How do you handle these selling/buying situations? Please share your experiences.
Ppp
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I been collecting for years and lately I have been meeting people using what I deem terrible buying practices.
First a little background. This is my hobby and I am trying to reduce my collection which somehow I am failing because my inventory keeps growing. 🤔 I sell primarily through antique mall cases and in general my pricing strategy is to have a net sale price close to the pcgs.com guide with my cost normally at greysheet. In general I noticed the gap between these two guides have shrunk and sometimes they are the same.
My personal rules (which are relative) are to have fun, be fair, and don’t be greedy.
As I wrote this is my hobby. it’s fun, most of the time, I just don’t want to lose money and I don’t mind if someone wants to make a “reasonable” offer. To me the max reasonable offer range is between 15-20%. I find people that offer that max amount or less things work out well.
Now the issues:
-lately, more than ever, I have people offering 50% + less on coins. Example: selling price $1,000- coin, my cost $850-, buyer offers $500- then argues. Note. I have been known to accept an offer as low as $850- (my cost) in that situation if it’s been a pleasurable experience (advantage of it being my hobby) but with this example of an unreasonable offer I dig my heels in and tell them they should go elsewhere.
-using that example of a $1000- selling price for a coin sometimes people will ask what will you take. I do not like negotiating against myself. Sometimes I tell them it’s $1,000- but I would “consider” a reasonable offer.
Other times, and this gets me going, I tell them upfront if I lower my price it’s only good for right now and that’s it, if you counter even one penny less the answer is no and since you opened the discussion I will probably raise it.
The number of people that offer less than my lowered price has increased after I warned them. Hello, didn’t you understand what I just said?
-now the one issue that really gets gets me going. In summary after some discussion I accept what the buyer offers and then they reopen the discussion and wants a lower price. 😤 immediately I tell them you can’t do that and you should go elsewhere.
These are usually the same people that say they can get it cheaper elsewhere which I normally reply then go and do it because there is no magic bullet just time, effort, energy and capital which I did and you didn’t.
Now what’s funny is people that know how I operate and use these tactics come back and try the same tactic. I am starting to think it’s me but some of my coin collecting buddies have witnessed this and confirmed if anything I am too nice.
Note, I am tolerant if these tactics are used by a young person the first time we meet because then I educate them on what I consider is a better more honorable way to deal. It’s the older generation where I find these tactics are used the most.
There are other situational examples but these are some of the most common.
I am confident there are others on this forum that have similar experiences and I am curious how do you handle them?
Also, please share your experiences because we all can learn.
Sorry for the long post but I feel better now I vented. 😁
Comments
I sell very few coins, and have not encountered such issues. I do buy, and occasionally will make an offer for a coin. I usually present a reasonable offer, perhaps ten to fifteen percent below marked price. I have had accepts and a couple of rejects. I do not go back on the rejects, that is what I was willing to pay, if not good enough, OK, moving on now. Cheers, RickO
Here's why that happens -
"I'm interested in that coin, would you take $850.00?"
Sure that sounds fair -
"Crap, I think I could have got it for $825.00"
Wisdom has been chasing you but, you've always been faster
As long as I've been involved in the hobby I've seen some of that chiseling mentality. On the whole I think I see less of it than I used to as market data has gotten more transparent and widely available to everybody, grading more objectively refereed, spreads narrower, and so on.
If someone makes an offer that’s clearly unreasonable, odds are that they’re clueless or trying to buy the coin way below fair market value. And by the way, comparing the offer to your cost in the coin, isn’t the way to determine whether an offer is reasonable.
If you think the offeror might be clueless, it becomes a matter of whether you want to spend the time and effort to try to educate him. If someone is unaware of market values, I’d try to provide some helpful information and encourage him not to buy coins until he becomes more knowledgeable.
On the other hand, if it appears that the offeror is just trying to rip the coin, I’d briefly provide information regarding current price levels and let him pass or play at MY price.
I realize it’s widespread in this and many other fields, but I don’t like to engage in back and forth negotiations. Many years ago, a dealer came up to my table at a show, looked at a coin and asked me for my best price on it. I quoted him my best price. He countered and I passed. Over the next day and a half, the dealer came back to my table two more times and tried to buy the coin for something below my “best price”. I declined, each time. I also told him that he’d asked for my best price and that’s what I’d quoted. He must have believed me, because he bought the coin at my original “best price”.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
First of all, if I was looking at coins in Antique Mall cases I would expect the prices to be less than PCGS price guides and the seller (at best, a collector, as opposed to someone who just happened to come across some coins) to be working with a narrower margin.
Here is my other side of the table experience from yesterday's local coin show. I had a nice coin with a PCGS value of $525. I thought $400 would be a fair price to sell and was willing to go to $390. Every dealer liked it, pulled out their Greysheet, and pointed out the listed $340 with offers below that. One dealer with a nice assortment of coins told me $300 and volunteered he would make a few bucks selling it a little over $340.
After learning his pricing strategy, it was unfortunate he didn't have anything in his case I wanted to buy.
Welcome to the world of coin retail.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
If I paid too much, I'd first sober up to the reality of what they are really worth. I have taken substantial losses in the past by exercising poor judgment. You have to exit at some point, just don't let things go lower than they are worth. You could list on ebay with offers considered. Many have waited months if not over a year for a reasonable offer.
I suspect the impression you're making for some must be encouraging the objectionable behavior.
Be courteous, yet be firm, and then wish them well.
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
Just get the bouncer then you both carry him to show entrance and throw him out the door lol.
But seriously:
Setting up at shows selling can be tough. I mark up material for most part cost plus say 50 pct, some 100 pct. For US Classic coins I refer to CPG,CF, NN. This can sometimes force a more narrow spread. It can be tough even get that.
Like background radiation - Many will try haggle. They really don’t know how to price coins / currency and believe if they talk you down they get a good deal. So leaving room for yourself for counter offer is key. Then there are the little sludge of the show know it alls who have their own style of nuisance. If a narrow spread coin say $1000 ask price and $900 cost and they low ball you with $500 offer just tell them “my ask price the lowest the consignor will go.” Pad the price so you have room come down some. Many bullion slabbed ASE I sell I might have $50 in the coin sell price $60. If they try low ball me might say “lowest consignor will go” or “it’s just $2 over cost best I can do.”
I sell a lot of low pop graded world coins and currency. Besides raw there is no price guide so mark up 50-100 pct or sometimes more if top pop item. This leaves room to negotiate and still make money.
As far as the bourse room players basically I owe them nothing except the coin they paid for or payment of the coin I bought from them. I use a cost and retail code for the coin or banknote. If they try to argue about it with me (some BS what dealer A has it at or that coin only worth x) it’s time for them to leave my table. Just politely eject them from your table if it’s evident a deal satisfactory for you can’t be concluded. Be professional, enjoy the show, scout around what the other dealers have, and enjoy the coin show food especially if free.
This!
You have some excellent responses but I agree you may need to be a little more firm.
And someone mentioned “don’t immediately except and offer, even if you’ll take it” Most people, me included will be thrown with not having to work just a little, meaning I just might have burned myself. Not a good feeling.
Keep at it, you’ll improve with more practice.
And I’m not a coin dealer, but sales is sales!😉
Many buyers want "deals" and won't buy unless they get them. With US coin prices as high as they are now I'm not surprised to see you are experiencing price resistance. If you read this forum you might get the impression that everyone is willing to pay PCGS price guide prices. That is not the case in the real market, especially if the coins you are selling are not in PCGS plastic with a sticker.
The "upper one percent" may still be comfortable paying record prices for collectibles but the other ninety-nine percent are not.
In addition, your location at an antique mall screams "overpriced coins" to many buyers. My own experience years back was that looking for coins at antique malls was a waste of time.
My first thought was that the problem is your venue. Change where you sell
“in general my pricing strategy is to have a net sale price close to the pcgs.com guide with my cost normally at greysheet.”
Unreasonable strategy for a hobbyist/collector, as is to “not lose money” which is akin to “not spend money.”
Invest in investments. Spend money on hobbies.
If you want to be a coin dealer, and buy wholesale/sell retail, there is a lot of competition.
People who negotiate will always negotiate.
Nobody wants to buy at an antique mall for the same price as Legends.
It's not just coins.
Every person lately is offering 50 cents on the dollar?
Maybe they all got some MEMO that I didn't on how to piss off sellers.
It's a buyers market YA right!
I'll sit in my junk thank you very much, tired of giving everything away for the last 40 years.
That being said, most everything is negotiable at some point, might as well hit a home run on the first swing and see if I sticks mentally does set a tone.
I've sold stuff at 25% off and at that it's really not worth my time...I'm sorta glad to be rid of the item but I wouldn't consider it a fun hobby.
The ones that show up in a $50,000 pick-up truck and want me to make them a deal are the BEST.
50? That’s not even a lot these days. Many of these newer trucks are pushing 100k with options now 😅
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I've seen so much raw material priced higher than PCGS guide it's kind of ludicrous.
I've picked up a couple things at those locations over the years, but most of the time it's overpriced dreck that they hope catches the eye of someone who doesn't know they could get the same thing elsewhere for a thrd of the price.
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
Thank you for all the comments.
Bullsitter: that comic strip you posted is priceless