"The Collector's Friend" Dealer

erwindoc

Anyone ever work with Dave at Thecollectorsfriend.com? Good experience/Bad experience?

seanq

I believe he is a member here, perhaps he will respond in person.



Sean Reynolds

erwindoc

Anybody???

ricko

I have not worked with them, however, I have not seen any bad reports here. Cheers, RickO

OnWithTheHunt

I've sold to him in the past and received what I thought were fair prices. Never bought anything though.

mightyhunter

I bought a raw 1926 S Standing Liberty Quarter from this dealer many years ago. I received a white coin that he graded MS 63. I paid strong MS 63 money for the coin. I sent it in immediately for certification. It came back graded MS 63. After just a year or two, it turned into this ugly brown coin in the holder. I later learned that this type of color change is often the result of bad dipping and rinsing practices. I never did anything to the coin. At his request, I sent him the coin to have a look see. After he received the coin, he told me he just couldn't figure out what had happened to it. I offered it back to him in the slab at a discount over what I had paid for the raw coin. He offered me considerably less. I ended up dumping the coin to another party at a considerable loss. This coin and a few other transactions over the years, have been a great education for me in the area of buying and selling rare coins. I still enjoy the hobby.

mh

LRCTom

I sold him quite a few Buffalo Nickels back in the 80s, as this was a specialty of mine, and he was also developing this as a specialty. He was a very friendly guy, but it irritated me when coins I would sell him at one grade would subsequently appear on his ads at a grade or two higher. But that was a long time ago, and we live on opposite coasts now. We've lost touch. He's been in business quite a while, so he must have a solid following.

..Tom

WaterSport

I have not had any good experiences with him. Just talked to him 2 weeks ago. Said he would get back to me on a trade and never did. I never have been able to get him come down on his over priced coins. And frankly, he must not sell much because his web site has the same stuff listed month after month. Maybe this is good news after reading about his grading standards.

WS

seanq

Originally posted by: WaterSport

I have not had any good experiences with him. Just talked to him 2 weeks ago. Said he would get back to me on a trade and never did. I never have been able to get him come down on his over priced coins. And frankly, he must not sell much because his web site has the same stuff listed month after month. Maybe this is good news after reading about his grading standards.



WS

This post actually reminded me of an interaction I had with him years ago. I asked about selling him a popular Lincoln variety and he gave me a cash offer which I felt was too low. I then asked if he would trade instead, and his trade offer was exactly the same as his cash offer. So $X in cash or $X in retail value from his inventory. He did not get the coin and I did not buy from him again.



Sean Reynolds

roadrunner

There are essentially no "collector's friend" dealer in the market place. You always have to watch your back and be your own advocate. Dealer's and collectors are both fallible. If a dealer knows their stuff 100% (very rare) and works with fairness and integrity, then they can be a true friend/mentor. I only have personal knowledge of one in my 45 years that I would apply this saying to. I suspect there are a few others I've dealt with but not having done much or any business with them, I can't confirm how "friendly" they really are.



A dealer "friend" in the retail industry is a pretty hard thing to come by. I recall in the 1970's and probably 1980's that a major retail coin dealer used the title "your friends in the rare coin business."

TopographicOceans

Perhaps The Collector's Friend is a misnomer.

I think the best you can hope for is The Collector's Non-Enemy

MFH

Back in the mid 1990's when I restarted collecting coins, I bought quite a few
Buffalo Nickels from him ( only raw coins ). He was a tad high on his prices and
his raw grades were somewhat optimistic - but I did not have a problem with him,
per se. After Certified coins became the norm of my newer coins, I did less and less
with him. As I remember him, by his voice, he sounded elderly, and that was over
twenty years ago. He's got to be in his mid 80's by now....I could be all wet on this
observation, though ....

DCW

Just to be clear, in case anybody is wondering, I only share this dude's initials. I am not "DCW, Dave the collector's friend."

bolivarshagnasty

Originally posted by: DCW

Just to be clear, in case anybody is wondering, I only share this dude's initials. I am not "DCW, Dave the collector's friend."

But the real question here is, are you DCW, Bolivarshagnasty's friend?

LRCTom

Originally posted by: MFH

Back in the mid 1990's when I restarted collecting coins, I bought quite a few
Buffalo Nickels from him ( only raw coins ). He was a tad high on his prices and
his raw grades were somewhat optimistic - but I did not have a problem with him,
per se. After Certified coins became the norm of my newer coins, I did less and less
with him. As I remember him, by his voice, he sounded elderly, and that was over
twenty years ago. He's got to be in his mid 80's by now....I could be all wet on this
observation, though ....

LRCTom

What I tried to add ineptly to add to the thread was....yes, he's gotta be an older guy now. I was in my 30s when I dealt with him in the mid 80s, and he was at least 10-15 years older than me. At the time he was transitioning from a real estate business into coins. I'll say again, he was (and hopefully is) a very nice and friendly guy.