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Hypothetical: Is it okay to rip the seller if...
RYK
Posts: 35,799 ✭✭✭✭✭
A relatively unknowledgeable seller (ie. the stereotypical coin widow) has a coin to sell. It is a 1926 Saint, raw, and she wants $800 for it, which is a strong retail price. You grade it MS-63/4, but you also notice that the squiggle above the date is the mintmark, "D". You realize now that the coin is probably worth considerably more, in the neighborhood of $40,000. What do you do next?
Is this any different than you evaluating her coins and offering her $800 for it?
Is this any different than you evaluating her coins and offering her $800 for it?
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Russ, NCNE
What if the coin is on ebay, same circumstances (26-D offered as a raw 26)?
What if she offers the coin as a 26-D for $800?
What if the coin is holdered 26-D $20 PCGS MS-63 and she offers it for $800?
(I have no experience akin to this, but I have a coin friend who does...)
• Inform her of what she has, but offer to buy it for close to 10K. This makes her happy because of the extra 9K and you happy as the dealer.
OR
• Tell her what she has, and help her find a buyer who could pay her close to 35K...
<< <i>What if the coin is on ebay, same circumstances (26-D offered as a raw 26)? >>
The poor woman would be buried in eMails from the vultures.
Russ, NCNE
Should have offered to help her sell it to a reliable buyer that has that kind of money.
If she offered it at $800 and you bought it, then noticed the "D". Time to look for her and perhaps give her something more, but
that is an acceptable purchase.
However, if you bought a coin and only noticed a mintmark afterwards, hmmmm. I'll accept it, but you only get half credit!
Then, is you are so inclined.... sell the coin for what it is worth. and recontact the seller to share the proceeds.
then i'd come on here and tell everyone how i ripped off - excuse me i mean CHERRYPICKED - some
unsuspecting little old lady.
then i'd sell that modern crap.
hi, i'm tom.
i do not doctor coins like some who post in here.
If the coin is on eBay, it's for sale. You did not decide the terms and/or price, it's determined by the seller that set-up the auction.
Personally I might send an email to verify that the person really has and/or knows what they are selling but it is not "wrong" to buy anything on eBay. Unlike her walking into a "professional" coin dealer's shop and asking how much would he/she pay for the coin.
Joe.
But what if she walks up to a coin dealer at a show, does not indicate her level of experience, and when the dealer asks how much she wants for the coin, she replies $800?
Again, it is certainly OK to buy the coin but I think the more moral/ethical thing to do is to offer to pay an amount more in line with its true value.
Joe.
Slabbed coins are different. If the slab is mis-labeled and they couldn't be bothered to notice, that's their problem ("Sell the coin, not the plastic"). But if someone offered me a slabbed coin for 2% of its value, my first, second, and third thoughts would be "STOLEN!"
None of those comments are relevent to an in-person deal where you can see the coin first and interact directly with the seller. There's a higher level of responsibility required in that situation.
Caveat: My opinions aren't exactly hypothetical. I've had separate 4-figure and 5-figure rips off eBay, where I was very happy to buy something when the seller didn't realize what they had.
RYK, if you have a friend who really does turn up an unknown 1927-D, please post details when the deal is done!
jonathan
It was a 26-D in this case and purely hypothetical.
Your analysis was excellent, JB.
Curiously, I posted that one the same week that Braddick posted the one that everyone (including me) thought was an authentic 1944 steel cent. He had people all over him that he should "make good" with the seller. Nobody even hinted that I should give the dime seller extra money. I guess there's some perception that the two situations are different, but I personally don't see why...
Here's a few more "is it ok to rip the seller" non-hypotheticals:
Seller lists a very rare medal, with a start bid of $75. The medal is clearly worth at least $600, probably more like $1500+. A buyer offers $200 to end the listing early, which the seller accepts before any other bids have been entered (less than a day after the original listing). Any problem with that? [This one was done to me -- I didn't notice the listing until it was gone.]
Seller lists a key date coin without mentioning the mintmark that makes it a key date (shades of the 1860-O, and of RYK's hypothetical). Starting bid is $20, and bidding gets up to $50 in a couple of days. Seller states that they don't know anything about coins, and based on other sales I believe them, so there's no way for me to find out if it is authentic.. But they're selling it with a group of other non-key dates that seem unlikely to be counterfeited, so there's a decent chance this one is real. I offered $1000 for the group, knowing full well that the one coin -- IF authentic -- would be worth at least $1500 and possibly a lot more, and that the rest of the group would be worth well over $500 -- again, IF all authentic. Any problem with that? [Seller accepted the offer, but I don't have the coins in hand yet]
Seller lists a rare medal with a totally mangled description, and in the wrong category to boot, but with a photograph that makes identification and authenticity "unquestionable" (of course there's no such thing, but take it as a given for the sake of argument). Starting bid is significant, but the medal is clearly worth twice or maybe three times that number. After x days, there are still zero bids. I think that nobody else noticed it, and that I can probably snag it with no competition if I wait until the end. Should I tell the seller what it is and what it's really worth? Should I offer the seller a hundred-dollar bump if they'll end the auction early? Or should I just leave well enough alone and try to get it as cheap as possible with a last-minute bid? Does your answer change if it's 2 days with no bids versus 5 days with no bids?
jonathan