@ThePennyLady said:
I have a few numismatic "war" stories (both dealers and customers) and actually wrote a few articles about some of the more memorable dealings I've had (they are also posted on my website). This is one I wrote about that happened several years ago (hence, the "blackberry" reference in the article).
I called this one “Mr. Impatient”
Was this fella once a member here who was banned and is now here under a somewhat toned down alt that is still pretty annoying ?
Other than the one fellow I mentioned, I wracked my brain and can't think of a dealer/collector with whom I just don't see eye to eye. Most of them I know only superficially, regarding their business practices at shows or in online interactions. There is one dealer I can think of at shows I do ... He is a nice enough fellow, quite charming, in fact ... but if someone with more money walks up to his table, he will drop his conversation with you in a heartbeat (literally, mid-syllable) in order to chase the other guy's dollar.
This turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since he has a lot of nice coins, I am usually interested in some of his coins. But I seldom buy anything, as there are other folks who have, I presume, spent more in the past approaching him fairly regularly. It's not like I'm talking him to death, but there's not much consideration for me going on. This is completely his right, but not much of a way to gain new regular customers.
@ThePennyLady said:
I have a few numismatic "war" stories (both dealers and customers) and actually wrote a few articles about some of the more memorable dealings I've had (they are also posted on my website). This is one I wrote about that happened several years ago (hence, the "blackberry" reference in the article).
I called this one “Mr. Impatient”
At times like this the Penny Lady needs to turn the matter over to her alter-ego, the Penny B**** , to handle the customer service.
I have very few bad dealer experiences in
40 plus years of collecting. There is a large Nevada dealer I wouldn’t do business with because of a bad experience a good friend of mine had with them. But I find almost all dealers to be kind and considerate. Lots of fun getting to know them. The friendships you make in this hobby are some of the real treasures you collect.
Perry, this was quite a few years ago, but I think it was only a few hundred dollars, and as far as I know, I didn't do any further business with him. He used to be a member on these boards but left, and I have no idea if he has another alt.
I have found that it really isn't worth letting this kind of stuff get to you, nor does it pay to become "unhinged" with such a disagreeable customer. It's much simpler and easier just to block/ignore the ones that try to take away the enjoyment of what I do.
By the way, I also saved this comic which kind of figts this thread!
I have one more "war story" that I published, this one is called "Mr. Fickle." I don't believe it was ever a member here.
This second installment of my “Dealer War Stories” has to do with a customer who could not make a decision and be satisfied with it – I’ll call him "Mr. Fickle." Mr. Fickle saw a beautiful PCGS MS65 RB two cent piece in my case, asked to see it, and thoroughly examined it. This coin had beautiful luster with lots of eye appeal, but probably only about 30% red. Mr. Fickle said he was interested in the coin but wanted to think about it before making a final decision.
A few days later Mr. Fickle later called and said he wanted to go ahead and buy the coin and asked if we could meet, which I agreed to, no problem. He said he really liked the coin but wanted to cross it to NGC - I know, this is unusual and contrary to what most people usually do, but Mr. fickle said he was "anal retentive" and all his other coins were in NGC holders. (Looking back, I should have seen this first clue that this guy was a bit twisted!)
Mr. Fickle said he also wanted my guarantee that NGC would cross the coin. I told him I would give him a return privilege if it didn’t cross as MS65 but that I thought NGC might give it a brown designation and would not guarantee that NGC would give the coin the RB designation. He said he was ok with this and agreed to keep the coin as long as it crossed to MS65. So he went ahead and bought the coin,
The next week, Mr. Fickle called and told me, as I suspected, that NGC would cross the grade but not the color designation. And guess what? Mr. Fickle had the gonads to ignore our agreement and ask if I would again meet with him so he could return the coin. Wanting to keep my customer happy, I told Mr. Fickle that, even though he was reneging on our agreement, I would work something out with him and told him to just bring the coin to my next local show which was in a couple weeks.
So, of course, Mr. Fickle brought the coin to the show and, to keep him happy, I simply bought it back at the same price he had paid. But Mr. Fickle ended up staying at the show, wandering around looking at coins and began coming back to my table every hour or so to look at the coin which I had put back in my case for sale. Mr. Fickle finally asked if he could show the coin to another dealer which I had no problem with.
Another guess what? When Mr. Fickle brought the coin back, he said he wanted to keep it! WOW! (I later found out the other dealer told him it was a beautiful two cent piece, which it was, and that he was crazy not to keep the coin!) I stared at Mr. Fickle incredulously, asked him if he was in his right mind! He said he really liked the coin and didn’t think he could find a better example. After shaking my head, I eventually agreed to sell it back to him, but with the strictest caveat that this was it and I was COMPLETELY DONE dealing with him about this coin, that THIS TIME THE SALE WAS FINAL NO MATTER WHAT!
Well, a THIRD Guess What? A week later, Mr. Fickel had the gall to call me and ask to return the coin AGAIN! Geese, I couldn't believe it! I should have just hung up on him right then and there, but again trying to be professional and yet maintain good customer relations, I simply reminded him about our agreement, and that he agreed and understood the sale was final. Mr. Fickle responded that he really wanted to return it because now he felt he paid too much for it. OMG!
By now, I was pretty disgusted with this guy and can say I had never dealt with anyone like him ever! Yes, you can say I had a lot of patience with him (in spite of his fickleness and anal retentive ways, he was very nice and amenable). Well, as I mentioned, I strive hard to keep my customers satisfied even though it is extremely frustrating, so I was torn between telling him to get lost and not wanting him to walk away thinking he got ripped off. Yeah, I know, what a dummy I was!
I told him I would think about it, that I wasn't going out of my way to meet him, that he should bring the coin to my next show and I'd let him know whether I would take the coin back AGAIN! So I thought about it and decided that when he showed up at the show, I would charge him a $100 buy back fee for all the trouble and aggravation he caused me. He said he was ok with that.
Believe me, I know I was a sucker and let this guy play me like a fiddle, but I learned a lesson that sometimes you just can’t keep all your customers satisfied, and I will never go through this with anyone again!
A few months later, I saw Mr. Fickle at another show. He came up to my table and began looking at some coins in my case. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was just looking to buy some coins. I simply responded, "Not here, you're not." He looked up at me, saw I was serious, and meekly walked away.
The only dealer with whom I will not do business under any circumstances is the guy who went off on me as if I had done something obscene to a family member of his because I asked him very politely whether I could get an 8% discount on a 11K coin he had for sale and that if he agreed to do so, I would pay him with a check (so he could avoid the 3% C/C fee).
"Vou invadir o Nordeste, "Seu cabra da peste, "Sou Mangueira......."
There are dealers I avoid but it’s for their business practice and not their political stance There are collectors that are notoriously hard to deal with. I avoid this group as well.
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Comments
Was this fella once a member here who was banned and is now here under a somewhat toned down alt that is still pretty annoying ?
No.
Insert witicism here. [ xxx ]
...I already know what your thinking girl...”those clowns need sand, water, and boards without wheels!”
Other than the one fellow I mentioned, I wracked my brain and can't think of a dealer/collector with whom I just don't see eye to eye. Most of them I know only superficially, regarding their business practices at shows or in online interactions. There is one dealer I can think of at shows I do ... He is a nice enough fellow, quite charming, in fact ... but if someone with more money walks up to his table, he will drop his conversation with you in a heartbeat (literally, mid-syllable) in order to chase the other guy's dollar.
This turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since he has a lot of nice coins, I am usually interested in some of his coins. But I seldom buy anything, as there are other folks who have, I presume, spent more in the past approaching him fairly regularly. It's not like I'm talking him to death, but there's not much consideration for me going on. This is completely his right, but not much of a way to gain new regular customers.
Kind regards,
George
There's one bullion guy out of Springfield, IL who is about the rudest individual I've encountered, and needless to say, he's not worth my time.
If Charmy ever gets into Large Cents and comes to St. Louis, I'd make it a point to go see her.
I knew it would happen.
At times like this the Penny Lady needs to turn the matter over to her alter-ego, the Penny B**** , to handle the customer service.
I have very few bad dealer experiences in
40 plus years of collecting. There is a large Nevada dealer I wouldn’t do business with because of a bad experience a good friend of mine had with them. But I find almost all dealers to be kind and considerate. Lots of fun getting to know them. The friendships you make in this hobby are some of the real treasures you collect.
Is there such a thing as a “hinged” political thread?
Latin American Collection
Perry, this was quite a few years ago, but I think it was only a few hundred dollars, and as far as I know, I didn't do any further business with him. He used to be a member on these boards but left, and I have no idea if he has another alt.
I have found that it really isn't worth letting this kind of stuff get to you, nor does it pay to become "unhinged" with such a disagreeable customer. It's much simpler and easier just to block/ignore the ones that try to take away the enjoyment of what I do.
By the way, I also saved this comic which kind of figts this thread!
I have one more "war story" that I published, this one is called "Mr. Fickle." I don't believe it was ever a member here.
This second installment of my “Dealer War Stories” has to do with a customer who could not make a decision and be satisfied with it – I’ll call him "Mr. Fickle." Mr. Fickle saw a beautiful PCGS MS65 RB two cent piece in my case, asked to see it, and thoroughly examined it. This coin had beautiful luster with lots of eye appeal, but probably only about 30% red. Mr. Fickle said he was interested in the coin but wanted to think about it before making a final decision.
A few days later Mr. Fickle later called and said he wanted to go ahead and buy the coin and asked if we could meet, which I agreed to, no problem. He said he really liked the coin but wanted to cross it to NGC - I know, this is unusual and contrary to what most people usually do, but Mr. fickle said he was "anal retentive" and all his other coins were in NGC holders. (Looking back, I should have seen this first clue that this guy was a bit twisted!)
Mr. Fickle said he also wanted my guarantee that NGC would cross the coin. I told him I would give him a return privilege if it didn’t cross as MS65 but that I thought NGC might give it a brown designation and would not guarantee that NGC would give the coin the RB designation. He said he was ok with this and agreed to keep the coin as long as it crossed to MS65. So he went ahead and bought the coin,
The next week, Mr. Fickle called and told me, as I suspected, that NGC would cross the grade but not the color designation. And guess what? Mr. Fickle had the gonads to ignore our agreement and ask if I would again meet with him so he could return the coin. Wanting to keep my customer happy, I told Mr. Fickle that, even though he was reneging on our agreement, I would work something out with him and told him to just bring the coin to my next local show which was in a couple weeks.
So, of course, Mr. Fickle brought the coin to the show and, to keep him happy, I simply bought it back at the same price he had paid. But Mr. Fickle ended up staying at the show, wandering around looking at coins and began coming back to my table every hour or so to look at the coin which I had put back in my case for sale. Mr. Fickle finally asked if he could show the coin to another dealer which I had no problem with.
Another guess what? When Mr. Fickle brought the coin back, he said he wanted to keep it! WOW! (I later found out the other dealer told him it was a beautiful two cent piece, which it was, and that he was crazy not to keep the coin!) I stared at Mr. Fickle incredulously, asked him if he was in his right mind! He said he really liked the coin and didn’t think he could find a better example. After shaking my head, I eventually agreed to sell it back to him, but with the strictest caveat that this was it and I was COMPLETELY DONE dealing with him about this coin, that THIS TIME THE SALE WAS FINAL NO MATTER WHAT!
Well, a THIRD Guess What? A week later, Mr. Fickel had the gall to call me and ask to return the coin AGAIN! Geese, I couldn't believe it! I should have just hung up on him right then and there, but again trying to be professional and yet maintain good customer relations, I simply reminded him about our agreement, and that he agreed and understood the sale was final. Mr. Fickle responded that he really wanted to return it because now he felt he paid too much for it. OMG!
By now, I was pretty disgusted with this guy and can say I had never dealt with anyone like him ever! Yes, you can say I had a lot of patience with him (in spite of his fickleness and anal retentive ways, he was very nice and amenable). Well, as I mentioned, I strive hard to keep my customers satisfied even though it is extremely frustrating, so I was torn between telling him to get lost and not wanting him to walk away thinking he got ripped off. Yeah, I know, what a dummy I was!
I told him I would think about it, that I wasn't going out of my way to meet him, that he should bring the coin to my next show and I'd let him know whether I would take the coin back AGAIN! So I thought about it and decided that when he showed up at the show, I would charge him a $100 buy back fee for all the trouble and aggravation he caused me. He said he was ok with that.
Believe me, I know I was a sucker and let this guy play me like a fiddle, but I learned a lesson that sometimes you just can’t keep all your customers satisfied, and I will never go through this with anyone again!
A few months later, I saw Mr. Fickle at another show. He came up to my table and began looking at some coins in my case. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was just looking to buy some coins. I simply responded, "Not here, you're not." He looked up at me, saw I was serious, and meekly walked away.
The Penny Lady®
The only dealer with whom I will not do business under any circumstances is the guy who went off on me as if I had done something obscene to a family member of his because I asked him very politely whether I could get an 8% discount on a 11K coin he had for sale and that if he agreed to do so, I would pay him with a check (so he could avoid the 3% C/C fee).
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
There are dealers I avoid but it’s for their business practice and not their political stance There are collectors that are notoriously hard to deal with. I avoid this group as well.
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......