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For example, you have a simple thumbprint smudge on the obverse of a silver maple.

A dealer wanted to mark it down a few dollars because it was "dirty" and that most other people would not even want it. (which is absolute BS)

Seriously guy? It is bullion. An ounce of silver that is no different from any other ounce of silver. I do not give a damn about numismatics. I could have wiped it off with my shirt beforehand and he would not have known the difference, as he just eyeballed it.

I told him that he was going to have to rip someone else off and I walked away.

What would you guys do?

I could understand if it was scratched or something, but if it was just a finger print you could rub off, then wtf? I like my bullion pristine, but does it make it more valuable melt wise? NO!

It could be scratched, gouged, dented. As long as it still weighs one ounce, I could care less.

I would say he was hoping to fatten his bottom line hoping that you were ignorant. It would have made no sense for him to tell you to clean and bring it back and he would give you more for it. I will say, however, that even though silver sells, shiny silver sells better. You did the right thing by walking out.

I would offer to buy all of his bullion that has fingerprints or scratches for $3 below spot.

involuntary tentacle wrote:It could be scratched, gouged, dented. As long as it still weighs one ounce, I could care less.

That's fine and dandy for you, but not everybody feels that way. A lot of my customers would throw a fit if I shipped out a round with a dirty fingerprint. If it's something that would easily wipe off I would offer the normal price, but if it's something that is permanent or it's scratched, gouged, or dented, I would either offer less or more likely just not buy it at all.

natsb88 wrote:

involuntary tentacle wrote:It could be scratched, gouged, dented. As long as it still weighs one ounce, I could care less.

That's fine and dandy for you, but not everybody feels that way. A lot of my customers would throw a fit if I shipped out a round with a dirty fingerprint. If it's something that would easily wipe off I would offer the normal price, but if it's something that is permanent or it's scratched, gouged, or dented, I would either offer less or more likely just not buy it at all.

I agree with Nate here. I'm not gonna pay as much for a maple that is dirty. If it was just a fingerprint or something, fine can deal with that. Although I would expect my dealer to clean that off first. But like he said, if it's dented or scratched or otherwise less than perfect, I would not pay full price for a maple or eagle. Anything that has a premium over the bullion value, I expect to be perfect. I have picked up a couple maples that were scratched and dinged, but I only paid for the silver in them. No premium over what I would pay for a 1 oz round. Now I always carry one of them around with me. It's fun to rub and play with it. I'll flip it, and if I drop it, no big deal. I also use it to show people and introduce them to silver. Always a neat piece to show people.

If its a maple,eagle,phil,ect I want it clean if its just some generic round/bar I could care less if its dirty,scratched,ect.

Unfortunately the market drives the price difference. Don't be insulted by it. If I owned a store I would be doing the same thing.

Lemon Thrower wrote:I would offer to buy all of his bullion that has fingerprints or scratches for $3 below spot.

Great answer!

Tell them if they are worried to make sure and wash their hands.

or you could offer to sell him pristine bullion and accept $5 over spot in torn, dirty fiat paper.

Condition is everything to a lot of folks. Cheap is what gets me excited. I would pay spot for ugly toned ASE's all day long while I would only buy a "few" BU UNC ASE's above spot.

Rodebaugh wrote: Cheap is what gets me excited. I would pay for ugly all day long.

Wow, Doc. What can I say? With Valentine's Day coming up... I just hope your wife doesn't see this

So if someone had a 10, 5, and 1 oz Engelhard silver bar set you wouldnt buy it for spot b/c it has tarnish?
I did.

Say I was to clean it would that put you off of buying it? I'm curious about this.
Some say cleaning will not hurt it, some say never clean it.

Some of my stuff has toning, but naturally tarnished aswell.
Most of my stuff was minted in the 80s and has been passed around a few times.

beauanderos wrote:

Rodebaugh wrote: Cheap is what gets me excited. I would pay for ugly all day long.

Wow, Doc. What can I say? With Valentine's Day coming up... I just hope your wife doesn't see this

HA! Ray....you would never guess it but I take the Mrs out to dinner every Valentines Day to McDonalds. I allow her to order up to 3 items from the dollar menu. She drinks water so she can order two Mcdoubles with her value fry.....smart gal

The first sentance is true (we started this tradition in college when we were both low on cash)....the rest is just comedy fun.

and yes silver is silver is silver. What silver should a person buy? whatever is the purest and cheapest IMO.

The guy is BSing you. How easy is it to wipe a smudge mark off? We clean our bars before we sell them to customers and its way too easy to get a fine/smudge free finish.

I dipped an ugly ,tarnished ASE in my wife's jewelry (silver)cleaner. No rubbing. It came out looking almost mint tube fresh not frosty, but shiny though.

Yeah, I too have had experiences where the coin dealer totally pissed me off. I don't mind anyone dickering for a better price, but outright lying is pure BS, no matter who it comes from. Some get too aggressive, and it is offensive. Two shops in my town will never get my business again, no matter what prices they offer.

Find another dealer to deal with. Sell them here. If it's just bullion without any numismatic value, just clean it.