It’s time for new sales techniques USM
7over8
Posts: 4,733 ✭✭✭
While thinking about today’s debacle and website issues—there needs to be a better way to hold these sales.
Things to avoid....
—-website issues
—-rediculous stunts (lines of hired “actors”)
—-waiting rooms, etc etc etc
IMO, a membership level at the USM based on multiple factors—-time, level of purchases, level of returns.....
Just like they canadian Mint has “levels” of membership which would allow you early entry into sales like today’s...
Sales would be more orderly, would eliminate hired actors, would eliminate last minute hired online buyers, would be fair if implemented correctly.
USM. Are you listening?
3
Comments
By “time” I mean the amount of time you’ve been in the Mint mailing list and been an active buyer
It could be something like 1)more than a year 2) more than 5 years AND at least some reasonable Amy of purchases like $500....
You could have the old Platinum members/Gold members/Silver members
And those could be admitted at later times to the sale
Regulating the flow and purchases while giving your most dedicated members/buyers a head start
If a coin is in your shipping bag the order should be honored despite their screwups.
I agree. That coin should be removed from inventory and you should be able to execute that purchase later.
Unfortunately not how the Mint operates—it’s another world
Why won't the regular flippers all be at the top of the line? They are long time customers and spend more money than the average collector.
I> @Smudge said:
I agree. This is the one that makes the most sense, but what about people who get 500 or 1000 people to just place the item in the bag and then can’t pay. Or then pay slowly as they pre sell them. How do they regulate the household limit issue then?
People will find a way to game the system no matter how the system is set up. What’s the alternative. Mint to demand on everything until nobody cares?
My Ebay Store
I disagree. Then a would-be flipper could put it in their bag and sit on it to see if there is going to be a sell out and then cancel it later. That is what killed the 2017-S Enhanced Uncirculated Set - massive cancellations. The item is not sold in any real sense until you actually pay for it.
There are long time customers who buy many issues and flip as well.
You’ll never conquer those
But I would bet the highest percentage of flippers today wether online or standing in line we’re not long time Mint cutomers
You aren't committed to buy at that point.
You could have a countdown clock on the time to commit the purchase like other coin sites
The point is if you are at the point of “Place Order” and several times the site craps out....that’s pure BS
Should have 2-3 mins countdown to purchase—-item is reserved
I suppose, but that may not make any of these people happier. The only reason you might have gotten one into your cart at all is because not all the 29,000 people ahead of you had managed to process their payment yet. All you're doing is moving the bottleneck farther forward.
No to any of this. They just need a website that doesn’t crash. Then just let it be first come first served.
Membership levels is the way to go
Earlier entry into the sale
Things have to change to be a fairer distribution
Nothing has worked to date
Waiting rooms, etc etc
Time for membership levels—which would take probably 50% or more of the volume at sale day away
Later entry for levels or members, last entry for non members
Think about it—if mon members couldn’t execute an order until 12:30pm; they wouldn’t even get one and wouldn’t be interested
Platinum membership would be first in at 12; maybe gold member at 12:15; etc
This is not hard to do
It’s already working in other numismatic/mint venues
But then your business model intentionally locks out possible new customers...
The point is to build your membership level up so you can participate at the earlier time—-
No novice buying their first coin is going to buy into a 5 year commitment to "build up" their membership level.
We all start somewhere
True. But you do realize that you want to write the rules so that you end up near the front of the line? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Well I was trying pretty hard. The site kept hanging up, asking for info they already had.
If you don’t use multiple criteria it will be too skewed
It can’t be just based on any of purchases—then those who don’t have much funds for coins are shut out
But if it were a reasonable level of repeated purchases in each year plus a time component (of being a customer) now you have a fairer method
Exactly. This thread comes off so privileged. Membership levels based on past purchases to buy something from produced by the US Government just sounds ridiculous. I can’t even think of many private sales that operate that way.
Edit: and this is coming from someone who missed out on one today. Give me a website that doesn’t crash and let the fastest person win.
This.
Instagram
This is the answer, then it's just free market capitalism, like it should be.
Stop FAKE rarities. Everything can be minted up to 100,000,000 with a limit of 1 per day, and then see what shakes out.
TIRED TIRED of the FAKE MINT game.
Like REALLY tired. 55 years of collecting, now with Chinese Fakes, grade creep, AT vs NT, everything is DRECK except top registry, etc. the joy of collecting is fading, so maybe it is time to refocus the collection down to a group that is joyful.
You think the mint would be able to hang their ecommerce site off of a host like Amazon that can handle large volumes of traffic.
Just looking for a fairer method
You don’t know my level of purchases
I could be a Mint customer for 40 years but possibly have not bought anything for the last 35.
So, if that were the case, I would have to meet the purchase criteria in let’s say the calendar year before I could get in.......
Hypothetically
I highly recommend sticking to "joyful". My favorite coins are things other people consider dreck or outright garbage. LOL. But I have little money tied up in them and they bring me joy.
First come, first served.....I do not agree with membership levels etc., that just excludes many, many people....Coins for the 'privileged few'...next we will be hearing about 'numismatist privilege'....Just get the technical capability to handle the sales....Cheers, RickO
The method would work. It would eliminate the nonsense that’s going on as well.
coupled with a website that doesn’t crash as well
Easy, don't announce the mintage for any issue. Whatever is ordered is what is made. Rarity will e known after the fact.
Collector, occasional seller
That'll guarantee that sales plummet. Why would anyone jump in for an unknown, possibly unlimited mintage?
Because people might think the same way as you do.
Collector, occasional seller
bership which would allow you early entry into sales like today’s...
They would think like me that there's no point in buying it????
How about not announcing the release date/time. ?
No, they would realize that people may not buy it due to unknown mintage, then they could end up with a rarity.
Besides, the coins with 100k+ mintage seem to sell just fine so what's the difference?
People buy from the mint for other reasons than making money.
Collector, occasional seller
There were 90,000 coins in the cart just after noon. How can they possibly honor them all with 30,000 coins.
FWIW; This was a record for retail online purchases. No other site has ever had the traffic that the mint website had at 12:00
Good topic @7over8 .
Throw out an idea, let people take shots, add to it, subtract from it...
Today's fiasco left the majority frustrated so it's only natural to think that there has to be a better way. Even though there may not be.
The crazy website falling on its face was a disaster but the bottom line is with that few coins available, it's guaranteed frustration.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Just maybe they will all be labeled and set at the dock for shipping and the contractor can send them to the same place that the Lane Gold coins were sent and everyone won't ask any questions as to how or where they were shipped and everybody will be Happy.
But if you advertise that you will mint a maximum of 30,000 and then make more, you're guilty of fraud whether actual or constructive.
Where are you getting your data from?
I think the Olive Garden endless meals card had more traffic as it sold out in less than a second. Now if the mint could use their ecommerce platform...
Maybe they should make enough to satisfy demand
That eliminates excitement. IF this was yet another Eagle issued this year with an unlimited mintage, would anyone have lined up at Baltimore? Would we have anticipated this day for 2 months? Would we all have logged into our computers at 12:00?
This became an EVENT because of the limited availability.
It is disappointing that so many people don't see that.
They should randomly mix them in with the bullion coins.
The only way to make an economic system truly stable is to permit the free market to take over.
Sure I get that but like many others who were logged in at 11:58 and refreshed at 12:00:02, we might wonder if they may have been sold out at 12:00:01
No. And what are you going to do about it?
Keep stamping my feet?