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Ever been barred by a dealer for being too picky?



My area of interest is Lincoln cents. It can be very challenging to get copper with the "right" look. I hate spots and fingerprints. So, a few coins have been sent back.
A dealer or two are now reluctant to send me coins. Should I "lighten up" or hold my ground?

Jack

Comments

  • JamesMurrayJamesMurray Posts: 4,036
    Without question , hold your ground , it sounds like you could use some new dealers too.
  • crypto79crypto79 Posts: 8,623
    You shouldn't lower your standards but you should up your standards that trigger you to request a dealer mail you a coin at expense. You should only ask for a coin you are all but convinced to buy and not just test drive
  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,507 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Stand your ground. Shoot for quality. If there are no photos or the photos are terrible, ask questions. Make sure there are no spots, haze or finger prints. Offer to pay shipping both ways if you need to send it back. With improved communication, even the pickiest of people can shop...most places. Good luck!
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • COALPORTERCOALPORTER Posts: 2,900 ✭✭
    What price range were the returned coins? I could understand dealers being
    annoyed by guys that are too picky on coins that are only 5 or 10 bucks. image
  • lasvegasteddylasvegasteddy Posts: 10,408 ✭✭✭
    i have a habit of at least offering a standard restocking fee for their time and trouble
    most receive that in good nature
    mind you only a few have taken me up on my sincere offer
    it at least sheds a positive light on such transactions
    everything in life is but merely on loan to us by our appreciation....lose your appreciation and see


  • WhitWhit Posts: 326 ✭✭✭
    Yes. In the pre-internet, post-PCGS days, a Coin World advertiser described a PCGS-65 1935-D cent in fairly glowing terms, so I bit. Well, upon the coin's arrival, I wasn't so enamored, and I returned the coin along with a brief and polite explanation. Despite the fact that this was my first transaction with this dealer (whom I refrain from naming because I'm not entirely sure I remember who it was), I was advised that I was no longer welcome to order from him through the mail. He did, however, invite me to buy from him at shows. Now, he can sell or not to whomever he wishes, so I wasn't angry or upset .... but I was surprised, both at his description of the coin and his response to a customer who had availed himself of the return policy.

    Edited to add: hold your ground. How can a set be built that pleases the collector if the collector buys only to satisfy the seller?

    Whit
    Whit
  • TPRCTPRC Posts: 3,789 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>My area of interest is Lincoln cents. It can be very challenging to get copper with the "right" look. I hate spots and fingerprints. So, a few coins have been sent back.
    A dealer or two are now reluctant to send me coins. Should I "lighten up" or hold my ground?

    Jack >>



    Hold your ground. Find other dealers. If you cannot find other dealers, then you may actually be too picky.

    Tom

  • airplanenutairplanenut Posts: 22,169 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't know how many items you're returning, but it may serve useful to find a dealer you can work closely with who knows what you're looking for. There are a few pieces I'm looking for, but I know that I'm extremely picky. One dealer is actively in the hunt as he knows exactly what I'm aiming for. When I see other pieces for sale, I'll often inquire, but unless I think the coin is very likely to meet my specifications, I usually just ask that it be brought to a show where the dealer I'm working with can take a look. That avoids the time and cost of likely returns, plus it keeps everyone happy that I'm not constantly taking pieces away from inventory for a week.
    JK Coin Photography - eBay Consignments | High Quality Photos | LOW Prices | 20% of Consignment Proceeds Go to Pancreatic Cancer Research
  • TomBTomB Posts: 21,325 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have never been barred by a dealer and have not barred a client, either. However, if you find yourself in this situation with multiple dealers then it may be time to step back and analyze the threshhold that you use for ordering a coin. It may turn out that your standards need not change in the bit, but your requests for coins to be shipped to you should undergo further review.
    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • mrpotatoheaddmrpotatoheadd Posts: 7,576 ✭✭
    If they're not sending you coins you like, why would you want to keep trying to do business with them?
  • lcoopielcoopie Posts: 8,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
    exactly
    LCoopie = Les
  • jacktheknifejacktheknife Posts: 1,547


    Thanks, to all. Great comments. The coins that I look at are in the 4 and 5 figure range. So, I can't fault anyone for being less than pleased when I tie up their coin for a few days.
    Lately, I have just stuck with auctions, as the imaging gives me a pretty good idea if the coin is a fit for my collection.

    Jack
  • renomedphysrenomedphys Posts: 3,631 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>If they're not sending you coins you like, why would you want to keep trying to do business with them? >>


    There are only so many places you can find high-end Lincoln cents, and for the most part, even those dealers' inventories are constantly picked over and ravaged by deep-pocketed buyers.

    I have often commented to myself that it takes three shows to buy a single coin anymore.

    And no, I haven't been barred, but many dealers sarchastically scoff at me when I come see them.
  • mrpotatoheaddmrpotatoheadd Posts: 7,576 ✭✭


    << <i>There are only so many places you can find high-end Lincoln cents, and for the most part, even those dealers' inventories are constantly picked over and ravaged by deep-pocketed buyers. >>

    I'm sure this suggestion will not be well received by some, but if what you're looking for is hard to find, maybe you need to find a way to tell the dealers who tend to have this type of material that you'll pay well for the right coins. I would be willing to bet that in many cases, dealers' best coins never make it to their website.
  • rheddenrhedden Posts: 6,629 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sometimes a dealer is thrilled to get rid of a coin with a fingerprint or carbon spot, which may have been sitting in inventory for a year. It comes back a week later, and this is the result.
  • TPRCTPRC Posts: 3,789 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Thanks, to all. Great comments. The coins that I look at are in the 4 and 5 figure range. So, I can't fault anyone for being less than pleased when I tie up their coin for a few days.
    Lately, I have just stuck with auctions, as the imaging gives me a pretty good idea if the coin is a fit for my collection.

    Jack >>



    At that level, I personally would pay the extra money to have a personal representative look over the coins for you as well. there are several folks on this board and elsewhere that should fit the bill. I'm not a Lincoln cent guy, but I would not buy that value coin based upon a picture only. For color alone, I would not purchase without seeing in hand or having someone trustworthy, and someone in the know, view it as well. If you don't know that someone, get to know him or her.

    Tom

  • astroratastrorat Posts: 9,221 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Don't change your standards, change your dealers. In an area that I collect I have had to decline the opportunity to trade with a couple of dealers because the quality was no longer consistent with my needs. Although the dealers were polite, I just got tired of spending my time and money returning coins.

    If you collect Lincoln cents, finding a dealer who sells quality pieces should not be too difficult. A specialist dealer will understand your being picky and would likely work closely with you when nice material is available.
    Numismatist Ordinaire
    See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sure, but I never could understand why..... image
    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • BochimanBochiman Posts: 25,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    How come Realone hasn't posted to this thread yet?????

    I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment

  • LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,393 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Agree with JK to a point - even though dealers knew what I wanted, they still sent what they had.

    Seems they needed to make a living, or something to that effect.
    "My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose.
  • ThePennyLadyThePennyLady Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭✭✭
    As a collector, I certainly wouldn't change my standards, but if a dealer had a pricey coin I was seriously interested in, even with good photos, I'd take the time to call and ask more specific questions about that coin.

    And as a dealer, I don't mind when customers call me on the phone so I can describe the coin to them while I have it in hand, and they can ask more pointed questions. I'd much rather take a few minutes to do this because it saves both of us a lot of time, money, and aggravation.

    And if a dealer was willing to take the time to give me such personal service, and if the coin met all my criteria and seemed to be just what I was looking for, I would pay whatever price the dealer was asking and not try to negotiate a better deal. image
    Charmy Harker
    The Penny Lady®
  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,270 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Stand your ground but if you buying coins in the four and five figure range why not buy / bid at a show where you can examine the coin sight seen?

    If your spending that kinda money you should not be satisfied with something less than your expectations.
    Coins & Currency
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,237 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Stand your ground but if you buying coins in the four and five figure range why not buy / bid at a show where you can examine the coin sight seen?

    If your spending that kinda money you should not be satisfied with something less than your expectations. >>



    You're assuming his expectations are realistic. Some collectors want to buy a coin at one grade that has the look of a coin one or more grades higher.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • no such thing as too picky just be respectfull of a dealers time and money
  • JCMhoustonJCMhouston Posts: 5,306 ✭✭✭
    I would have to say that PerryHall has a valid point. I know more than a few fellow collectors that want to buy 67 or 68 quality coins at BU prices. It's fine to have "tighter" grading standards than the industry, just keep in mind you have to pay for that. And it makes no difference if it's a 5 figure coin or a $20 coin, if you want to buy only the finest you just have to pay up for them.

    If you are looking for a 65 coin that has no marks, not a single toning spec, and a lovely red color, well what you really want is a 67. Tell the dealers you are looking for that quality and they will probably find it for you, but it likely won't be at a 65 price. And while I haven't been banned I know a collector that has been told by a couple of dealers they probably can't offer them coins they want.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,364 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If the coins aren't becoming to you, they could be coming to me image
  • mrpotatoheaddmrpotatoheadd Posts: 7,576 ✭✭


    << <i>I know more than a few fellow collectors that want to buy 67 or 68 quality coins at BU prices. >>

    I had to finally block an eBay bidder who kept returning coins I described as BU (meaning MS60-61ish) at BU prices because he said they never get into MS65 holders.
  • jacktheknifejacktheknife Posts: 1,547



    Appreciate all the great comments and perspective. I can see that I might choose to do business a little differently, but otherwise should hold my ground on what I am after.
    Just looking for a little reality check.
    Thanks


    Jack


  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 23,225 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Never hurts to bring an example from the series that you like to show the dealer-

    This is one that I like- what do you have like this?

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

  • JustlookingJustlooking Posts: 2,895
    Nobody can tell you what to collect. Plenty of good coins and good dealers out there.
    Let's try not to get upset.
  • This content has been removed.
  • ArizonaJackArizonaJack Posts: 4,029 ✭✭✭
    Sounds to me like you are doing mostly mail order or internet buying.

    My suggestion is to hit some shows, larger regional or national prefered, but, even if small and local, it will give you an injection of reality in the marketplace and current mojo.

    I do not mean you need to adjust your collecting standards at all, but it will bring you up to date as to what you might expect to pay for YOUR STANDARDS.

    Small local shows with stale inventory wont really help, but to get out and walk a show is always great, I realy do need to take my own advise.

    Oh yeah, and like Charmy said, a phone call is pretty mandatory if you ask me.
    " YOU SUCK " Awarded 5/18/08
  • Heck, dealers have refused to sell to me in person just because I tried to buy a coin from them. They figured that if I wanted it, it must be worth more than they were asking. I learned to show up just before the rent was due and one dealer was quite willing to bargan then.
  • AMRCAMRC Posts: 4,273 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You should do what works for you, just do not assume that works for everyone. Being picky is great but on your own dime.
    MLAeBayNumismatics: "The greatest hobby in the world!"
  • SoCalBigMarkSoCalBigMark Posts: 2,791 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Is copper the king or what? image
  • atarianatarian Posts: 3,116


    << <i>I have never been barred by a dealer and have not barred a client, either. However, if you find yourself in this situation with multiple dealers then it may be time to step back and analyze the threshhold that you use for ordering a coin. It may turn out that your standards need not change in the bit, but your requests for coins to be shipped to you should undergo further review. >>



    I agree. If its a spot free finger print free coin you want and you cant get it in your local shops you might need new dealers. If you find them and still not happy and like stated above then you need to rethink things.

    I do an area very specialized and I can get picky BUT I do some token buying to keep the peace and even if they say no i dont have them I know deep down they dont look for what I look for so I know if i look a little I will find something. Keep your feel planted if you honestly feel its something obtainable. Look into a new dealer if something that simple isnt able to obtained.
    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
  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 28,418 ✭✭✭✭✭
    not yet but there are a few that i wont return to their booths or do business with.
  • amwldcoinamwldcoin Posts: 11,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have always dealt by the rule....no one can be sure from a picture or a description 100%. I always offer a full unconditional return policy.

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