From: root@cobrat.austin.ibm.com ()
Subject: Re: COINS: Telemarketers
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 23:28:14 GMT
Organization: IBM Austin

In article <1992Dec17.160027.8141@netcom.com> jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer) writes:
>In article <BRECHER.92Dec17022504@husc8.harvard.edu> brecher@husc8.harvard.edu (Jonathan Brecher) writes:
>>s1dlr@IASTATE.EDU (Daniel L Rose) writes:
>>>I have had a recent barrage of telephone solicitations from companies wanting
>>>to sell me slabbed rare gold coins.  I have purchased one such coin, but am
>>>wondering if this is a prudent practice.  Has anyone else out there had such
>>>experiences?
>>
>>I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it is ALMOST ALWAYS a bad idea to
>>purchase coins sight-unseen from a dealer.  I'll go even further and say that
>>it is ALWAYS a bad idea to buy coins sight-unseen from a dealer with whom you
>>have had no prior interactions.
>>
>>I am being generous in calling telephone solicitors "dealers."
>
>No kidding - my rule of thumb is never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever 
>buy anything on the phone. Ever, never! If they can't send you a brochure or 
>catalogue, then hang up. 
>-- 

I've had a lot of experience in this situation, so I'll add my two cents.

First, I think Jonathan B.'s post deserves re-reading.  As he says, you
are correct to be wary.  There are many slimy "dealers" out there.

Now, about the phone soliciations.  I have found that there is an inverse
relationship between the amount of calls I get and how good it is to be
buying coins.  In general, I find that THE WORST TIME TO BUY COINS IS WHEN
DEALERS ARE TRYING TO SELL THEM.  If you are getting a lot of calls, then
beware.  It is probably a bad time to be a buyer and a good time to be
a seller.  Just think about it.  These guys make their living doing this
stuff that we do as a hobby.  If it was such a smart time to buy, then they
would be out buying.  If it is a good time to sell, then that is what they
do.  I always take it as a sell signal when I start getting lots of calls.

If you are buying, and there is never a bad time to make a really good buy,
then there is nothing wrong with buying sight-unseen over the phone.  
INSIST on PCGS slabbed coins and you are perfectly safe.  Use your credit
card for your purchase and make certain that the dealer is ANA and PCGS
certified.  Every mail order place I ever dealt will allow a 7 day approval
period during which you can return the coin for a full refund, no questions
asked.  I have done this several times with all different dealers - many
whom I have never dealt with before - and I have never had a problem.  I
repeat - DO NOT SEND A CHECK.  ALLWAYS USE CREDIT CARDS.  If you ever have
a hassle, you can get the credit card company on your side, and if you
have not paid the credit card bill yet (which I would never do without
knowing I was going to keep the coin) you don't have to.  You can't lose
your money this way - or at least you have a great measure of safety.

Know that not all graded coins are created equal.  I have a dozen PCGS
MS65 Walkers and, next to each other, some are fabulous and some are
hideous.  So know what you like before you order, and then you will be
able to decide if you like your purchase or not.

One last thing (I've rambled enough).  The price guides, including the
CDN bluesheet, are misleading.  As I just said, not all MS65 coins are
the same, and there will always be a premium for special coins.  If someone
offers you a slabbed coin for bid price, count on ugly black "toning"
(a nice word that means there is shit on your coin) and a lousy coin.
Also, the nature of the system is screwed up.  Say there are 3 bids out
on an MS66 1909S vdb Lincoln Cent and say, just for this example, that
the bids are $1000, $950, and $900.  OK, so the coin is worth $1000, right?
Now lets say that you hit that bid, and buy the coin for $1000.  The $1000
bid goes down and now the next highest bid is $950, so that's the price
that would be listed in the next price guide, assuming that no new bids
came in.  Whatsgoingon???  You just paid $1000 for the coin and it is
instantly worth only $950.  Your purchase, which actually shows strength
in the market for this coin at this price, has had just the opposite
effect on the bid price.  It has driven the price down.

So you say you are interested in buying some slabbed coins ....

Marc Fairorth
marc@wizards.austin.ibm.com
Newsgroups: rec.collecting