A Few Thoughts on Consumer Protection

The balance between consumer protection and individual responsibility
in the field of coin collecting has been a focus of mine since I first
received a overgraded coin from a mail order dealer. At twelve years
old I knew the coin I received was not very fine at all, but really
just a fine knocking it's Krause catalog value from $20 down to $8. In
my mind I was cheated out of those $12. I could have returned the
coin, the dealer was an advertiser in one of the monthly newsstand
publications and I am fairly certain my money would have been
refunded. But, I did not return the coin. The disappointment I felt
created a motivation to forget and move past this transaction, and
this dealer, as soon as possible.

In the following decades I have heard this story repeated many times
with only the particular details changing. The names of the dealers,
or publications, the coins, and dollar amounts would vary but the core
story remained the same. Choice BU coins that are really AU sliders
seems to be the most recurring form of this story.

So, why does this go on? The simple answer is that grading subjective
and that publisher generally only enforce a return policy. If a buyer
believes a coin to be overgraded he can always return it, and this is
true. The last twenty years have afforded me some opportunity to
invoke certain return policies. Yet, returns are not that common.
Complaints to the publishers are even more rare. Once I delivered a
complaint about a third party grader in person at one of the ANA
conventions and I was told there had not been any other expressed
concerns. Besides the natural reluctance many feel toward returning a
purchase, there is also the matter of ignorance: some collectors may
not be able to tell that their $89 Choice BU Morgan is really an
cleaned $20 AU coin. It is my belief that some dealers take advantage
of these factors to run a business model with very poor ethics.

How can you protect yourself? The best way to protect yourself is with
knowledge and common sense. Learning to distinguish between the
different grades, spotting fakes, and damaged coins are all worthwhile
skills that will enable you to avoid, or at least return, questionable
material. The marketplace has even provided a couple of shortcuts in
this regard. There are many dealers who will sell coins properly
graded and who will seek to be honest and ethical in every
transaction. Companies like PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG have also
narrowed the subjectivity and grading and help to avoid some of the
extreme abuses.

Should more be done to protect consumers? No one is expected to
question whether a gallon of milk is actually 2% milk fat or if a
gallon of gas has the appropriate octane rating; so why can it be so
hard to buy a coin? Aside from whether an object is real or fake,
there isn't a whole lot that is concrete about a collectible coin.
Grading is subjective, and while there are some standards, it's not a
very easy thing to enforce since the standards to vary and change over
time. The same can be said for acceptable levels of cleaning and many
of the other characteristic that add value to a coin. Like any
profession, there are some bad apples amongst dealers.

My advice is take a few minutes and at least find dealers that other
collectors have recommended. People like to share good experiences and
there are many wonderful people out there who will treat their
customers with the highest standards. When you do run into a bad
apple, be sure to get your refund and file any appropriate complaints.
When you run into great deal, be sure to spread the word.

On Mon, 01 May 2006 19:54:16 -0500, Jorg Lueke
wrote:

My advice is take a few minutes and at least find dealers that other
collectors have recommended. People like to share good experiences and
there are many wonderful people out there who will treat their
customers with the highest standards. When you do run into a bad
apple, be sure to get your refund and file any appropriate complaints.
When you run into great deal, be sure to spread the word.


So, care to do some name dropping, especially good experiences?

I'm one of the majority who, after a disappointing purchase, rarely
returns the item (numismatic or otherwise). I also don't do rebates.
If the shelf price is unacceptable (ignoring the rebate) it is
unacceptable ... no sale.
Likewise, if I am unhappy with a purchase I will probably just write
that dealer off my list (instead of returning the purchase).

On Mon, 01 May 2006 23:24:25 -0500, Vector stated:

On Mon, 01 May 2006 19:54:16 -0500, Jorg Lueke
wrote:

My advice is take a few minutes and at least find dealers that other
collectors have recommended. People like to share good experiences and
there are many wonderful people out there who will treat their
customers with the highest standards. When you do run into a bad
apple, be sure to get your refund and file any appropriate complaints.
When you run into great deal, be sure to spread the word.


So, care to do some name dropping, especially good experiences?

I'm one of the majority who, after a disappointing purchase, rarely
returns the item (numismatic or otherwise). I also don't do rebates.
If the shelf price is unacceptable (ignoring the rebate) it is
unacceptable ... no sale.
Likewise, if I am unhappy with a purchase I will probably just write
that dealer off my list (instead of returning the purchase).

There's a ton of good experiences. What are you looking to buy? US,
world, ancients? Slabbed or unslabbed?