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What if Wal-Mart started selling bullion coins?
OnlyBuffalos
Posts: 817
What if Wal-Mart started selling silver, gold, and platinum bullion coins? It seems to me that as more people catch on to the fact that the dollar is being devaluated big-time, there will be an increasing number of people who will want to have an "alternative" to fixed income investments. Wal-Mart certainly has the locations and means to become a retail oulet for such an activity. The US Mint's requirements to become a seller of bullion are listed below. Would Wal-Mart be willing to abide by requirement #2? Would the Mint allow this? Would the mint overlook requirement #1? I think this could be a win-win for the Mint and Wal-Mart.
The minimum ordering requirement for gold and platinum is 1,000 ounces, and for silver is 25,000 ounces. To become an authorized purchaser, you must:
1. be an experienced and established market-maker in gold/silver bullion coins;
2. rovide a two-way market for the coins;
3. be audited annually by an internationally accepted accounting firm;
4. have established a broad base of retail customers in which to distribute the coins;
5. have a tangible net-worth of $50 million for Platinum and Gold Eagles and $5 million for Silver Eagles (this requirement may be met using a letter of credit);
6. and (for gold) have sold over 75,000 ounces of any bullion coin over any twelve month period since 1980.
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$15 an ounce gold, anyone?
They have also put several thousand companies out of business.
Ain't they just great!!!
<< <i>Ain't they just great!!! >>
Smoe people think they are, until they wind up with every business in town going under and all they have left in town is a Wal Mart. And so many unemployed people that it's a good thing that Wally World at least sells stuff cheap.
In the end we will all suffer from their practices.
<< <i>They could get by NR. 1 by hiring a big market outreacher with smooth promos in their own right, like Blanchrd or Coast to Coast. >>
Wal Mart and Coast to Coast deserve each other.
Walmart keeps most of their employees just at the level of poverty so that they qualify for medicaide or other state funded benefits. So Walmart is cutting its bottom line by allowing the state to pay for their many part time employees' health care.
The bottom line is so important to Walmart that US manufacturers can't produce products as cheaply as Walmart will purchase them. Therefore the great majority of Walmart murchandise is manufactured over seas. How good is that for our economy? US manufacturing companies can't compete with foreign companies because of our minimum wage requirements. In this way, Walmart contributes greatly to our record trade deficit.
Walmart is expanding it's hand into much more than just department store retailing. Soon it will have it's hand in health care, energy, travel, bullion... you name it.
Write your congressman and beg him to impose anti-trust suits against Walmart before it's too late!
OR, welcome to the United States of Walmart!
The name is LEE!
<< <i>$15 an ounce gold, anyone? >>
That would be nice.
Of course they'll have a carrousel with Morgans
Last week when Sears and KMart merged, NPR news took some time to explain what they were up against, i.e. Walmart.
True, Walmart has threatened 1,000s of businesses in this country. And not just Mom and Pop stores, but now retailers like Toys R Us and Best Buy are also saying they are in trouble.
Also true, is that Walmart exploits government assistance programs with the wages it pays it's employees. This not only puts an unfair drain on local systems, but it also effects the way OTHER businesses must treat their employees in order to stay competitive. In California, we just endured a 10 month long grocery store strike where workers were fighting to retain their benefits, in part in the face of new standards being set by Walmart.
However, what is REALLY scary, is Walmart's tremendous influence in the manufacturing. Because most vendors need Walmart more than Walmart needs them, when they want to do business with Walmart, they need to take directives from Walmart on what the product should be like. After design is worked out, then there is still price to consider - in order to manafacture goods at the prices Walmart is willing to pay, most companies are forced to open factories in places like China in order to stay competitive.
In short, Walmart is not only displacing potential merchants, but domestic laborers from all manufacturing sectors as well. Ironically, the very people who need Walmart's discount prices the most are the very ones whose lives Walmart has most compromised.
So unless the Mint is willing to move operations from Philly to Beijing, I doubt that we will be seeing any collaberative effort anytime soon. And at the very least, the Mint would never endorse a private retailer by offering them any special privaledges, which are the very means by which Walmart is able to undercut everyone. In turn, Walmart would never pursue a relationship where it couldn't name it's terms... so in that way it's loose / loose.
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On a personal note, it never fails to amaze me how in a store as large and infinite as Walmart, just how little there is for sale that attracts me. No St. Gaudens $10s, no handmade guitars, no vintage Porsches (my three greatest weeknesses.) Actually, there isn't even any descently constructed furniture, or nice fitting clothes. Just acres of flourescently lit pre-fab crap...
>>>My Collection
I refuse to shop at Sprawl-Mart. I hate their commercials and their stores are a mess. Some people like 'em, but there are enough alternatives out there so I don't have to step foot in one.
To keep this rant on topic, I wouldn't buy bullion coins there either.
Secondly, I can buy a box of Cap'n Crunch at Kroger for $4.99, or go to Wal-Mart and pay $2.78. It is anti-capitalist to pay $2.78? Right.
These arguments never cease to amaze me - why do people love the business people that ripped them for years and years... until Wal-Mart came to town? Perhaps they were the Rich people?
Take for example the pharmacy - everybody knows pharmacists got Rich. Some more than doctors. Hell, they would charge you based on how much they needed each month. I know a pharmacist from a small country town who retired with $2.5 million in the bank, plus 300 acres of land.
So now Wal-Mart comes to town and knocks 25% off my prescription bill, gives me a consistent price, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for the pharmacists kids who cannot get filthy Rich like he did. Gee, I guess the kids will end up in my neighborhood and we can't have that, can we? They may even have to drive cars for more than two years before getting new ones!
Some of ya'll should just drive by that local Rich you love and drop a $20 in their mailbox - just to help 'em fight Wal-Mart.
Despite the fact that Walmart works on low mark-ups, the mark-up on bullion coins is even lower than their standard. And if they did charge their usual mark-up, somewhere down the line the news media would pick up on it and give them some bad press about HIGH prices.
Secondly, since gold is worldwide traded commodity with organized markets, Walmart’s usual bulk buying strategy won’t give them much of a price advantage. In fact it could be just the opposite if they were to come in and demand say a million gold eagles in a short period of time.
Furthermore Walmart would also have to be in the market to buy gold bullion directly from the public. That would give them a lot of headaches because they could just not have one of their run-of-the-mill clerks performing that function. AND they would have to set up a system where they could make rapid payments to sellers.
No I think we are safe from Walmart entering the bullion business, although they have sold state quarter albums and probably those wall plaques that feature the near worthless shined up coins.
<< <i>It amazes me on this forum that there is so much anti-Wal-Mart talk... I expected the opposite. Maybe the day-time crowd will provide the Wal-mart defense.
I refuse to shop at Sprawl-Mart. I hate their commercials and their stores are a mess. Some people like 'em, but there are enough alternatives out there so I don't have to step foot in one.
To keep this rant on topic, I wouldn't buy bullion coins there either. >>
If you had been on the Open Forum during the recent presidential campaign, you have seen that there are quite a few liberals around here. There are not nearly as many of them as on other sites, like The History Channel, and there were no communists or extreme socialists like you will find there, but there was a strong minority of liberals nonetheless.
Walmart has become lighting rod for a lot of liberals. It’s big; it’s successful; and it has acted like a 600 pound gorilla in some communities where it out-discounted the competition. Given that it’s not surprising that Walmart has made enemies.
Also no one forces anyone to work at Wal-mart. If you don't like the benefits package there go to a different job. There are plenty around despite what the libs say.
Walmart is not the problem. I agree that Walmart is the American dream of business.
For all the jobs that are lost there is another company that is employing someone to do the same job. Just because a local business went under does not mean the position was not filled by someone else. edited to add: small local businesses need to evolve!
Another part that I completely agree with is if someone chooses to work at Walmart but is "working in poverty" what makes you think the same person will make a bunch more money someone where else.
Walmart bashing is stupid IMO
Bill is right again. Walmart can't mark up bullion enough to make worth their while to sell. Bullion sellers already have small mark ups.
The other problem is that gold is very small and very expensive. It can fit into your pocket. I think the employees or shoppers would steal it whenever they could.
FrederickCoinClub
By the way, I missed out on getting those SOL commem bargains--- I was too slow!
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
And why do you think WalMarts are being built everywhere? Because consumers, meaning you and I, are giving them business. Although we may complain about their practices, when it comes time to purchase an item, what do we do? I don't know about you, but since I do not have an unlimited supply of money, I tend to do at least some comparison pricing on pricier items.... and Walmart frequently is the obvious choice. And not to mention the convenience.... when I am there to pick up that item, I can also get my groceries, do some banking, catch a quick bite to eat, get an oil change, and so on.
Bottom line, Walmart thrives..... because they are providing what the vast majority of people want. While many will complain about Walmart, when all is said and done, many of those same people say something different when it comes time to open up their wallet and spend their money.
Now, all of that being said, there comes a time when a company can corner too much of a market, such as the railroad barons in the past, AT&T, and Microsoft to name a few examples. Then it is up to the govenment to decide when it is time to step in? (a scary thought).
Walmart selling bullion type items is actually an interesting thought. There may be a few problems they would have to overcome, such as the two-way market with the public, but I think Walmart would be able to perform that function competively. And I suspect they would be able to work an arrangement with the U.S. Mint.....
For the same reasons the same type people follow and believe in the same type politicians who have in fact torn up the Constitution, have turned the country into "just another place" with regards to Freedom, and get up at the podium and talk about their "plan" which is to talk like a Libertarian and govern like a socialist.
Tom
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Thankfully, I do not have to shop at Wal-Mart. First off, Wal-Mart sells (IMO) inferior quality products. I am not "rich" by any stretch of the imagination but I also don't have to buy the lowest tier items.
As to identical items, again thankfully I do not have to find the cheapest price either. I am willing to pay for "atmosphere". For those familiar with Florida, it's the same reason why I shop at Publix and not Winn-Dixie, they're a little classier and sell better quality products.
No, I am not a snob.
Joe.
I'll agree with you that they are not classy, and I too go to Publix here in Florida. Still if you are willing to put up with it, you can save some money at Walmart. Ditto for Costco.
I do not know if it would be a sucess for Wal Mart. If Wal-Mart did sell coins in its stores, imagine how many non coin collectors would be exposed to the hobby. Many new collectors may be the result.
I remember as a kid in the 1960s going to Walgreens and/or Woolworths in downtown Denver, Colorado with my family. While in the stores I would see a display where coins in card board 2x2's were laid out and marked for sale. I do not see any such displays today. I also remember being in Macy's in Manhattan in 1985 over Thanksgiving and seeing an area where coins were on display and sold. I bought a common date UNC Walker as a momento of my trip to the big apple.
But I still had to go to Winn Dixie to buy a "fresh" ham for the holidays
Just got back from Asheville NC and it seems like they have a similar thing between Food Lion ( Yeech) and Ingles ( Very Good!)
Darn, now I'm getting hungry. Having a fresh turkey AND a fresh ham in about 25 hours
Tom
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
their purchasing power they could get the best possible price from any authorized
distributor. The biggest stumbling block would probably be that the public doesn't
buy a lot of bullion. Those who do tend to have other suppliers already. While Wal-
mart does work on thin mark-ups they don't normally work on as thin of mark-ups
as the bullion often changes hands. If they were to do this it would probably be done
in conjunction with offering a few other coins also such as proof sets and Morgans.
Likely they'd try it in a few stores and devote a case in the jewelry section to it.
It doesn't seem likely but if demand for coins continues to pick up it is hardly impossible.
<< <i>A previous poster mentioned that they thought K-Mart had done some business in bullion type coins in the past. They actually did handle some numismatic items briefly. When the Statue of Liberty coins came out, they sold them in both proof and uncirculated condition, and in the Mint set packages. I do not remember if they had a special deal with the mint (I suspect they might have had some sort of a bulk purchase discount). >>
They probably did get a discount but at least in Louisville they were selling them at mint issue price. (I believe about $155 for a two piece set.) But K-Mart would let you buy them with plastic which the mint would not do at that time, and you could take them with you rather than having to wait for delivery. They had people lined up to buy them. At the same time just down the street at the coin shop we were selling the same set for $110 and couldn't get a nibble.
I dislike Wal-Mart for several reasons. So I don't shop there. They aren't doing anything illegal. If you don't like them, don't shop there.
edited to say: Wal-Mart won't start selling bullion for exactly the reasons Bill Jones mentions.
<< <i> What if Wal-Mart started selling bullion coins? >>
We would all be enslaved sent to work in the mines
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For WalMart it would have to be a from now on sorta thing as it would be tough for them to go back and get any significant quantities of earlier issues. Also the supply is limited which WM may or may not like.
I'm sure some do but please look at this from a different angle.
Most companies that supply retail companies with product, discount the price based on volume.
The small guys just can't reach this level. They must charge more.
The companies that supply Walmart gear up to handle the volume. New production lines, new warehouses, more employees, ect. At this point Walmart buyers dictate the price to the point that the company must lower their price or loose Walmart. At some point Walmart pulls their business and the supplier is in deep trouble.
I really feel Walmart takes more out of local economy than they put back.
I knew Sam and this was not his dream.
Well said. I usually don't particpate in these discussions but I feel strongly on this one (and remember these are all just opinions). I'm a HUGE free trade capitalist pig. Markets rule! That said, I think that the social-economic cost of Walmart is too high. They engage in supplier extortion (as was pointed out) by being so large that normal competitive supply demand pressures are distorted. The analogy that is similar (but far from exact) is the break up of the original oil monopoly. Fundamentally, I think that Walmart is setting us all (consumers, suppliers, etc.) in a race to the bottom with respect to standard of living.
keoj
prospered as their suppliers went out of business. Free markets often have such inequi-
ties and when government gets involved there will be more of them and they'll last longer.
Lou
ANA Life-Member