(1) Know a coin's value;
it's your best way to
negotiate a price.
A publication I recently read gave
some rules of thumb on how to
negotiate in the coin market. The
advice was downright awful. One of
the rules, for example, said buyers
should always start by offering the
seller a set percentage below the asking
price. This disregards the fact that the
asking price could be far above the
coin's true market value.
If a coin is worth $1,000 and someone
is asking $10,000 for it, you wouldn't
want to offer $5,000. On the other
hand, if a coin is worth $1,000 and
someone is offering it to you for $50,
you wouldn't want to jeopardize the
deal by haggling in an effort to get the
price down to $25. You would simply
say, "OK, $50 is fine," buy it for $50
and sell it for $1,000.
If you don't know what a coin is
worth, you shouldn't be negotiating
for it in the first place. If you do know
what it's worth, you have a big edge
over other people who don't.
HYLAND
Above: Childs 1804
silver dollar
