Returning coins you are not sure you like ?? keets/dragon

PQpeace

The keets/dragon thread made me think a little bit about my own experiences buying coins through the mail.

I have received coins that I have spent a week looking at hundreds of times thinking if I should keep or send back.

Think about that for a minute.

If you have to spend more than 2-5 minutes looking at it determining if it has the right eye appeal/grade etc..something is very wrong.
Your first impression is usually the right one.

Here is what I do now..
I open the package and look at the coin in whatever light I am near at the time.
If I like the coin,I will bring it in my office and look at it under my 100 watt bulb.
If I still like it,I will take my 5 power glass out and inspect again.
After 2 or 3 minutes,you will know if the coin is nice or not so nice.
If you have to keep thinking about it..over and over..the coin HAS To be sent back.
Do not let the seller pressure you into changing your mind.

Anyway..these are my thoughts as I have to return to work ...
Please let me know your thoughts on this question..AND if KEETS followed my rule of thumb,he would not be where he is today...

Back to the group,
Larry

BlueCole

Works for me

B.

jom

Almost exactly what I do. Usually get it back to the PO the next day if I don't like it.

jom

Dog97

I've kept cheap coins I didn't like because of the hassle in sending them back but if I buy a $3,000 coin and it don't IMPRESS me I'll send it back. Especially if it is a common model that's readily available in nice condition like a 83-CC DMPL.

shirohniichan

Yea, verily.

Bear

First rule of thumb - If your gut instinct tells you not to keep a coin, then never, never go against that instinct. Every time I did not follow that rule , I got burned. Never let "experts" talk you into a buy , when your own instincts say no, no, no. The collector buying a coin is the sole and ultimate arbiter, if the coin meets the standards and likes of the buyer. The cautious rather then nausious Bear.

keets

how long do i have to stand in the corner!! i really hate these time-out's!!

al h.

prooflike

You're right bear, the only coin I had to return I know it within 2 seconds...

Placid

I do the same as Dog97.

Bear

Keets - You can now return to your seat, and the class will continue , hopefully, with a different topic. Bear

keets

does that mean i can take off this stupid pointy hat?

al h.

RLinn

Welcome back on the playground keets.

I strongly agree with the "first impression" wisdom shared here. As a collector, I am the only one that has to like (or dislike) the coin. Sometimes, I still find myself on the fence and feel stronly both ways (keep/send back). In those instances I'll do a side-by-side of the coin in question with another from the same series that I know I like and why. This always gets me off the fence.

shylock

Larry

That piece of advice is the first thing I'd tell any new collector once they've acquired a decent frame of reference in a series. It certainly was my downfall on more than one occasion.

My time frame is even shorter, and is basically a 10 second rule. If I have any doubts about a coin in the first 10 seconds it almost always turns into regret months later. Human nature & expectations being what they are, we have a tendency to talk ourselves into liking coins that are borderline.

I also agree with those who say you need to sell some of your coins periodically to challenge your judgement. Sometimes a humbling and costly experience, but priceless in the long run.

ccrdragon

Same for me - I have only returned one coin and I knew the instant that I looked at it that it was not the coin that I wanted. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice coin and I can't point to anything specific on the coin that I didn't like - I just knew that it wasn't the coin that I wanted to fill that hole in my set with.

Bear

Keets - Yes, you can take off the pointed hat. But just to be on the safe side, dont throw it away. Bear

keets

ROTFLMAO!!!! ya got me bear!!!!

al h.

coinguy1

As a retail dealer in primarily very high quality mint state and proof coins, I tell my cleints the follwing :

"unless the coin is irreplaceable (and most are not), if you have to think about whether whether you want to keep it or not, you should return it". "You shouldn't have to talk yourself into a coin". "It doesn't matter what others think of it if you don't like it". Every once in a while I will say "In case it matters, this is the best one I have seen in 20 years and you will likely not find a better one. But, I wil not try to talk you into buying it, even if that is what you want me to do".

I talk clients out of a lot of coins but at the same time, have a lot of satisfied customers.

Bear

This reminds me of a story, If you dont like the girl you brung to the dance, then dont marry her. It dont get any better over time. Bear

Alltec

Bear - Where was that advise for me 10 years ago?

PQpeace

kEETS..
We all learn while we play.
I have learned alot in my 39 years of collecting.
I am no expert,but make fewer mistakes than I used to.
Let me know how much you want for your 65dmpl when you get it back.
I almost bought it before you did !
Larry

Bear

Chris - The problem was that the Forum did not exist 10 years ago. If it did, we would all probably still be single and be spending aaaaalllllllll of our money on coins instead of groceries. Bear

Alltec

Bear - You're right on the money!

pmh1nic

Keets

Out of the corner, off with the pointy hat .


Dragon

Can you enlighten us on this golddigger person.

tradedollarnut

The only time I've been happy keeping a coin that I didn't like within a few looks was an extremely rare date that I ended up making a profit on when I sold it.

braddick

I live and breath by that rule.
Whether it's a PO01 or a MS68. I open the package and the coin either speaks kindly, lovingly to me- or is screaming profanities at me.

lathmach

When you pick up a coin, either you like it or you don't.
If it's for your own collection, and you don't like it and you still buy it......you're a DOPE.
You'll never like it, and if you buy it anyway and come back 4 months later Braying like a sniviling jacka$$, you're nothing but a DOLT.

Ray

PQpeace

OK GUYS..since we all agree on this golden rule...like it ..keep it....
don't like it,send it back..
None of us will ever have to deal with this type of thread/problem here again..

ok..repeat after me........

Larry

Bear

Ray - I think you are being a little harsh. We can give our opinions with out getting personal or insulting. Then again , I am only a little bear, so perhaps I am not as smart as people. It might be nice however if we were all just a little kinder to everyone on this Forum. People can make poor decisions and exhibit poor judgement with out being fools, dolts or crooks. The friendly little bear

WWBillman

Keets,

The most important thing here is you have learned a valuable lesson and that is "sometimes" worth the price paid. You are not alone there as every collector has paid for a lesson or two or three in the past.

I would sell you a coin any day.

cacheman

So, who the hell is Golddigger?

Bear

I think it was a miner in the 1849 California gold rush.

cacheman

er, Bear, I think you have been in hibernation much too long.

pmh1nic

Braddick

So you hear the same voices I do .

Bear

Catch - I have only one thing to say to you, and that is SNNORRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Bear

MacCoin

I have sent coins back, but it only took me a New York minite to know I was going to the post office soon.

Whitewashqtr

I have sent more than a few coins back in my time. Especially in the beginning of collecting my Washington (32-98) series. I knew right away that dogs will be dogs, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

But everyone has an opinion on a coin but at the end of the day its yours and you have to keep it.

BTW.. is it unusual to have a regrade downgraded? I have never heard of that.

IrishMike

I know you will all be shocked to hear that I disagree to a degree. I purchased a quarter off ebay because I liked its toning. Well the scan had lightened the toning and when I opened the package in my den I was disappointed. The next day I took it with me to work and under proper lightening I was stunned. It's the most beautiful coin I have ever owned. The lighting was just all wrong the first time I looked at it. Now when I go to coin shows, I still grab the coins that yell buy me, but now I take more time and study some of the ones that didn't impress me much the first time. By doing this I found a nice purple, brown and red 07 IHC. When I got it home and compared it to my other 07's it struck me as very well struck. Later I was able to determine with some help here that it was a proof 07. So two coins that I first wasn't impressed with are now two of my favorites. It pays to look at a coin a few times and like someone pointed out set it down and go look at it again.

PQpeace

Hey Mike..remember the 10 coins you sold me a month ago ??
I think I have decided I don't like any of them..can I return them ??
Just kidding...
They were all nice..thanks,Larry

DHeath

Bear,

My grandfather told me to watch how she treats the waiters and waitresses, because that's how she'll treat you in 6 mos. As for the coin, the slab is economics, and the coin is art. I know immediately if I like it. BTW - Mark, that's the smart way, and nobody likes to be sold anything.

oreville

Maybe Keets and Dragon are plotting on this together to get all of us to grade this silver dollar to convince PCGS that this silver dollar is really only an AU-53DMPL????

But we are holding the fort pretty well at 65 or 66DMPL so far......

Everyone...STAND YOUR GROUND!!!!

michael

for me the coin game is a fun thing as long as you adhere to some simple rules

one... it is a hobby not an investment yes some make big and that is great but that still doesnot make it an investment it is an unregulated industry for the most part and nothing in coins is guaranteed except the face value of the coins and this could change!

two... you SHOULD IN MY OPINION only spend money you can afford to lose

three....... if you look at a coin it is your decsison to buy it just make sure you know exactly what you are looking at and can judge value for yourself if you make a decsison to buy it weigh all your options and if you still buy it then you own it

four.... you do not need to buy any coins no one forses you if you never buy any coins you will survive if you buy let the buyer beware! now there are many great coins to buy and many great sellers but coins really have no value in and of themselves they only have a perceived value to the next person thinking of buying them and waht they will pay for them!!

five.... read and reread the above many times

pmh1nic

Irishmike

You really didn't disagree. Your first look, under improper lighting, really wasn't a first look. I think a lot of us take it for granted that your real first look and opportunity for the coin to speak to you (Braddick ) is under the proper conditions to give the coin a fair chance to speak (yea Braddick ).