I am still on Collector's Universe too, and its pretty disappointing at times!

[realone]

You see there are dealers on the board that describe their PCGS graded coins better than what is on the label of the holder. For example this is what he/she had to say :"I am pleased to share with you my most recent purchase, this pretty 1884-CC PCGS MS-65 Morgan Dollar, which I describe as Cameo Semi-Prooflike. I invite your comments and observations about this Morgan Dollar." So since I am a newbie and would like to learn, I ask questions like if this is what you believe why don't you just send it in to be regraded otherwise it isn't cameo semi-prooflike because it is not stated on the holder's label. You see very often when I attempt to sell a coin the dealer invariably tells me it is not as good as what the grade on the label says and why i attempt to buy a coin the dealer says the coin is better than what is stated on the holder's label. Now true I am a newbe and get grade for spit but this happens so often with PCGS, NGC and ANACS coins it makes my head spin.

[Amanda]

That sounds like my friend Stuart, and I think he is a collector.

 

-Amanda

[Zoins]

You see very often when I attempt to sell a coin the dealer invariably tells me it is not as good as what the grade on the label says and why i attempt to buy a coin the dealer says the coin is better than what is stated on the holder's label. Now true I am a newbe and get grade for spit but this happens so often with PCGS, NGC and ANACS coins it makes my head spin.

This practice existed before TPGs and was worse. Some dealers engage in this practice and others don't. Sometimes a dealer will tell you a coin is of a lower grade, buy it from you and then have it for sale at a higher grade. A dealer typically wants to buy a coin for less than a collector will because a dealer needs to turn around and resell it to a collector for a higher price and make a spread. Some of them engage in this behavior to help them make their spread. It's just how some of them operate.

 

That being said, people have noticed inconsistencies in TPG grading and there are enough inconsistencies that there is something called the "crackout game" where people will resubmit the same coin in the hopes of getting a higher grade. So there are times when the comment is legitimate.

 

The best way to defend yourself against this is to educate yourself and learn how to grade on your own.

[CarlWohlforth]

Semi Proof Like usually means a Morgan has frosty devices but the fields have a bit too much cartwheel luster (not enough mirrors) for the services to give it a PL designation. They are still nice looking coins!

[MikeKing]

You see very often when I attempt to sell a coin the dealer invariably tells me it is not as good as what the grade on the label says and why i attempt to buy a coin the dealer says the coin is better than what is stated on the holder's label. .

 

this is a typical strategy of certain coin dealers, car dealers, violin dealers and used carpet salesmen.

 

30 years ago I had a violin to sell and walked it from violin dealer to violin dealer in NYC. As soon as I would take it out of it's case, the degrading comments started. The first three times this occurred, I was floored and heart broken. By the th 5th and 6th time, I realized this was their tactic because it was a great violin. Finally, by the 10th or 11th dealer, I found one human enough to bargain with and sold it for $16,000.00. I just didn't have the genes or the psycho-social training to deal with those animals.

[James_OldeTowne]

But ... but ... but, c'mon now! All slabbed coins are "PQ", and all PCGS coins are triple-PQ, aren't they? Shouldn't you always expect to pay a premium for certification, and an extra strong premium for PCGS's superior grading standards?

 

[DirtyGoldMan]

That is Stuart, he is a collector (not a dealer), and a terrific guy. He is enthusiastic about his coin purchases. If you do not agree with him, that is fine, but there is no reason to knock him.

 

There is no such official designation as a Cameo Semi-Prooflike; it is just how he is describing his coin. Nothing nefarious.

[mgoodm3]

Stuart is like the nicest guy out there, so don't pick on him. He does a pretty good job picking coins that are in the higher end of the designation, like his latest semi PL morgan. You gotta admit that the coin has decent mirrors for a non-PL coin.

[realone]

Thanks for the response. My last point, I don't know anybody on the boards, it doesn't really matter if a poster is nice or not. This is supposed to be informative not a beauty contest. If a poster asks for comments, why do they have to all be positive, why can't someone be critical in order to discuss the subject matter. I stated that I was a newbe and wanted to learn why someone would describe a coin differently than it is labeled on the holder. And that if the owner really believed that the coin was that much better he could resubmit it. I got no response to this until I went on to this forum and learned that semi-pl is not a designation. So there I am educated. Then after I became frustrated with across the street I discussed how dealers do this type of overstating the coins they sell because I thought that the poster was a dealer because he advertised his coins on his website, I guess i assumed it, pretty hard to tell these days when someone is a dealer or collector I guess or both.

 

Please note no one is Bashing Stuart over here, I did not understand what was meant by sem-pl that is all. Stuart has done nothing wrong, I was the only one who got it wrong, a poster on this forum was nice enough to respond to me and to educate me on this matter, and I unfortunately started to knock dealers before I was set straight. There to put the recod straight.

[DirtyGoldMan]

This is supposed to be informative not a beauty contest. If a poster asks for comments, why do they have to all be positive, why can't someone be critical in order to discuss the subject matter.

 

Being critical is okay, but there is a fine line between having a negative opinion and being insulting.

 

Not all questions will get answered. People have lives, threads get buried, some questions are not easily answered, etc. If you feel a question is not answered within a thread and you would like to have it answered, start a new thread for the question.

 

Patience is a virtue.

[realone]

I agree with SageRad I was not patient enough and took my frustration with disingenuous dealers out on him. My mistake, my problem, my responsibility, I screwed up, I hoefully have applogized to Stuart in a proper manner.