Were any other collectors put off by Superior's advertisement about their "Elite Partnership Pr
Longacre
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Today I received the new Superior catalog. It is a nice catalog, with good text and nice pictures. I spent about an hour perusing the offerings, and found a few items of interest. Inside the catalog was a heavy card advertisement, slipped into the pages. The card annouced Superior's new "Elite Partnership Program". Being curious, I actually read the ad. The ad stated in part:
"Superior is proud to announce our Elite Partnership Program, a unique offer exclusively for dealers in numismatics. By partnering with Superior Galleries and referring your clients' collections of coins to us for auction, we are prepared to offer unprecedented perks. ... By taking advantage of our Elite Partnership Program, you have the opportunity to generate revenue without any work or principal risk. Just refer your client to us, and we will do the rest. Your expertise and dedication to clients' collections should not go unrewarded when the hammer falls."
To me, this seems to be a way for a dealer to get a percentage commission/cut of a collection that they refer to Superior for auction. This generates a few questions:
(1) Should the dealer be obligated to tell his client that he is a participant in the Elite Partnership Program, particularly if he is reccomending that the client consign his coins to Superior?
(2) Should the dealer disclose his financial incentive for steering consignments to Superior?
(3) At what point should the dealer make this disclosure? At the beginning of a client relationship? At the end, when the client is looking to sell?
(4) Do you think a dealer can remain unbiased in his advice to you if he has a financial incentive for you to sell your coins as soon as possible (particularly through Superior)? In other words, would a dealer be more likely to tell you to sell before the market tanks because he will make a commission, even if he thinks the market is quite healthy?
(5) Maybe I am naive, but isn't it the client that has the most capital at risk and who should get the most benefit from a sale?
(6) Was anyone else put off by the statement that dealers can "generate revenue without any work"? Everyone knows that no one loves the coin dealers more than Longacre, but even I think they should work just a little bit to earn the inordinate amounts of compensation that they do.
"Superior is proud to announce our Elite Partnership Program, a unique offer exclusively for dealers in numismatics. By partnering with Superior Galleries and referring your clients' collections of coins to us for auction, we are prepared to offer unprecedented perks. ... By taking advantage of our Elite Partnership Program, you have the opportunity to generate revenue without any work or principal risk. Just refer your client to us, and we will do the rest. Your expertise and dedication to clients' collections should not go unrewarded when the hammer falls."
To me, this seems to be a way for a dealer to get a percentage commission/cut of a collection that they refer to Superior for auction. This generates a few questions:
(1) Should the dealer be obligated to tell his client that he is a participant in the Elite Partnership Program, particularly if he is reccomending that the client consign his coins to Superior?
(2) Should the dealer disclose his financial incentive for steering consignments to Superior?
(3) At what point should the dealer make this disclosure? At the beginning of a client relationship? At the end, when the client is looking to sell?
(4) Do you think a dealer can remain unbiased in his advice to you if he has a financial incentive for you to sell your coins as soon as possible (particularly through Superior)? In other words, would a dealer be more likely to tell you to sell before the market tanks because he will make a commission, even if he thinks the market is quite healthy?
(5) Maybe I am naive, but isn't it the client that has the most capital at risk and who should get the most benefit from a sale?
(6) Was anyone else put off by the statement that dealers can "generate revenue without any work"? Everyone knows that no one loves the coin dealers more than Longacre, but even I think they should work just a little bit to earn the inordinate amounts of compensation that they do.
Always took candy from strangers
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
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