Do you get receipts at coin shows?

TurtleCat

I was going through some receipts and I got to thinking about coin shows I’ve been to in the past. For a lot of transactions I never ended up getting a receipt. The dealer never offered and I never asked. It didn’t matter to me since I was not planning on reselling.

Anyway, do you insist on getting a receipt for each transaction during a show?

ricko

I never have asked for, nor been offered, a receipt at a coin show. If I dealt with a credit card, that would suffice, but I always have used cash. Cheers, RickO

CoinJunkie

Generally yes. The exception would be for very inexpensive coins paid with cash.

johnny9434

Same as ricko here

DoubleEagle59

Are you kidding?

BryceM

Interesting. I guess it depends on if you’re buying great rarities or silver rounds.

I think it would be hard to justify your position at tax time without a receipt.

PerryHall

There was a dealer at a small local coin show who was a fellow coin club member. If you buy a coin from him and you want a receipt he required you to pay sales tax. No one ever wanted a receipt.

COINS MAKE CENTS

I give receipts to everyone at shows. More so because on my copy I have my inventory numbers to take off my inventory.

Most customers want them when I give it to them,, but a few say just throw it away.

BAJJERFAN

If you sell a coin for $2500 should the dealer be required to give you a 1099 on the spot?

TurtleCat

I figured most transactions are cash only. It’s certainly the way I’ve done things in the past. My thinking has been changing a bit, though. If I choose to sell at a later time (or an inheritor), what would be best for them? Getting a giant check or deposit from an auction house would clearly trigger things from a financial compliance perspective. It would also be a trigger for the IRS. But if you have documented proof of the costs and claim it properly then you’d be able to handle it without any real hiccup.

BAJJERFAN

If you pay with a check or accept a check you may want to get a receipt.

Sonorandesertrat

Always ask for a receipt. If the coin is in a slab, ask for the cert number to be put on the receipt. This isn't just about proving your cost basis when you sell a coin years later, for a profit. It's about self-protection. I made a mistake years ago, when I trusted a local B&M dealer whom I had been regularly doing business with for a couple of years. I wanted to add some nice examples of large-size U. S. currency to my collection, and the dealer knew I had no expertise in grading currency (I made that clear to him, because I mistakenly thought I could trust him). The dealer offered me a 'starter' note in 65 for $800, as I recall. He asked if it was OK to not issue a receipt, claiming he used his last one earlier in the day. I foolishly said OK. Several months later, I saw another example on the internet, in PCGS 66, and bought it from an out-of-state dealer. I looked at the two notes, and my instinct told me that the notes differed by more than 1 point. I took the '65' note to a couple of other dealers I knew, with expertise in currency, and both said the same thing--my '65' note looked like a pressed XF and that the TPG had little credibility. I am quite certain that the dealer who sold the note to me knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps he did not think I would figure out what happened any time soon.

So I did not do my homework, had bought a piece of crap, and did not even have a proof of purchase (I paid in cash) to get my money back. That was an $800 lesson. I got off cheap, considering that I did not follow my own advice to others.

topstuf

Besides asking for a receipt, you can ask the seller to walk you to your car and follow you home. Can't be too safe.

No Headlights

I purchased coins from at least 10 different dealers at Winter FUN in January. Every one gave me a receipt without having to be asked for it

CoinHoarder

If offered a receipt, which has rarely happened, I will take it. I never ask for one though. I record a purchase, and where I got it from, in my own records. I use cash, and cash only.

lkeigwin

Most of the dealers I buy from issue receipts. Always.
Lance.

jafo50

Money should never leave your right hand without a receipt entering your left hand. Courtesy of Judge Marilyn Milian.

BillJones

Unless it's something that sells for less than $10, which is quite rare for me, I always ask for a receipt. At a minimum you need them for your tax records.

A very small number of dealers try to avoid receipts. I will not speculate about their motives, but I always ask for them. In addition, I think that printed receipts with the dealer's name pre-printed on the form is a sigh of professionality. Having your invoices professionally printed is not that expensive and it makes a dealer look much better.

matt_dac

I always do, even if so I can remember the dealer for future business.

messydesk

I almost always ask for one, and quite often I don't have to. I've only had one person balk because of sales tax issue, but he was OK with mailing me a receipt after he returned home from the show.

shorecoll

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. For IRS purposes you can log your own costs. Just don't show up at an audit with 10 years of notes that all look like they were written yesterday.

Tomthecoinguy

Interesting, at the local coin shows I go to in Minnesota, maybe one dealer gives receipts. Even though if you are licenced dealer the receipts are required by law. When the law first went into place I ran into one patron that refused to do business with any dealer that gave him a receipt.

Catbert

Always. I want a record of the transaction.

oih82w8

I only pay with cash, and I can't remember a time when a receipt was not given. The receipt should have the S/N of the slab, if certified, on it for actual proof of transaction.

TurtleCat

Very interesting comments all. At my local coin show it’s a bit of a rarity to see any receipts given out or requested. Before the corona-plague I specifically asked for some receipts and was given them but it was pretty generic. Just the price and coin type.

Walkerfan

Yes, always....I like them for my records.

Treashunt

re·ceipt

the action of receiving something or the fact of its being received.

"I would be grateful if you would acknowledge receipt of this letter"

Oh, that! Nope. Or rarely

asheland

On a higher priced coin, a receipt would be nice but I don't really care. I keep track of my cost regardless.

jayPem

No receipts, but I do find some swell recipes from time to time.
Mustard sauce Bratwurst anyone?

android01

@Tomthecoinguy said:
Interesting, at the local coin shows I go to in Minnesota, maybe one dealer gives receipts. Even though if you are licenced dealer the receipts are required by law. When the law first went into place I ran into one patron that refused to do business with any dealer that gave him a receipt.

I'm from Minnesota as well, and I agree with you. There's only one guy at most of the local shows that give receipts. I asked for a receipt from one of them and was told that he didn't have one to give me! Minnesota is a horrible place to do the coin business - taxes, the need for coin specifications listed etc. Unfortunately, there will never be an ANA or other really large national type show in Minnesota as a result of too many hoops to jump through just to sell a coin.

Cougar1978

No

foodude

We provide receipts. If it is a slab, it includes the cert no. In buying at shows, I often need to ask for a receipt, and sometimes, need to provide our own paperwork in buying to have a receipt.

vplite99

Never asked, never offered. I have not been to a show in 11 years so things might have changed.

I mostly buy bullion type coins.

jmlanzaf

@PerryHall said:
There was a dealer at a small local coin show who was a fellow coin club member. If you buy a coin from him and you want a receipt he required you to pay sales tax. No one ever wanted a receipt.

THIS.

I wish the states would crack down on this. Makes it tough on those of us who comply with the tax laws.