Please Discuss the art of negotiating deals
atarian
Posts: 3,116 ✭
I know you guys like bargins but i read that you get screwed if you get too good of a deal cause dealers will not work with you if they make nothing. so how do you know the fine line of good deal ( and being able to continue like that) to great deal ( and with no profit they avoid you). me no matter how good a deal is i ask can you do better. if they say no and im happy with their price i see no reason to keep at them. even if i wasnt happy i could simply pass look at what else they have and see if i can find the right coin at the right point. so what suggestions do you have. any good stories to illustrate these points. i always believed and taught from dad, it never hurts to ask yet at the same time dont bite the hand that feeds you.
Founder of the NDCCA. *WAM Count : 025. *NDCCA Database Count : 2,610. *You suck 6/24/10. In memory of Tiggar 5/21/1994 - 5/28/2010
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I like to make them think, accurately or not, that I have something else at the show I am considering purchasing with that money and see how far that gets me.....
The knowledge of what you should be able to get the coin for is an important thing to know as well.....
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My advice is to be diplomatic, not disrespectful. If you don't like the guy's best price, walk away. I'd rather see a collector with a good attitude than a collector with a fistful of dollars. A fistful of dollars with a bad attitude won't get you many good deals.
Spring National Battlefield Coin Show is April 12-13, 2024 at the Eisenhower Hotel in Gettysburg, PA. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com
<< <i>Know what things are worth. >>
This is fundamental BEFORE you can make ANY sort of a counteroffer. If you have no idea what something is worth, you are in not position to bargain. This means that you need to do your homework on your series of interest BEFORE you go to a show.
If the initial price is fair, and especially it is a bargain, accept the offer if you really want the item. DON"T PLAY GAMES.
Using the standard line, “Can you do any better?” will hurt you in the long run if you do it with every deal. If a dealer realizes that you are going to play games with every transaction, he’ll jack up the initial quote so that he will have room to come down.
Early on, when I first started going to shows on buying trips for the business, a dealer who had been at the game for over 20 years, gave me this bit of advice. Be very careful about making counteroffers and asking for lower prices. It is an option that needs to be used sparingly. If you overuse it, it loses its effectiveness, and you might get the reputation of a “cheapskate.” Getting the "cheapskate" reputation is one way to ruin opportunities to purchase the items that make for an outstanding collection. Dealers will shoot you high quotes just get you to go away. Nobody likes a guy who is a pain the butt, who is unwilling to pay a fair price.
There are some dealers who routinely charge high prices. You’ll get to know who they are as you go to the shows. If they have things that you can’t find anywhere else, then you might decide to pay what they want. BUT that is usually a rare occurrence. You’ll get to know the dealers who ready to make deals and turnove their inventory, and those who have to make a killing on every sale. And you will learn to go to those with whom you are comfortable, and not waste you time on the others.
When I was first starting out, I was buying coins that most dealers had in their inventory, so I could go ask prices from five dealers at a show and pick the best combination of coin and price. Now, I'm looking for coins that very few dealers have, so instead of me having all the choices, the dealer who owns the coin has the choice of who to sell it to - and I want it to be me.
Basically, I think your dad is right: "it never hurts to ask, yet at the same time don't bite the hand that feeds you". I think that the more business you do with a particular dealer, the better prices you'll get and you'll get offered his best coins.
I have seen more extensive negotiating between dealers when they're talking about a coin that is uncommon enough not to have an established price, say a wild toner. In that instance there's a lot of room to haggle.
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Sometimes I don't negotiate at all. I was at a show going through 1964 proof sets and found an obvious cameo Accented Hair with no spots. I handed it to the dealer saying that I'd take it. He looks at it and says "Well, the half is a cameo, so I'm going to need $30 for the set." I told him that sounded very fair. It later graded PR68CAM and sold for $800.
Russ, NCNE
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
If you are looking at a $8 coin, you don't dicker around.....
If you are looking at a $200 coin, you have some room to play.....
If you are looking at a $5000 coin, then you have to play..... (I would love to be playing with coins of this price).....
Ask him what is best price is, then find out if he's lying by asking if he'll take 10% off.
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