What would you do if a buyer offered more than your list price on a coin?

airplanenut

Suppose you are selling a coin for $100 (nice even number). You tell the buyer about the coin, send a picture, description, etc., but don't mention a price off-hand (maybe you're just showing, and not even explicitly saying it's for sale). The coin is on an active BST thread/website/eBay store for this $100, and the buyer doesn't know. He replies "I'll give you $115 for that coin."

Do you take the $115, or do you tell him the coin was listed for $100 elsewhere? What if it was listed for $100 on a BST thread that you haven't touched in a month, but nontheless, he could go find with the old price if he kept going back further and further.

This was just a question that randomly came to me when I woke up... let's see the answers

Jeremy

ms70

The first thing that comes to mind is that maybe the seller knows more about the value of the coin than I do. I suppose I would
recheck the value of it before proceeding.

ziggy29

I tell them I'm asking $100.

Had I placed it up for sale without stating a price, and an offer of $115 came in when I only wanted $100, I take the $115.

But if I put the $100 price in writing somewhere -- recently enough that the offer is presumably still on the table -- it would seem unethical to me to take the $115, and if the buyer later found out about it, that wouldn't reflect well on me, and I value my reputation at much more than $15.

dthigpen

Sell at $115 and edit the prior BST posts to reflect that price

JrGMan2004

Take the $115... you're not ripping him off... if you're negoitiating the price of a coin with someone, and you'll take $100 minimum, but you start at say, $120 and they counter offer $110, are you gonna say, well, I'll sell it to you at $100...??

CarlWohlforth

In your scenario, if the listing were current, I would let the buyer know the coin could be his for the $100. BST threads age and I would assume the offers expire or are subject to change after a reasonable amount of time. Listings on eBay stores or websites should be accurate and can be changed as the market changes.

I recently asked about a coin listed on a website. I was told I would get a return call later. I never did. I went back a few days later and saw the coin had a new, higher price. Hmmm.

I recently listed a coin on my website. Someone bought it from me at my listed price. That person did well with the coin and paid me more than my listed price.

MrEureka

He wouldn't have made an offer out of the blue unless he thought he had superior knowledge. You should try to learn from his offer and gracefully accept it.

Then quickly delete your BST post.

JrGMan2004

<< <i>He wouldn't have made an offer out of the blue unless he thought he had superior knowledge. You should try to learn from his offer and gracefully accept it.

Then quickly delete your BST post. >>

Exactly... I don't see it as unethical at all, but more a personal choice... I see it as he's made a reasonable offer that's acceptable to both parties... where is the unethical part? Is it unethical for me to sell a padded envelope to someone for 75 cents, when I know they can go to Wally World down the street and buy one for 40 cents?

astrorat

I've been there before . . . you say, "Great, it's yours . . . but I only need $100", (and perhaps you explain why).

How about this? You are looking at this really nice collector coin that your friend is showing you. You know it will fit perfectly in your collection so you offer them a strong price of, say $115. The friend says, "Sure, that would be fine", and the deal is made. A couple of days later you are mining some old listings and are interested to find the same coin. You dig further and you realize it was your friend's coin and they had it listed for sale at, say, $100. How would you feel?

What if it was a stranger and not a friend? Well, why would you treat a stranger differently?

Sometimes in a caveat emptor world, honor is lost.

Lane

IrishMike

I'd sell it to him for the price you have listed it for in the B/S/T. I often sell coins for less than I ask for even there if I know the board member well. Kindness and honesty pay off more in the long run than $.

stman

Ha, typical slimy dealer question. And the reason I NEVER "Make an offer."

More-so when somebody shoots me an image to see what my response will be.
A bit off topic but I see all these adds on the BST saying "For sale make an offer."
Once I see that I hit the back button and move on. If it's for sale, they should put a price on it IMO.

tmot99

I think that if the price is listed as $100 from you, then it might say something about you if you graceously take $115 unless the market has changed since your listing. Is it really worth the extra $15?

If it wasn't listed already, then $115 is fair game. Also, if the buyer knew you were asking $100 and wanted to be sure he/she got it and over bid, then $115 is fair game.

nwcs

I'd sell it for $115. I'd assume the guy looked at any others out there and decided he liked mine better. After all, no two coins are alike even at the same grade. Who is to say the buyer doesn't regard mine more highly than another? Now if the guy asked me to help him buy one, then I'd find a range of sources and give him options.

IrishMike

<< <i>Ha, typical slimy dealer question. And the reason I NEVER "Make an offer."

More-so when somebody shoots me an image to see what my response will be.
A bit off topic but I see all these adds on the BST saying "For sale make an offer."
Once I see that I hit the back button and move on. If it's for sale, they should put a price on it IMO. >>

PTVETTER

Here is both the answer and question all in one!!!!

INTEGRITY

Is it a word or value?

when you answer this you will have your answer

100proof1957

Different situation here.

Coin on FLEABAY that i want bad.
Email seller and ask what the price is to end the auction.
more than i want to pay so i just put in a decent bid and win the item for 80 bucks less.
I do some looking around and find were he bought the coin a month ago for half what i paid !
He got a rip and i felt i got a rip.
How the heck i missed the first rip is beyond me !!!!

Anyway,ziggy has the right idea !

braddick

Sell it at $100. and have a future buyer and friend for life.

Sell it at $115. and have a disgruntled buyer. It's a small collecting world we live in and believe me, he'll know, one way or another, that you 'overcharged' him $15.

Quick story: Awhile back I allowed a return on a Morgan that had been properly imaged and described. I even, on my own returned the two way postage.
Since then I've sold multiple lots to the same buyer/collector and have gained a friend whereas I would have not gained anything had I not accepted a return in the first place.

Always look at the big picture.

keets

Do you take the $115, or do you tell him the coin was listed for $100 elsewhere? What if it was listed for $100 on a BST thread that you haven't touched in a month, but nontheless, he could go find with the old price if he kept going back further and further.

as a reflection of the turbulent times, what if the price went up/down in the last month?? the $115 price may be a bargain. how do you know the buyer hasn't seen the BST thread and is keeping that knowledge to himself??

i think Andy is closest to the proper reasoning. the buyer made an offer that he thinks is fair.

al h.

KentuckyJ

Did they ask you "what is your best price?" No? Then it's perfectly ok to accept their $115.00 offer. If you want to score points with the buyer, tell them you can sell it for $100.00.

KJ

coinguy1

If you have a coin listed for sale at $100 (and assuming that listing was not an error), you sell the coin for $100, regardless of whether you think the person making the $115 offer could find that listing or not.

I think the (possible) superior knowledge on the part of the buyer should be moot under the circumstances presented.

Russ

Sell it at the original $100.

Russ, NCNE

RotatedRainbows

Tell him you were hoping to get $125 for it but since it is Christmas time you will give him the super special Christmas discount and sell it to him for $100. It will make him feel good to think he is getting the special Christmas bonus price.

coinguy1

<< <i>Tell him you were hoping to get $125 for it but since it is Christmas time you will give him the super special Christmas discount and sell it to him for $100. It will make him feel good to think he is getting the special Christmas bonus price >>

And it will make Jeremy feel badly about having lied.

astrorat

Did we agree it was "superior" knowledge on the part of the buyer to offer $115? What if it was "inferior" knowledge and the buyer just threw out $115 because that is what they thought was fair? As Jeremy stated, the coin had languished for a month on a B/S/T board where, supposedly, knowledgable buyers passed at $100.

Lane

MrEureka

For all it's worth, in 30 years of business, I've never had this happen to me when buying or selling. The closest thing to it is when a seller asks me for an offer, I make an offer, I buy the coin, and I later find out that others were offered the coin for less. In that case, the seller did nothing unethical. But I might not be so quick to make that seller an offer in the future.

BigE

Sell it for 115 and ship it overnight to him at no charge--------------BigE

Fairlaneman

Active $100 price on a web site that would be what it is sold for. A six month old listing on the BST forum does not seem to be a active listing IMO so $115 would sound reasonable in this White Hot Market.

Ken

DaveG

If the offer at $100 is still valid, then I'd tell the buyer that I'm offering the coin for $100.

If, on the other hand, you forgot to end the offer on the B/S/T board and you would no longer sell it should someone find the listing and ask you about it, then I'd accept the $115 - and go back and edit the B/S/T listing.

After all, if I found a dealer's fixed-price list from a month or two ago, I wouldn't necessarily assume that the prices were still valid - I'd ask first.

michael

sell for 100 dollars


michael

morgannut2

I can't believe the ethical contortions some guys go thru for an extra 15 bucks!! I agree with Coinguy1, not even a close call.

BigE

So if it was a 1500.00 ethical question would it be different------------BigE

guysmy

Both honest alternatives IMO:

1) Sell at $100.
2) Knowing that some people are simply generous. Take the money and include a cool $15 christmas gift in the package.

Louis

I guess I'll have to withdraw my offer.

FatMan

Sell it to him for $100. Honesty and Integrity are paramount during business transactions. This is a no brainer, a Win-Win situation that is the envy of any business transaction. You make the sale at full offering price, and the buyer gets what he perceives as a great deal. If one did otherwise I would question their business acumen.

Look at the alternative, what if the buyer showed the coin to someone else who said "yea, thats a nice coin. I saw that listed on the BST board and almost pulled the trigger. Nice coin for $100." You've just lost a customer.

RYK

I had a coin listed on the BST board for "X" for about a month. Not even the slightest inkling of a nibble. I showed the coin to a favorite dealer at the ANA and told him that I wanted to sell it. I also told him that I had it on the BST board for "X" and had no interest in it whatsoever. He told me had he known, he would have immediately sent me a check. Then, he took it from me, upgraded it, and sold it and sent me "1.5 times X".

paigowjohnny

If you're happy with the $100...then sell it for $100, and tell him why....
1. You win...you got the price you really wanted...
2. He wins...he thinks he got a good deal, and you sold him $15 of good will