When negotiating the price of a coin, need you be armed with information?

RYK

I tend to be the guy that passes or plays at the offering price, or, occasionally, will throw out a "what's your best price on XXX?" if I would expect to pay a little less.

There are times, however, when I find coins that I would like but not priced at 95% or so of the offering price. In these cases, I just tend to pass.

Then there are times that I really want the coin and feel strongly that the price is significantly out of line with the value. In these cases, do you:

1. Pass
2. Make an offer
3. Make an offer and provide supporting data to substantiate why you believe the offer is reasonable

To be clear, I am not talking about bottom feeding, lowballing, or sport chiseling, which I think is rampant in the coin hobby.

Ahrensdad

I would make an offer, then be quiet. If the seller gives a flat refusal, no need to annoy him with the information you have. If he asks or appears open to conversation about the coin and price, I would offer in a respectful manner the information I have on what similar coins are selling for.

coinguy1

A fourth option that I sometimes use is to ask something to the effect of:

"That seems like quite a bit more than I would have expected - is there something you can tell me about the coin or recent sales that might help me better understand the price?" Often, I receive useful information, and sometimes, even end up buying the coin. Of course, other times, I pass, not having been swayed from my initial astonishment.

llafoe

Is information a new model from Glock or Colt?

Within the last week I'm made three current market offers on items that were priced too high. I won two of the three: $130 won for $85 and $295 won for $135. I didn't provide any supporting data, I simply made an offer based on the items current market value.

lkeigwin

I make an offer and be humble about it. I.e., not confrontational or offensive, which can dig the seller's heels in.

Sometime it works, sometimes not. If it doesn't, and I really want the coin, I'll usually pay the price and not feel badly about it. (But I'll never forget the price, either. FWIW.)
Lance.

291fifth

Passing is probably the best. For future sales, it lets the dealer know that if he quotes you a price that is too high no sale will result.

RYK

<< <i>Passing is probably the best. For future sales, it lets the dealer know that if he quotes you a price that is too high no sale will result. >>


To be clear, I am talking about advertised prices on a website, no spoken prices on the bourse.

ricko

I have made offers that have been accepted, and some were rejected. No offer of conversation. If there were, I would have been glad to give my justifications for the offer price and reasons for objecting to the posted price. Cheers, RickO

MikeInFL

"When negotiating the price of a coin, need you be armed with information?"

Not really, as it has been my experience that sellers rarely respond well to "information" presented at negotiation time.

However, I do think arming yourself with information in order to begin negotiation is important -- to tell if the asking price is within reason rather than to use as leverage in the negotiation.

If the seller is way off, price wise, I just pass.

Bochiman

Sadly, I have to agree with RYK and his original post.
Man, I really hate agreeing with a stealer fan

scottgardener

While it's kind of a given that one should personally have knowledge and the information at hand, I wouldn't think it necessary to provide a dissertation with journal references to explain a counter-offer. Someone selling a coin should already know what it is or is not worth. They can accept or reject your counter-offer, but if their prices aren't reasonable, it's best to move on. If something is rare or exotic enough that they're the only ones with one, or if the one they have is better than others with the same grade for a better price, that could very well be the reason for the mark-up.

TomB

My response would be similar to Mark Feld's in that I would politely ask about the information that I don't know about that has caused the coin to be priced at a surprisingly high level.

doh

Define "sport chiseling" for me please.

ColonelJessup

<< <i>A fourth option that I sometimes use is to ask something to the effect of:

"That seems like quite a bit more than I would have expected - is there something you can tell me about the coin or recent sales that might help me better understand the price?" Often, I receive useful information, and sometimes, even end up buying the coin. Of course, other times, I pass, not having been swayed from my initial astonishment. >>





Why not keep things open. You may get an analysis of rarity of the item, of the series, of quality and the factors in evaluating price, and other valuable information. These should be helpful in not only evaluating the price of this item, but how useful the dealer can be.

You can always put forth your data after he's shown his. It's not an insult, even if some act that way.

AnkurJ

If the price is close, I go with option #3. I'm able to get the price down, but usually not down to the price I want. Sometimes I pass, sometimes I cave.