Ethics Question... who should get the coin?

airplanenut

In a past transaction with an online dealer, I was told that all emails received overnight are read in the order received. Thus, from that email, it can be deduced that if a hold is requested for a coin, and it comes before an order for the coin is placed, the hold is honored. I requested yesterday that a hold be placed so I could combine shipping, pending an image being sent to me today for a different coin (to combine shipping).

Today, I'm told that all orders are processed, then every other email. So my hold wasn't honored, because an order for the coin was placed, albeit after my email.

In reality, no matter what's said, I'm SOL, the coin was sold. Ethically, who should get the coin? My email said that I'd be in contact by phone no later than today to finish the deal.

Jeremy

RYK

Tough one. I do not want to take sides, but one might consider an actual order to purchase a coin takes precedent over an email request to hold a coin. This might be a reasonable business practice. Personally, if I am really hot to get a coin, I always call ASAP. If I am lukewarm, I send an inquiring email.

Sorry it did not work out as you expected.

Robert

relayer

Asking to hold a coin doesn't generate revenue so I can understand how an actual order to buy would be processed first.

A Yes wins over a Maybe.

It's like the car rental joke on Sinefeld when he had a reservation for a rental car, but was told there were no cars available. He pointed out they know how to take the reservation, but not actual honor the reservation by holding the car.

XpipedreamR

It's not clear to me in your post how you can be sure that your request came in before the order for the coin. If your request was definitely received before the order, and this is someone with whom you've done prior business, I think you should be a little annoyed. I might tell the dealer he could keep his other coin, too.

In any case, they're not doling out organ transplants; they're just coins. C'est la vie.

UncleJoe

Thus, from that email, it can be deduced that if a hold is requested for a coin, and it comes before an order for the coin is placed, the hold is honored.

I think the deduction is incorrect. When there has been no compensation, it is unreasonable to me that a sale be denied to a ready and able buyer.

Joe.

JrGMan2004

It's a tough one... if I've told a customer I'll hold the coin for them, I will hold it for X days, and then after that, it's open game, but, if I haven't said I'm going to hold it, though you've requested it, and I get an offer to buy, I'm going to sell... I'm not going to risk telling the other customer, I have it on hold for someone, and then you say no, and me go back to the other customer, and they've already moved on, if I get the requests at the same time... of course, it's a case-by-case basis... a request to hold from a repeated and valued customer might take precedence over a request to buy from a first-timer when they come in at the same time...

tmot99

I agree that a sale comes before a hold. I would have told them that you wanted to buy it but wanted to possibly combine shipping with another coin that you might buy pending photos. If you only requested a "hold" on the first coin, then the sale comes first.

A business is about making money and a hold doesn't do that. A sale does.

ArgentumRex

If the dealer has clearly agreed to hold the coin for you, then the hold definitely comes before the sale. It's a fairly standard practice, especially for an established customer.

airplanenut

First, here's the email I sent--at least the relevant part of it:

"I'd like to ask a few questions about it [the one I really wanted], and wait for the images for another coin to possibly combine shipping, but don't want to lose this coin in the meantime. If I haven't gotten the image/an email response by tomorrow afternoon, I'll do my best to call so the coin isn't held for a long time."



<< <i>Personally, if I am really hot to get a coin, I always call ASAP. If I am lukewarm, I send an inquiring email. >>

Business hours were over--if that weren't the case, I'd have been on the phone ASAP.



<< <i>Asking to hold a coin doesn't generate revenue so I can understand how an actual order to buy would be processed first. >>

Granted, but I was told in the past that if I sent, for example, an image request, and asked for the coin to be held pending the image being taken, as long as the request arrived before the order, the coin would be held. It was the employee who was, apparently, wrong.

Jeremy

Keyrock

If it is a sale then its got priority over the hold. I think you should have told him to mark the coin sold and you were interested in a few more items. To me hold just means you have a interest and you may be shopping around for the best price/bargin shopping.

If I was a dealer and I got a "hold" email then two "sold" emails followed the hold, the first sold email would have secured the coin. The sold statment commits, the hold does not.

Yumawolf

The GOLDEN RULE: He who has the gold rules!

KurtHorn

I've had this same thing happen to me recently. I try and tell myself that if I was that upset about them selling it that I should have bought it outright with a return priveldge rather than ask them to hold it. Sorry though...