200 for a collection I got 8k for in 7 weeks. The guy was a true rat. He does the "guy walks in and gets a stunning deal on gold" while you're selling.
I called him out on it on Google and it stuck for months but eventually got taken down. He threatened slander and I told him I would be happy to share my helmet cam footage with his "attorney" and never heard anything again.
There are still reviews that spell it out if you connect the dots.
@Alltheabove76 said:
I had a dealer offer me $300 for this coin about 5 years ago.
That's the kind of coin dealer that makes all of the dealers look bad! Everybody has to make a few bucks but ripping people off it just an ****** ** thing to do
A 1795 half dime for $1,300 in 1974. The coin had initials scratched into the neck of Ms. Liberty with a patch of scratches over them to hide the fact. It might have been worth $350 at the time. When I passed up the deal, he asked me why because it was, "a good deal." I told him about the problem, and he said, " I was going to tell you about that,"
Yea, right, and people wonder why I don't believe in "tooth fairy" people in the profession who have "great names." Learn to spot problems for yourself. If you don't only the decent people are going to do it for you if you are lucky.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
This was a long time ago. I had a 1902-O Morgan dollar graded by PCGS as MS65DMPL. At the time, the "sheet" price was $3,000, and I was offering it to some dealers at a show expecting to get offers in the lower $2,000's.
Several dealers said they didn't sell DMPL dollars, and suggested that I offer it to this one dealer on the floor who specialized them. I showed him the coin, and he said, "Wow! That's so bright, it nearly blinded me!" So, he looks it over, front and back, looks at his "sheet" and then asks what I wanted for it. I said, "Twenty-two hundred." He reached into his pocket and got out his wallet, and then pulled out a $20 bill and two $1 bills, and extended his arm to give them to me.
I told him, "I said, the price was TWENTY-TWO HUNDRED!" He responded, saying, "Sonny..." (he was an elder gentleman), "there's no way it's worth that much." I told him that I knew the date was common, but rare in DMPL, and that's why it's worth my asking price. He looked at me and said, "Oh, and who says it's a real DMPL?" I responded, saying, "PCGS does!" As I walked away, he called after me, asking if I really wasn't going to accept his offer!!
The next coin show I was at, I sold to a dealer for the full sheet price of $3K.
Pretentious know it all dealer offered me $50 for a monster toned 1969-D half in PCGS MS67. Had it stickered $2400 and wanted to wholesale it. He told me he sold them all day for $100 but oddly didn't have any for sale when I offered to buy all he had. I sold the coin for slightly under my sticker to James Sego minutes later. I was so irritated by the dealers offer I went and told him I sold the coin for near my sticker and he didn't have much to say. Keep in mind the lowest auction record at the time of this incident was $1880, with a max of $4300.
I think it's awful for dealers to make such offers for coins, if moderns aren't your thing, kindly pass. Don't try to rip someone on a several thousand percent profit offer.
On a positive note I've always had positive experiences dealing with James Sego. Straight forward honest offers and overall a class act.
It's hard not to get insulted by an extreme lowball offer, but $300 for the 1793 Cap would have just made me start chuckling (after the initial shock wore off). That dealer must have been living in a bear cave since 1943, and he just came out of hibernation that very morning.
@rhedden said:
It's hard not to get insulted by an extreme lowball offer, but $300 for the 1793 Cap would have just made me start chuckling (after the initial shock wore off). That dealer must have been living in a bear cave since 1943, and he just came out of hibernation that very morning.
The coin was repaired so he told me that > @rhedden said:
It's hard not to get insulted by an extreme lowball offer, but $300 for the 1793 Cap would have just made me start chuckling (after the initial shock wore off). That dealer must have been living in a bear cave since 1943, and he just came out of hibernation that very morning.
I was on a road trip with my wife and had a good number of my large cents for sale that I was going to take to a coin show. Stopped for lunch and saw a coin dealer in Grove, OK so I thought I would go in and play dumb to see what a dealer would tell me some of my coins are worth and what he would offer me.
It was a rape attempt to say the least. The coin above I later sold for 10K. It was in NGC slab as repaired. If it had not been repaired its probably about 50K coin.
I called him out on it on Google and it stuck for months but eventually got taken down. He threatened slander and I told him I would be happy to share my helmet cam footage with his "attorney" and never heard anything again.
There are still reviews that spell it out if you connect the dots.
Helmet cam...... Did you parachute in through his skylight ?
Many decades ago before third party grading I offered a B&M coin dealer a high grade Saint. This was when gold was relatively cheap and high grade Saints carried a decent premium over melt value. The dealer told me it was a counterfeit but offered to buy it at below melt value. I never went back to that crooked dealer again.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Not to me but a friend: dealer submitted his roll of 20 Indian Gold $10, all came back MS63, 64, and several 65, but one "got lost' in transit; dealer offered $500 in trade for the lost coin, which was likely a 66 or better that he removed from the return shipment.
This was a long time ago. I had a 1902-O Morgan dollar graded by PCGS as MS65DMPL. At the time, the "sheet" price was $3,000, and I was offering it to some dealers at a show expecting to get offers in the lower $2,000's.
Several dealers said they didn't sell DMPL dollars, and suggested that I offer it to this one dealer on the floor who specialized them. ** I showed him the coin, and he said, "Wow! That's so bright, it nearly blinded me!" So, he looks it over, front and back, looks at his "sheet" and then asks what I wanted for it. I said, "Twenty-two hundred." He reached into his pocket and got out his wallet, and then pulled out a $20 bill and two $1 bills, and extended his arm to give them to me.**
Man I'd be too tempted to grab his money and slap him in the face with it. I hate when vendors do that crap. It's not funny and you make yourself look like a sad idiot.
Whenever I hear tactics like that I know the person isn't gonna pay a dime for a dollar.
Years ago when I lived in New Jersey there was this dealer in a neighboring town who had the reputation for making low ball offers. I had an 1837 No Stars Dime I wanted to sell, and I took it to him. It was a VF-EF, and the Gray Sheet bid was about $100 at the time. He put on a pair stereo viewerers and looked at it. His offer was $20.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Mine's not quite as egregious as some of the other stories, but it's still ludicrous. It occurred about a decade ago.
I was looking to sell a duplicate 1904-S Barber Half. The coin was a legitimate XF40, in PCGS plastic, problem-free, great-looking original coin.
Had a dealer offer me $38 for it.
After my stunned and not-so-polite reaction, he told me that it would probably sit in his inventory for years because "collectors don't buy common dates like this one" so his offer had to account for that.
I told him to look at the slab again, because it's a 1904-S, not a 1904.
He said he knew what the date was but that there was simply too much wear on my coin for it to be desirable to other collectors.
My current coin collecting interests are: (1) British coins 1838-1970 in XF-AU-UNC, (2) silver type coins in XF-AU with that classic medium gray coloration and exceptional eye appeal.
I don’t sell all that often so don’t have any crazy ones but one time I tried selling a 1/4 ounce AGE which at the time I could have sold on eBay in 4 minutes and netted over spot after the fees and was offered 75-80% from a coin shop with all 5 star reviews that I was giving a shot. If she would have just said we don’t do a lot of bullion and we have a high margin because of that I would have just moved on but she treated me like an idiot and said “I’ll call the owner and see if he can make an exception for a new customer” and probably didn’t even dial anyone and had a fake conversation with herself then all of a sudden the offer became 93%. I said no thanks and as I was walking out she said “you’re not expecting spot for that are you? That doesn’t happen anymore”.
I walked into another LCS and asked if he was interested and he said “yep, is spot good with you?”
@BarberFanatic said:
Mine's not quite as egregious as some of the other stories, but it's still ludicrous. It occurred about a decade ago.
I was looking to sell a duplicate 1904-S Barber Half. The coin was a legitimate XF40, in PCGS plastic, problem-free, great-looking original coin.
Had a dealer offer me $38 for it.
After my stunned and not-so-polite reaction, he told me that it would probably sit in his inventory for years because "collectors don't buy common dates like this one" so his offer had to account for that.
I told him to look at the slab again, because it's a 1904-S, not a 1904.
He said he knew what the date was but that there was simply too much wear on my coin for it to be desirable to other collectors.
Some dealers simply don't have the retail customers for some coins. For that reason they have to pay less.
On the other hand, if you are worth your salt as a dealer, you KNOW which dealers do have the customers and you direct the piece toward them.
Yes the dealer would probably pay you less than than the specialist dealer, but he should have brains enough to know that it doesn't have to sit in his inventory for years.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Another 'bad' offer, this time from a local dealer. He offered me an altered half cent for about $1.6K. When he saw that I noticed the alteration, he then said that it wasn't really for sale to a collector. Riiight!
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
About 12 years ago I owned a 16-D Merc in an old Anacs 3 holder. I showed it to a dealer and he said he was interested, but since it wasn't PCGS, he would only go $150.00. At the time it seems like they were selling for around $600.00. No idea what they are now.
A 1955 Franklin Half in Deep cam, dealer offered me $85 because he said it was only 'cameo' and it was in a ACG slab, so I asked him, OK, how much for me to crack it out and sell it to youraw? Still $85 (IT WAS A $500 COIN)
Back in the early 1990's (I think), when I was living in Utah, I stopped by a coin shop, whose owner is well known, to buy a silver Ike in a gem-superb grade for a type coin album. The owner quoted me $225, and I reflexively laughed at him. After a few 'OK's, he dropped the price to $75 (what it was worth). I bought it and never bought anything else from him again.
I was in a shop in Arizona about 10 years ago, and the owner handed me a raw AU55ish Liberty double eagle that he had bought from a walk-in the day before. He and I always got along quite well, so we discussed that coin, and he said he was pissed that he bought the coin because he later realized it was a counterfeit. That week, mass marketers were set up in a local hotel, and were buying coins (aka ripping off people who didn't know better)--this pissed off local B&M dealers, based on what several of them told me. While I was still in the shop, the owner handed that coin to his wife--she then sold it to one of the marketers as a genuine piece.
Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
About 10 years ago, Had a 1799 Large cent in PCGS 12, was looking to sell, decent coin, not fantastic, but not bad either. took to a well known copper dealer , offer was 2k. I was floored, sold it to another national dealer an hour later in Baltimore for 12,500.00
also a few years after that, a well known indian cent dealer offered me a low ball ridiculous offer for my 1856 flyer, I passed, then about 5 min later , an associate of his tracked me down the isle and told me he was ashamed that his boss offered so low, and that he would pay a much fairer price privately for the coin, and we made the deal.
I had three of the 2006 Silver Eagle 3 piece Anniversary sets. Took them to the (then) big local dealer to sell and he offered me melt. I thought it an unfunny joke, until he irritably told me that was their value. I drove across town to another much smaller coin dealer who quickly paid $240 for each set. IIRC this was in the summer of 2011.
I believe I shared this before, but I also offered to sell that same first dealer an original roll of BU 1964 quarters. He offered me $10 for those. I did make an inappropriate comment about his sanity before leaving.
That was my first ever foray into selling coins I had purchased, and although naive, it was obvious something was very, very wrong at that store. Turns out I was one of the lucky ones.
With respect to Wabbit's post, the link below is part of that same individual's claim to infamy.
@Wabbit2313 said:
Let's name some names here, just to keep the place honest.
Agree. I think you would be shocked at how many would be well known national dealers including more than a few who participate here. I'm guessing that more than a few of these crooked dealers have to rip off unknowledgeable sellers who don't know what they have just to stay in business.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I was at a major show here a few years ago shopping around a 1915 Lincoln in MS 65 bn (PCGS I think) anyway, a major penny Dealer offered me $15.
When I sell now I don't play dumb. I just tell the Dealer what I want, basically yes or no. I usually price about 15% back of Gray Sheet and leave a few bucks wiggle room for counteroffers.
Unless the Dealer has a specific customer in mind for your coins THEY WILL lowball you. That's just how they operate.
If you do what you always did, you get what you always got.
When I was in high school approx 1981, I bought a 14k white gold wedding band out of a garage sale cheap. Took to the local coin dealer, who talked me into trading it for a BU common Morgan. I was later was made whole when he sold me a VG 1876 20c as an 1876 quarter. This guy was both a crook and incompetent. He later went bankrupt and was convicted of child molestation.
About 4 years ago, I was selling off some extras, using Craigslist, and a person asked me what I would pay for a PCGS 1934-S Peace Dollar, MS64, and a 1913-S Barber Quarter, F12. I was working on a set of Peace in MS64, but did not have NEARLY the amount needed to buy it, and no real interest in the Barber, not my thing. He reiterated what would I pay, and sent me pictures of the coins, with all the numbers on it, and the owner's name (his deceased aunt). I knew where this was going.
I bounced it over to a friend at Heritage, and he confirmed the names, and that both coins were legit. The man came to where I was living (temporary assignment in California) and we talked about coins, he looked at my extra stuff, a lot of odd ball things, 2 cent , 3 cent, 20 cent, and some binders of semi complete Lincolns, no keys or semi keys. He was maybe 28 or so, knew his stuff, and his ID checked out that he was the nephew of his aunt, and had a letter from her, gifting him the coins. It was all he had.
Why so much data and information? He was getting divorced, and needed to sell to pay for a new apartment, as he was getting custody of his 2 IIRC children, and pay his attorney. He told me what he had been offered, and I was stunned.
It was about 10% of PCGS price guide. In his words, he had been treated poorly by ". .. . Coin ....Dealers " because of his race and his age. Comments about him stealing them, comments about them calling the cops on him, etc. He was very upset.
I told him I did not have the money they were worth. IIRC, I had less than 40% of the price guide, and he said that was more than enough to cover his bills, and would not take even that much. He pushed a couple $100's back, and said it was worth it to be treated as a person. I gave him basically all I had of each extra, so that he would have something "coin related" afterward, and he was totally blown away, and was like the proverbial kid in a candy store, looking at all his new treasures.
I sold the 13-S to Heritage, as my home base was Dallas, and they also took the MS64 Peace dollar and swapped it out for me for a "nicer" one.
I was at Central States last year and a large dealer had a PR55 Morgan I really liked. I didn't want to sell out that much cash for a coin that didn't fit my main collecting interest so I asked if he took trades. I had an MS66 Cincinnati commemorative half and Greysheet was $595 at the time. Auction results had it selling it around GS but I was expecting around the $500 mark. The dealer said he would give me $250 in trade for it since he already had one in his case. I passed and glanced at his case to see one sitting there for $600. I will NEVER deal with that dealer again, even though I have seen two coins on his site I really wanted.
@MorganMan94 said:
I was at Central States last year and a large dealer had a PR55 Morgan I really liked. I didn't want to sell out that much cash for a coin that didn't fit my main collecting interest so I asked if he took trades. I had an MS66 Cincinnati commemorative half and Greysheet was $595 at the time. Auction results had it selling it around GS but I was expecting around the $500 mark. The dealer said he would give me $250 in trade for it since he already had one in his case. I passed and glanced at his case to see one sitting there for $600. I will NEVER deal with that dealer again, even though I have seen two coins on his site I really wanted.
You know you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If he had declined to make an offer saying it was just too common of a coin and he already had one you would have been mad.
Sometimes a low offer is the same as saying no thank you unless you take it and then they can afford to wholesale it cheap.
Why would a dealer want to pay you 500$ to have a dupe in inventory that they are already having a hard time selling? He might make 20-50$ on it. Tying up the 500$ for weeks or months isn’t worth 20-50$
@mustangmanbob said:
It was about 10% of PCGS price guide. In his words, he had been treated poorly by ". .. . Coin ....Dealers " because of his race and his age. Comments about him stealing them, comments about them calling the cops on him, etc. He was very upset.
I told him I did not have the money they were worth. IIRC, I had less than 40% of the price guide, and he said that was more than enough to cover his bills, and would not take even that much. He pushed a couple $100's back, and said it was worth it to be treated as a person. I gave him basically all I had of each extra, so that he would have something "coin related" afterward, and he was totally blown away, and was like the proverbial kid in a candy store, looking at all his new treasures.
@MorganMan94 said:
I was at Central States last year and a large dealer had a PR55 Morgan I really liked. I didn't want to sell out that much cash for a coin that didn't fit my main collecting interest so I asked if he took trades. I had an MS66 Cincinnati commemorative half and Greysheet was $595 at the time. Auction results had it selling it around GS but I was expecting around the $500 mark. The dealer said he would give me $250 in trade for it since he already had one in his case. I passed and glanced at his case to see one sitting there for $600. I will NEVER deal with that dealer again, even though I have seen two coins on his site I really wanted.
You know you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If he had declined to make an offer saying it was just too common of a coin and he already had one you would have been mad.
Sometimes a low offer is the same as saying no thank you unless you take it and then they can afford to wholesale it cheap.
Why would a dealer want to pay you 500$ to have a dupe in inventory that they are already having a hard time selling? He might make 20-50$ on it. Tying up the 500$ for weeks or months isn’t worth 20-50$
I wouldn't have been upset, I offered it to other dealers at the show who said it wasn't their series or not something they dealt in. I would rather them be honest with me than lowball me. I think he saw a 20 year old and an opportunity, just my opinion.
A few months ago I was looking for offers on certified better date $20s many that were worth high teens or low $2000s. I check a few buyers, one in MO that took a while, I stayed after them and was shocked at the low offers; I ended up selling to HA which has been pretty fair in transactions I've had.
On the poor business practice/character exemplified on some of these stories, there should be legal remedies instead of just shrugging the shoulders or getting upset considering how many others have and will be ripped off to the detriment of the hobby.
Comments
200 for a collection I got 8k for in 7 weeks. The guy was a true rat. He does the "guy walks in and gets a stunning deal on gold" while you're selling.
I called him out on it on Google and it stuck for months but eventually got taken down. He threatened slander and I told him I would be happy to share my helmet cam footage with his "attorney" and never heard anything again.
There are still reviews that spell it out if you connect the dots.
That’s a gorgeous 1793!
That's the kind of coin dealer that makes all of the dealers look bad! Everybody has to make a few bucks but ripping people off it just an ****** ** thing to do
HAPPY COLLECTING
$300 would be low even if it was an electrotype!
30,000 times face.
A 1795 half dime for $1,300 in 1974. The coin had initials scratched into the neck of Ms. Liberty with a patch of scratches over them to hide the fact. It might have been worth $350 at the time. When I passed up the deal, he asked me why because it was, "a good deal." I told him about the problem, and he said, " I was going to tell you about that,"
Yea, right, and people wonder why I don't believe in "tooth fairy" people in the profession who have "great names." Learn to spot problems for yourself. If you don't only the decent people are going to do it for you if you are lucky.
This was a long time ago. I had a 1902-O Morgan dollar graded by PCGS as MS65DMPL. At the time, the "sheet" price was $3,000, and I was offering it to some dealers at a show expecting to get offers in the lower $2,000's.
Several dealers said they didn't sell DMPL dollars, and suggested that I offer it to this one dealer on the floor who specialized them. I showed him the coin, and he said, "Wow! That's so bright, it nearly blinded me!" So, he looks it over, front and back, looks at his "sheet" and then asks what I wanted for it. I said, "Twenty-two hundred." He reached into his pocket and got out his wallet, and then pulled out a $20 bill and two $1 bills, and extended his arm to give them to me.
I told him, "I said, the price was TWENTY-TWO HUNDRED!" He responded, saying, "Sonny..." (he was an elder gentleman), "there's no way it's worth that much." I told him that I knew the date was common, but rare in DMPL, and that's why it's worth my asking price. He looked at me and said, "Oh, and who says it's a real DMPL?" I responded, saying, "PCGS does!" As I walked away, he called after me, asking if I really wasn't going to accept his offer!!
The next coin show I was at, I sold to a dealer for the full sheet price of $3K.
Pretentious know it all dealer offered me $50 for a monster toned 1969-D half in PCGS MS67. Had it stickered $2400 and wanted to wholesale it. He told me he sold them all day for $100 but oddly didn't have any for sale when I offered to buy all he had. I sold the coin for slightly under my sticker to James Sego minutes later. I was so irritated by the dealers offer I went and told him I sold the coin for near my sticker and he didn't have much to say. Keep in mind the lowest auction record at the time of this incident was $1880, with a max of $4300.
I think it's awful for dealers to make such offers for coins, if moderns aren't your thing, kindly pass. Don't try to rip someone on a several thousand percent profit offer.
On a positive note I've always had positive experiences dealing with James Sego. Straight forward honest offers and overall a class act.
Worst offer.....a job. Now I no longer get collect for fun it seems.
$200 for a $600 coin he lost during a TPG submission. He finally paid the $600. Thank you!
100% Positive BST transactions
"Me love you long time". She wasn't that cute
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
$20K for a Barber half set in AU55-58, that I later found out was broken up and sold to other dealers for 3.5X that amount.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
This thread should be titled "Why coin collectors drink MCLXXIII".
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Interesting post, thanks for sharing !!!
It's hard not to get insulted by an extreme lowball offer, but $300 for the 1793 Cap would have just made me start chuckling (after the initial shock wore off). That dealer must have been living in a bear cave since 1943, and he just came out of hibernation that very morning.
A bite of his sandwich ... ham, cheese, mustard, and slobber.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
His Daughter... Divorced 3 times now back living with her parents
The coin was repaired so he told me that > @rhedden said:
I was on a road trip with my wife and had a good number of my large cents for sale that I was going to take to a coin show. Stopped for lunch and saw a coin dealer in Grove, OK so I thought I would go in and play dumb to see what a dealer would tell me some of my coins are worth and what he would offer me.
It was a rape attempt to say the least. The coin above I later sold for 10K. It was in NGC slab as repaired. If it had not been repaired its probably about 50K coin.
My Early Large Cents
Helmet cam...... Did you parachute in through his skylight ?
Many decades ago before third party grading I offered a B&M coin dealer a high grade Saint. This was when gold was relatively cheap and high grade Saints carried a decent premium over melt value. The dealer told me it was a counterfeit but offered to buy it at below melt value. I never went back to that crooked dealer again.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Not to me but a friend: dealer submitted his roll of 20 Indian Gold $10, all came back MS63, 64, and several 65, but one "got lost' in transit; dealer offered $500 in trade for the lost coin, which was likely a 66 or better that he removed from the return shipment.
Commems and Early Type
@cardinal said:
Man I'd be too tempted to grab his money and slap him in the face with it. I hate when vendors do that crap. It's not funny and you make yourself look like a sad idiot.
Whenever I hear tactics like that I know the person isn't gonna pay a dime for a dollar.
Years ago when I lived in New Jersey there was this dealer in a neighboring town who had the reputation for making low ball offers. I had an 1837 No Stars Dime I wanted to sell, and I took it to him. It was a VF-EF, and the Gray Sheet bid was about $100 at the time. He put on a pair stereo viewerers and looked at it. His offer was $20.
Wow... some horror stories... glad I do not sell coins...I am a mellow guy and such things might make me lose my mellow.... Cheers, RickO
Mine's not quite as egregious as some of the other stories, but it's still ludicrous. It occurred about a decade ago.
I was looking to sell a duplicate 1904-S Barber Half. The coin was a legitimate XF40, in PCGS plastic, problem-free, great-looking original coin.
Had a dealer offer me $38 for it.
After my stunned and not-so-polite reaction, he told me that it would probably sit in his inventory for years because "collectors don't buy common dates like this one" so his offer had to account for that.
I told him to look at the slab again, because it's a 1904-S, not a 1904.
He said he knew what the date was but that there was simply too much wear on my coin for it to be desirable to other collectors.
I don’t sell all that often so don’t have any crazy ones but one time I tried selling a 1/4 ounce AGE which at the time I could have sold on eBay in 4 minutes and netted over spot after the fees and was offered 75-80% from a coin shop with all 5 star reviews that I was giving a shot. If she would have just said we don’t do a lot of bullion and we have a high margin because of that I would have just moved on but she treated me like an idiot and said “I’ll call the owner and see if he can make an exception for a new customer” and probably didn’t even dial anyone and had a fake conversation with herself then all of a sudden the offer became 93%. I said no thanks and as I was walking out she said “you’re not expecting spot for that are you? That doesn’t happen anymore”.
I walked into another LCS and asked if he was interested and he said “yep, is spot good with you?”
Guess which shop I’ve spent over 5k at this year?
Some dealers simply don't have the retail customers for some coins. For that reason they have to pay less.
On the other hand, if you are worth your salt as a dealer, you KNOW which dealers do have the customers and you direct the piece toward them.
Yes the dealer would probably pay you less than than the specialist dealer, but he should have brains enough to know that it doesn't have to sit in his inventory for years.
30% back of grey sheet for everything in my shop. The guy's a piece of work.
i had a complete set of eisenhower dollars and the dealer said he would give me $35 for the set. i mumbled something to myself and walked. fwiw
Another 'bad' offer, this time from a local dealer. He offered me an altered half cent for about $1.6K. When he saw that I noticed the alteration, he then said that it wasn't really for sale to a collector. Riiight!
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
$400 for a coin that another dealer offered me $9,300 for. It was a world coin - so I will not mention it here.
go "pound the floor"
About 12 years ago I owned a 16-D Merc in an old Anacs 3 holder. I showed it to a dealer and he said he was interested, but since it wasn't PCGS, he would only go $150.00. At the time it seems like they were selling for around $600.00. No idea what they are now.
A 1955 Franklin Half in Deep cam, dealer offered me $85 because he said it was only 'cameo' and it was in a ACG slab, so I asked him, OK, how much for me to crack it out and sell it to youraw? Still $85 (IT WAS A $500 COIN)
"Keep your malarkey filter in good operating order" -Walter Breen
About 2 years ago at a Long Island coin show some rip off dealer offered me $10 if that much for my cleaned xf 1863 seated half dollar.
Back in the early 1990's (I think), when I was living in Utah, I stopped by a coin shop, whose owner is well known, to buy a silver Ike in a gem-superb grade for a type coin album. The owner quoted me $225, and I reflexively laughed at him. After a few 'OK's, he dropped the price to $75 (what it was worth). I bought it and never bought anything else from him again.
I was in a shop in Arizona about 10 years ago, and the owner handed me a raw AU55ish Liberty double eagle that he had bought from a walk-in the day before. He and I always got along quite well, so we discussed that coin, and he said he was pissed that he bought the coin because he later realized it was a counterfeit. That week, mass marketers were set up in a local hotel, and were buying coins (aka ripping off people who didn't know better)--this pissed off local B&M dealers, based on what several of them told me. While I was still in the shop, the owner handed that coin to his wife--she then sold it to one of the marketers as a genuine piece.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Great stories everyone! Keep posting more!
Always buying nice toned coins! Searching for a low grade 1873 Arrows DDO Dime and 1842-O Small Date Quarter.
About 10 years ago, Had a 1799 Large cent in PCGS 12, was looking to sell, decent coin, not fantastic, but not bad either. took to a well known copper dealer , offer was 2k. I was floored, sold it to another national dealer an hour later in Baltimore for 12,500.00
also a few years after that, a well known indian cent dealer offered me a low ball ridiculous offer for my 1856 flyer, I passed, then about 5 min later , an associate of his tracked me down the isle and told me he was ashamed that his boss offered so low, and that he would pay a much fairer price privately for the coin, and we made the deal.
Let's name some names here, just to keep the place honest.
Some fascinating posts here.
I had three of the 2006 Silver Eagle 3 piece Anniversary sets. Took them to the (then) big local dealer to sell and he offered me melt. I thought it an unfunny joke, until he irritably told me that was their value. I drove across town to another much smaller coin dealer who quickly paid $240 for each set. IIRC this was in the summer of 2011.
I believe I shared this before, but I also offered to sell that same first dealer an original roll of BU 1964 quarters. He offered me $10 for those. I did make an inappropriate comment about his sanity before leaving.
That was my first ever foray into selling coins I had purchased, and although naive, it was obvious something was very, very wrong at that store. Turns out I was one of the lucky ones.
With respect to Wabbit's post, the link below is part of that same individual's claim to infamy.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jun/06/former-coin-dealer-ordered-to-repay-580000/
Agree. I think you would be shocked at how many would be well known national dealers including more than a few who participate here. I'm guessing that more than a few of these crooked dealers have to rip off unknowledgeable sellers who don't know what they have just to stay in business.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I was at a major show here a few years ago shopping around a 1915 Lincoln in MS 65 bn (PCGS I think) anyway, a major penny Dealer offered me $15.
When I sell now I don't play dumb. I just tell the Dealer what I want, basically yes or no. I usually price about 15% back of Gray Sheet and leave a few bucks wiggle room for counteroffers.
Unless the Dealer has a specific customer in mind for your coins THEY WILL lowball you. That's just how they operate.
When I was in high school approx 1981, I bought a 14k white gold wedding band out of a garage sale cheap. Took to the local coin dealer, who talked me into trading it for a BU common Morgan. I was later was made whole when he sold me a VG 1876 20c as an 1876 quarter. This guy was both a crook and incompetent. He later went bankrupt and was convicted of child molestation.
About 4 years ago, I was selling off some extras, using Craigslist, and a person asked me what I would pay for a PCGS 1934-S Peace Dollar, MS64, and a 1913-S Barber Quarter, F12. I was working on a set of Peace in MS64, but did not have NEARLY the amount needed to buy it, and no real interest in the Barber, not my thing. He reiterated what would I pay, and sent me pictures of the coins, with all the numbers on it, and the owner's name (his deceased aunt). I knew where this was going.
I bounced it over to a friend at Heritage, and he confirmed the names, and that both coins were legit. The man came to where I was living (temporary assignment in California) and we talked about coins, he looked at my extra stuff, a lot of odd ball things, 2 cent , 3 cent, 20 cent, and some binders of semi complete Lincolns, no keys or semi keys. He was maybe 28 or so, knew his stuff, and his ID checked out that he was the nephew of his aunt, and had a letter from her, gifting him the coins. It was all he had.
Why so much data and information? He was getting divorced, and needed to sell to pay for a new apartment, as he was getting custody of his 2 IIRC children, and pay his attorney. He told me what he had been offered, and I was stunned.
It was about 10% of PCGS price guide. In his words, he had been treated poorly by ". .. . Coin ....Dealers " because of his race and his age. Comments about him stealing them, comments about them calling the cops on him, etc. He was very upset.
I told him I did not have the money they were worth. IIRC, I had less than 40% of the price guide, and he said that was more than enough to cover his bills, and would not take even that much. He pushed a couple $100's back, and said it was worth it to be treated as a person. I gave him basically all I had of each extra, so that he would have something "coin related" afterward, and he was totally blown away, and was like the proverbial kid in a candy store, looking at all his new treasures.
I sold the 13-S to Heritage, as my home base was Dallas, and they also took the MS64 Peace dollar and swapped it out for me for a "nicer" one.
^ Best post I've read in awhile.
Right in them feels, man. Them feels.
I was at Central States last year and a large dealer had a PR55 Morgan I really liked. I didn't want to sell out that much cash for a coin that didn't fit my main collecting interest so I asked if he took trades. I had an MS66 Cincinnati commemorative half and Greysheet was $595 at the time. Auction results had it selling it around GS but I was expecting around the $500 mark. The dealer said he would give me $250 in trade for it since he already had one in his case. I passed and glanced at his case to see one sitting there for $600. I will NEVER deal with that dealer again, even though I have seen two coins on his site I really wanted.
You know you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If he had declined to make an offer saying it was just too common of a coin and he already had one you would have been mad.
Sometimes a low offer is the same as saying no thank you unless you take it and then they can afford to wholesale it cheap.
Why would a dealer want to pay you 500$ to have a dupe in inventory that they are already having a hard time selling? He might make 20-50$ on it. Tying up the 500$ for weeks or months isn’t worth 20-50$
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
This is so sad.
I wouldn't have been upset, I offered it to other dealers at the show who said it wasn't their series or not something they dealt in. I would rather them be honest with me than lowball me. I think he saw a 20 year old and an opportunity, just my opinion.
A few months ago I was looking for offers on certified better date $20s many that were worth high teens or low $2000s. I check a few buyers, one in MO that took a while, I stayed after them and was shocked at the low offers; I ended up selling to HA which has been pretty fair in transactions I've had.
On the poor business practice/character exemplified on some of these stories, there should be legal remedies instead of just shrugging the shoulders or getting upset considering how many others have and will be ripped off to the detriment of the hobby.