Just curious - did you ever go back and pay someone more for a coin AFTER the sale was finalized?

dan1ecu

Hi, All -

Did you ever buy a coin for too low a price, and then try to make it right later by giving the seller more money?

Perhaps you didn't disclose something about the coin to a less knowledgeable seller, and then felt guilty later?

Maybe after taking a closer look at the coin that you bought, you realized that it was a much more valuable piece than either you or the seller had realized?

Maybe you kind of took advantage of a seller's financial situation at the time of the sale, and you went back later to correct the situation?


I'm just wondering... were you ever on either end of a situation like the ones mentioned above?

Dan

nwcs

No because they had their chance. Besides, I have never had a dealer come back to me and give me money because they made too much on a coin I sold them. I invest in knowledge for a reason. It's the dealer's responsibility to know their material. That said, though, I will always point out an obvious mistake in pricing or similar things when it's clear that it's a mistake.

100proof1957

You mean bargain them up ? Ipso Facto ?

airplanenut

I haven't, but in the future, it would depend on who it was. If it was a dealer, tough luck for him--he should know what he sells--why should he profit because I took the time to educate myself?

Suppose, however, it were a friend, and I realized after I got the coin (perhaps when I got ready to sell it) that it was a rare variety, or something to that extent (not just that the market went up since I bought the coin). Then I'd probably go back and offer some more, along with a bit of education.

Jeremy

JrGMan2004

It depends...

A dealer... No...

Another collector... Maybe...

A good friend... likely...

Veep

Actually, last summer I bought several coins from an older couple. One was a 1916-D Walker which was darkly toned and difficult to grade. I paid them AU money for it. PCGS called it MS63. I sent the couple a check to "make it right."

Justhavingfun

Yes, of course, if I buy from someone who was naive. I had a friend buying coins for me in the Philippines and one day he came in with a bunch of XF and AU Barber Halves which he had bought from a woman's cookie jar. They were worth $200 to $400 each, and he had paid about $25 each for them. I asked him to go back and pay her 2, 3, even 4 times as much.

I gotta live with myself, and I wouldn't have slept well at night if I had cheated an innocent like that.

If the woman had been a dealer, though, that would have been different. A dealer should know his or her stuff and if he doesn't, that's his (or her) watch.

So one time on eBay, I saw a US Philippine 1918-S Large S centavo, slabbed MS63 by NGC, offered for sale as an ordinary 1918-S. The Large S variety is a huge scarcity and the coin was worth thousands (which I bid). But I scarfed it up at something like $200 plus postage. It was like buying a 1909-S VDB Lincoln for 1909-S prices

But another time, I did bail out a friendly dealer who had supplied me with many, many good US-Philippines coins. He phoned me to say that he had an 1897 Spanish-Philippine Peso in MS62 (NGC) for $125. I thanked him for giving me right of first refusal on it, and told him I'd take it. But I also told him that he should charge me more because the coin -- although common in AU, was very scarce, maybe even rare in unc. He tripled the price and I payed it without wincing.

Here was another principle at work. This was a dealer who was going out of his way to take good care of me; I thought I should go out of my way to take good care of him.

Enjoy,


Just Having Fun

Russ

Yes.

Russ, NCNE

Wondo

I think I probably would not reimburse the seller if he were a dealer, but if he were a friend I would.

This brings up a couple of interesting questions:

#1. Can dealers be friends?

#2. How come we crucify the dealer who overcharges us, but the one who undercharges us is "out of luck"?

#3. Is "fair and honest" only applicable if we are the ones treated that way?

Comments ?

ccex

Yes, several times, and I have also had a couple of buyers pay me more for a coin after the fact.

I have only offered to pay more to a full time coin dealer once, and that was to a dealer I consider a personal friend (He invited me to his house and bought my family dinner).

Would I pay a stranger more for a coin after the sale was finalized? Of course not

MICHAELDIXON

I have on several occasions. Several board members have been involved in such transactions with me. Normally, when I buy a certified coin and it upgrades, I'll split the profit with the seller.

seanq

Ordinarily I'd say no, but I had a special case recently where I did. I bought a 1941 DDO#2 cent from a collector on eBay with a $3.99 Buy It Now, listed as an XF. The coin was actually AU/UNC and an early die state to boot. I believe I even started a thread here bragging about it. After it arrived, I wrote the seller, thanked him for the deal, ans asked if he had any other varieties, mentioning that I would pay far more for them than he was asking on eBay. He wrote back that he knew, and the Buy It Now on my coin was a mistake. I was impressed that he'd gone ahead and honored his end of the deal anyway, and I felt bad for him. I wrote back that if I'd seen the coin with his intended Buy It Now of $39.99 I would have still jumped on it, and I sent him the $36 difference.

Related story - back when I as first selling on eBay, I had a buyer of a low-cost coin send me a check for $10 (about three times his winning bid) with a note that the coin was worth that much to him.


Sean Reynolds

originalisbest

I do think it's situational, and that's not bad, if it's a matter of $10 and it's a friendly individual, why not - if it's a dealer and it's a matter of some rare variety worth thousands - why would you? Or rather, if everyone was scrupulously honest in that regard, would cherrypicking and cherrypicking guides be such a popular concept? Would Russ have 1/10th the dcams he has? Etc....

construct

Yes. It was to a dealer at a show. It was a slow Sunday morning so I picked out a few inexpensive coins. I laid them on the counter with what I thought was the full marked price. He looked a little disgusted, but picked up the money without saying anything. I picked up the coins and went on my way. About halfway across the bourse floor I realized that I had misadded and had paid him only half the marked price. I went back to him, apologized profusely and paid the rest. One onlooker was shocked that I had done that, but the dealer just beamed. I did what I had intended to do in the first place which was to brighten his day. I felt good about it, too, after I got over my embarrassment.

joeyuk

I had a couple examples of a newly listed variety and sold the first to a board member for $800. After selling the next two at $600 in the same grade I sent $200 back.

thebeav

Yes, I've done that. Not like I'm a great humanitarian or anything like that.....It just made good business sense at the times it occured.

Paul

Sphinx357

nope
nor have I had someone pay me more after buying an item of mine cheap

AgMe

Hello all,

...it depends...

a dealer = Should know what he's selling (on some level...)

a collector (that I like) = yes

a novice = I would let them know what they have & see if they want to set a higher price.

Since I'm mainly a collector, I really have no plans on selling any coins I buy (only if I can find a better example). Me and a friend were at a dealer's shop, and an employee came in w/ some coins. I looked through the lot & found two coins (same yr & mm) in a series that I collect. Since that's what I specialize in, I knew what the market price was.

I asked "best price"?

Dealer (hmmm hmmm) $20

(My friend) You pick first & I'll flip the other on e-bay. (He doesn't collect that series)

(me) Done.

Final price (other coin) = $220

OKbustchaser

I offered more to a dealer last fall when I cheried a rare bust half variety from him. He turned it down saying that he was getting what he needed from it. I wish I knew from whom he originally bought it ... I would make the offer to him. He's the one who lost out on the deal.

Jim

dthigpen

Yes, once, but it was only because I flipped it at 10x the price I paid at the same show.

MadMarty

Yes.