I am writing this because of an experience I had this week, and also that I do not think we show our appreciation for others as much as we should. For those that answer this thread I would like it if you would please let us know if you are a dealer or buyer and something you do, or have had happen to you to show us your appreciation.
Buyer.
I do not like to talk about my personal life that much, and after reading through other threads many are just like me, I lost by job about six months ago along with what ever we could sell to survive. Through it all, my wife insisted that I save my coin set and keep working on it when I can and if need be, it will be a great trade in for when times hit complete rock bottom. When this happened, we had to move and leaving everything behind you love so much is really difficult, especially the friendships that I have with that local coin store.
As I have been in this new area I have tried to find a new hangout but always seem to find something wrong with them and it was not until this week I knew why: no personal connection with the customers. Many of the stores around here deal with certain coins and clientele but not a perfect blend of all. I have been trying to get my kids more involved with collecting but the way they are treated makes them not want to go back. After five months I did find a place that will suit my needs and are glad to have kids in the store and give them some type of gift as they leave.
Now to the point... I had to go back to where I lived this week to get some information and items from my previous employer (4.5 hour drive each way) and made sure that I had time to stop by my favorite coin store. As I pulled up they recognized me right away and treated me as if I had never left. They pulled up chairs and talked to me as if we were long lost friends and that every thing that came out of my mouth was so important. They remembered what I collect and went out of their way to find the items I wanted to look at and others that may have been of interest. As I was looking through their container of Indian Head's the owner was telling me a story that recently happened to him and another customer. The customer was going through the same container and came upon a 1908S that he quickly pointed to the owner. The owner returned the same excitement as the customer and sold it to him for the $1.50 price listed on the container. The next week the owner dumped a few more rolls in and the same customer found another 1908S from the new batch. The owner again gave him the coin for the original asking price and went on his way. The owner told me how great it was to see a key date found in that container and the joy the guy had on his face, the only part he was sad about was that two different people did not find them.
As I sat there for the afternoon, I watched the way they treated everyone and the respect that was given back. If it was a regular customer there was always a little discount, a free item or a free upgrade given. If you were a new customer, time was set aside for you to understand what you were looking at and time to find exactly what you were looking for. Even as a new customer, they were treated the same as people that have always been going there and the fact they try to know who everyone is helps the experience. My question is: why can't we all be like this?
Coin collecting is a common bond we all have no matter what exactly we collect. A genuine respect is given to everyone on this board because of the same interest we share and love, but why is it when there are four walls around us things change. I do not expect to get a discount every where I go, but a feeling of being equals for the hobby. Too many people around here (where I live) have lost the hobby spirit and have turned it into a profit driven job. My biggest proof for that is our area for members to buy and sell items and the Internet auction sites. On this board, people mark the prices 10-60% lower than the actual price while other sites want to sell for more than it is worth. I have not bought that much from this site, but have been more than impressed with the items I have and the members that sold them to me. To me, this board is what the hobby is really about: fun. So not only am I writing this to thank my favorite dealer but also to the people on this board that make us all want to keep the hobby going.
Posted 08/30/2009 03:24 am
