, and I'm glad you did.
Yes, he paid me more than he sold them for. Most frequently due to fluctuations in the precious metal prices. When gold was $1200 /oz. he sold for $1225. When it went to $1600, he paid me $1575. Similar stories with silver over $45.
And too, there are trends. When major publications print stories, he'll buy to fill other customer's demands. Sometimes the interest is spurned by unforeseen events in the news. But then again, some are foreseen.
That is why I diverse and specialize. Specialize is what I keep. Diverse is what I invest in.
When the rage was news about a meteorite possibly crashing into earth, you can bet I more than doubled my investment on a small but well documented collection of meteorites.
With coins, I have a few with Spanish Colonial heritage, Western expansion, sunken treasure, Pirates, early Americana and WWII connections.
Coins are not all I invest in.
In less than 5 years, there will be major celebration. The 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Allied forces liberating Europe. It was the largest military invasion in history. And perhaps the most important.
If I were to invest in anticipation of capitalization, I would buy everything I could afford.
And when every magazine, news paper and web site has handed you the best advertising in the world, SELL.
Sell the coins of that period, provide sets of Axis and Allied. Sell stamps on envelopes, letters from home, uniforms, rations, photographs, knives and of course firearms.
Some memorabilia can be purchased for a pittance, but if you have unlimited finances, you can buy the landing craft and tanks.
The beauty of it all, is you get to pick how you invest. And when to sell.
Thanks again for calling me on the carpet, it requires me to be accountable, may answer some of your questions and may increase the perspective of other collectors.
Chute

Here's what I would do. I would Google Belmont Coin and Jewelry and see if they have a website. Guess what? They do. There's a Contact Us link. Here it is:

http://www.belmontcoins.com/help.ph...&mode=update

Post a link to this thread there. I live about an hour's drive from there. Guess where I am probably not driving anytime soon...

Plenty of reputable dealers in the area, no reason to deal with those that you feel are taking advantage of you.

I have noticed a trend of rudeness in many of the coin shops I have been in. I travel quite a bit, so I've seen a lot of shops and many of them are very stand-off-ish. They tend to be very short with me, if not downright rude. I don't know what it is about coins, but it sure seems to make people rude as can be. Most of them seem to have a superior view of themselves and seem downright inconvenienced by my presence. I have a couple that I stick to, and one that is 3 hours away. That one is so awesome that I will save up a bunch of money (and stuff to trade) for when I know I'm going to be down that way. Rude shop owners need to realize that they aren't the only option for buying coins. I'll gladly spend my money elsewhere.

For the life of me, I can't understand rude shop owners. Being rude may not only cause you to lose a sale, but repeat business AND have a negative experience passed on to others by word of mouth or the Internet.

I have fond memories of going to my LCS when I was 9. The owner always took time to help me and I spent quite a bit of my allowance in there.

I believe BobAlmighty125 experienced ageism just as I experience sexism when I go to a shop. The owners try to steer me to "pretty" coins and maybe some of the jewelry that they also sell. I have been treated rudely as well as gallantly. I usually drive one of my older cars around and don't dress up or have my jewelry on when I go hunting so I'm sure I look kind of indigent! Ha! Usually within a few minutes they know that I've come for a specific piece and am not stupid. If they are rude, I'm out. My cash and I walk. It doesn't happen often but occasionally in my area. I have just 4 or 5 coin shops that I will browse and several that I never will go in again. Their loss. I carry cash and am ready to party. Keep your head up, Bob, and don't get taken.

I am a retailer (not coins) running a five generation old business. I can tell you that a bait and switch is illegal in most places. Not that I think this incident would be big enough to warrant much attention but the state attorney general is usually as high as you could go with such an issue. If the shop is rated by them there is also the better business Bureau and of course a bad yelp review.

From a customer service perspective if an item is miss marked I would have given the customer the lower price. Again, if the price was ON the item that is probably the law. The only time not giving the lower price would be acceptable in my opinion is if the price was on the shelf only, includes a description and another customer clearly put the wrong product there while browsing. Even in that case I would offer a complete explanation and show them the lower priced item if applicable.