Thoughts On Collector Ethics--And Dealer Ethics

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 918
KurtS Pillar of the Community United States 5318 Posts	Posted 05/11/2008 11:12 pm I saw this excerpt in a newsletter on the subject of collector's ethics at coin shows, which I think merits discussion: Quote: Don't be a cheapskate - Always try to spend at least $20 or more any time you tie up a spot at a dealer's table for an hour or more. Find something you like if the pick bin doesn't meet the minimum purchase. Before attempting to quantify what a "cheapskate" might be, it wouldn't hurt to quickly cover some basic points of collector's ethics, such as: Don't conduct transactions with other collectors at dealer tables or shops, respect a dealer's time and table space, and negotiate on price with both party's best interests in mind. That much is obvious without getting into details, but what about being a cheapskate? Personally, "cheapskate" never enters my mind at shows. Simply put, if a dealer has a coin for a price I like, I'll buy it. Conversely, I'm not going to buy anything I don't want. Doing that wouldn't be collector courtesy; but a subsidy. Along those lines, here's a few observations I have for dealers at shows—or on their "home turf", ie. shops: • Welcome the collector and take an interest in what they collect. Shouldn't this be obvious? Yet, there are perhaps 1/20 dealers who approach me in this way. • If you amassed a horde of overpriced cull coins, don't be surprised if a collector shows little or zero interest. I've lost count of the piles of junk I've seen at shows that have little numismatic value. • Disclose any cleaned or problem coins up front. If you hand me a folder of "MSRD" copper coins, which under a loupe are obviously whizzed—you've lost my trust forever. • Do you practice the "art" of grading up your coins, while grading down the coins you buy? Don't expect to earn a collector's trust this way. • Do you know the best way to make money? If you think it's by selling overgraded or cleaned coins, you're mistaken. If you make wise purchasing decisions and pass the value on to the collector, you will establish lasting business relationships. At shows my average purchase price to book value is about 1:5, and I would expect a dealer to be even better at buying inventory. • If you currently spend 80% of your time trading bullion, and show little interest in the collector.what happens when your bullion sales decline? You've just lost a significant portion of your customer base. • If you consider yourself a "businessman," here's an idea from the business world: invite your customers to fill out an anonymous survey on your service, selection, and quality of inventory. Whether or not you like the results, it will be invaluable info for your business. And, you've gained a measure of trust just by your efforts. Just a few thoughts here, which I'll later incorporate into a finished article. Thanks for reading. Edited by KurtS 05/12/2008 01:12 am Report this Post to the Staff

jbuck Moderator United States 188191 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 12:14 am Good stuff and well said! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
Peter THOMAS Pillar of the Community Australia 2830 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 01:35 am G'day, hear ! hear ! and all that ... I've thought about this for more than hour since I first read it. It strikes me that "ethical" trading is also "good business". Unless all one wants is a "fast buck". I'm not restricting myself to coins here: dealers that are honest get recommendations. They get customers from well-outside their obvious catchment. They get return-business. Customers keep on buying, with confidence, rather than abandonning the arena because of unreliability (E-Prey, please note). So, conforming to the standards described by KurtS, are consistent with business-longevity. The others ? I think they get what they deserve, and I'm sure we've all seen examples in a variety of industries. Peter Report this Post to the Staff
ericnh Valued Member United States 109 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 02:08 am Excellent points. You are absolutely right about the dealer should be paying attention to his customer. I was in a coin shop recently finishing off my Lincoln collection, and asked the helper behind the counter if they had any Lincoln's in the back specifically some higher grade keys to upgrade. He pulls out a box with exactly what I was looking for. I picked out a really nice 31-s graded ms-64 and some others too. Asked the guy behind the counter for a price and he went into the back to speak to the owner. He comes back and said that he wasn't supposed to show me those as they needed to be priced and inventoried. I told him I didn't think it was a big deal to price them since they were already graded by him, but the helper wouldn't budge. I had some coins already picked out before that, nice coins about $300 worth, and gave them back to him. I kept a few, but only ended up spending about $50. Obviously the dealer didn't need my business. The thing is I like to give local dealers my business even if it usually ends up costing a little more than if I bought them on the internet. Sometimes I like to satisfy my instant gratification, and most of the time I like to do my part in keeping these guys in retail. I think good retail stores help the hobby. That guy lost me as a customer, and my money too. Report this Post to the Staff
ragpicker Valued Member United States 198 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 1:45 pm I don't think that there is a minimum for buying at a dealer's table. If you come to my table, go ahead and dig all you want in the junk box, that's what it's there for. The rest of the points are very good though. Report this Post to the Staff
eaglefoot Pillar of the Community United States 6326 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 1:57 pm Kurt...... Definitely well said and although thought provoking it's absolutely correct. These ethics should be followed by everyone, if nothing else, just common courtesy for some situations. The old common saying we've all heard before comes to mind....... "Treat others how you would like to be treated yourself". Selfishness is not a good trait to have and will often come back to bite you in the butt !... Ragpicker........ Nice Avatar !.......LoL Edited by eaglefoot 05/12/2008 1:59 pm Report this Post to the Staff
KurtS Pillar of the Community United States 5318 Posts	Posted 05/12/2008 4:27 pm Peter—agreed! I also think you get back what you put in. In regards to "E-Prey" (lol), I think they're making far too many assumptions about a "guaranteed" customer base, where they're trying to leverage profit vs. improving service and winning back customers. Granted, they're making overtures to service, but I'm still not enthused to return there. I hope Oztion provides a better alternative for Australians--and ebay keeps their hands off! "Obviously the dealer didn't need my business." A few local dealers here won't let me even look at coins I want because they have a big buyer (often Littleton—believe it or not). And what does Littleton do? They turn around those coins with a huge markup—hardly a source I want to use! I consider this a broken business model that may inflate coin "values" to unsustainable levels which could someday reverse. The same could be said for how the nutty slabbing industry has pushed up coin prices via market grading and the "investor" frenzy for anything slabbed by the top TPGs. Common courtesy should be the rule, and someday the collector will again prevail, and dealers that remain in business will do so by deserving collector loyalty. I've found a few good dealers at shows that I'll give return business. On the local scene, finding a dealer with quality inventory is much harder because the majority of their business is in bullion. Edited by KurtS 05/12/2008 6:22 pm Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 918

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