Local B&M Shop Blues...

[lkenefic]

I like supporting my local shop whenever I can. I usually purchase supplies from them such as my Dansco albums and archival flips. Actually buying coins from them has become more of a hit or miss situation lately. Since my active collecting has shifted away from Morgan Silver Dollars and more towards early copper and type coins for my 7070, I find myself buying less and less from my [one and only] B&M shop and looking more to online sources. Here's the rub... as of late, when coins become available in which I would have an interest [uS Type in grades XF40 to MS60 for instance] I seem to have just missed the boat and someone else gets the good deal. Perhaps my pockets aren't deep enough?? They always seem to have material that would cater to a more high-end clientel... MS65 3cent Silver...PF61 Seated Dollar...any gold you could imagine..etc...etc... Material in my "tax-bracket" seems elusive at best. Has any one else encountered this situation with your local shop? Are people spending $50-200/coin just considered chaffe in the broader spectrum of collecting circles? Am I just whining too much??

 

 

"...and what about Mary???...."

 

 

Leo

[michael]

well you are not one of the inner circle

 

if i had a dollar every times this has happened/i have seen this i would be a millionarie

 

this has nothing to do with money or dollars spent though it might have some bearings in a few deals but this would be the exception rather than the rule

 

from my 43+ years in the coin game

 

myself i would go into the store and feel them out/smooze them so to speak and try to get into this inner circle and see what happens

 

if you have to ask how to do this then you aint ever going to be able to get into this inner circle

[WoodenJefferson]

One thing you do not wnat to do with B&M is criticize their inventory or to speak and act like you know every fact & figure from every Red Book ever written. You may know more about a specific series, but overall a well versed dealer forgot more than you'll ever begin to know.

 

Do not try and take the center stage in the coin shop, let them do the talking, listen intently, handle the merchadise like it was radioactive and compliment even if your not interested.

 

Don't flash a lot of money or when offered a coin say, "I picked that up a month ago for $35.00 less than this." Keep all that information to yourself and use it as a tool, in most cases leverage will not work.

 

Some dealers will ask you if you have a specialality. Think about your answer and if you play your cards right it just might pay off. Bring in an index card with your name, phone number or how to get in contact with you and what coins you are interested in. They may even have a box behind the counter with all the customers, some will even use note books.

 

All this takes time...stop by even if your not going to buy, especially if they don't seem to be busy. Don't be shy, shake hands, call them by name, tell them your name...but not over powering, do this until they call you by name once you walk in the door.

 

Oh, by the way, if he throws the index card into the circular file while your still standing there, find another dealer.

[World Colonial]

I do not frequent local coin shops because they do not carry what I collect. But from what I hear on this forum, the coins you are looking to buy presumably are not available in quantity or if they are, not with the right eye appeal.

 

When I look on the internet at US coin listings, just about everything appears to be available if you are looking for certified (PCGS and NGC) coins in high grade. I wish I could buy my series like this especially since they are so much cheaper.

But of course, these coins frequently (or usually) cost more than the average collector can afford. So based upon the information available to me, it does appear that expensive high grade certified coins are more available than mid-grade raw and cheaper coins.

[TomB]

I have not found an overabundance of nice coins like you have described, and it would not surprise me if many or most of these coins that you "just missed" never existed. However, by telling you that you "just missed", you may be inclined to visit the shop more often.

[ldhair]

well you are not one of the inner circle

 

if i had a dollar every times this has happened/i have seen this i would be a millionarie

 

this has nothing to do with money or dollars spent though it might have some bearings in a few deals but this would be the exception rather than the rule

 

from my 43+ years in the coin game

 

myself i would go into the store and feel them out/smooze them so to speak and try to get into this inner circle and see what happens

 

if you have to ask how to do this then you aint ever going to be able to get into this inner circle

You nailed it. Great coins go really fast. A dealer needs to like you before he offers you first shot.

[lkenefic]

Well, I'm definitely not critical of their stock or say things like: "...gee..I just picked up [fill in the blank] last week in better condition for less money...". I have in the past offered comments on certain coins that were obviously cleaned or damaged like..."gee, too bad about the hole in this one [or whatever]". Typically, they concur. Or comments like "...gee this looks AU55...I'll take it!" I offer this as more of an effort to let them know what my collecting interests are rather than an attempt to cast dispersions on their stock.

 

I'm getting the feel that the "inner circle" at this particular shop is probably those spending a couple of zeros on the end of what I'm spending. One fellow in particular working at this shop constantly offers up coins in the $2k to $10k range when I stop by to ask if there's anything "new". I don't know if this is an effort to "wow" me by showing me what others are purchasing at this shop [these typically ARE very spectacular pieces and I comment as such] or an effort to humble me [i'm already there!]. Perhaps there is a lower-tier inner-circle that simply doesn't exist at this particular place...or... there are just so many trying to break into it that the laws of supply and demand take over. My observations as of late would indicate that the latter is probably the case. They seem to have material at both ends of the spectrum...really good and pricey...and really bad/I'm not interested in spending even a little bit of money on.

 

Lastly, I know that decent coins actually exist at this shop. I've seen them. In particular, I've seen collections that people bring in and offer for sale. Once the sale finally goes through I'm getting the notion that a feeding frenzy ensues for customers that are litterally at the shop every day or as Michael suggests are part of the fabled "inner circle".

 

Sorry for babbling...Leo

[Elbesaar]

I really like the couple who owns our local B&M ... I go in there every so often

just to say hello and just chew the fat. They rarely have anything that'll fit into

my collection but I always leave with a purchase - mostly supplies.

 

The owner and I have had numerous conversations about the caliber of material

he comes accross and I'm sorry to say that I have not bought any coin from him

in quite a long time [ I found a lovely 1915 half in VG 10 with original surfaces there

last year though ].

 

I hate to give him my want list for fear he'd buy something specifically for me and

that I'd reject it for some reason. I wouldn't want him to tie up his funds on the

hope he'd locate something I'd want.

 

I live in a small city in Florida and although the area is affluent, the amount of

collectors seems to have been on the down-turn for years. I'm hoping that most

of us aging Baby Boomers will be returning to their collecting habits which were

nurtured in our youths.

[Dcoin]

Maybe I’m a product of my generation, but I have no patients to wait and become part of an ‘inner circle’. This ‘stopping by’ to talk and buy 1.00 coins as a way of having the privilege to view better coins later is a little silly. If you have it show it. As a business, wouldn’t be better to expand your costumer base by bringing new clients into the fold? As long as you meet your number, what’s the difference who is paying for it?

[gedis3]

There is a happy medium, but it is tough to find in some markets where the shop choices are limited...

 

I have seen the extremes in my travels:

 

Walk into McCoinald's and order a Barber-Dime Mac with a side of BU Wheats -- The counter help knows about as much about coins as someone at Home Depot, if you are lucky.

 

Go to the secret place in the alley behind the red dumpster, knock three times and tell them that Jimmy sent you. You won't get to see anything worth the effort until you know the secret handshake and bring a note from your mother, but at least you are standing on the very outer edge of the inner circle. You might get a few scraps thrown your way now and then, and you best kill yourself showing appreciation or you won't see any more for a while.

 

Keep searching and eventually you trip across a place that clicks with you, they seem responsive but not pushy, knows what they are talking about -- and better yet, knows when they are lacking on a subject and will admit to it.

 

Willing to chat a little -- also wants to make a sale, but is willing to set you on the path to your desires if they can't help directly -- with the unspoken agreement that you will try to give him or her your business next time, when maybe they can provide what you are looking for.

 

Finding a Dealer that you "click" with might be the rarest find in Numismatics, but it is worth the effort in the long run.

 

Mine retired about 10 years ago, and I'm still looking for a replacement.

[World Colonial]

Maybe I’m a product of my generation, but I have no patients to wait and become part of an ‘inner circle’. This ‘stopping by’ to talk and buy 1.00 coins as a way of having the privilege to view better coins later is a little silly. If you have it show it. As a business, wouldn’t be better to expand your costumer base by bringing new clients into the fold? As long as you meet your number, what’s the difference who is paying for it?

 

I do not have these experiences first hand but I definitely believe they exist. I had one experience with an eBay seller in another country who stated that they had many coins that I wanted to buy for sale. He is a dealer and was friendly at first but then I think he got annoyed with me because I kept asking him about a price guide I bought that took forever to arrive. He does not control the post office obviously but his communication was not good and paying him was a pain in the neck.

 

As of now, I am waiting for something I bought two months ago. This happens to be a piece of research on die varieties and other historical information that he wrote and not a coin but it does not matter.

 

I consider it likely that some of these dealers know they have more customers for their better material and they do not care. Not all of them but some of them. So why I did I buy from him again? Because he had something I wanted that I could not get from anyone else. It is a matter of supply and demand and if the dealer has the supply, they can act as arbitrarily as they please and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it. Buying coins is not like buying a consumer good where if you get annoyed, you just leave and go somewhere else. I'll probably have to do a mea culpa to get in this guy's good graces if I want to buy regularly from him.