Modern Coin Mart - Kind of Shady
NamesJay
Posts: 328 ✭✭
Recently I got a call from one of their sales people who told me that because I was a customer on their "special list" they were going to offer me an exclusive offer, not available anywhere else --- a Mercanti designed and autographed silver eagle coin. The representative told me "yes" when I asked her if the coins were legal tender.
I was excited until she told me the price and mentioned sales tax. I said "Why is there sales tax on the coins if they are legal tender?" She then decided to tell me they were from the Perth Mint ---- after her long description about this famous engraver of US coins coming out of retirement to create a beautiful silver eagle coin. And after I had agreed to pay and provided my credit card number.
Needless to say - I felt a little bamboozled. Not to mention that I saw the exact coin from Modern Coin Mart on eBay when I went to do some research. I guess the "exclusive contact list" includes the entire world, because last I checked eBay was a public website.
Anyways, they have good prices but I don't think I'll do business with them after this fiasco. Of course, I e-mailed my representative asking for answers on their shady practices and have had zero feedback.
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MCM has previously always had great prices and outstanding customer service.
Has something changed with the company.
Aahh.....quite a change.
MCM has previously always had great prices and outstanding customer service.
Has something changed with the company.
MCM was sold a ways back
Aahh.....quite a change.
MCM has previously always had great prices and outstanding customer service.
Has something changed with the company.
Yep, MCM was sold to Asset Marketing Services, which is also the owner of "govmint.com"
In Minnesota the President of Asset Marketing Services was pushing the Minnesota Coin bullion dealer law so he could push smaller dealers out and have more of the market to himself.
I had already done a bunch of research on Asset Marketing Services at the time of the MCM acquisition, so when that news broke, I knew that MCM was done for as a consumer friendly company. It was really a shame because MCM was really one of the good guys before the acquisition.
My guess is the main reason Asset Marketing Services bought MCM is for the customer list. Asset Marketing Services covets their list more than anything. They need the leads to hand off to their boiler room.
Join the fight against Minnesota's unjust coin dealer tax law.
never buy from companies I don't know or have no done biz with
best price coin sale link below (READ CAREFULLY)
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I have moved on to other dealers. I have also unsubscribed from their Disney coin newsletters.
It goes to show you how the influence on the integrity of one man can have such a positive effect on the business.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
The 'old', pre change of ownership days! John and our very own George, a phone call away. Reliable and a deal was a deal. they'd deliver quickly, buying or selling. Going to miss them.
Recently I got a call from one of their sales people who told me that because I was a customer on their "special list" they were going to offer me an exclusive offer, not available anywhere else --- a Mercanti designed and autographed silver eagle coin. The representative told me "yes" when I asked her if the coins were legal tender.
I was excited until she told me the price and mentioned sales tax. I said "Why is there sales tax on the coins if they are legal tender?" She then decided to tell me they were from the Perth Mint ---- after her long description about this famous engraver of US coins coming out of retirement to create a beautiful silver eagle coin. And after I had agreed to pay and provided my credit card number.
Needless to say - I felt a little bamboozled. Not to mention that I saw the exact coin from Modern Coin Mart on eBay when I went to do some research. I guess the "exclusive contact list" includes the entire world, because last I checked eBay was a public website.
Anyways, they have good prices but I don't think I'll do business with them after this fiasco. Of course, I e-mailed my representative asking for answers on their shady practices and have had zero feedback.
Wait a minute.. are you not supposed to pay tax on legal tender? Because almost every coin I buy in state is legal tender and I have to pay tax. Doesn't matter if it is legal tender here or australia, I pay tax on purchases in state. And also... you agreed to pay and gave her your credit card number before she told you the price and that there was tax?!?? Not sure it was shady business practices that were to blame... I think you should make sure and know what you are buying before you agree to it. Yikes.
I bought one coin from the predecessor firm maybe 10 years ago, and have been getting relentless spam in my junk email ever since.
omg, it never ceases
Recently I got a call from one of their sales people who told me that because I was a customer on their "special list" they were going to offer me an exclusive offer, not available anywhere else --- a Mercanti designed and autographed silver eagle coin. The representative told me "yes" when I asked her if the coins were legal tender.
I was excited until she told me the price and mentioned sales tax. I said "Why is there sales tax on the coins if they are legal tender?" She then decided to tell me they were from the Perth Mint ---- after her long description about this famous engraver of US coins coming out of retirement to create a beautiful silver eagle coin. And after I had agreed to pay and provided my credit card number.
Needless to say - I felt a little bamboozled. Not to mention that I saw the exact coin from Modern Coin Mart on eBay when I went to do some research. I guess the "exclusive contact list" includes the entire world, because last I checked eBay was a public website.
Anyways, they have good prices but I don't think I'll do business with them after this fiasco. Of course, I e-mailed my representative asking for answers on their shady practices and have had zero feedback.
Perth Mint? Special? "Exclusive Offer"?
https://www.moderncoinmart.com...anti-signed-label.html">Was it this one??
If so, then yes, kinda shady.
The name is LEE!
Recently I got a call from one of their sales people who told me that because I was a customer on their "special list" they were going to offer me an exclusive offer, not available anywhere else --- a Mercanti designed and autographed silver eagle coin. The representative told me "yes" when I asked her if the coins were legal tender.
I was excited until she told me the price and mentioned sales tax. I said "Why is there sales tax on the coins if they are legal tender?" She then decided to tell me they were from the Perth Mint ---- after her long description about this famous engraver of US coins coming out of retirement to create a beautiful silver eagle coin. And after I had agreed to pay and provided my credit card number.
Needless to say - I felt a little bamboozled. Not to mention that I saw the exact coin from Modern Coin Mart on eBay when I went to do some research. I guess the "exclusive contact list" includes the entire world, because last I checked eBay was a public website.
Anyways, they have good prices but I don't think I'll do business with them after this fiasco. Of course, I e-mailed my representative asking for answers on their shady practices and have had zero feedback.
Wait a minute.. are you not supposed to pay tax on legal tender? Because almost every coin I buy in state is legal tender and I have to pay tax. Doesn't matter if it is legal tender here or australia, I pay tax on purchases in state. And also... you agreed to pay and gave her your credit card number before she told you the price and that there was tax?!?? Not sure it was shady business practices that were to blame... I think you should make sure and know what you are buying before you agree to it. Yikes.
If he'd paid "Legal Tender Price" for the piece (One Dollar) then no, sales tax would be required.BUT, since he;s buying a piece of Silver Bullion which is legal tender in Australia at an inflated collectors price which outs it into the category of the same thing as box of candy, then yes, sales tax is required.
Come to think of it, ANY collectible or bullion coin purchase below a certain investment threshhold amount is subject to sales tax.
Dollar for Dollar acquisitions of coins at legal tender value is not considered a "sale" as much as it is considered an "exchange". Like when you go to the bank and purchase cash using somebodies personal or business check.
The name is LEE!
BST Transactions (as the seller): Collectall, GRANDAM, epcjimi1, wondercoin, jmski52, wheathoarder, jay1187, jdsueu, grote15, airplanenut, bigole
MCM is based in Florida and should not be collecting such tax for sales in Florida. Sales to another state are a different matter.
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Florida exempts sales tax on US currency/coin sales
MCM is based in Florida and should not be collecting such tax for sales in Florida. Sales to another state are a different matter.
Thank you derrb.
And to clarify something, I was quoted a price for the coins. I then gave the CC information to the sales person and after providing the information they told me "Your total is $$" which indicated a higher amount than I agreed to (when I was under the impression it was US Coin being offered).
It wasn't until being told the final amount that I inquired about the higher price and she told me it was a Perth Mint coin. At this point I canceled the transaction but she had already initiated it because my bank contacted me shortly after about the "questionable activity on my card"
I don't believe I acted hastily based on the information provided me at the time.
That was kinda my point. Almost everything most of us collect is legal tender, but we pay more than face value for it, so we pay tax (if purchased in that state, etc). Not getting the pricing info before agreeing to buy and giving out your credit card info is your fault, not theirs. The only semi-shady thing was making it kinda sound like it was a US coin when it was a perth mint coin, but again, that kinda falls on you for not even knowing what you are buying.
"semi-shady"? Please. They emphasized that a US artist was coming out of retirement for a one-time design of a US eagle.
You don't think that in any way might lead a customer to believe the coin is going to be a product of the US Mint?
MCM has, in fact, established a small division aimed at providing our customers with interesting and unique products that they might not have otherwise been exposed to.
Our team has been trained NOT to say that these are only available through this division, if that is not the case. There will be times that coins will be available through our Scarce & Unique division in addition to our website and eBay store. The representative who spoke with you has been reprimanded and we have changed our processes accordingly.
In addition, we wanted to apologize if you thought that the John Mercanti designed Wedge Tailed Eagle was a U.S. denominated coin. It is not, and it was never our intention to portray the coin as such. The coin was intended to be John Mercanti's interpretation of the Silver Eagle (a U.S. coin) if he had been permitted to design the coin without limitations imposed by the U.S. Mint. We sincerely apologize if this was not communicated to you clearly. We NEVER want to mislead our customers or allow them to think they are buying something that they are not.
Outside the addition of this new division, MCM has changed very, very little since the company was purchased in May. Our mission remains the same – to provide our customers with the best products at the best prices. We also strive to ensure that our customers are treated with the respect and service that they deserve. This includes owning up to our mistakes. We are not perfect.
If you take a look at our website and eBay store, you will find that we have continued to carry all of the products at the prices you would expect from MCM. In addition to the staple products that MCM has been known for, we have attempted to grow our product offerings. We are always striving to provide our customers with the most interesting and sought after coins and bullion.
Again, I want to make it very clear that the integrity and customer service that MCM has been known for remains core to our mission and values. We sincerely apologize for the frustration this has caused you and hope you reconsider MCM in the future.
Thank you,
Andrew Salzberg
General Manager
ModernCoinMart
I would suggest you follow John's lead and post here a bit more often to keep members in YOUR loop.
NamesJay,
MCM has, in fact, established a small division aimed at providing our customers with interesting and unique products that they might not have otherwise been exposed to.
Our team has been trained NOT to say that these are only available through this division, if that is not the case. There will be times that coins will be available through our Scarce & Unique division in addition to our website and eBay store. The representative who spoke with you has been reprimanded and we have changed our processes accordingly.
In addition, we wanted to apologize if you thought that the John Mercanti designed Wedge Tailed Eagle was a U.S. denominated coin. It is not, and it was never our intention to portray the coin as such. The coin was intended to be John Mercanti's interpretation of the Silver Eagle (a U.S. coin) if he had been permitted to design the coin without limitations imposed by the U.S. Mint. We sincerely apologize if this was not communicated to you clearly. We NEVER want to mislead our customers or allow them to think they are buying something that they are not.
Outside the addition of this new division, MCM has changed very, very little since the company was purchased in May. Our mission remains the same – to provide our customers with the best products at the best prices. We also strive to ensure that our customers are treated with the respect and service that they deserve. This includes owning up to our mistakes. We are not perfect.
If you take a look at our website and eBay store, you will find that we have continued to carry all of the products at the prices you would expect from MCM. In addition to the staple products that MCM has been known for, we have attempted to grow our product offerings. We are always striving to provide our customers with the most interesting and sought after coins and bullion.
Again, I want to make it very clear that the integrity and customer service that MCM has been known for remains core to our mission and values. We sincerely apologize for the frustration this has caused you and hope you reconsider MCM in the future.
Thank you,
Andrew Salzberg
General Manager
ModernCoinMart
I do admire that you came on this board to defend your company, and to take responsibility for any mistakes your company may have made.
So I have a question for you. On February 27, 2013 the President of your parent company Asset Marketing Services, went to the Minnesota legislature and testified in favor of the Minnesota Bullion Coin Dealer law. He even bragged about helping write the law.
This law has been an absolute disaster for Coin Collectors and small dealers within Minnesota. If the law "spreads" to other states the chaos could be devastating to the hobby.
Are you willing to take responsibility for this mistake? What actions are Modern Coin Mart, and Asset Marketing Services, willing to take to get this law thrown out in court?
If you are not willing to take responsibility for this, I hope all of the board members know that MCM and its parent company are responsible for the Minnesota Coin bullion dealer law, and act accordingly.
I look forward to hearing your response.
Join the fight against Minnesota's unjust coin dealer tax law.
I just noticed this thread and even though I stay out of the day to day business of my former company, I am compelled to make a few comments.
It seems like an error or miscommunication of some sort occurred (perhaps a representative without an abundance of experience) and there was no intentional effort to mislead here. I think some of these posts are being hard on MCM based on what I have witnessed since I sold the company a year ago. Since the sale virtually the exact team (Andy, Jay, Hayden, George, etc) remains in place--- a testament to new owners that are not changing things for the worse. I began grooming Andy Salzberg long before the sale and he is doing a fine job and is far more willing to take chances such as vastly expanding the product line which from my understanding has been a big success for MCM.
As for the Execs in Minnesota, my experiences and dealings have all been positive and they have not once gone back on anything they promised me and to my knowledge my former employees. MCM continues to be a force on eBay and despite doing thousands of transactions each month their feedback is basically unchanged from the period when I was the owner. I know first hand that they continue to believe in putting the customer first and in doing the right thing when problems arise. So while some may not like the change of ownership, overall MCM is now more well rounded to serve a wider range of clients but has not abandoned any of the fundamental principals that still contribute to to its continued phenomenal growth. Perhaps as part of a much larger organization there are some surface or procedural changes, (to be expected IMO) but at the core I believe MCM is by and large the same company with the same great people now enabled to do greater things because of the expanded resources.
You all know that things occasionally went wrong when I was in charge too. Things go wrong in every company. I believe the MCM management and customer service is (by far) still among the best out there when comparing similar companies of similar size and with similar products. I also think Andy would be "all ears" with regard to doing more in the way of specials for CU board members. He was the biggest advocate for it when I was in charge. I think now that he is in charge he is just incredibly busy and probably not given it much thought.
Best regards to all!
John Maben
John Maben
Pegasus Coin and Jewelry (Brick and Mortar)
ANA LM, PNG, APMD, FUN, Etc
800-381-2646
I do admire that you came on this board to defend your company, and to take responsibility for any mistakes your company may have made.
So I have a question for you. On February 27, 2013 the President of your parent company Asset Marketing Services, went to the Minnesota legislature and testified in favor of the Minnesota Bullion Coin Dealer law. He even bragged about helping write the law.
This law has been an absolute disaster for Coin Collectors and small dealers within Minnesota. If the law "spreads" to other states the chaos could be devastating to the hobby.
Are you willing to take responsibility for this mistake? What actions are Modern Coin Mart, and Asset Marketing Services, willing to take to get this law thrown out in court?
If you are not willing to take responsibility for this, I hope all of the board members know that MCM and its parent company are responsible for the Minnesota Coin bullion dealer law, and act accordingly.
I look forward to hearing your response.
Any involvement by AMS in the passage of the Minnesota Bullion Coin Dealer law occurred before MCM became a part of AMS. Asking MCM to accept responsibility for any action taken by it's parent company, especially before it became the parent company, in regard to the Minnesota law is way out of line. MCM is in no way responsible for the Minnesota law and owes no one an apology for the prior actions of AMS. Judge MCM by their actions and not those of AMS.
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Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
I do admire that you came on this board to defend your company, and to take responsibility for any mistakes your company may have made.
So I have a question for you. On February 27, 2013 the President of your parent company Asset Marketing Services, went to the Minnesota legislature and testified in favor of the Minnesota Bullion Coin Dealer law. He even bragged about helping write the law.
This law has been an absolute disaster for Coin Collectors and small dealers within Minnesota. If the law "spreads" to other states the chaos could be devastating to the hobby.
Are you willing to take responsibility for this mistake? What actions are Modern Coin Mart, and Asset Marketing Services, willing to take to get this law thrown out in court?
If you are not willing to take responsibility for this, I hope all of the board members know that MCM and its parent company are responsible for the Minnesota Coin bullion dealer law, and act accordingly.
I look forward to hearing your response.
Any involvement by AMS in the passage of the Minnesota Bullion Coin Dealer law occurred before MCM became a part of AMS. Asking MCM to accept responsibility for any action taken by it's parent company, especially before it became the parent company, in regard to the Minnesota law is way out of line. MCM is in no way responsible for the Minnesota law and owes no one an apology for the prior actions of AMS. Judge MCM by their actions and not those of AMS.
You are all one family now, and the law is still is place. So it is very legitimate to ask if you are supporting the law. So what is AMS's position on the law. I'm sure many board members will be interested in your answer.
Join the fight against Minnesota's unjust coin dealer tax law.
Hello everyone!
I just noticed this thread and even though I stay out of the day to day business of my former company, I am compelled to make a few comments.
It seems like an error or miscommunication of some sort occurred (perhaps a representative without an abundance of experience) and there was no intentional effort to mislead here. I think some of these posts are being hard on MCM based on what I have witnessed since I sold the company a year ago. Since the sale virtually the exact team (Andy, Jay, Hayden, George, etc) remains in place--- a testament to new owners that are not changing things for the worse. I began grooming Andy Salzberg long before the sale and he is doing a fine job and is far more willing to take chances such as vastly expanding the product line which from my understanding has been a big success for MCM.
As for the Execs in Minnesota, my experiences and dealings have all been positive and they have not once gone back on anything they promised me and to my knowledge my former employees. MCM continues to be a force on eBay and despite doing thousands of transactions each month their feedback is basically unchanged from the period when I was the owner. I know first hand that they continue to believe in putting the customer first and in doing the right thing when problems arise. So while some may not like the change of ownership, overall MCM is now more well rounded to serve a wider range of clients but has not abandoned any of the fundamental principals that still contribute to to its continued phenomenal growth. Perhaps as part of a much larger organization there are some surface or procedural changes, (to be expected IMO) but at the core I believe MCM is by and large the same company with the same great people now enabled to do greater things because of the expanded resources.
You all know that things occasionally went wrong when I was in charge too. Things go wrong in every company. I believe the MCM management and customer service is (by far) still among the best out there when comparing similar companies of similar size and with similar products. I also think Andy would be "all ears" with regard to doing more in the way of specials for CU board members. He was the biggest advocate for it when I was in charge. I think now that he is in charge he is just incredibly busy and probably not given it much thought.
Best regards to all!
John Maben
So did you get some of their Kool-aid as part of the deal when you sold out to AMS?
Join the fight against Minnesota's unjust coin dealer tax law.
I was not aware of the actions AMS had taken related to the Minnesota coin legislation, however, I reached out to AMS' CEO and other members of senior leadership in order to educate myself. I wanted to share what I learned.
While AMS felt the laws in place at the time were sufficient in providing consumer protection, certain Minnesota legislators along with the Attorney General felt they had to put additional safeguards in place due to the actions of some malicious coin dealers. Realizing that this legislation was very likely to be passed whether AMS participated or not, they decided to actively participate in the process in an attempt to ensure that the legislation achieved as positive an outcome as possible. AMS also realized that if one operated a legitimate, law abiding company, which AMS does completely, this legislation would not be burdensome.
As to the thought that this law will be repealed, it is highly unlikely and as a matter of fact, ICTA has mounted an effort to refine the law to make it more clear and less ambiguous.
Andy Salzberg
General Manager
ModernCoinMart
Tomthecoinguy,
I was not aware of the actions AMS had taken related to the Minnesota coin legislation, however, I reached out to AMS' CEO and other members of senior leadership in order to educate myself. I wanted to share what I learned.
While AMS felt the laws in place at the time were sufficient in providing consumer protection, certain Minnesota legislators along with the Attorney General felt they had to put additional safeguards in place due to the actions of some malicious coin dealers. Realizing that this legislation was very likely to be passed whether AMS participated or not, they decided to actively participate in the process in an attempt to ensure that the legislation achieved as positive an outcome as possible. AMS also realized that if one operated a legitimate, law abiding company, which AMS does completely, this legislation would not be burdensome.
As to the thought that this law will be repealed, it is highly unlikely and as a matter of fact, ICTA has mounted an effort to refine the law to make it more clear and less ambiguous.
Andy Salzberg
General Manager
ModernCoinMart
Thank you so much for looking into it. Although I am not convinced that your response is accurate. I would consider his testimony being a traitor to the industry, and stabbing Minnesota collectors and small dealers in the back. I transcribed what Bill Gale said in his testimony. An MP3 file of his testimony is available on the MN legislature website.
Minnesota Legislature, Government Operations Committee meeting, February 27, 2013 The times are the minutes and seconds into the meeting that the testimony takes place.
22:38
My name is Bill Gale, I am President of Asset Marketing Services, a coin company, a Numismatic company in Burnsville. We employ about 406 Minnesotans. We are in favor of something to try and clean up the industry, because their definitely has been issues in the industry.
22:57
We have been working with Rep Hilstrom and the AG's office with wording, and we're continuing with that. But their is no question that there has been people in the industry that have been bad. Not only have they been taking advantage of consumers ... ahh ... I am sitting here as a company that has been taken advantage of.
23:17
Because not only do they do it on the retail side, but they are also doing it in the industry itself. Whether they are stealing confidential information from customers.. ah... or from other companies. Guardian precious metals, we actually have litigation against them because they were able to get confidential information and then take advantage of those people. So there is issue in the industry.
End of transcript
As far as the law being repealed, I don't think that is likely to happen in the near future either. However, ITCA is wasting over 100k so far, and from what I am hearing they are actually going to make the law worse. Currently there is no defined limits on how many coin shows a local dealer can do without being registered. This makes it illegal for the department of commerce to enforce the law at any coin shows. (It would be a clear violation of the 5th amendment due process, rights if they tried to enforce any arbitrary limit.) Now ITCA is proposing putting a limit of 12 shows before you have to register. This is a huge step backwards, and is being pushed by ITCA!
I have to admit to not being too impressed with the competence of ITCA lawyers so far on this. I have talked to 3 different non ITCA lawyers, and all three of them agreed that there was an extremely good chance of getting the law declared unconstitutional on 3 different grounds. One of the 3 lawyers I talked to, actually got a law struck down on one of the grounds this law is vulnerable on. Two of the lawyers gave independent estimates of about 50K to get the law struck down (half the cost of what ITCA has already spent.)
I many look at trying to raise the 50K myself, because that is all that is needed to get the law off the books entirely. The lack of any court action is the reason it appears that ITCA is not really interested in getting rid of the law. It is often true in an existing industry that want a laws like this, because it serves as a barrier for other companies to enter the industry.
Join the fight against Minnesota's unjust coin dealer tax law.
I bought one coin from the predecessor firm maybe 10 years ago, and have been getting relentless spam in my junk email ever since.
Not sure what version of e-mail you have, but I direct these types of e-mail messages to my Spam folder, and just delete the contents once a week. Saves a LOT of time.
I many look at trying to raise the 50K myself, because that is all that is needed to get the law off the books entirely. The lack of any court action is the reason it appears that ITCA is not really interested in getting rid of the law. It is often true in an existing industry that want a laws like this, because it serves as a barrier for other companies to enter the industry.
Maybe MCM will donate to your cause.
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