Contrary to Russ and others I do believe they are legally liable to honor the deal. By posting the coin with a price - any price - it is legally an offer to sell. If you then send them money, this is an acceptance of the offer and consideration has been passed. Therefore its a legally binding sale. They have to sell it to you, frankly I can't believe they are making a mistake, and complaining about it after they have had so much business from you.
Coinguy1 stated: 1) how would you feel and what you would do if the roles were reversed.
2) how would you feel and what you would do if the coin had mistakenly been priced as an MS67 and you were not aware of the error until later.
3) whether the money you might save on this coin is worth it, considering all of the circumstances.
My response: 1) Many years ago I managed a sporting goods store. One of our employees had mistakenly mispriced about fifty pairs of athletic sox at $0.00. Needless to say, a couple of customers discovered the error and a "free for all" insued. When I resisted honoring the zero dollar price, the owner of the store stepped in and scolded me by saying, "The customer is always right! Don't ever forget it!" Over the years, I've come to see the "value" in this montra.
2) Assuming the coin was properly labeled and photographed (as it was in this case), I would say I need to find a different hobby that I'm better at. It is MY responsibility to pay a price that I am comfortably with, even if I pay double what the coin is actually "worth". What is "worth" anyway?
3) The dealer should ask himself the same question.
The world of coin dealing is as cut-throught as any. I've learned this the hard way (as has EVERY collector). Heritage has never been willing to haggle on their prices (I thought haggling was a requirement of any coin dealer) and I have bought most of my coins from their inventory (markup dictated by them). Thus they have made a pretty penny. And let's face it. Most collectors will be lucky to breakeven after selling their collections.
Heritage is in business because collectors like me. Without them, I buy my coins from someone else (other dealers or other collectors). Without me (a collector), the dealer is on the streets looking for a job.
I'm not as angry as this thread may lead you to believe, it just allows me to hear what others have to say on this "what if" situation.
Shamika, If they emailed you yesterday to get in touch as soon as possible, why didn't you call them today? You assumed you knew what they would say, you don't really know what they are going to say.
There is an old saying; "To assume makes an ass between u and me". Other than the entertainment value of this thread, it may have been unnecessary.
Gee, let me assume here.. They tell you that they just wanted to let you know that you had really ripped a coin from them due to their error and since you were such a good customer they "wanted to let you know of the updated price, have a nice day, and Oh by the way, mention our good deed on the message boards"...hmmm
Edited to add, Sorry, I missed your post on attemping to get in touch with them,,my bad
Here's is what I would do as a seller and as a buyer.
As a seller, once I say a deal is done, and take payment, the deal is done. I would not try to undo the deal even if I discovered that I made an error. I would not even raise the issue with an email or phone call.
As a buyer, if I got a call or email from a seller saying that they made an error, I would listen and try to work it out. If it happens more than once, I would not continue to deal with that seller. Also, I would not do business with a dealer who has a written policy that allows them to DK confirmed deals if they discover an error. The reason is simple, we are in a competitive buying environment. If I buy a coin, I'm am probably passing up the chance to buy a different coin. If several days later, I get DKed, I might have lost the chance to buy my second choice. Of course, up-front, if I think there is a pricing error I would raise it a the time of purchase. That is just a question of honesty.
For example, David Lawrence, has a policy that allows them to DK coins sold on error. This was confirmed by the owner in writing on this Board. While I think DLRC is a fine dealer, I have elected not to buy from them direct, because of this written policy.
In your case, it is hard to believe that Heritage is raising an issue over $100. I'm not sure the price for a 66 is so etched in stone that your initial price is an obvious error. It might just be a low end example. I have bought several low end coins from Heritage, at very nice discounts. It seems like you have done all you need to do with two phone calls. At most, try once more. If the person is not in, leave a voice mail. If you get them, your call whether to compromise. If it were me, I would probably suggest splitting the difference. If it happens again, should you continue to buy from them? Of course, you can still bid at auction, as those prices are binding.
Greg
BTW, it might have been better not to use the dealers name on this post. We could have still given you feedback. Now you have made a negative post about Heritage. Maybe a negative post is warranted, but that should only be considered IMO after attempts have failed to work it out privately.
I'm not trying to screw Heritage out of any money. To prove it I have several stories about how I corrected a mistake that would have otherwise benefitted me financially. Last year, I bought four studded snow tires WITH wheels from a tire company in Greenfield, MA. When I went to pick them up, the cashier charged me for the wheels and did not include the tires. Though the final price of the bill seemed lower than I had been quoted, I shut my mouth and payed.
Sitting alone in my car, I reviewed the bill and saw the mistake; ~$260 in my favor. I went back in the store and pointed out the error. By agreeing to pay the price quoted to me the week before, I felt obligated to pay the correct price, as I did.
In this case, Heritage "quoted" me $110. I accepted their price and they accepted my money.
As I stated earler (after starting this thread), I already tried contacting this dealer today and got the runaround.
Typetone,
As I stated earlier, I think Heritage is an oustanding dealer and I will continue doing a healthy business with them regardless of the outcome. I've frequently sung their praises. However, lousy customer service and the runaround directed towards an excellent customer warrents a comment or two.
I usually don't reply to many threads. I usually just read them. In this case, I can't help myself. Bottom line here is THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$100.00 is certainly not going to break this HUGE company. They made the mistake, They should have to live with it. You do $15,000.00 worth of business with them and they want to cry about $100.00. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!! As an eBay seller myself. I have in the past sent the wrong coin to a customer, I didn't ask for the coin back. I told them to keep it and sent them the correct coin. Was it a $200.00 coin?? NO!!! But to this day I have won the heart of a customer forever. As someone said in a previous reply, If they honor the stated price they will recover that $100.00 loss many times over. Just my two cents. I couldn't resist. AL
It's not even $100 that we are talking about. I'm sure Heritage didn't pay $200 dollars for the coin. I'm betting they paid a wholesale price of about ~$150 at most (correct me people if I'm wrong). So we're talking about ~$40.
Shamika, You're right.. I had missed your later post where you said you had contacted them, I had already edited my post to correct my error.
I guess keeping up with the posts can get like phone tag around here sometimes
I will be curious what does go down when you get to talk with (?) , now you have to update us.... think good karma from your honesty with the tire and wheel deal,,,(bad pun, my bad),
<< <i>If it were me, I would probably suggest splitting the difference. If it happens again, should you continue to buy from them? Of course, you can still bid at auction, as those prices are binding. >>
Typetone, you must have missed my post
Bill
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
This is really being made out to more than it actually is. Here is what you do.
1.Call Heritage. 2. Ask for Rohan. 3. Tell him you 're honest guy, you caught the error. 4. Tell him you enjoy reading Halperin's scif fi books. (I've read them all) 5. Tell him you've spent $15,000 with Heritage. 6. Tell them to send you a PCGS/NGC MS63 common date Morgan with nice toning because you're a swell guy and will continue to do business with them. 7. End of story and have a nice day.
People are saying Shamika should be ethical and recognize the fact that Hermitage made a pricing error. Well now a Dealer or Auction house should reveal everything they know about a coin shouldn't they ? Here is a little jewel that was won at auction as a MS67 1945D Merc Dime, which by the way is exactly what it is. The seller did not say a word about the Dime being mis-labeled in the auction which I also missed. Now I ask you is that ethical ?
Sure its nice to be up and up in the hobby but it sure would be nice if all were on the same path here. Dealers and Collectors.
Too late in the thread to add anything but the following:
I think it's safe to say that Hermitage's top management does not spend a lot of time stategizing about $100 clerical errors. So I ask, Would it matter to you if the request to return the coin was made by a low level clerk trying to cover his own mistake and trying to avoid getting in trouble with his boss? Sometimes, I think we forget that there are real people working at the big companies. Can we drop the David and Goliath mentality?
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I know I'm gonna get slammed no matter what I say, but here goes. 1). On the one hand, for a multimillion-dollar company to even bring their mistake (for such a small amount) to your attention is COMPLETELY low-class. 2). I know personally how nit-picky and legalistic they not only can be - but ARE. If they have a disclaimer buried in some minute unintelligible legalese (as is their custom) that says they are not responsible for typos or something to that effect, then you really don't have a right to it at the price you paid simply 'cause you didn'y bother to take the time to excavate the information - as you'd probably have to do to find it.. 3). If on the other hand there is NOTHING IN WRITING posted on their website to that effect, I beleive you have every right to it. 4). If you really want to be above reproach from an ethical standpoint - AND SCORE SOME MAJOR BROWNY POINTS with them (although I've noticed they have a very short memory for the nice things people do for them and a very long one for the things they don't like that you did - LIKE MADE TOO MANY RETURNS FOR COINS YOU DIDN'T LIKE) - tell them you know they made a mistake and have no intention of holding them to it. You may or may not (probably the latter) get the same consideration in the future. 5).I've learned the hard way to not name names unless some type of fraud or illegality is involved on these boards. You might want to take the same advice.
Big E well its from.......Naw I think the point has been made. If things were two way on these ethical questions I'm sure replys would be different with fewer accusations about a buyer and a seller.
I will say that Hermitage has been screwing up regularly lately. They had another coin mis-priced just like the one discussed here and I did not hit the button to buy it. Maybe a little more attention is needed on thier part. A person can only pass up a certain amount of these screw ups.
It kills me how so many people claim they have and would point out a pricing error to a seller yet when I see posts like the one from the member who scored a potentially 5 figure peace dollar for 12 bucks or Russ's $1400 Morgan he got for who knows how little at a flea market, it's nothing but "great score", "congrats", etc. I don't recall any chastisement for unethical behavior. I suspect these were also 'pricing errors' obvious to the buyers.
That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense with artificial paradises seems unlikely. Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, and at the best so monotonous, poor, and limited, that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves, if only for a few moments, is and always has been one of the principal appetites of the soul.
<< <i>A retail store is not obligated to sell an item that is mismarked. Many think this but it's not the case. It's not false advertising, just an error.
That is true, however in this situation the dealer offered the sale, accepted payment, confirmed the purchase, and then reneged a week later. That would be like buying an item at a store for a great price, and then having the store clerk come to your home to ask for more money a week later - IMHO.
<< <i>Contrary to Russ and others I do believe they are legally liable to honor the deal. >>
No, they are not. I've been an internet vendor for the last seven years. I do know a bit about how it works. A company has no legal obiligation to honor a typo. Period.
The transaction was completed when the credit card was charged - end of story. Legally, they have to give you the coin. I also agree with others that coin prices are not set in stone and vary from dealer to dealer so it is not unlikely to find a variance that can make his price seem "like a good deal" and actually be the actual price. I do think it is funny how often people talk about what a great price they paid for a coin when they think it should have cost more. Maybe everyone should go back and contact those sellers and pay them the price you think they should have charged.
Relayers post with the newspaper listing the typo for the car at $2k versus $20k isn't a good example since it was the newspaper that made the error, not the seller.
i cant imagine them being that cheap..but they run it the way the want..you as the customer must decide if you are being treated the way you feel you deserve...shamika..i absolutely would not do business with a company that in my (yours in this case) opinion treated me less favorably then i deserve. bruce scher
I can see not having to honor a typo but was it really a typo? A typo is when you put the decimal in the wrong place, like $12.00 instead of $1200.00. Or you hit the wrong key that's side by side, $800 instead of $900. I want sex instead of I want six. I sent Shamika pms instead of PMs. It sounds more like Stupidity on the part of the person who looked up the wrong price or the wrong coin, entered it into the ad, proofread the ad, then posted it on the internet for all the world to see. Somebody with coin experience should have "felt" something was wrong when they wrote an ad selling a MS66 for a little over $100. Is Stupidity grounds for allowing the seller to renegotiate the deal? Most big companies simply absorb their employee's mistakes. Is the guy that makes the crappy pictures the same guy that looks up the prices?
Change that we can believe in is that change which is 90% silver.
In my opinion it would be pretty stinky of them to ask for the extra hundred bucks. I also think anyone who has spent 15 grand on coins in 3 years from one company shouldn't be so uptight about 100 bucks.
Just My 2 Cents, Big Mike <><
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all that he has done. --Colossians 2:7
Sorry about not posting last night. I had family matters to attend to.
Well, things were basically resolved, but not as I had planned. In the opinions that I received from this thread, there appeared to be three schools of thought:
1. “Screw the dealer! It’s your coin!” 2. “Negotiate with the dealer. Relationships are more important”. 3. “Don’t be opportunistic. Point out the dealers mistake and move on”.
As a result, I decided to let the dealer’s behavior dictate how things would end up.
If he immediately became adversarial, I would insist that the mistake was his fault and thus his loss. And I would quote the following statement buried in their on-line “legalese”, “No agreement on price has been reached until you receive confirmation from Heritage that your offer to purchase has been accepted” which I had via an email the week before.
If he was apologetic and requested a compromise, I was willing to pay Heritage’s cost for the coin or listen to whatever counteroffer he had in mind.
On the off chance that he made a statement on what an important customer I had been (or something expressing sincere concern about our future “relationship”), then I would ask him to be more careful next time and let it slide. However, I suspected he and others at Heritage didn’t know me from Adam so I wasn’t counting on this to happen.
In truth, I hoped that he would see me as a valuable customer and offer me the coin at his cost per the second scenario. Regardless, the end result was up to him.
So I called my contact at Heritage twice and left v-mail. Later, she called me back and said (without explanation or apology) the coin is mine and that I needed to send $118. To which I had to remind her that payment had already been given via credit card immediately after the on-line purchase.
Regardless, I got the coin, but I didn’t get to speak to the buyer to hear what he had to say. I’m not sure how this whole thing makes me feel. I’m happy that my vigilance allowed me the opportunity to find such a great deal, but lacking coin shows or a coin shop in the area, I kind of pine for a good “customer/dealer” relationship that many collectors enjoy. I fear, however, that such a relationship could never happen between myself and a mega-dealer like Heritage.
I would rather have a dealer that just charged me the right price instead of a low price & put me through all that BS! RFLMAO about you saying they said you needed to send $118 and you had to remind them you had already paid. After all the emails, phone calls & voice mails Heritage still doesn't have a clue what's going on! You never told us about the email you had that said “No agreement on price has been reached until you receive confirmation from Heritage that your offer to purchase has been accepted.” I thought you wanted us to question YOUR ethics. Heritage is the one with questionable ethics because they accepted your offer to purchase then tried to renig.
Change that we can believe in is that change which is 90% silver.
I think that things worked out well for you and you know in your heart that you were willing to be reasonable if they chose to negotiate. An unfortunate mix-up, yes, but kudos to both of you. Praise to Heritage for doing the right thing, and to you for playing it by ear and being willing to talk. Alls well that ends well. Don't sweat it.
You will note from some of the prior posts that Heritage does not have a history of accepting the credo that "The Customer is Always Right." It appears they have lost many a good customer and done a disservice to those who place coins with them erroneously expecting that all potential buyers and bidders would be welcome to buy or bid on their coins. Heritage is known to blacklist a customer when they get into a dispute. You might want to watch for an email from them telling you that because you requested they remove your name from their data base they have done so --- even though you never made such a request. This has happened even after the customer thought he had amicably resolved his dispute and capitulated to Heritage's demands. It would be interesting to see if the Better Business Bureau has reports about such high handed tactics. And you are right, they could care less whether they had made thousands in profit from you in prior transactions or not - for some reason they like to be vindicative, maybe it is the hot Texas air.
1. I bet they spend more than $100 on Golf each week.
2. Where I work, when an employee gets mistreated they typically respond by selling items too cheap. I had management take my $1000 bonus and keep it for themselves. So I discounted heavily for 6 months. Maybe that's why the coin was cheap.
Just a couple of thoughts from the perspective of someone practicing law since 1965, and retired after about 25 years working for companies big enough to buy and sell Heritage several times a day. 1. Without all the information, including knowledge of what state's law governs, and the exact language of the writings exchanged, it is impossible to give a valid legal opinion. (A key fact, that language about when agreement on price is reached, was in the 88th post.) 2. Large company practices make me believe that this is the scenario:
Low level employee discovers the error, and contacts the customer;
Said employee is not authorized to deal with the problem so he/she refers it to "the buyer";
The buyer is involved in something else and doesn't review the matter right away;
the buyer reviews it and says "It's our mistake, we'll live with it.";
Low level employee passes on the result, but not the reason, because explaining the reason would make him/her look bad, and it is far more important to keep him/herself from looking bad than protecting the company image.
Comments
Many think this but it's not the case. It's not false advertising, just an error.
Much like this situation.
Ask yourself this question.
Is your relationship important with this dealer.
Do what you feel is honest. You can live with it.
Kid you not and to this day I have not purchased another coin from them. Would I? It would have to be a very special coin.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
1) how would you feel and what you would do if the roles were reversed.
2) how would you feel and what you would do if the coin had mistakenly been priced as an
MS67 and you were not aware of the error until later.
3) whether the money you might save on this coin is worth it, considering all of the circumstances.
My response:
1) Many years ago I managed a sporting goods store. One of our employees had mistakenly mispriced about fifty pairs of athletic sox at $0.00. Needless to say, a couple of customers discovered the error and a "free for all" insued. When I resisted honoring the zero dollar price, the owner of the store stepped in and scolded me by saying, "The customer is always right! Don't ever forget it!" Over the years, I've come to see the "value" in this montra.
2) Assuming the coin was properly labeled and photographed (as it was in this case), I would say I need to find a different hobby that I'm better at. It is MY responsibility to pay a price that I am comfortably with, even if I pay double what the coin is actually "worth". What is "worth" anyway?
3) The dealer should ask himself the same question.
The world of coin dealing is as cut-throught as any. I've learned this the hard way (as has EVERY collector). Heritage has never been willing to haggle on their prices (I thought haggling was a requirement of any coin dealer) and I have bought most of my coins from their inventory (markup dictated by them). Thus they have made a pretty penny. And let's face it. Most collectors will be lucky to breakeven after selling their collections.
Heritage is in business because collectors like me. Without them, I buy my coins from someone else (other dealers or other collectors). Without me (a collector), the dealer is on the streets looking for a job.
I'm not as angry as this thread may lead you to believe, it just allows me to hear what others have to say on this "what if" situation.
PEACE
I love you guys!!
There is an old saying; "To assume makes an ass between u and me". Other than the entertainment value of this thread, it may have been unnecessary.
Gee, let me assume here.. They tell you that they just wanted to let you know that you had really ripped a coin from them due to their error and since you were such a good customer they "wanted to let you know of the updated price, have a nice day, and Oh by the way, mention our good deed on the message boards"...hmmm
Edited to add, Sorry, I missed your post on attemping to get in touch with them,,my bad
As a seller, once I say a deal is done, and take payment, the deal is done. I would not try to undo the deal even if I discovered that I made an error. I would not even raise the issue with an email or phone call.
As a buyer, if I got a call or email from a seller saying that they made an error, I would listen and try to work it out. If it happens more than once, I would not continue to deal with that seller. Also, I would not do business with a dealer who has a written policy that allows them to DK confirmed deals if they discover an error. The reason is simple, we are in a competitive buying environment. If I buy a coin, I'm am probably passing up the chance to buy a different coin. If several days later, I get DKed, I might have lost the chance to buy my second choice. Of course, up-front, if I think there is a pricing error I would raise it a the time of purchase. That is just a question of honesty.
For example, David Lawrence, has a policy that allows them to DK coins sold on error. This was confirmed by the owner in writing on this Board. While I think DLRC is a fine dealer, I have elected not to buy from them direct, because of this written policy.
In your case, it is hard to believe that Heritage is raising an issue over $100. I'm not sure the price for a 66 is so etched in stone that your initial price is an obvious error. It might just be a low end example. I have bought several low end coins from Heritage, at very nice discounts. It seems like you have done all you need to do with two phone calls. At most, try once more. If the person is not in, leave a voice mail. If you get them, your call whether to compromise. If it were me, I would probably suggest splitting the difference. If it happens again, should you continue to buy from them? Of course, you can still bid at auction, as those prices are binding.
Greg
BTW, it might have been better not to use the dealers name on this post. We could have still given you feedback. Now you have made a negative post about Heritage. Maybe a negative post is warranted, but that should only be considered IMO after attempts have failed to work it out privately.
I listed my car in the newspaper for $20,000 but they had a typo and listed it for $2,000
A guy showed up with $2,000 and of course I had to sell it to him for that because he cited the CU Board law.
My posts viewed
since 8/1/6
I'm not trying to screw Heritage out of any money. To prove it I have several stories about how I corrected a mistake that would have otherwise benefitted me financially. Last year, I bought four studded snow tires WITH wheels from a tire company in Greenfield, MA. When I went to pick them up, the cashier charged me for the wheels and did not include the tires. Though the final price of the bill seemed lower than I had been quoted, I shut my mouth and payed.
Sitting alone in my car, I reviewed the bill and saw the mistake; ~$260 in my favor. I went back in the store and pointed out the error. By agreeing to pay the price quoted to me the week before, I felt obligated to pay the correct price, as I did.
In this case, Heritage "quoted" me $110. I accepted their price and they accepted my money.
As I stated earler (after starting this thread), I already tried contacting this dealer today and got the runaround.
Typetone,
As I stated earlier, I think Heritage is an oustanding dealer and I will continue doing a healthy business with them regardless of the outcome. I've frequently sung their praises. However, lousy customer service and the runaround directed towards an excellent customer warrents a comment or two.
As an eBay seller myself. I have in the past sent the wrong coin to a customer, I didn't ask for the coin back. I told them to keep it and sent them the correct coin. Was it a $200.00 coin?? NO!!! But to this day I have won the heart of a customer forever. As someone said in a previous reply, If they honor the stated price they will recover that $100.00 loss many times over. Just my two cents. I couldn't resist.
AL
Gotta love them Mercs
It's not even $100 that we are talking about. I'm sure Heritage didn't pay $200 dollars for the coin. I'm betting they paid a wholesale price of about ~$150 at most (correct me people if I'm wrong). So we're talking about ~$40.
I guess keeping up with the posts can get like phone tag around here sometimes
I will be curious what does go down when you get to talk with (?) , now you have to update us.... think good karma from your honesty with the tire and wheel deal,,,(bad pun, my bad),
<< <i>If it were me, I would probably suggest splitting the difference. If it happens again, should you continue to buy from them? Of course, you can still bid at auction, as those prices are binding. >>
Typetone, you must have missed my post
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
Again, great company (MS67), fantastic selection (MS68), fair prices
1.Call Heritage.
2. Ask for Rohan.
3. Tell him you 're honest guy, you caught the error.
4. Tell him you enjoy reading Halperin's scif fi books. (I've read them all)
5. Tell him you've spent $15,000 with Heritage.
6. Tell them to send you a PCGS/NGC MS63 common date Morgan with nice toning because you're
a swell guy and will continue to do business with them.
7. End of story and have a nice day.
Brian.
Sure its nice to be up and up in the hobby but it sure would be nice if all were on the same path here. Dealers and Collectors.
Ken
Ken
I think it's safe to say that Hermitage's top management does not spend a lot of time stategizing about $100 clerical errors. So I ask, Would it matter to you if the request to return the coin was made by a low level clerk trying to cover his own mistake and trying to avoid getting in trouble with his boss? Sometimes, I think we forget that there are real people working at the big companies. Can we drop the David and Goliath mentality?
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
1). On the one hand, for a multimillion-dollar company to even bring their mistake (for such a small amount) to your attention is COMPLETELY low-class.
2). I know personally how nit-picky and legalistic they not only can be - but ARE. If they have a disclaimer buried in some minute unintelligible legalese (as is their custom) that says they are not responsible for typos or something to that effect, then you really don't have a right to it at the price you paid simply 'cause you didn'y bother to take the time to excavate the information - as you'd probably have to do to find it..
3). If on the other hand there is NOTHING IN WRITING posted on their website to that effect, I beleive you have every right to it.
4). If you really want to be above reproach from an ethical standpoint - AND SCORE SOME MAJOR BROWNY POINTS with them (although I've noticed they have a very short memory for the nice things people do for them and a very long one for the things they don't like that you did - LIKE MADE TOO MANY RETURNS FOR COINS YOU DIDN'T LIKE) - tell them you know they made a mistake and have no intention of holding them to it. You may or may not (probably the latter) get the same consideration in the future.
5).I've learned the hard way to not name names unless some type of fraud or illegality is involved on these boards. You might want to take the same advice.
You got it about right,I could ad and ad but will do no good.Al
I will say that Hermitage has been screwing up regularly lately. They had another coin mis-priced just like the one discussed here and I did not hit the button to buy it. Maybe a little more attention is needed on thier part. A person can only pass up a certain amount of these screw ups.
Ken
Sorry about that.
Aldous Huxley
Yabba dabba doo.
Fred Flintstone
<< <i>A retail store is not obligated to sell an item that is mismarked.
Many think this but it's not the case. It's not false advertising, just an error.
That is true, however in this situation the dealer offered the sale, accepted payment, confirmed the purchase, and then reneged a week later. That would be like buying an item at a store for a great price, and then having the store clerk come to your home to ask for more money a week later - IMHO.
I think that Heritage should honor the price.
<< <i>Contrary to Russ and others I do believe they are legally liable to honor the deal. >>
No, they are not. I've been an internet vendor for the last seven years. I do know a bit about how it works. A company has no legal obiligation to honor a typo. Period.
Russ, NCNE
Relayers post with the newspaper listing the typo for the car at $2k versus $20k isn't a good example since it was the newspaper that made the error, not the seller.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
bruce scher
A typo is when you put the decimal in the wrong place, like $12.00 instead of $1200.00.
Or you hit the wrong key that's side by side, $800 instead of $900.
I want sex instead of I want six.
I sent Shamika pms instead of PMs.
It sounds more like Stupidity on the part of the person who looked up the wrong price or the wrong coin, entered it into the ad, proofread the ad, then posted it on the internet for all the world to see. Somebody with coin experience should have "felt" something was wrong when they wrote an ad selling a MS66 for a little over $100. Is Stupidity grounds for allowing the seller to renegotiate the deal?
Most big companies simply absorb their employee's mistakes.
Is the guy that makes the crappy pictures the same guy that looks up the prices?
Big Mike <><
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all that he has done. --Colossians 2:7
Well, things were basically resolved, but not as I had planned. In the opinions that I received from this thread, there appeared to be three schools of thought:
1. “Screw the dealer! It’s your coin!”
2. “Negotiate with the dealer. Relationships are more important”.
3. “Don’t be opportunistic. Point out the dealers mistake and move on”.
As a result, I decided to let the dealer’s behavior dictate how things would end up.
If he immediately became adversarial, I would insist that the mistake was his fault and thus his loss. And I would quote the following statement buried in their on-line “legalese”, “No agreement on price has been reached until you receive confirmation from Heritage that your offer to purchase has been accepted” which I had via an email the week before.
If he was apologetic and requested a compromise, I was willing to pay Heritage’s cost for the coin or listen to whatever counteroffer he had in mind.
On the off chance that he made a statement on what an important customer I had been (or something expressing sincere concern about our future “relationship”), then I would ask him to be more careful next time and let it slide. However, I suspected he and others at Heritage didn’t know me from Adam so I wasn’t counting on this to happen.
In truth, I hoped that he would see me as a valuable customer and offer me the coin at his cost per the second scenario. Regardless, the end result was up to him.
So I called my contact at Heritage twice and left v-mail. Later, she called me back and said (without explanation or apology) the coin is mine and that I needed to send $118. To which I had to remind her that payment had already been given via credit card immediately after the on-line purchase.
Regardless, I got the coin, but I didn’t get to speak to the buyer to hear what he had to say. I’m not sure how this whole thing makes me feel. I’m happy that my vigilance allowed me the opportunity to find such a great deal, but lacking coin shows or a coin shop in the area, I kind of pine for a good “customer/dealer” relationship that many collectors enjoy. I fear, however, that such a relationship could never happen between myself and a mega-dealer like Heritage.
This has me really thinking now…
Maybe it’s not about the coins…
RFLMAO about you saying they said you needed to send $118 and you had to remind them you had already paid.
After all the emails, phone calls & voice mails Heritage still doesn't have a clue what's going on!
You never told us about the email you had that said “No agreement on price has been reached until you receive confirmation from Heritage that your offer to purchase has been accepted.” I thought you wanted us to question YOUR ethics. Heritage is the one with questionable ethics because they accepted your offer to purchase then tried to renig.
<< <i>After all the emails, phone calls & voice mails Heritage still doesn't have a clue what's going on! >>
Dog, I beg to differ. Maybe Heritage knew exactly what it was doing and wanted $118 twice, for a total of $236.
Just kidding - I like Heritage. Shamika, I like the way you approached your three "schools of thought" too.
2. Where I work, when an employee gets mistreated they typically respond by selling items too cheap. I had management take my $1000 bonus and keep it for themselves. So I discounted heavily for 6 months. Maybe that's why the coin was cheap.
Earth to American management: "You aren't God."
1. Without all the information, including knowledge of what state's law governs, and the exact language of the writings exchanged, it is impossible to give a valid legal opinion. (A key fact, that language about when agreement on price is reached, was in the 88th post.)
2. Large company practices make me believe that this is the scenario:
I knew bringing this up on The Forum was the right thing to do.