At what sales price level is a written, private treaty reccomended?

Longacre · December 13, 2005 2:14AM

I was reading RYK post about private treaties (even though I HATE that term). Some of the people responding assumed that there was some form of written contract between the buyer and seller. I don't think that is the case, but I may be wrong.

For those experienced in selling high priced coins, is there a certain threshold value of the item sold where a private treaty is commonly written, rather than just an oral transaction between the buyer and the seller? Is a written contract always reccomended? For the commercial lawyers, are the transactions governed by the UCC, and are there implied warranties, etc. included in the sale?

I don't buy coins at the RYK level, but I've made purchases from Pinnacle. I don't remember getting any term sheet with my purchase. I believe on the receipt there is some information on interest rates on unpaid balances. I also don't think the receipt refers to any terms of sale listed on their website either. How do dealers handle this?

RYK · December 13, 2005 3:04AM

At what sales price level is a written, private treaty reccomended?

I will let you know when I get to it.

SanctionII · December 13, 2005 3:10AM

Good question about the UCC. I wonder if there are any court case opinions in the UCC Reporter that arise from disputes over the purchase/sale of coins?

That would be an interesting area for a coin collecting lawyer to investigate and write an article about. I remember one time doing a brief search of Calif. case and statutory law with "coin collection" and "rare coins" as the search words. I came up with between 40-45 citations to cases, statutes and regulations containing the search words. Never looked into it any further however since I had (and still have) no time to devote to the project. Maybe some day I will take a stab at it.

michael · December 13, 2005 3:14AM

At what sales price level is a written, private treaty reccomended?

only if the guy is not 100% trustworthy in your eyes and/or he is in extremely poor health/close to death and the deal will take more than a day or so lol

BECOKA · December 13, 2005 3:22AM

I recently made a purchase from a unique and private collection and payed far below market values (freind to friend). I think when you have a coin worth over 5K and its value is 25%+ over purchase price by standard auction pricing, it is worth the agreement for investment purposes. (i.e. don't lower the average auction prices to keep values from fluctuating too much, especially since this is probably a one time deal and money was not so important to the original owner.) In addition people may complain to the seller and or buyer that it is not fair, it should have been open to the public creating an unnecessary hassle or jealousy.

Pistareen · December 13, 2005 3:24AM

Michael has a good point saying "only if it will take more than a day or so." The only written contract that I've ever seen drawn up is essentially an invoice which, if terms are called for, usually lists the terms, notes when the goods will be delivered, or has a place for confirmation of delivery if it's already happened. I see no reason that an invoice issued by one party and signed by another would not be as binding as a contract delineating everything in legalese.

Of course, there are contracts for auctions, but they are a much different sort of transaction.

I think the answer to Longacre's question is that the receipt/invoice IS the contract.

Longacre · December 13, 2005 3:35AM

<< <i>That would be an interesting area for a coin collecting lawyer to investigate and write an article about. >>

At what sales price level is a written, private treaty reccomended?

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