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Some of the Stupidest Comments Coin Dealers Have Made to me in the Past

1) "Well....I know this coin is technically low end for the grade, but I like the frosty appearance so I want double bid for it"

2) "Yep, no question your coin is definately nicer, but mine's in a better holder so it's worth a lot more"

3) "I have no idea what its worth, DMPL Morgans are not my specialty, but I'll give 'ya $300.00 for it and take my chances"

4) "I'm actually selling this at a loss to you, another dealer just offered me more than I'm selling it to you for"

5) "This coin is AT LEAST 3 points undergraded, I need a bunch for it"

6) "If you think my price seems high, I'm a strong buyer at $1875.00 for them, but I don't need any right now"

Anyone have any other gems of wisdom to share??

dragon



edited to add one more:

7) "If you don't take it, I have someone else who wants it right now at a higher price"

Comments

  • Hi, Dragon -

    It probably works both ways... I'm sure some costumers exaggerate or say ludicrous things to dealers, too. I guess coins always look better to the person that's doing the selling.

    I look forward to reading the responses. This should be an entertaining thread!

    Dan
  • LucyBopLucyBop Posts: 14,001 ✭✭✭
    Well, I'll tell you....

    At the El Paso Coin show yesterday..... I looked some of those big bad grumpy dealers in the eyes....

    they wound up kinda speachless.......
    imageBe Bop A Lula!!
    "Senorita HepKitty"
    "I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
  • goose3goose3 Posts: 11,471 ✭✭✭
    when I was selling my spare Snow3 '56 Flyer.....

    "greysheet says............." LOL
  • A friend of mine tells the story of seeing a dime marked 1916 D in a dealer's case at a show. He asked to see the the low grade coin and when he turned it over one could clearly make out that the coin had an S mintmark. He says to the guy, "You might want to double check that because it looks like an S mintmark." The guy doesn't even skip a beat, saying, ' Yea, some of them look like that' as he calmly put the coin back in the case.
  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    Earlier this week I was at a local coin shop and the dealer told me that they didn't make half dollars between 1943 and 1949. I argued with her and asked if maybe she was confusing half dollars with proof sets. She looked at me like I was an idiot - until she found the section in the Red Book. image

    Russ, NCNE
  • foodudefoodude Posts: 3,568 ✭✭✭
    I know the coin is only worth $35 now, but I paid $80 for it, so I need to get at least $80 for it.


    I know the coin is a solid 65, ... if it didn't have that mark in the field it would be a 66, so I need close to 66 $ for it.
    Greg Allen Coins, LLC Show Schedule: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/573044/our-show-schedule-updated-10-2-16 Authorized dealer for NGC, PCGS, CAC, and QA. Member of PNG, RTT (Founding Platinum Member), FUN, MSNS, and NCBA (formerly ICTA); Life Member of ANA and CSNS. NCBA Board member. "GA3" on CCE.
  • GaCoinGuyGaCoinGuy Posts: 2,761 ✭✭✭✭
    Here's my personal fav..............


    "Sure, I have about 12 69 proof sets back here in this box, but I can't let ya see em unless you wanna buy em all."


    imageimage

  • RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    Yeah, I frequently get something similar when I ask to look at sets.

    Me: Do you have any 1964 to 1970 sets?
    Dealer: You planning on buying any?
    Me: I am if I can cherrypick you for an obscene profit.

    image

    Russ, NCNE
  • I was at the Chicago show last year and had a conversation with a dealer that went something like this......

    Me: "Nothing in a slab for sale huh....."
    Them: "No, heavens no, they are worth more raw! I crack out coins in PCGS holders all of the time and sell them for twice as much"

    mmmmmm
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    How much are you into it?
    All glory is fleeting.
  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "$____ is the best i can do."

    al h.image
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    These are some of my gems from the past 30 years:

    My younger brother had purchased a choice BU $20 Saint from our local dealer for $325. A few weeks later he sold it for $375 as gold
    ascended in the late 1970's. When the dealer found out he said:
    "you little speculator, had I known you were gonna sell it I'd have never sold it to you!"

    I was attempting to sell back a BU 1837 RE half to another local dealer when she said, "that's not mine." Right. And 19 year old kids find BU bust halves for $500 all over the place and try to pawn them back on unsuspecting dealers.

    Was looking to sell a first gen PCGS PF66 toner matte proof 1914 BUFF around 1997 at a Boston show. At the time I was not fully aware of how much grading standards had changed. The dealer said, "I'll take a shot on it for "bid" but don't really know where I can go with it or if I could even make money with it." Unfortunately I sold it to him and later realized it was likely of PF67+ type quality.

    Roadrunner


    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,075 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Maybe Dr. Laura should write a book on the 10 things that coin dealers do to mess up their lives followed by a sequel on the 25 things they do to mess up OUR lives.
    theknowitalltroll;
  • foodudefoodude Posts: 3,568 ✭✭✭
    I just ignore the grade on the slab, and sell it for what the grade really is. ... No I don't have any in stock that are over graded ... all mine are correct for the grade or undergraded.

    I just put a piece of tape over the grade and sell
    it for what I think is the right grade. After you buy it, you can pull the tape off and see how my grade compares.

    I over heard the later one recently.
    Greg Allen Coins, LLC Show Schedule: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/573044/our-show-schedule-updated-10-2-16 Authorized dealer for NGC, PCGS, CAC, and QA. Member of PNG, RTT (Founding Platinum Member), FUN, MSNS, and NCBA (formerly ICTA); Life Member of ANA and CSNS. NCBA Board member. "GA3" on CCE.
  • islemanguislemangu Posts: 1,378 ✭✭✭
    repeated use of: "I've got someone interested who wants to see them but thought I'd give you first shot"
    image
    YCCTidewater.com
  • stmanstman Posts: 11,352 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have nothing negative to say about dealers. I know they always tell me the truth, and try and educate me. But when they act up, I refer them to my sig line.
    Please... Save The Stories, Just Answer My Questions, And Tell Me How Much!!!!!
  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,376 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I passed on a coin in the AM from Dealer A. Dealer B buys it and later in the day offers it to me (same grade).

    "Tim, I just made this coin and I'm giving you first shot at it"imageimage
    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Lakesammman, that is funny as hell. Wish I were there.

    At the summer ANA show last year I had one dealer who didn't want to show me his newps. This, after selling him $8000 in coins the day before at what I learned 30 minutes later was 10% under market.

    Him: I'm looking for strong money on these (newps).

    Me: I can pay strong money if they are nice.

    Him: Yeah, but I want retail for these.

    Me: I've paid full retail and then some at times.

    Him: But I want "retail retail" for these.

    _________________________________________________


    Same dealer commented on one of the coins I was selling him:

    Him: I just paid $200 under what you want for this identical coin.
    (shows me the same type coin but in an NGC holder and dipped
    out blast white with lots of light hairlines and scratches)

    Me: But my coin is PCGS, totally original, and with lovely toning and
    skin. They aren't even close.

    Him: I can sell my white coin much quicker than your toned one.
    Yours is no different to me.

    (one week later my coin had been sold at a 20% markup while the
    NCG dipped out death coin was still unsold weeks later at $500 less.)

    roadrunner




    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • orevilleoreville Posts: 11,950 ✭✭✭✭✭
    At the NY ANA in 1997 a dealer offered me a nice coin and I looked at him and asked if he was willing to split the price between bid and ask. He handed me his greysheet notioning that I did not have to use mine. I looked the the prices and was stunned at the greysheet prices. They were too high. I kept staring at the greysheet and noted that he had SELL marked all over it. Then I realized it was a very old greysheet from 1989 (forget which month).

    I then looked at him and said that greysheet was no good and that it was too old for me to buy coins with.

    He then looked back at me and said.........(my comment ....you guys and gals have to sit down for this one)...................

    "I don't use that one for buying either, I use this one motioning to his other greysheet marked BUY all over it"

    I asked what date was that greysheet.?

    He said xxxx xx 1995.

    I said "well, you expect me to buy that?"

    "Sure," he said "you are thinking about it aren't you?"

    I handed the coin back to him and said, "sorry, that was not what I meant but, no I don't want the coin either."

    A Collectors Universe poster since 1997!

  • "Almost Cameo!!!"
    My Collection of National Notes
    "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."
  • NicNic Posts: 3,364 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My favorite still is the one I got 30 years ago when I was 14yrs. old selling six cull silver dollars. "I don't think they are real but can waste $2 each." K
  • dragondragon Posts: 4,548 ✭✭
    Just remembered a few more I've heard.....


    8) "I know the holder says MS66RB, but it must have been a clerical error as anyone can see it's a full red, so I'm asking MS66RD money for it"

    9) "You don't wanna know the price on that one, it's a 64 in an AU55 holder. In fact, all of these Bust dollars are undergraded by at least 4-5 points so just ignore what the holders say"

    10) "I'm pricing this as a 65 because this one is a shot 65 in a 64 holder, if you take it and get it bumped, I'd buy it back at 65 money all day long"
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,075 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sometimes you get the idea that a coin dealer is one of those guys who can follow you in a revolving door and come out ahead of you.
    theknowitalltroll;
  • After telling a dealer I was looking for more original material than the scrubbed to death certified Barber Quarter he had.

    "The grading services don't slab cleaned coins" image
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "BU WASHINGTON QUARTERS WILL TRIPLE!"

    That dealer was right on the money. Only thing was that he said this to me in 1975. I bought a bunch of choice BU Washingtons and after seeing them go nowhere for several years, sold them off.

    He was dead right and probably for all the right reasons. But he was almost 25 years too early with his prediction. They did triple but it took decades.

    roadrunner
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,944 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Dealer: "That seems like a bargain price. Why are you passing on it?

    Me: "Those scratches that look like adjustments marks were put there to hide some initials that have been carved into the coin."

    Dealer: "Oh yea, I was going to tell you about that before you bought the piece."

    imageimageimageimageimage
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • You can trust me I am a member of the ANA. image
  • Why would I sell it to you? You'll just make money on it.
    Please visit my website prehistoricamerica.com www.visitiowa.org/pinecreekcabins
  • I remembered another one from that show. He was right in the middle of conning a poor buyer... "THIS is a HIGH relief 1921 Peace dollar...... not a regular one.... see..... it says "HIGH RELIEF" on the slab..... this one is harder to get......image
  • image
    Robert Getty - Lifetime project to complete the finest collection of 1872 dated coins.
  • GaCoinGuyGaCoinGuy Posts: 2,761 ✭✭✭✭
    After reading all these stories...it makes me wonder if dealers have that low of an opinion of collectors, or do they just think we're that stupid?
    imageimage

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