When you go to a coin shop to buy a coin

silvereagle · January 18, 2007 8:36AM

Do you offer less than what they want to try to get a little deal or is this a no no ? If they are asking $665 for a gold buffalo would you say $650 and see if they accept or would you just take it or leave it at the price they want ? I am pretty new to it and I am not sure how exactly it works. I know with sports cards you would always make a counter offer thats a little lower but of course that is very different since sportscards are actually pretty worthless. you know the guy should be happy just getting what he can for a piece of cardboard, gold is different though so I am wondering about the protocol. Thanks.

ddbird · January 18, 2007 8:38AM

Offer below and see what happens. As long as its not below spot they might surpise you.

Worst case they say no and you don't loose anything...unless they refuse sale...in which case you probably don't want to give them your business anywho.

A few dollars is fine, I tend to stick around 2-4% off. But I have gone higher and have more often than not been happily suprised

silvereagle · January 18, 2007 8:42AM

Thanks. Thats what I thought but wasnt sure. The guy wants $665 for a buffalo which is pretty reasonable I guess. I am going up there and I am going to tell him I will give him $640 and hopefully he tells me $650 or something in that range.

jmj3esq · January 18, 2007 8:42AM

I almost always ask if they would take less than asking price.

Pentimento · January 18, 2007 8:43AM

Remember that on a bullion coin like this, the time of purchase is a big factor on the price too. Gold had a $10 spread just during lunchtime today.

BlindedByEgo · January 18, 2007 8:50AM

What irritates me is when you hear smoeone go in and say "Hmmm. You want $675 for this - will you take $650?"

"Sure, it's yours for $650"

"OK, then, let me think about it."

IMO, if you are going to negotiate a better price, you'd better be ready to follow through. If not, you're just another Jagoff™.

Rodius · January 18, 2007 8:53AM

I did some flea market haggling and it worked out well for me. Got a '38-D Buff and it was a D/S and sent in for a regrade. Got it a grade higher with the D/S. Nice deal. Around here there is only one dealer in Glens Falls.

Anybody out there know about dealers in Glens Falls or Saratoga NY?

MrSpud · January 18, 2007 8:56AM

Are you talking about a coin that has a price tag on it? If so, I usually ask to look at the coin and then say I am interested in this one and ask them how much? 9 times out of 10 they offer the coin to me at a price that is lower than what is on the price tag. If it is still too high for me I hand it to them and say, I'll have to think about that one and then i start to look at other coins. About half the time they then offer the coin to me at an even lower price and I usually say OK. I like this way more than haggling. The dealers seem to like it more than when someone offers them a ridiculous lowball price and they have to haggle.

ricko · January 18, 2007 9:15AM

Good technique MrSpud.... I tend to apply that as well.. unless, of course, I see a coin that is obviously a deal at the marked price (it does happen- and I have not been disappointed). Lowballing is never a good idea... but, looking for a fair price is simply good business. Cheers, RickO

clarkbar04 · January 18, 2007 11:28AM

I must suck at buying coins then - I always pay asking price.

jayboxx · January 18, 2007 11:31AM

I pretty much pay asking price...but then I only buy from a very few select dealers that are usually pretty fair when it comes to pricing.

Petescorner · January 18, 2007 11:34AM

I think that if you ask in a polite way, you're not going to offend anybody. For example:

"Would you consider $650?" may get you a deal when "I'll give you $650 for it" won't.

storm888 · January 18, 2007 12:01PM

Asking for deals on single-coin bullion items is
really not a dealer-friendly act. There is no
profit in the things, and the dealer needs to
make something in order to keep offering
the items.

It is fine for a buyer to ask, for example, "If
I buy ten of these bullion items, what is the
best you can do for me on the price?"

Small dealers really should not be expected to
tie-up $650 in a bullion item that they are not
going to make $10.00 on; if only one item is
being purchased.

Most small shops offer bullion as "a convenience"
for the customer; and, in the hope that they will
gain a repeat customer on other items.

Non-bullion items are, of course, always open to
price negotiations.

nederveit · January 18, 2007 12:07PM

Also, is it a First Strike? That could make a difference in the price (which is pretty dumb IMO).

WinPitcher · January 18, 2007 12:15PM

Funny I traded cards for gold just this evening.

worthless? hardly

Steve

stman · January 18, 2007 12:35PM

There might be times that a counter offer is justified. IMO Bullion really isn't the time to do this and more-so with just one piece. Sometimes people just have to know they got a deal, or they think they got deal. When in reality the person setting the price takes all this into consideration. First you mention he wants 665.00 and wonder if 650.00 would be OK to counter. Then you mention ....

<< <i>The guy wants $665 for a buffalo which is pretty reasonable I guess. I am going up there and I am going to tell him I will give him $640 >>

So you think the price is reasonable and now want to talk him down 25.00.

I'm not sure what these go for, but if I was buying one piece of Bullion I wouldn't try and counter too much if anything. Now if I owned the shop and you were a pest and kept trying to talk me down on everything, and if my prices were reasonale...... I'd grab you by the hair and throw you out of my shop.

roadrunner · January 18, 2007 12:42PM

If the price is fair or underpriced, I do not counter. I'm happy to get it at that price. Bullion items are probably priced at the dealer's best price unless you want quantities. But for one coin, he's not gonna want to bother with you unless he knows the gold price is likely to head down. I find that most dealers can easily move their stock or bullion to other dealers without having to resort to fire sale tactics by engaging customers.

roadrunner

silvereagle · January 18, 2007 12:48PM

Steve I have probably got 50,000 card from the mid 80's to mid 90's. Topps and Donruss mostly and some fleer and upper deck. All Baseball cards. I do have 2 entire sets of USA Dream team basketball Bird, Pippen, Jordan, Johnson, etc. These sets are supposedly woth $100 each. I have 4 Patrick ROY example cards that books say are $250 each. The rest is all baseball. I would say I have 5000 cards that book for $10 or more and of those probably 500 book for $25+. Of those I would say 50 book for $100 + . Thats along with the other 45000 being commons or minor stars worth just a few cents. Of all these cards mentioned, I would say that a 2006 Gold Buffalo is worth more money.

I hope you traded the cards and got the gold.

WinPitcher · January 18, 2007 1:01PM

Steve I have probably got 50,000 card from the mid 80's to mid 90's

I agree those are worthless. however saying cards are worthless in general was not a fair statement. many cards are very valuable.

And yes i traded the cards for the gold and cash (I got the cash)

Steve

edited to add:

dont feel bad i have prolly 100000 of them myself.

When you go to a coin shop to buy a coin

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