Why Would Someone Do This?

Quote: "Or in Hungary Silver is used to make Bullets or something like that."

Silver Hungarian Bullets? I would LOVE to hear about that Just Carl!

"Well......we're waiting!"

p.s. Biggfredd, I gave my best shot at answering your token question!

Ammunition for the Lone Ranger.

Help me out here. What I'm reading is that you went into a dealer's shop and asked about trading some silver for gold. When he said he'd do this, he did not actually see what you had at that time? Because if I read this right, you went back with the goods, and then got what you thought was a low-ball offer on some of the stuff? After he saw the items? and you wonder why he's changed his offer? Am I confused, or on the right track?

Keep in mind ebay may be a good resource for some, but you're comparing a web site that has millions of viewers to a local brick and mortar store with more overhead than the average eBayer, with fewer "viewers" of his merchandise. When you factor in ebay's fees, how much is a seller really making?

At flea markets and yard sales I hear all the time "this item sold on ebay for $XXX.00. I have even seen some people print out an ebay auction of a similar item and tape to the item for sale. My response is always, "Then just put it on ebay", here's my offer, I have cash in hand, you don't have to pack it and ship it, and there are no additional fees involved. If they still believe they can get the asking price, more power to them. They ain't getting it from me.

So I'm tending to side with the dealer here. He (or anybody else in his position) is not going to give you an even-up, one for one trade. He still has to make a profit.

"Troll"? You got on here ranting (your word, not mine) about not getting what you wanted from a local dealer. I gave you my perspective on this deal, based on what you wrote. Your only response is to call me a troll. Too many times people go into retail shops, and expect the dealer to pay retail prices for what they have to offer, missing the whole wholesale verses retail pricing. Then they get on a message board and rant and rave about poor customer service, or how they are being ripped off, hoping the majority of responsers stroke their hands and soothe their egos.

Understand that you are not the customer in this case, the dealer is. His offer is more than likely based on a number of factors, including how much he can make on these items. The profit is based not only on what he pays verses what he can sell it for, but also how much it costs him to open and close the store, keep the lights on, pay his employees (and this includes more than just the hourly wage). His costs also include how long an item will sit before he can sell it, and is he selling it to a retail market, or another wholesaler at less than the value of the coin. It also includes the amount of interest he is paying on the loans he has to have the capital to buy stock.

This is simple, basic, Economics 101.

Comparing the ASE's to the Maria Theresas, the ASE is a US Mint product, familiar to most US collectors and investors. He probably has a ready market for these and can move them reasonably fast. He may not have a ready local market for the MT's, and is looking at selling them wholesale to another dealer. You also state he is not a coin dealer, but basically a jewelry store/metal dealer. So again, he may be familiar with ASE's but not with the MT's, and felt he can move the Eagles faster. You said he offered you $10 each for the MT's, and they go on ebay for $23-24. So if he has to move them using ebay, he has at best a $14 dollar margin for profit (assuming he actually gets that amount at the end of his auction), out of which comes his store costs, shipping costs, and ebay and possibly PayPal fees.

Whether you wanted to sell these outright or trade for something else, it is unreasonable to expect a retailer to give you even-up for what you have to offer (see profit above). It may get you a better deal than simply selling outright, but it will not get you one-for-one in trade.

So, if I'm missing something, please clarify what you're try to say in your intial post. If I'm wrong because I misunderstood, I'll admit it. If you simply just don't agree with what I said because I'm not holding your hand, man up and respond with something other than "troll". Argue your point. You may actually change my opinion. But you're not gonna do that simply with a forum-yard retort.

All that can be said has been said.