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Colin88

York......

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Did anyone go to York.....did anyone buy anything?

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ok and ok 

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All I can say is thank god for Pam West (even if she is banknotes..) ...always a smile, always ready to chat, always sounds interested.....she should go around to all the coin dealers and show them how its done......

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I thought I spent an inordinate amount of time chatting while I was there. I didn't leave until after 4 o'clock.

It seemed a bit quieter than usual. Normally there is quite a large crowd waiting outside to go in, but last Friday I was able to park the car halfway along the racecourse wall, that despite only arriving after 10:30. Usually you are parking out by the rarecourse railings at this time. Almost everybody waiting for the doors to open had arrived with only a minute or two to spare. The crowds thinned out quite quickly too.

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I couldn't make it this time, I normally attend the Saturday due to work commitments,  but find a lot of dealers, shall we say "less than interested".

A couple of years ago a dealer tuted at me when I asked him to move his newspaper that was open across his full table. Goes without saying I didn't buy from him.

May be  I can't be a serious collector turning up on the Saturday? 

Ian..

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1 hour ago, Nutsaboutcoins said:

I couldn't make it this time, I normally attend the Saturday due to work commitments,  but find a lot of dealers, shall we say "less than interested".

A couple of years ago a dealer tuted at me when I asked him to move his newspaper that was open across his full table. Goes without saying I didn't buy from him.

May be  I can't be a serious collector turning up on the Saturday? 

Ian..

It's a difficult one. I hear from one side saying that dealers are not interested in their potential customers, but as a dealer with a regular table at both the Midland and Wakefield I have to say that engaging with people looking at the tables is difficult going on well nigh impossible. The euphemistic 'I will have a look round and come back later' is hardly coded speech for I'm not interested, but is more often than not the result of successful communication.

Last Midland, I actually made a sale for probably the first time in ages because the person gave a useful response which contained vital information in the form of what he was looking for. Time after time after time a question such as 'Can I help you?' or 'What are you looking for?' receives a stock response of 'Just browsing.', These people are invariably browsing with a purpose as they usually have a list which they hold close to their chest. I don't understand why they are reluctant for the most part to tell you what they are looking for, as a simple question would enable me to show them said item or tell them I don't have one. Do people feel defensive when you speak to them? - certainly seems like it. Maybe the majority of collectors are solipsists and the communicative variety is the rarity. There are some forum members who I know attend the Midland and we routinely have a chat for a few minutes, but equally there are others who haven't introduced themselves to date or some that don't speak despite previous contact.

Trust me when I say that as both a collector and a dealer, it is not clear cut.

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I think I will be attending the July York coin fair. I've already booked the week off and will probably go up on Thursday by train and stop overnight.

Can you buy early bird tickets does anybody know?

 

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1 hour ago, 1949threepence said:

I think I will be attending the July York coin fair. I've already booked the week off and will probably go up on Thursday by train and stop overnight.

Can you buy early bird tickets does anybody know?

 

Given the free entry, I will happily sell you an early bird ticket ;)

 

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28 minutes ago, Rob said:

Given the free entry, I will happily sell you an early bird ticket ;)

 

OK cheers :lol:

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16 hours ago, Rob said:

Trust me when I say that as both a collector and a dealer, it is not clear cut.

Don't get me wrong Rob, i'm not taring all dealers with the same brush, but those that engage with me are those I buy from.

I'm probably guilty of saying "I'm just browsing" usually when I'm looking at stuff I'm not that interested in and wouldn't want to take up a dealers time when he/she could be talking to a "real customer". but I do wonder if playing it cool and not showing interest stems from all those antique shows on TV?

Manning a show, especially a two day one, must be mind numbing at times but there are a core of dealers who are far more interested in their laptops, papers or chatting among themselves than  serving their potential customers.

If I ever make Wakefield I'll be sure to introduce myself :)     

Ian..

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16 hours ago, Rob said:

It's a difficult one. I hear from one side saying that dealers are not interested in their potential customers, but as a dealer with a regular table at both the Midland and Wakefield I have to say that engaging with people looking at the tables is difficult going on well nigh impossible. The euphemistic 'I will have a look round and come back later' is hardly coded speech for I'm not interested, but is more often than not the result of successful communication.

Last Midland, I actually made a sale for probably the first time in ages because the person gave a useful response which contained vital information in the form of what he was looking for. Time after time after time a question such as 'Can I help you?' or 'What are you looking for?' receives a stock response of 'Just browsing.', These people are invariably browsing with a purpose as they usually have a list which they hold close to their chest. I don't understand why they are reluctant for the most part to tell you what they are looking for, as a simple question would enable me to show them said item or tell them I don't have one. Do people feel defensive when you speak to them? - certainly seems like it. Maybe the majority of collectors are solipsists and the communicative variety is the rarity. There are some forum members who I know attend the Midland and we routinely have a chat for a few minutes, but equally there are others who haven't introduced themselves to date or some that don't speak despite previous contact.

Trust me when I say that as both a collector and a dealer, it is not clear cut.

Maybe it's the fear that buyers want as much discount as they can haggle that makes them coy about speaking out, saying "i'm just browsing" is as you say Rob just coded speech, of course a majority have a list and they are all looking for coins on that list at the best price possible, hence they'll trawl around for hours looking.

For a dealer, it's trying to work out how to best engage these people to try and make a sale. The Munich fair is on the beginning of March and i'm going to look at this and see how they do things over here because i've also said "just browsing" I wonder if @NRP is going to be with the Baldwins table at the Munich fair this year, Baldwins are generally there......

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I am not the chattiest of people either, I will gladly chat to people once I get to know them, but just tend to find that I have a weird approach to collecting. I don't often go out with the intention of purchasing from a list of items. I just browse and then purchase anything that I think looks attractive or seems  good buy. I often find I am buying things I may already have ...but it gives me the opportunity to study various examples of the same item, and if I am buying at a price I am happy with...then hopefully when it comes to move the lesser item on..I don't lose out.

Therefore when someone does ask what I am after....I tend to just give a stock answer of farthings...which is probably not much more helpful :D

I like getting immersed in the experience, and am constantly looking and thinking about potential additions which may make me appear quite ignorant at face value.....and in fairness most people can't understand the accent when I do open my mouth :lol:

I haven't been to a fair for probably a year or more..... for a variety of different reasons, but I am hoping that will change soon...and I will drop by for a chat Rob

 

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I'm not sure if the argument holds up about haggling as the price is on the ticket, so a dealer is hardly able to double it on the spot just because someone is looking at a coin.

Displaying the coins is the hardest job because to accommodate coin, details and price in a manner that makes all the info distinctly visible takes up an unrealistic amount of space, so there has to be some form of compromise. The most obvious thing to hide is the price because people aren't looking to spend a certain amout irrespective of the coin, but even so, the problem persists even just displaying the date info and the coin. People can't read the date in the exergue very easily, so I have settled for showing the date and working on the premise that the collector is able to identify the denomination from the flan size. Even so, given the quick scan that many make over a table before moving on in a very short space of time still means that engaging is the easiest way to draw their attention to what they are looking for, which is why the unresponsive nature of customers is so frustrating.

However weird and wonderful the collecting habits of individuals, dealers don't care. We are all trying to sell coins, not find suitable candidates for the funny farm.

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38 minutes ago, Rob said:

However weird and wonderful the collecting habits of individuals, dealers don't care. We are all trying to sell coins, not find suitable candidates for the funny farm.

in fairness I am sure we could fill one :D

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32 minutes ago, Colin G. said:

in fairness I am sure we could fill one :D

That ship sailed long ago. Even the wife accused me of being odd at the weekend. After 35 years I can safely say she's a slow learner. :huh:

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