| Author |
 Replies: 25 / Views: 4,488 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
In my quest to find a comparable Shield nickel for my 7070, I inquired about a potential candidate through supposedly a major coin dealer. Email traffic is good, but the contact says that he cannot provide images of the coin, but... Hello John, Sorry for the delay. I am unable to image this coin but I would describe it as a nice, eye appealing, light grey colored coin. You can buy with confidence knowing that you always get a return privilege at XYZ Rare Coin." I asked if the coin had any cracks, which would be a "good" thing. He replied " Yes, there are allot of die cracks on both sides of the coin." In my last message I asked if he could take a clear image with his cell phone, something, anything! Would one think that mentioning the "cracks" that it would be beneficial to the potential buyer? If the buyer wanted a "crack free" coin and got this one, they may be very disappointed. How can a Coin Shop not be able to provide images, especially on request? I certainly realize that is the way it used to be done before the Internet (thanks Al Gore!) through mail order, which I have done. C'mon, step into the 21st Century and we all know the old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words"...or dollars. ...or did I wake on the wrong side of the bed today? Edited by oih82w8
12/19/2012 09:42 am
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
I am on your side here, I would be very hesitant to buy a coin if the dealer could no provide pictures. Eye appeal for the buyer is huge, he is a salesman, so of course he is going to say it looks great.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
8516 Posts |
Tell him to have his grandson show him how to post a pic lol.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
7840 Posts |
The coin is probably in a bank safety deposit box with his entire inventory and he makes a trip there two-three times a week for sales pick-ups. No images is worse than bad images.
Then how can he say that "...allot die cracks on both sides of the coin"? Perhaps he has a good memory?
Edited by oih82w8
12/19/2012 2:45 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
627 Posts |
In the year 2012 (soon to be 2013), there is absolutely NO excuse for not being able to provide images of a coin. Even if they are "so-so" quality images, at least you have something on which to base your decision. I would move on to another seller.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
Unfortunately in this day and age disseminating photos of your coins without the ability to watermark them, makes you walk that line between facilitating your sales and facilitating fraudsters who want to use your images for illegal sales using pictures of your real coins.
The only real reason I could think of
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
919 Posts |
If he has no desire to take photos why should he start now? Maybe he enjoys what he is doing and sells what he wants/needs to. If he has a following those people trust his word. The fact that he takes returns should cover any problems.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
613 Posts |
selling without photos = not wanting to sell all that much.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
4038 Posts |
Does he sell a lot of coins online? Does he have a website? Many B&M stores have no reason or interest in photographing their coins, even if they are trying to sell them remotely. Only ones that have photo capabilities are the ones who sell on ebay, or have a website that nets them a good % of their revenue. I have spoken with a few local shops, quite large ones, who do have a small online presence, and asked them if they do their own imaging or if they need imaging done for them. They invariably say "why would I need to take pictures of my coins?". Contact me for photographic equipment or visit my home page at: http://macrocoins.com |
|
Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
You can't force people to adopt new technology. If they've been doing business successfully for years, they're not going to see a need to change the way they do things.
I know a dealer who's still doing things the really old-fashioned way. No computer, no e-mails, no Internet, nothing post-1990. He still types out his sales lists on an ink-and-ribbon typewriter, photocopies them and snail-mails them out to his regular customers. He doesn't have a B&M storefront, either; apart from the local coin shows, those lists are his only advertising/sales medium.
He's also got the best range of modern world coins of any dealer in the state - the coins he sells are much more modern than his business model. So I'll continue doing business with him for as long as he's in business.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
919 Posts |
Sap, those are the places I love to shop. So much history to be told.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
One of the local guys I go to said that he doesn't bother with trying to sell online because it is way too much work as you get a lot of inquiries but very few actual sales.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
716 Posts |
As an older coin collector I would like to offer a possible defense to this coin store owner who will not (or cannot) post pictures. I can empathize with him. When I went to school and college there were no personal computers. I never learned to use a computer until my employer required that I learn in order to perform my job. That was in the late 90's. My children and even my grandchildren know more about technology today then I will ever learn. This is because they have been brought up with it and exposed to it their whole lives. After reading some of these posts, I know a lot of you are very savvy technologically. For me, its like I am constantly playing catch up. I finally have become fairly proficient on a computer and then something new comes out, and I feel lost all over again. Don't get me wrong I am content at my level of expertise and will continue to muddle along. Just maybe that is how this coin dealer feels.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
3276 Posts |
He'll go out of business fast if he doesn't care about buyers. He might have just lost a buyer because he couldn't (was too lazy) provide a photo. That's nonsense.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
This would be like going to a coin show and not being able to see the coin before you buy.
Appearances are everything and pictures speak volumes. Whic is why I even photograph the $1 coins I sell.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
Well, I'm certainly in the minority on this one. I know nothing of that particular dealer, or his motives. But I do know successful coin dealers that had websites and closed them down for lack of ROI. A good dealer has a LOT of coins, and not as much markup as some might think. Some dealers want to sell to a given segment he feels he does well with. One of my friends that deals in coins does ALL the major and regional shows. I consider him to be the most professional dealer I have ever encountered. I bet that even if I emailed him and asked him to photograph a coin so I can see it, he would refuse. I suppose the best reason I understand is from TRYING to sell things through Craigs list or classifieds. :-) Just my Two Cents. The person you are dealing with may be a scoundrel for all I know. I'm just saying I don't think refusing to take photos is evidence of that. |
| |
Replies: 25 / Views: 4,488 |
Posted 12/19/2012 09:32 am
