Home U.S. Coin Forum

Please Discuss the art of negotiating deals

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. <3 In memory of Tiggar 5/21/1994 - 5/28/2010 <3
image

Comments

  • TheRavenTheRaven Posts: 4,143 ✭✭✭✭
    My preference is to let them state there price first before I will mention a price.....

    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.....
    Collection under construction: VG Barber Quarters & Halves
  • atarianatarian Posts: 3,116
    if you have an example of at shows and at private dealers ( coin places) that woudl be cool too.
    Founder of the NDCCA. *WAM Count : 025. *NDCCA Database Count : 2,610. *You suck 6/24/10. <3 In memory of Tiggar 5/21/1994 - 5/28/2010 <3
    image
  • MICHAELDIXONMICHAELDIXON Posts: 6,373 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've had people play the game with me "Well, I'll have to purchase another coin from somebody else, since you won't deal on this coin." If their attitude was really bad, I wouldn't sell them the coin at any price. When I see them returning, I'll take the coin out of the case and place it out of sight. When they ask for the coin I say: "You should have bought it when I offered it to you. The next guy who came buy paid $X for it." And, $X is always higher than what I had quoted this guy.
    .
    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
  • mirabelamirabela Posts: 4,954 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Know what things are worth.
    mirabela
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,431 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <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.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • The art part of it comes with the attitude as Mike Dixon suggests. If you can make a guy feel good while you are finding out if he will go lower you are better at negotiating than if you piss him off. Nobody likes to waste time so if you are too far apart just move on.
  • DaveGDaveG Posts: 3,535
    I've always focused on building relationships with dealers I like who have the kind of coins I want to buy, so the extent of my negotiating is: "What's your best price?" If I like the price I buy the coin, if I don't, I say "I have to think about it." or "That's a little too strong for me."

    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.

    Check out the Southern Gold Society

  • RussRuss Posts: 48,515 ✭✭✭
    My favorite deal was really a pretty small one. At a show a dealer had a purple toned PCGS graded 1930 Lincoln marked at $70. I looked at him and said "I think you're asking too much for this coin." He says, " why do you say that?" I came back with a deadpan "because I'd like to pay less." He busted out laughing and gave me $10 off. I sold it for $135. image

    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
  • stmanstman Posts: 11,352 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My Sig line states how I "negotiate" a deal. It's really very simple.image
    Please... Save The Stories, Just Answer My Questions, And Tell Me How Much!!!!!
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,301 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If I see something that I'm interested in, I ask the dealer for his best price. Based on the price quoted to me, I either play or pass. I don't like playing games. Am I wrong in my approach?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • TheRavenTheRaven Posts: 4,143 ✭✭✭✭
    I also think that the issue of the dollars we are talking is important.....

    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).....
    Collection under construction: VG Barber Quarters & Halves
  • relayerrelayer Posts: 10,570

    Ask him what is best price is, then find out if he's lying by asking if he'll take 10% off.
    image
    My posts viewed image times
    since 8/1/6

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file