Coin Dealers Are Different From Years Ago

We all have a figure in mind of the approximate value of our collection. but if we go to a dealer to sell we get a rude awakening . That's just the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it . that's why there's e-bay or auction house's . This avenue lessens our chances of having a bad day .

Most websites list values that are more in line with slabbed coins, not raw. Are your coins slabbed? Also you need to take into account the amount of overhead a dealer has. Store rent, electricity, employee salaries, taxes, and list goes on and on. Where do you think they come up with that money? It comes from the profits of the sales they make. Therefore they need maximum profit on every single coin. Coins are not flying of the shelf and out the door. Especially in todays market and the fact we are in a Presidential campaign season. Most extra spending on non important items is curbed until after the election. People are afraid of what will happen to their money. I have been a store owner as well as an online dealer of antiques, collectibles, and coins for well over a decade. I will not buy anything in used condition for more than 1/4 to 1/3 of what I feel the true value of it is. My reasoning is this. I know that no one will pay top dollar for ANYTHING anymore because of all of the outlets in which a person can purchase things these days so it is truly a buyers market. This means I need wiggle room to be talked down in price. I also figure that right off the bat about 25% of what I sell an item for will go to cover my expenses such as office products, utilities, rent, show tables and such.

For those that have never been in retail management or ownership you have no concept of what the term "cost of doing business" really means. I can tell you that cost has steadily gone up year after year. All while the customers expect to pay the same or less than what something was valued last year. The collectiles market is EXTREMELY fluid. Meaning that you have got to be able to roll with the trends and react quickly while still maintaining a profit. No profit = no business. My feeling in your case is that you have over valued your collection which is very easy to do as a collector. To you it is personal, with all the time and effort you put into it. The two offers were only $100 apart, which to me means they were spot on for the value of your collection. These guys are thinking with their head not heart. To them it is just business.

I started by selling baseball cards during the mid 1980's up until the late 1990's. For about the first ten years I would pay half book price for everything I bought. Why? Because everybody would pay full book price for everything. This was before ebay, Amazon, and so many other outlets. Now days no one would even consider book price as a buying point. It is just not the same marketplace anymore. The dealers have not changed, the market has.

Been at coin dealing for going on 43 years full and part time . I assure you it is a very tough way to make an easy living.
It is a real buyers market right now for run of the mill coins in most areas of USA and world numismatics.
It is very easy to buy at about 30 to 35 per cent on the dollar or less for average coins. Really nice coins still bring decent money but can take longer to sell.
The recent ANA in Dallas was pretty quiet on the first two days , and I overheard a conversation between two very prominent dealers both mentioning that they needed some time on a fifty grand deal . Just a sign of the times I guess,

In my LCS, they pay 75-85% of melt for common date silver and gold coins, but these are sold very quickly to their customers, so their money is not tied up for long. Royal Canadian Mint products, on the other hand, are often a tough sell, so they might offer 30-35% of catalogue, knowing that they might sit on them for a year.

So whether it was a fair offer really depends on what was offered. Interesting that 2 dealers offered something almost identical.