Coin Show Question On Prices

Yes, always has been and hopefully always will. Isn't that the very definition of ebay?

ALWAYS...Haggle
I have made many deals after the "book" has come out.
Most dealers play the game. Those that don't, rarely get my business.
Those that don't haggle, listen to them talk throughout the show, they generally complain that they have had a bad show (low sales)
Obviously, I want the best deal for my money and they want the best for theirs. Even if it is only an extra dollar or two.
As long as they play the game, I generally buy, Even if it is only an extra dollar or two.
You need to now what you want to pay, within reason, and pitch a bit below that and work up to a middle ground.
Don't pitch to much of a low-ball though.
Haggling is as fun as the search

Haggling is good but dont be annoying. I know one guy that goes to shows and asks for %50 off. He pushes and pushes and then wont buy. None of the dealers like him at all and will not be very nice to him.

I have learned just by default that the coin market is a very small world. Everyone loves a bargain, but never poop where you eat. Besides being labeled as overly shrewed or aggressive by dealers...it is also bad mojo to low-ball someone.

I live in California but frequently travel all over so I have gotten to see many dealers home brick and mortar shops. You realize how small of a world it is when for instance you are 2000 miles from home and someone remembers you from a show sometime in the past. You do a double-take on the business card and the persons face and BOOM you remember him/her.

"Hahahahah Yes I still have that flying eagle and love it"...you paid XXX for it...does it really matter since you got the cup of coffee and a handshake that the seller will remember you literally years later as a customer, and remembers your specific interests.

All depends on who you are and what you are trying to accomplish. For me it is all about copper so most remember me.

With the above said- No, of course don't waste your hard earned money spending more than you have to. But remember that this hobby is unique in respects that as years pass by, the shady ones don't last. Collectors OR Dealers...........

Directly asking about a discounts is never considered rude unless it is pushed or repeated.

Almost all shows of all kinds are basically specialized flea markets. A coin show is nothing but a coin flea market. Same with gun shows, knife shows, camera shows, computer shows, etc. I've been going to about 2 to 4 coin shows a month for many, many years and so far I've never found a dealer that sells for the marked prices on their coins. Coins that have no prices are sort of the dangerous ones. With those a dealer first looks you over to see if they can figure out what you'll pay, then quote a price. Most dealers I know well tell me if they mark prices on coins, they inflate them from 25% to 30% lately. They used to inflate prices by only 10% to 20% but since more and more customers get to know prices they start that haggling right off so the dealers right away drop the prices 10% to 20%. Then to really make the customer happy, they might just drop the price a little more so they eventurally get what they wanted anyway.
From all the coin shows I go to I would say anyone that pays even close to what a dealer is asking really needs to study prices more.
When I find a dealer that will not drop the prices by at least 15%, he looses me forever. Of course they really don't care to much lately since there are so many new, unknowing customers appearing.

Odd you should mention that. Last Sunday at a coin show I was looking at some coins when someone next to me said could I see that one as he pointed at a coin. He looked at the price on the 2x2 and said not bad, I'll take it. He didn't even ask about lowering the price and it was really, really over priced.
At all the coin shows around me I'd say 75% of all dealers have a price on 2x2's in the lower right corner. On slabs, a circular sticker on the reverse. Others have a code on the rear of 2x2's that they tells them how much they have in that coin and how much they could sell it for regardless of any price guides.
I always say 2x2's where in fact about 90% of all the dealers now use those 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 inch size flips. This is really irritating since I used to carefully open the 2x2's, white out any info and reuse them. Those smaller size ones are just to small for that so I have to cut them open.
Here is one more tip for coin shows. If you have some that you go to regularly, make sure you talk to all the dealers so they remember you. This helps in coin prices too but I've found out something else. Many, many dealers purchase coin albums from people. They remove all the coins for to put into flips. Many of them just throw out the albums. If you get to know them, as if you could have some of those albums. One dealer at coin shows has now given me close to a few hundred of them. I don't use most of them but give them to people that could and keep all the Whitman Classic Albums for me.
Not long ago that dealer gave me a box with abaout 40 albums in there and all free, free, free.

Greysheet. I also get coins at or below bid. Most coin dealers have a code usually marked on the back of the flip or written down somewhere. As BadThad pointed out, you generally never see prices written down and if so, are definitely higher than the ask price. Don't be afraid to haggle. Most dealers want to move their inventory and will be willing to work with you on the price a little. They still want to make a profit obviously.

I used to try to do that but found in many instances it is a waste of time. Many dealers use a code that relates to their inventory system or something in their own book keeping. Some change their code periodically to some extent for just moderazationing. One dealer told me his code is just a joke. Since so many do use a code, he just puts some stuff there to fool people. Could be telling the truth, who knows. Then the code is sort of meaningless for us if not really a code, one that relates to something we don't have. If you purchase a large amount from one dealer and try to figure out the code with multiple items, it may well not work.