Dont sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

[Numismaniac]

Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

I'm on my road trip this week for my work (managing to squeak some work in around my CRH...) Anyways, I'll post results when I get home with Pics, but I usually stop in a few coin shops to see what they are selling 90% for. Sometimes I've caught them sleeping a bit when it goes up quickly like it's doing. So, I stop into a shop today and there is a lady in there selling a bunch of silver to the guy. I tried not to be too nosy, but I did hear that she was having a bit of a tough time financially, and I caught that the guy was paying her 10 times face! I mean that seems a bit crazy given that it's worth at least 17 times face.

So she leaves (just sold a ton of silver to the guy) and I ask him how much he's selling 90% for and he looks straight at me and says he doesn't have any.....

I would have given her 16 times face.... How do I get in on this scam? Just rent a little shack somewhere and hang out a sign that says "buying silver and gold" then start ripping people off

That's my rant for the day.

 

[SFBayArea]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

There's a lot of scammers out there.. and you can tell on APMEX that many silver lots are sold out. If you want to buy at 15-16 times face put out an ad in the local paper. I've seen many in my local paper a few months ago. They said they would do pay $.75 per one 90% dime. What a scam.. It was one at a hotel.. I wanted to go and sit in the hotel parking lot offering to buy silver for more than that from would-be sellers.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

When silver was at about $17, my local coin shop was paying about 4 times face for silver.

Not to get this age-old argument started again, but I am of the position that the coin shop did NOT rip this lady off. Neither do the people that set up in hotels and make ridiculously low offers to folks for their good old gold and silver. The reason? Nobody is forced to sell. Anyone who takes the horribly low offers made by coin shops, pawn shops, etc. could have easily gotten a much better offer just by shopping around just a little. Its their collective faults if they get "ripped off"...not the buyers'. Its the sellers' responsibility to know what their stuff is worth. As a buyer, I want to buy as cheaply as possible. As a seller, I want to sell as high as possible.

Thats my opinion anyway.

 

[Argentium]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

ABM, Technically / legally , you are correct - we also- I believe, have a responsibility to treat people
as we would like to be treated - We walk a line between that which is legal , and that which is ethical !
sorry if I sound too preachy ! Argentium.

 

[Numismaniac]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

The economist in me says you are right on that point.... It just floors me that people would be so out of touch with what their stuff is worth...

I guess I shouldn't get into the pawn/coin business... I would probably be treat the sellers too good...

 

[SFBayArea]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

Well the problem is that these ads that I've read all mention competitive market prices. If that is not a lie or a scam to put that in the ad, I don't know what is.

 

[JD-GA]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

I see this one pretty simply. Anyone complaining about someone paying 10x face value for silver and calling them rip offs or con men needs to look in the mirror the next time they find it for face value plain and simple. If ya wish to be an advocate for fairness you can start by tracking down the people whose coins ended up in your hands for face and then offer them at least 15x.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

ABM, Technically / legally , you are correct - we also- I believe, have a responsibility to treat people
as we would like to be treated - We walk a line between that which is legal , and that which is ethical !
sorry if I sound too preachy ! Argentium.

I agree with you to a point. If you had a $20 gold piece that you wanted to sell, and I told you it was worth around $200 to try and buy it cheaply, then that would be unethical. However, if I just simply offered you $200 for the coin, then it wouldn't be unethical. If I took a horribly low offer on some item I was selling and later found out it was worth much more, I wouldn't feel at all like I was cheated. I would feel like an idiot for not finding out what is was worth before selling it.

 

[olepossum]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

i figure with the prices of precious metals being the highest ever i look at yard sales every time i go and if they want to sale a gold chain and a swiss credit medallion for 3 bucks that is thier faultto many commercials to not know that gold silver paltinum are higher than ever i took close to a pound of 925 to the coin and jewlery shop they offered me 200.00 i said yer nuts a pound is 388.00i will not let it go for less than350.00 theylooked at me and said 200 cash and 150.00 trade i said i need cash not more coins oh and i was also told mexican silver stamped 925 is fake its only plated

 

[SFBayArea]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

ABM, Technically / legally , you are correct - we also- I believe, have a responsibility to treat people
as we would like to be treated - We walk a line between that which is legal , and that which is ethical !
sorry if I sound too preachy ! Argentium.

I agree with you to a point. If you had a $20 gold piece that you wanted to sell, and I told you it was worth around $200 to try and buy it cheaply, then that would be unethical. However, if I just simply offered you $200 for the coin, then it wouldn't be unethical. If I took a horribly low offer on some item I was selling and later found out it was worth much more, I wouldn't feel at all like I was cheated. I would feel like an idiot for not finding out what is was worth before selling it.

Yeah but the problem again is that these dealers say things like "top prices paid" and "Highly competitive prices" in their ads. When the spot price is 17 times face and they offer 10 times face and a fair priced dealer down the street is offering 15 times face, 10 times face is NOT "Top Prices Paid" & its NOT "Competitive". They shouldn't be putting that in the ads.. it's deceptive.. it makes someone who doesn't know a lot about precious metals think that this is the best they'll get which is far from the truth. If they leave that part out of it, it would be more okay with me. Some people just don't know (especially old people). They may have kept these sitting in a jar for a long time. Old people are not hip with technology. Hell my mom has no clue how to use a computer let a lone a cell phone.

I earned my coins the hard way by doing CRH. Yeah I paid face value but I more than made up for it with my TIME. I'm not misleading people about what I'm doing. Banks are not in the metal dealing business so they can only sell them to you for face value. Otherwise they would be culling Ag at their sorting facility. Tellers at banks ask me about my results and I say there's no way you can make a living off this. I don't go into specifics but I tell them how many keepers. I tell them the truth about the results. And after hearing about getting skunked a few times, those people lose interest. I can't even count up all the hours that I searched and ended up getting skunked and having to drive to the bank to dump those skunks and it's getting worse. I basically did pay 15 times face for the few keepers I get due to the time I put in. Time is money.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

The economist in me says you are right on that point.... It just floors me that people would be so out of touch with what their stuff is worth...

I guess I shouldn't get into the pawn/coin business... I would probably be treat the sellers too good...

Yep, until you got the first month's rent bill, LOL!!

 

[ivan salis]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

i got $5 worth of halves from my bank the other day --i always ask the tellers --got any halves -- 3 of the 10 were 1964 halves -- since i was going to my coin shop anyway they went with me --they gave me 12 x face -- so for 1.50 --i got $18 in exchange --did i fell "abused" not a bit --took the money added $47 more and bought me a nice "neck" coin --( $65--see below) a 1821 --mexico mint (zacateas mint) 8 reale

 

[FreedomUIC]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

I guess that I am one of the lucky ones. I buy from a certain dealer in town and then sell to his competition.
His competition pays Melt - 25 cents. My coin dealer won't come close when he is buying from you, learned that
the hard way. And as a side note, silver is so high that all the dealers in the area "Melting" proof and mint sets
1964 and prior. Guess the whole country is probably doing that right now.
Sellers on E-Bay have jacked up their mint and proof sets so high that it is downright laughable and people are still
buying them. Morgans are roughly the same price but try and buy bullion right now from a shop, they look at you
like you have your head on backwards and when you do find it, the premium is quite high.

If silver does hit 45 - 50 dollar range before it settles than paying 25 - 26 dollars for a round is ok, but I would love
to see it back around $18.00, at least for a lttle bit..

 

[Numismaniac]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

Well, I knew this one would stir up some comments. A lot of good points, I guess my main point was this poor lady needed money and walked into a coin shop trusting the guy would be honest with her. I think if he would have said "it's worth more, but I only pay 10 times face" that would have been honest. I heard the guy pretty much tell her that he was giving her a good price.... He wasn't. Obviously, she may have still sold it to him since it sounded like she needed money right then. I've done business with a lot of coin shops, and there are honest ones out there who will be up front with everyone they deal with. Trust me. This wasn't that type of shop....


Either way, HSH to everyone!

 

[AGCoinHunter]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

My opinion is what the coin shop paid dishonest? No, if the person is willing to sell their PM's at what you offer then it is their loss. As the owner they should have an idea of what their stuff is worth. Sometimes people are desperate to get their hands on cash and willing to take a hit. Just like a pawn shop, they are not going to give you full retail for items. Usually its about half of what the item is worth. To say that you are more moral to offer the going retail rate is hogwash. Its a business and a business has to make money to stay open. As ArkieBass said no one forced them to sell. Walking that ethical line goes as far as the seller is willing to bend over and take it.

 

[how u do n]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

What a nice topic we have here.

I can see both sides because I too buy Silver and Gold.

We have to make a profit on everything we buy it's the name of the game.

I try to pay a fair price to everyone.

Could I pay higher yes ( and in some cases I pay almost what I will get )

People bring in their items to be sold and walk out with cash.

To think that everything has to be paid the highest that it can be is silly.

There are bills to pay that come out of the profit before any money is

actually paid. I do think that the hotel buyers should pay a lot more then

they do but, we all know that will never happen.

I love it when they come to town for, people do sell but, lots more hear the prices

and leave upset, and try to find better prices. So, when they come to town I normally

do twice the volume.

As, for the guy paying 10x's face yes it's low we all know that but remember for most

people a bird in the hand is always worth more then 2 in the bush.

I'm not taking sides here these are just my views and, remember everyone has to make

a profit ( yes some are unfair ) but, in the long run everyone gets what they want or need.

HH everyone great topic
GL
Dan

 

[Argentium]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

Sorry you guy's (and gals ) I really did come off a little too self righteous in my post - there is
indeed a big difference between getting a good deal - and intentionally deceiving folks -
Argentium.

 

[jrf30]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

ABM, Technically / legally , you are correct - we also- I believe, have a responsibility to treat people
as we would like to be treated - We walk a line between that which is legal , and that which is ethical !
sorry if I sound too preachy ! Argentium.

I agree with you to a point. If you had a $20 gold piece that you wanted to sell, and I told you it was worth around $200 to try and buy it cheaply, then that would be unethical. However, if I just simply offered you $200 for the coin, then it wouldn't be unethical. If I took a horribly low offer on some item I was selling and later found out it was worth much more, I wouldn't feel at all like I was cheated. I would feel like an idiot for not finding out what is was worth before selling it.

ABM, I disagree with you (Which is great about this forum. We can disagree, and still talk about it, and not grump at each other. This lady didn’t sell her coins to Joe Blow on the street. She went to what she considers a PROFESSIONAL. A person who specializes in coins. When offered a price from that person, I think she is justified in thinking that it is a reasonable offer. Not a retail offer, but a wholesale reaonsable offer. She knows he has to resell those coins at a profit. So if they are worth 17X face, she should expect to get about 14X face or so for those coins. Not a ridiculously low ball offer of 10X face. He has the presumption of knowledge because he is the owner of a coin shop. That gives him an advantage over her, and when he offers THAT much below real value, he is abusing that position.

I don't see him offering 16X face, because he is not a retail buyer like you would be, but 10X face is unethical GIVEN that he was in a coin shop and she WAS looking to him for an opinion of value when he purchased the coins.

Illegal? No. Unethical? In my opinion, yes. 

 

[jim4silver]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

Many coin dealers will be ANA members. They have a certain code of ethics they must follow or they can lose their memberships. You can google "ANA coin dealers" to find one near you.

I agree that a dealer offering 10X is paying too low, but I fault the customer 99% more than the dealer. In a perfect world it would not be this way, but it is what it is.

Here is why:

1. A customer has a duty to shop around and get the best deal. With the advent of the internet and yellow pages and telephone, there is NO excuse for not shopping around.

2. When it comes to money, people will often cheat, lie, steal, kill, misrepresent, etc, etc. We live in a world where you should not trust people automatically that you have never dealt with, and even those you have dealt should be watched carefully when making a deal that involves money.

I think these rules apply to anything in the world and not just gold/silver. Like they say, "a fool and money (and PMs) are soon parted (or parted for less $$$ than should be).

Just my humble opinion.

Jim

 

[Bigj5731]

Re: Don't sell your silver to coin shops.... At least not this one!

When silver was at about $17, my local coin shop was paying about 4 times face for silver.

Not to get this age-old argument started again, but I am of the position that the coin shop did NOT rip this lady off. Neither do the people that set up in hotels and make ridiculously low offers to folks for their good old gold and silver. The reason? Nobody is forced to sell. Anyone who takes the horribly low offers made by coin shops, pawn shops, etc. could have easily gotten a much better offer just by shopping around just a little. Its their collective faults if they get "ripped off"...not the buyers'. Its the sellers' responsibility to know what their stuff is worth. As a buyer, I want to buy as cheaply as possible. As a seller, I want to sell as high as possible.

Thats my opinion anyway.

I totally agree. If your looking for cash for your coins. You should know what they are worth. Anyways the coin dealer has to make his money, and if people are dumb enough to sell at 10x face then that's too bad for the seller.

The seller must have been really desperate for money to sell at 10x face.

I bet this coin shop dealer bought a whole stack of 1921d Walking liberty Halfs too!! All at 10x face!