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Dealers who will buy anything at fair prices?
opportunity
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I've encountered this problem time and time again with dealers. You offer them something that seems right up their alley and without even discussing a price, it's not for them.
So who would you peeps recommend as serious dealers who don't play games, and always like to buy? Preferably ones with strong online presences and can be actually bothered to answer emails (but that's another topic)...
Early American Copper, Bust and Seated.
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LOL good luck. It's been my experience that you must become your own dealer when it's time to sell. Many, many snakes in the grass.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
If I had great resources I would try to come up with a reasonable buy/sell spread ala the old Coin World and other publication buying lists. But the dealers would have to stand by the posted "buys" as I have seen many of them wriggle out of it.
What kind of stuff, and how much of it do you have? Knowing what part of the country you're would be helpful too.
Recipient of the coveted "You Suck" award, April 2009 for cherrypicking a 1833 CBHD LM-5, and April 2022 for a 1835 LM-12, and again in Aug 2012 for picking off a 1952 FS-902.
Take your stuff to a coin show.
Nice material is always in demand. Off quality material is often “not for them” regardless of the specialty.
Latin American Collection
Pack your coins up and send them to Great Collections for auction. GC will even get the coins slabbed.
Best deal going...even better than Ebay and GC does all the work!
This is either great advice or horrible advice. There are some things best at GC, some things better at Stacks/Heritage, and some things better on eBay. Without knowing what he's trying to sell, how can you know?
At various times in the past I've tried my hand at vest pocket dealing, and I have frequently done what you suggest. If something is not very liquid or the margin would be very tight, I have passed rather than make a low offer at a level I would be comfortable ensuring that I could make money. This is especially true in fields where pricing is unusually subjective (e.g. toned coins).
I assume dealers buy what they can sell. If they aren't buying it is likely that the material isn't selling.
Well if he is selling pre Civil War Pez dispensers, you are right. GC would not be my choice. I would probably go with Morphy.
Based on the information given by the OP, GC would be choice. I would send anything up to $50k that is not truly obscure to Ian. At this point in the game, probably the only auction house that I would recommend.
GC, some things better at Stacks/Heritage, and some things better on eBay. Without knowing what he's trying to sell, how can you know?
So, you think sending bags of raw wheat cents to GC makes the most sense? Maybe circulated common date mercs? How about raw circulated 1921 Morgan $s? There isn't any indication of what the OP has to sell. The MAJORITY of coins can not be profitably sent to GC or any major auction house. If you have circ rolls of Liberty nickels, as another example, they have to go to a wholesaler or on eBay.
The issue here is dealers are (hopefully) making a living buying and selling coins. So the chances that any single dealer is going to buy at a price you like is small.
Thankfully, the internet gives you the opportunity to market your coins to dealers and collectors alike. Now all you have to do is list the material on the websites/forums. This is how price discovery is done.
Don't be silly. All dealers are either crooks or stupid or both.
I am thinking by the experience of the OP that he is not talking wheat cents. Mercs and Morgan dollars, no problem. Ian sells that stuff regularly. Similar results to Ebay with the grief.
Why the excessive agitation tonight, JM?
Generally selling at auction whether GC, eBay, Stack's Heritage, etc. will guarantee your items get sold. Picking the right venue for your items is important.
GC is good for some things but not all things. For example, I search So-Called Dollars which are common on eBay but almost non-existent on GC at the moment.
oh come on, not all just most.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
Well the OP never mentioned coins, did he. Perhaps he has a barn full of vintage Ferraris. In that case Jackson Barrett would be a better choice than Stacks. Maybe he has an old steamer trunk stuffed with D Flawless 2 carat brilliant cut diamonds. Sotheby might be the right choice. For his Da Vinci collection, I would go with Christie's.
I'm always trying to upgrade my collection of pre civil war Pez dispensers. Post them on B/S/T.
I'm not agitated. But the OP gave NO clue what he was selling. There are MANY coins not suited to GC. If you were a doctor, your advice would be malpractice, akin to making a diagnosis over the phone without having ever met the patient.
You are comparing recommending an auction house to medical malpractice?
One can assume that the OP was referring to a general assortment of rare coins. For virtually all lots I would recommend GC. Hell, I would send him an 1804 Dollar if I had one to sell. Nitpicking and speculating as to what unique coins the OP might be referring to is specious.
Pour a tall glass of schnapps and chill*.
Who are the three dealers you deal with?
I have found Coin Star with gift card to Home Depot seems to be about the best for my collection.
I don't see him being agitated at all - you just seem to have a problem with anyone disagreeing with you, and then you tell them to "chill". "jmlanzaf" makes some valid points, many of which have been discussed in previous threads. For example, I recall an analysis by "Wabbit" which concluded MS65 and MS66 Morgan Dollars in the 100-500 range tend to do much better on ebay than GC. Overall, consensus seemed to be that coins over $1,000 tend to do better on GC, and under $1,000 do better on ebay. Then when you get to five-figure plus coins, consensus seemed you do better at Heritage/Stacks/Legend, which makes some sense because at those levels you should be able to get a better % of hammer, although GC could be in the mix even for those coins, as they seem to have had some success with 5 figure+ coins in recent years.
We had to work with what the OP presented. He was seeking dealers (either in real time or hypothetically) for a fair disposition of assets, presumably coins. I have dealt with many in the industry and without hesitation or reservation recommend GC. He has the finest platform on the net. Ships lightening fast and does not hold proceeds for an extended period. Shipping is not a profit center as it is with other auction houses. As well, his fees are very competitive.
All of this translates to a better experience for the seller. I am a frequent buyer on the site and weekly run through virtually every coin that is silver or gold. Rips rarely happen and really good deals are quite infrequent. That translates to fair prices for the consignor.
You and JM are certainly free to make your recommendations as to selling venues, or hold your breaths like stubborn children until the OP posts a detailed list of coins, but I have made mine and am sticking with it.
True, but then this was posted in the US Coin Forum, not on FerrariChat.com or some other site. Some good conversations there BTW.
Likely less emissions on the Ferrari forum.
Actually, I have to say I don't understand your post on Ferraris and diamonds given your own post here:
Perhaps you only recommend GC and aren't fond of other coin venues?
I would post your coins to this buy and sell forum with good pictures. Make sure you price your coins.
Legend is a good operation. Fairly specific in the types of coins welcomed.
LOL. Just judging by comments on the Forum. Personally, I like the dealers with whom I deal and I deal with the dealers whom I like!
This thread made me laugh.
There is a collector I see sometimes who calls coin dealers ferengis.
My Saint Set
They are. But try to out ferengi a ferengi...
Early American Copper, Bust and Seated.
You sound like one of those annoying coin collectors who wants an actual, real two-way relationship
. Cheeky boy.
Specialist/ Legend is one such dealer, but honestly it has to be nice product. Since you haven't specified what sort of coins, I'll assume it's fairly graded high end material. NEN is another; CRO yet another. Many more on this board.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
As a dealer who would buy literally anything at a price, I can speak to this. Like it or not, it is inherent that you are being profiled by every dealer you deal with. Not necessarily age, racially, gender or what you wear. Your approach, other coins you might have, the day of the week all might have an influence over how a dealer behaves. It is human nature. I know nothing about you or your coins so please don't take anything I say as referring to you. What I do know is if my gut said this is not going to be productive, I would say the item is not for me. If the coin is poor quality for the grade, in a series that I think is weak or is a slow sale for me, it is often better to say it is not for me. At times I could lowball it and flip it cheap but then I am a lowballer, bottom feeder, jerk, slimeball, any other thing dealers get called here. Often it is a polite way of saying no thank you. It can be used as a negotiating tool to see how motivated the seller is but mostly it is preventing a negative experience to the collector.
What! Wait a minute, I thought that only applied to pawn shops
Don’t bash dealers. Dealers are businesspeople and the market is slow. At last show no one from the public offered any coins to me. Well one fellow he wanted above market retail for some slabbed mod commems. Perhaps many already sold out.
Nobody can pay strong prices if bids not in upward trajectory or their inventory not moving.
Numismatic investment works best playing both sides of the ball so one is not a deer in the headlights when selling.
Many open an eBay store or consign to GC (both recommended).
Dealers are in different situations at different times. Sometimes they're inventory-heavy and cash-poor. You'll get no offers or poor offers from those. Sometimes they're inventory-light and cash-heavy (it happens!). Sometimes the stuff you have to offer them isn't liquid. Sometimes they're desperate to get it.
Don't come to too many conclusions from a handful of attempts. When I've been successful at selling random items at shows, I've usually let 8-10 dealers have a look before finding one who is actually interested. Sometimes it's not who you'd suspect. It's just business.
All of that said, there are dealers who will wheel-and-deal with just about anything. The guys at McIntosh coins (Sacramento) come to mind. They're ALWAYS BUSY and always draw a crowd at the shows they attend.
“The guys at McIntosh coins (Sacramento) come to mind. They're ALWAYS BUSY and always draw a crowd at the shows they attend.”
....& John is willing to flip a coin if the price is an issue, buying & selling.
I buy anything I can make $$$ on.
But I have found that you need to know many dealers so you know where to go when you want to off something it's like that in anything you sell you get the best prices when you know and do that.
But as you said a lot will blow you off if it's not what they deal with. Just keep looking and remember what they look for and some day you can use them.
Hoard the keys.
Dealers have limited capital and the days when dealers could buy with the anticipation that prices would be higher in the future are over. This means that you can expect dealers to be increasingly picky when it comes to buying.
If you, the collector, have been buying common, ordinary material you should expect to be disappointed when it comes time to sell.
Just sarcasm. Some coin dealers are crooks or stupid. MOST pawn dealers are smart and crooks.
If the prices on the Gray Sheet are mostly going down with every issue, as a dealer you are reluctant to buy anything that seems to be part of this weak market. I bought an Oregon Trail half dollar in PCGS MS-66 at the Baltimore show for bid. In the next issues of the Gray Sheet, the price had fallen by $50. As I collector I say, “It sucks, but I can live with it..” As a dealer if you keep doing that, you will be out of business.
It’s foolhearty to pay strong prices when the market is sucking wind.
My local dealer that I have been dealing with for years says he pays 70% of greysheet for certified coins. I have only tried to sell him coins that one time . I ended up selling them for significantly more on eBay, but then I have eBay store so my selling costs are lower.
They don't buy mainly because they know the market stinks.
Here in Canada, this is how it was/is..................
Prior to the Financial collapse in 2008 (when the coin market was strong), you could sell any grade of ICCS coin and in any amount, to most Canadian dealers and they would pay 60% of the Canadian trends price.
After this time and up to the present, most dealers don't even want to buy any ICCS coin at any price (because they know it'll collect dust in their showcases). Dealers that will buy (and there aren't that many) will buy at 25% of Trends for the generic stuff, 35% of Trends for the 'very good' coins and maybe 50% of Trends for the top grade 'stuff-they-know-they-can-sell' material.
I've been active buying and selling in the Canadian market for over 20 years and this is how I see it.
Regarding the US market, I wouldn't have a confident clue about what's going on although I suspect the same pattern is present but maybe not to the same degree.
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