Why and how much will dealers deduct from their stated price for coin sales?

[bear]

There are a number of reasons why dealers will offer a reduced price.

One of the most common, is when you ask for their "BEST PRICE"

normally, they will reduce their price from 3-5% in order to make a sale.




Other reasons, that may result in a bigger reduction are the following:

1. You are a long term customer

2. You have made several large purchases

3. The dealer wishes to capture your business
as you seem to be a big purchaser of coins.

4. The dealer is overstocked on  and really needs
to make sales and get some cash in in hand.

5. The dealer made a fortuitous purchase and is passing
some of the savings on to a favored customer.


Now, the dealer may have one up to all 4 reasons for
offering you a price reduction which may range from 7%
to as much as 15%.



Just a nugget of observation that I thought I would pass on
for you all to digest.

[coinsarefun]

I have found this to be true among most dealers, but not all.

Two that are in my private circle do this for me all the time.

[Sonorandesertrat]

There is yet another reason, one that is very dangerous where relatively unexperienced collectors are concerned.  Sometimes (OK, many times) a dealer will have a coin that really isn't all there for the grade, and then a potential buyer (aka schmo) walks up and asks to see that coin. The dealer quotes him a price and, while the customer is examining the coin, the dealer then suddenly drops the price a significant percentage (say, 10%-25%) in order to try to hook and reel in the buyer.  What the dealer is trying to do is DUMP the coin on someone who doesn't understand what he/she is thinking about buying.  This happens all the time.

A few years ago, I walked into a local coin shop, saw a PCGS MS66 1921D Morgan $1 on display, and asked to see it.  The obverse looked great, and while I was studying the coin, the dealer then quoted me a very reasonable price (ca. $1100; I expected $1300).  I flipped it over to look at the reverse (the strike was ROTTEN), and the dealer quickly dropped the price to $850 when he saw the look on my face.  That annoyed me, because I immediately concluded that he thought that my sense of greed would prevail. I remarked about the poor strike, and he said that all 1921D Morgans look like that one. [They don't, and I had three of them in MS65 in my collection--all fully struck.].  I passed, and quietly watched that coin sit in his display case for more than a year (and he had taken it with him to Long Beach 3 times before he sold it).

Make sure that the quality for the grade is there, then worry about the price.  Not the other way around.

[barrytrot]

There is yet another reason, one that is very dangerous where relatively unexperienced collectors are concerned.  Sometimes (OK, many times) a dealer will have a coin that really isn't all there for the grade, and then a potential buyer (aka schmo) walks up and asks to see that coin. The dealer quotes him a price and, while the customer is examining the coin, the dealer then suddenly drops the price a significant percentage (say, 10%-25%) in order to try to hook and reel in the buyer.  What the dealer is trying to do is DUMP the coin on someone who doesn't understand what he/she is thinking about buying.  This happens all the time.

A few years ago, I walked into a local coin shop, saw a PCGS MS66 1921D Morgan $1 on display, and asked to see it.  The obverse looked great, and while I was studying the coin, the dealer then quoted me a very reasonable price (ca. $1100; I expected $1300).  I flipped it over to look at the reverse (the strike was ROTTEN), and the dealer quickly dropped the price to $850 when he saw the look on my face.  That annoyed me, because I immediately concluded that he thought that my sense of greed would prevail. I remarked about the poor strike, and he said that all 1921D Morgans look like that one. [They don't, and I had three of them in MS65 in my collection--all fully struck.].  I passed, and quietly watched that coin sit in his display case for more than a year (and he had taken it with him to Long Beach 3 times before he sold it).

Make sure that the quality for the grade is there, then worry about the price.  Not the other way around.

I'm not sure that the dealer was necessarily doing such a bad thing here.  If the obverse was, in your opinion, "great" and the reverse lacked only a better strike that may still be an MS66.  Not every MS66 is perfectly struck, as you probably know.

And he discounted you 35% off your expected price, that's not something I would have scoffed at the dealer for.  If you didn't think the coin was worth that, fine, but he gave you a reasonable deal.  He makes his money on the profit so he can't give it to you for nothing.

[Sonorandesertrat]

You missed my point.  The coin wasn't all there for a 66---that is what I was looking for, not a 65 in a 66 slab.  As such, I wasn't interested in buying it period.

[barrytrot]

You missed my point.  The coin wasn't all there for a 66---that is what I was looking for, not a 65 in a 66 slab.  As such, I wasn't interested in buying it period.

At least 50% of all coins graded at every level are "not all there for XX grade".  That's the nature of the beast

My point was:  A dealer offering 35% off a PCGS graded coin is not a dealer trying to take advantage of you.  It still may have been a bit high, but it wasn't what I'd call an insult.