Buying from honest dealers vs. buying at auction

dan1ecu

What are your thoughts on purchasing coins from an honest dealer versus bidding on coins at an auction? What are the pluses and minuses of each?

Dan

CalGold

Instead of selling his problem coins and over graded material to his clients, an honest dealer dumps them into auctions where they can be sold anonimously at a price determined by the efficient market. A dishonest dealer buys those coins at auction and sells them to his clients at full retail as "nice" for grade or "pq" coins.

CG

relayer

Actually your statement honest dealers vs. buying at auction is an oxymoron.

You don't BUY at auctions - you WIN them

RYK

I prefer to buy coins from trusted dealers (usually from inventory or want list, rarely via auction representation) over buying coins myself (usually sight-unseen) from auction.

roadrunner

Honest dealers who are truly looking out for your welfare are far and few between. Their primary objective is to make money, and then service accounts. It's hard to need to make 15-25% per transaction and then give you a "good deal."

The only true panacea is to know what you're buying and either find one of those 1 in 20 dealers or learn for yourself. What worked best for me years back was having a technically astute professional buying for me at auction. That was when middlemen dealers ruled the auction halls. With the advent of the internet it's much harder to buy a bargain at auction these days.

roadrunner

BillJones

I've been buying coins as a collector since 1961 and buying and selling coins as a dealer since 1995. I've used some auctions with some success, but I'd vote for the honest dealer everytime. If you get a really good person, he or she will help you build your collection with coins that fit your standards at prices that will be fair, relative to the market.

Many auctions are a pain in the butt. Most of the auctions that I use are run by the same honest dealers from whom I buy coins via "private treaty. " The reason is that I trust their grading and descriptions have had very few returns. With others, including some of the "big boys" you had better look at the material in person before you bid. If you don't, you can be in for some nasty surprises.

Another problem with auctions is that you can have the "idiot factor." You find a great coin or token, place a strong bid, and end up with nothing because of bidders who are willing to pay "any price."

If you are looking for a wide variety of items Auctions can yeild some bargains. BUT chances are if you a collector who is looking for a narrow group of items, you will waste a lot time at auctions.

Serious auction buyers look at the items in person and attend the sales. That involves a fair amount of overhead. Those who don't do that often have tales of woe. That's been my experience. Auctions are NOT approaval sales. Chances are if the coin does not work for you, you will be stuck with it.