Should the ANA have the power to put a dealer out of business?

dan1ecu · February 15, 2003 11:58AM

Suppose there is a dishonest dealer (coin doctor, or just a generally unethical person). Would the ANA have any power to step in and stop the dealer from doing business with the public? Is there a such thing a licence from the ANA, which indicates a dealers legitimacy? Do you think that there should be a requirement that one be ANA approved before publically doing business as a coin dealer? That way, if a dealer receives too many complaints, they could lose their licence. Do you think that something like this would solve many of the problems facing the hobby today?

Dan

DaveG · February 15, 2003 12:20PM

NO.

The ANA isn't a regulatory body. It's just not set up to be one and I really wouldn't want it to be.

Think of the downside: If the coin business was regulated (like, say the securities or banking business), coin sales could only be conducted through dealers - say good-bye to selling your extra coins on eBay, for example. Plus, the ANA would have to staff up, and I'm sure the cost of the new regulatory efforts would be paid by a surcharge on each transaction; also, licensed coin dealers would, and could, charge enough to make a decent profit, because competition would be less (say good-by to the smaller coin dealers who only do shows and probably don't do enough volume to justify the new paperwork burden).

In addition, regulation of the coin business still wouldn't put the slime out of business, just as regulation of the securities business hasn't assured that all brokers are honest and act only in the best interest of the client.

TomB · February 15, 2003 1:51PM

Personally, I have to agree with DaveG that this doesn't sound like a good idea in the present context of the ANA. Among other things, the enforcement, investigation and legal defense arms of the ANA would soak up every last cent of the organization's money and this would leave nothing for anything else.

littlewicher · February 15, 2003 1:54PM

They wouldn't want to put out all of the ACG dealers, then they would lose their money that they get from ACG.

dan1ecu · February 15, 2003 2:00PM

You guys make good points. It would be quite an expensive undertaking for the ANA to start regulating activity in the coin business. And, yeah, I guess ACG would have a problem with it.

redhott · February 15, 2003 2:51PM

ANA members who use the ANA logo and a membership number to promote themselves should be held accountable when they don't follow the ANA code of conduct, as they promised to do when they first applied for membership. If someone were put out of business, that would be done by someone other than the ANA, such as by customers and their lawyers, or by law enforcement.

shirohniichan · February 15, 2003 2:54PM

I concur with redhott. If a dealer who's an ANA member violates the code of ethics, the ANA should cancel his membership. Let the buyers decide what to do with defrocked dealers.

gsaguy · February 15, 2003 3:16PM

I suggest that all dealers should be licensed and should come to this forum for application and approval.

GSAGUY

P.S. As for the ANA, aren't they the same guys that accepted money from Accugrade?

smprfi · February 15, 2003 3:51PM

ANA doesn't have the power to shut down a business.The law would have to do this.The only thing the ANA could do is condem them,but we all know you need a spine for that.

FatMan · February 15, 2003 4:45PM

I believe that creating a regulatory agency would be counter productive to our hobby. It would simply become a bureaucracy which would drain our hobby of capital. I suggest that we need a not for profit consumer protection member organization with the mission of publishing objective performance reports of Dealer transactions and Grading Companies perfomance. I would model the organization loosely after Consumer Union's Consumer Reports. This would allow informed consumers to clean up the marketplace using nothing but free market forces.

The organization would operate as follows.

1. Make blind random purchases of raw & slabbed coins from all sources in our market place. Measure every transaction against a set of standards such as: answers to selected random questions, published return policies, shipping charges, delivery times,etc.

2. Send each coin to 3 different grading services randomly selected out of the 10 or so currently operating in the marketplace. Measure the grades by grading company as well as dealer representation for raw coins.

3. Randomly transact activities within the market place such as making returns, sell coins to dealers, grade guarantees,etc. Measure each transaction against pre-set standards.

4. Compile all data (no opinions-just the facts, it would be up to each member to opine what it means) and publish in a magaizine or secured website.

5. Funding would be provided by memberships only. Only members would receive the magazine or have access to web sits. I believe membership for such an organization would exceed ANA membership if the dues were kept similar to those of the ANA. The cost benefit of this membership would be much greater than that of the ANA in my opinion.

This format would maintain credibility as the group would be owned by the members and would never be influenced by any outside forces. This format will quickly expose the bad guys as well as reward the good guys. The fact that the organization would report only actual happenings as measured against a set of pre-set standards will limit the organizations liabilities to legal actions. I have overly simplified this idea but with the right knowledgeable business and legal minds I believe this would work and once implemented would create as great of a change as slabbing has over the last 17 years.

michael · February 15, 2003 4:46PM

the only thing that will put a stop completely to all the problems with the coin game

is for all collectors to have experience in and know and understand what they are buying/looking at!!!!!!!!!!
and then to act with reasonable common sense

also to only buy coins for fun as a hobby
and only with discretionary income

if all of the above was practiced then all the negstive aspects of this hobby would disappear for the most part....................... overnight !!!!!!!!!!!!

but of course THIS WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN

so all you can do is try the best as you can with regards to the above! and treat everyone was you would want to be treated and maybe just maybe you can make a difference in coins! and have hope!
as tomorrow is always another day filled with hope and promise!

sincerely michael

JML · February 16, 2003 12:58AM

The ANA has a code of ethics and an effective complaint process. They cannot put a business out of business, but they can expel the individual from membership. It is up to the buyer to decide where to purchase coins. Certainly purchasing coins from ANA and PNG members is a way to protect your purchase.

PTVETTER · February 16, 2003 1:09AM

Neither the ANA or any other orginazation should have the right to but a person out of business!

That's right to the point.

A dishonorable dealer, in fact will put him or her self out of busniess. Thoses how support these dealers out of a lack on knowledge will in some day become knowledgeable and stop dealing with these dalers.

nwcs · February 16, 2003 1:17AM

>Should the ANA have the power to put a dealer out of business?

Absolutely NOT! However, I think they should have some power to sanction. I draw the analogy to the SEC. They theoretically can shut down a company, but don't because of the economic impact. Instead they fine and fine and fine. That, I think the ANA could do. But not authorize or prevent someone from operating a business.

Neil

MacCoin · February 16, 2003 1:19AM

right I don't see it happen

Should the ANA have the power to put a dealer out of business?

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