I need some advice with handling customers with US Silver Coins

halfcentman

Hi,

Now it's time to ask you for help here. I am not good at thinking on my feet, so I need some advice.

Like many of us, we are buying a lot of 40%, 90%, and silver dollars. I have a dilemma here:

1) If the coins are loose, I weigh them before I spot-check them. A bag of 90% weighs about 55 pounds, and I take a little off to cover my butt (not much). Since I have done this, I have never been over or under more than $1.00.

2) I do not want to sound like I am being lazy (if I am tell me) but if coins are in 2X2's, mixed with clad, or in albums, etc. I need to pay a bit less because I have to pay my 11-year-old kid $5.00/hour to get them out (she is skilled with regards to not stapling the 2X2's). Also, it depends on the denomination of the coins that are housed along with the quantity.

OK, here's the deal and what I have been doing:

- Since things are competitive, I have to try and give a decent quote. The customer is asked what form the collection is in (loose, etc.). Depending on what it is, I give what I think is an appropriate AND UP quote. That way it is not non-competitive, and I do not tell the customer that they are going to get less if the collection is "housed." Even though that's the truth, it's not business and they do not want to hear that. I can always pay them a bit more if I know that they are shopping it around depending on how it is housed.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Greg

Geoman

Why not just count them up (face value) and pay per face value (ie: 20x face value)? Or do you have that much coming in that it would take too long to count? Invest in a coin counter maybe? Most dealers I work with have a coin counter. For the ones in 2x2's, that should be pretty quick to count. I never pay less for ones stapled.

BillJones

I always thought that dealers ran these coins though a coin counter and did not buy them by weight. Then when they had the face value the amount paid was the face value times whatever the going rate for 40%, 90% or the price per Morgan or Peace silver dollar.

TomB

I pay per piece and have never weighed any of them.

halfcentman

I go to peoples' homes, so a counter is not an option.
,
Obviously, if it is a small quantity this is not an issue. But you have over $100 face and they are all dimes and quarters that's a different story. It is more accurate to weigh them than to count them!

I do the same thing with Wheat Cents. Here it is even more prevalent. I will not buy Wheat Cents unless they are sorted. If I absolutely have to buy them and they are not sorted, I spot-check the ratio and adjust accordingly, and buy them at $0.75 roll. If I don't buy them, I really don't care.

Yes, business is very brisk. Because I have a special-needs child, two other children, and my wife is a tenured schoolteacher, my hours are limited.

AUandAG

have the client pre sort them before you arrive.
Tell them to put them in piles or stacks by date and denomination.
Let them do the work. Most will if you give them a day or two.

bob

PS: I do this all the time and ask them to just presort them on the
kitchen table. Most of the time they are accurate. If they do not
know coin (inherited) then you have to do the work in the home.
I don't weigh, just count.

timcoin

If your customer was educated in coins somewhat, they probably wouldn't have an issue with your weight system. But, if the coins were in 2x2s, and the customer was not educated in coins, wouldn't they wonder why you were not actually looking at the coins to determine value? Putting myself in their shoes, I would want someone to actually look for "better date" coins. Otherwise, how would I know you didn't pay me "weight" price for a rare coin? Get what I'm saying?

halfcentman

95% of my customer are non-numismatic. I do not want them touching anything with the exception of wheat pennies. Even they can tell the difference between a Memorial Cent and a Wheat Cent.

On several occassions I tried having customers sort coins. It went over like a lead balloon. One of them had $85.00 in 90% and $25.50 in 40% (after I did it). Combined, they had over $9.00 in clad mixed in.

The worst thing was the guy who was trying to "help" me by removing Wheat Cents from 2X2's. He put a nice, fresh staple scratch on a F-VF genuine, 1914-D!

halfcentman

Just so I make it clear, I ALWAYS check for better dates, and pay respectively.

TwoSides2aCoin

A simple multiplier works for me. That is X amount times face value. Customers understand simple numbers. Fairness is a wonderful commodity.

RWB

Frankly, I'd suggest you not handle the customers....

halfcentman

RWB,

I hope you were being sarcastic.

BlindedByEgo

When I buy collection with mixed coins, I always take the time to separate out 40% from 90% from clad. In my mind, it's all part of the job.

ricko

Would you sell the coins the same way?? Business is business. If you are not taking the time to know specifically what you are purchasing, then I have no suggestions. Cheers, RickO

halfcentman

1) If someone wants to state that it's part of the job, of course it is. That's not a newsflash. However, I do not think anyone given the opportunity would pay as strong (probably about 0.25 off of the multiplier) if it required an extensive amount of work. If you don't, than you are not a good businessperson. No one is saying gouge them.

2) The coins are weighed AFTER they are sorted AND examined for better dates, etc and not before. I would like to see you at a customer's house when you have three sales calls counting $100.00 of dimes. That's totally inefficient from a qualitative or qualitative analysis standpoint. When you know at $1K of 90% weighs 55 pounds AND it's sorted AND you don't have a counter it's not rocket science to figure that one out to do a simple calculation which everyone on this board is capable of doing. It's a calculation my 7-year-old daughter knew how to do six years ago.

3) You need to read ALL of the comments before you comment on them. When people post something, it is your responsiblity to have a cogent discourse. We all do this, but when I do it and it gets brought up I offer an apology and eat a little crow.

If you want to comment on this any further, send me a PM.