What do you think about the “facts and figures” in Heritage’s recent mailing about the Milwaukee ANA

Longacre

Although I was bounced from Heritage’s catalog mailing list, I seem to have not been cut off from the regular slew of propaganda that they mail out. Yesterday I received a nice glossy brochure from Heritage indicating why I should consign my rarities to their auction at the Milwaukee ANA. The brochure was very well produced, and it even included a picture of all five Heritage executives, complete with matching suits. I don’t know if they planned it that way, but the picture was quite cute.

The letter that accompanied the brochure included some facts and figures. The good thing about figures is that they can be arranged and displayed such that you get any result that you are looking for. One item that the letter highlighted was the number of website visitors to the Heritage site per month.

For this number-of-visitors analysis, Heritage indicates that an independent company, Compete.com, has calculated that Heritage’s website receives eight times more visitors each month than all of the other major numismatic firms combined (and more than 18 times their closest competitor).

Does anyone think that the number of website visitors is a relevant figure to be presenting for an analysis and comparison to other firms? I tend to spend some time visiting Heritage’s site, but it is mainly to check the auction archives so I can figure out prices to bid on coins (and most times, non-Heritage coins). I am sure these sorts of visits account for most of the hits at the Heritage site. Also, given that Heritage puts out telephone book size auctions, of course the website would tend to get more hits, given the sheer volume of auction lots.

Would a better metric be the number of bidders per auction lot in their sales? Would a better metric be number of bidders per price point for a particular coin? I am not very impressed with numbers of raw website hits as an indicator of how well a firm auctions coins, but I wanted to get other’s views.

messydesk

Based on their measure, perhaps I should consign my coins to Maxim magazine.

dorancoins

<< <i>Based on their measure, perhaps I should consign my coins to Maxim magazine. >>



Good idea - I bet they'll sell really fast and for top dollar!

lathmach

Metric?
While metric can be an adjective, it is normally related to the measurement of distance.


Ray

dorancoins

<< <i>Although I was bounced from Heritage’s catalog mailing list, I seem to have not been cut off from the regular slew of propaganda that they mail out. Yesterday I received a nice glossy brochure from Heritage indicating why I should consign my rarities to their auction at the Milwaukee ANA. The brochure was very well produced, and it even included a picture of all five Heritage executives, complete with matching suits. I don’t know if they planned it that way, but the picture was quite cute.

The letter that accompanied the brochure included some facts and figures. The good thing about figures is that they can be arranged and displayed such that you get any result that you are looking for. One item that the letter highlighted was the number of website visitors to the Heritage site per month.

For this number-of-visitors analysis, Heritage indicates that an independent company, Compete.com, has calculated that Heritage’s website receives eight times more visitors each month than all of the other major numismatic firms combined (and more than 18 times their closest competitor).

Does anyone think that the number of website visitors is a relevant figure to be presenting for an analysis and comparison to other firms? I tend to spend some time visiting Heritage’s site, but it is mainly to check the auction archives so I can figure out prices to bid on coins (and most times, non-Heritage coins). I am sure these sorts of visits account for most of the hits at the Heritage site. Also, given that Heritage puts out telephone book size auctions, of course the website would tend to get more hits, given the sheer volume of auction lots.

Would a better metric be the number of bidders per auction lot in their sales? Would a better metric be number of bidders per price point for a particular coin? I am not very impressed with numbers of raw website hits as an indicator of how well a firm auctions coins, but I wanted to get other’s views. >>



I got that worthless piece of HNAI propaganda in the mail yesterday. Let me say that I am not a fan of Heritage, and any mail from them gets either tossed in the garbage or shredded. Just because they're the biggest does not mean that they're the best. In fact, I do not partake in any auctions outside of eBay, Yahoo Auctions, and Delcampe.

TahoeDale

Longacre,

Do you know why you are no longer receiving Heritage catalogs? If you want back on their mailing list, call someone at Heritage, like Greg Rohan, and tell him that you are a current collector of a series, purchase coins regularly, and really are a serious buyer.

You might consign a few coins to one of their auctions.

This approach works for most of us.

I would also hold your quesions to a minimum, when you speak with them.

RYK

In fact, I do not partake in any auctions outside of eBay, Yahoo Auctions, and Delcampe.

Your loss. As a serious collector of classic US coins, if you are ignoring Heritage, you are missing a lot of opportunities, IMO.

planetsteve

<< <i>Metric?
While metric can be an adjective, it is normally related to the measurement of distance.
>>



In mathematics, yes. In the wonderful world of business and sales, with all of its spiffy Excel bar and line charts, the word apparently has taken on a broader meaning.

PerryHall

<< <i>Longacre, I would also hold your quesions to a minimum, when you speak with them. >>



Are you trying to kill Longacre?

Longacre

<< <i> In the wonderful world of business and sales, with all of its spiffy Excel bar and line charts, the word apparently has taken on a broader meaning. >>




Yes, I use the word "metric" probably thousands of times per day, along with other babble and acronyms that I can spout out in my sleep.

dorancoins

<< <i>In fact, I do not partake in any auctions outside of eBay, Yahoo Auctions, and Delcampe.

Your loss. As a serious collector of classic US coins, if you are ignoring Heritage, you are missing a lot of opportunities, IMO. >>



RYK, IMHO, you can get some of those same opportunities with ANR/Stacks, Bowers & Merena, Superior, and others.

SmallEagle

When I saw that marketing piece I shared your opinion that page views may be a misleading point of comparison between, say, Heritage and Stack's auction services. I think that Heritage's growing market share might be a better metric. They are the growing, dominant force that they are because both buyers and sellers are perceiving good value. The customer is never wrong.