Fired as a client?
Yorkshireman
Posts: 4,494 ✭✭✭✭✭
There is a dealer well known to quite a few members here for good and cool stuff. I have purchased several items from him over the last few years.
I have heard it said that he is quite proud of his inventory. He does sit on much of it for a long, long time because his prices are relatively high. I once sold him a very interesting piece at my cost, which I thought was inflated. He marked it up another 40%. He did eventually sell it, but I don’t know at what price. A number of dealers and collectors have told me his prices are too high. While his turnover is slow, he does make sales.
I have had my eye on a piece in his inventory that has been sitting there a while. He came down 10% on the price. I thought it needed another 10% to be reasonable ( matching the highest recorded auction price). I told him he had a standing offer from me at that level. It’s still sitting there for sale. I could have upset him.
I sent him an email earlier in the week, asking (politely , I think) what he had bought recently in a specific area which wasn’t already earmarked for someone else. There has been no reply.
Am I now being ignored? I see updates to his site, so he is working.
Oh, Whoa is me! Have I been fired as a client? Banned from communication? Deemed unworthy?
I would like to keep him as a ally and resource, but not like this. There are other dealers.
Thoughts about my situation?
Comments
Send him a reminder email. I am sure he is just busy.
This.
'Old coins' is a subset of the antiques business. Markups should be high. No experienced dealer should be afraid of keeping something decent in their inventory.
I just bought two Victoria sovereigns. Each was at least $100 too high. The dealer sat on them for over eighteen months (that was how long they were on my radar, at least). No price change whatsoever. I got a windfall & finally bought them. Very pleased.
That's life.
Maybe you are overthinking it.
Or do this, if you don't think it's crazy....sometimes the best thing in business is just to be forthright and direct. Say, "I really value your business and the unique inventory you carry. I know I've made mention of your prices in the past. Just so you know, it was never meant to be derogotary By the way, I'm still interested in xyz if you have any. Thanks."
Not coin related but I have fired a few clients.
It is interesting. People on here will bid over Guide (pick your favorite) for a coin at auction that they consider exceptional, but if a dealer prices the same coin in their inventory at that price (or lower) they criticize him for being "too high".
If you like the coin at that price, buy it. If you don't like the coin, don't buy it.
Yorkshireman said: There are other dealers.
This.
End Systemic Elitism - It Takes All Of Us
For some people, 'auction action' is a form of disease and they weren't inoculated as children.
If he's still in business, he must be doing something right. Sounds like his pricing is working for him, even though others think he should sell his coins for less.
This is nothing to lose sleep over
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Send another email.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
I fire 2-3 customers a year in my non coin business. Edit: Not saying the OP deserves that he’s probably just forgotten to respond in this case but in general if you’re not firing customers as a business owner I think you’re making a mistake.
Oh, I am not!
Interesting idea!
LOL. Kind of sounds bad when you say it that way, but I know what you mean. Some customers are just more trouble than they are worth. If they are taking up a lot of time and not buying anything or if they abuse the return privileges, they will end up costing you money not making you money.
You could give some people $100 and they’d complain that it was all in 20s. The benefit of telling those types to find a new company is worth every potential cent you might lose. My company is a service business going into thousands of homes a year so I run into some real pieces of work from time to time that will make your life miserable.
Okay... That is encouraging.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
...No soup for you!
Not that it’s completely relevant, but I haven’t been able to figure out if you’re a collector, a dealer, or both.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Collector
Not gonna happen!
You might just fire off an email like the Colonel did this morning and tell the forum to go F itself. That seems to get a lot of attention. And support. And maybe coins.
I skimmed that thread but never could figure out what had happened.
I think you're over-reading it. He's probably just busy.
That said, I'm pretty sure I've rubbed a few dealers the wrong way over the years. Well, one told me to leave his table and never come back........ but that's another story. Life is just like that and misunderstandings happen. If you are being ignored, there are plenty of other sources of coins, and it probably would have ended badly at some point anyhow.
Read the Albanese podcast thread if you want to see it all unfold. That's where it all happened leading to the thread today.
I'd pick up the phone and give him a call...I think you are probably reading too much into a missed email...
I tend to "just say no" to drama and those that thrive on it.
one thing a lot of dealers don't like is us telling them how to run their business and when their coins are priced wrong.
Post the coin! What is it?
Well, if it sells in a reasonable amount of time, it is priced right. If it doesn't sell, it is priced wrong. If it sells too quickly, it may also be priced wrong (low).
Sometimes, relationships just don't work out.
I'm being semi-silly saying that. But really, it's true.
Sometimes, dealers expect you to buy what they offer, (had a guy upset that I wouldn't buy a Chinese Panda coin he had just stocked up on. I'd never bought a bullion coin from him before in my life!)
Sometimes, collectors expect dealers to cater to them.
Not saying either happened here...but if one side THINKS, even wrongly, that they aren't getting what they deserve, things can go south....
Play it cool. The next time you DO buy from him, you'll probably be his best buddy again.
Sometimes the drama finds you... I didn't go looking for it.
There was a similar thread here a while back. A member couldn't get a hold of a dealer they purchased a coin from, he thought he might be getting scammed, as it turned out the dealer was not receiving his messages. Once it all came to light here the problem was solved.
Maybe try contacting them a different way????
CALL HIM!
Maybe he is away and does not check his emails.
Or have a friend reach out
In this market, I would be happy to entertain all offers. There are certain coins where I get offered less than I would pay for the coin on the open market. At that point I politely pass. I really don't care whether I paid $10 or $10,000 for a particular coin. If it's worth $5000, it's worth $5000. I will either sell it at this level or offer 10% less for the same coin. This really isn't that difficult, especially with all the information concerning price today. With this said, many coins are not easilty replaceable or are somewhat difficult to price (low pops, outrageous toning, etc...).
That's completely logical but mostly not true. Sometimes, months can pass between people even looking at a coin, much less seriously contemplating its purchase. Some coins sit around for years, even if they're fairly priced. Not so much because there aren't many potential buyers, but because the market simply isn't that efficient.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Of course, you are correct. My aphorism assumes visibility of the coin in the marketplace.
As someone who is in sales, at some point the effort needs to result in sales... many times there are more opportunities or i queries than I can respond too. What gets worked inevitable can get prioritized by the amount of effort to get a sale, the likelihood of a sale, the likelihood of effort and customer still asking for more...so do you get fired, no never, do you fall below the waterline for opportunities that get worked immediately ...perhaps yes
"Visibility" does not ensure that every potential buyer will see the coin, of course.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
..
You did nothing wrong, of course. But if dealers think you're not willing to stretch for the right coins, it's going to be hard to get them too interested in finding coins for you. Not because they're greedy profit-maximizing bastards, and not because they don't like you, but because the only way they're going to be able to sell you something for a profit is if they happen to stumble on just the right coin AND buy it cheaply. That, I'm sad to report, does not happen very often.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
"Visibility" means whatever I define it to mean.
I> @jmlanzaf said:
Some might say the same of “stupidity”. After all, it’s all relative.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
@thisistheshow nailed it from my perspective
"Maybe you are overthinking it."
Don’t turn my thread into a brawl
If I learned one thing today, it's how to use the "Ignore" function.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
If you DM the name we could try to provide input but can’t help if we don’t know who. Recent Market increase in gold has put pressure on dealers whom are all working at half staff after the last market slowdown. Be patient
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
Also true.
Not sure why this is a "brawl" or even a disagreement. It's a discussion of basic sales theory. In such a theory, a coin at open auction with "visibility" to the market will sell at "fair value". For a fixed price sale, it's a bid/ask arrangement instead.
Of course, in a real world scenario, things like failure to meet the "visibility" criteria happen. (Visibility was my word, I forget the corresponding word in economics and it's late.)
Go ahead and put me on "ignore", although I'm not sure why this discussion would upset anyone. We actually agree on everything, despite your need to insert "stupidity" into the discussion. I guess maybe I'm the one that should put you on ignore.