Round two of the Never Ending Giveaway... must end.

spoon

Update: the Never Ending Giveaway must end. See my latest post for details and please get in touch by PM if you participated at any point.

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OK guys, sorry, I've been exiled in yetiland the past month or so but things are slowing down and I finally have a chance to get back on here. I've still got the loot from the giveaway, ready to restart this thing once we hash out the details for the next round.

So, first of all, is there still interest in this? I suppose if it peters out we could find a way to equitably divvy the remaining coins among Round 1 participants, or else donate them to the LM trip fund or something.

If there is interest, how would you like to see this done? For those unfamiliar with it, check out the thread from Round 1 here. The quick & dirty: this is a more of a pass it on swap than a "giveaway" as such. We have a box of over $500 worth of coins, when it comes to you, you can take out whatever you want for yourself so long as you replace it with coins of an equal or greater value. Then send it to the next person. The only cost of participating is postage. A fun way gain exposure and maybe pick up a few coins you might not otherwise consider.

We started on this in the last thread, but for the guys from last round, what would you like to see different?

Let's use this thread to hash out the rules for the game and then get it started. I'll post some of my thoughts below.




So far I have these guys confirmed for the next round as of this latest announcement (November):

olmanjon
ormandh
Muygrandeoso
spoon - (I'll jump back in if I'm still around)


These guys signed on before I went yeti - I'll double check with you guys to see if you still want in

Musky1011
Kurt4
Rickc300

spoon

One thing that I've worked on since I've had the box is making a spreadsheet of the inventory. That way it'll be much easier to check coins in and out and figure your tally. We can also let folks have a preview of the spreadsheet before being sent the box to see if there's anything they want or else pass on their turn and go to the back of the line.

A concern from last time was that the quality would be diluted as things went on. Mostly things seemed to turn out ok, but perhaps we can have restrictions on what can be put in. A better way, I think, would be to have different classes on different lists all in the same box. One for coins $20 and up and one for $5-20, maybe another for nice stuff under $5 and then the unregulated junk box. We can come up arcane math that would allow for, say, no more than $10 worth of lower class items may count toward your total take from the $20+ class - or just limit trades to within class.

We could also say no coins below XF unless they're pre-1900 (or whenever) and cleaned coins count at a discount (or banned).

Just a few thoughts for now. We can refine the ideas as we go.

Musky1011

I will give it a go

ormandh

I think a second time around would be fun. I think it will go more smoothly the second time around! -Dan

Muygrandeoso

I would like to play again. Any changes made are fine, but I thought it worked pretty well the first time round.

Chris

Kurt4

I didn't participate in round one, but I would be interested this time. I'll admit to being a little intimidated by the last one. I was worried about what to put in. I didn't want to seem cheap and I also don't know what a lot of my coins are worth. But count me in this time. I'll figure it out and it sounds like fun.

Rickc300

The following is pretty much just a copy/paste of my previous thoughts from round one posted here... Not much has changed, I liked it fine the way it was and quoted a number of others and then my thoughts on theirs. You can count me in as a eager participant (if I am invited) on round two... Who knows what I might find this time?

<< I think we should have a brief pause to discuss ways to go forward with the next round - how can we improve or restructure the giveaway? >>

So far I like it as is, yes there was quite a bag of "junk" but I pulled 19 coins from that bag of junk!

<< I suggest that we keep a detailed list of what has been taken and what has been added by each designated stop. >>

Good idea! Send the list to the originator and if major discrepencies show up the culprit could be left out of future rounds, until he or she makes the shortages right... The honor system should be the biggest concern to collectors, who wants their name destroyed by pilfering a few dollars worth of coins? I took a coin I had no idea of real value on and honestly feel from the couple of PMs that I got that I did more than OK in value by what I put in as exchange and I am very happy with what I took!

<< The only thing that might be worrisome Spoon is if the box gets to large. I know we all want to add more to it than we are taking out but it might become a tad unwieldy >>

I don't think so, just for fun I brought home a medium flat rate box after reading your post and I managed to stick over 3K, yes more than 3000 coins, all of them in 2X2's, inside the box (All inside collector boxes). Unwieldy, yes, but just in the time it would take someone to go though the box, but who wouldn't want to be burdened by digging through 3,000+ coins, all attributed, all in 2X2's and very easy to identify what is there worrisome about that?

<< I would love to join next round, but only if there is a minimum value for every coin in the box. >>

I strongly disagree with this! I collect by date and mint all coins of the German Empire, Weimar Republic and Third Reich, one from every German state and then Prussia by date and mint. This approach of mine numbers into many thousands of coins, most circulated coins are under a dollar or just bullion value for silver coins and yet I still need hundreds (maybe thousands) of coins valued under a buck, I will trade one dollar coins for 35 cent coins all day long just to fill holes in my collection, and after 30+ years of on again off again searching, if I ain't got it, I really, really want it! I don't want to be the recipient of a box full of coins that did not include a small hoard of fifty cent coins that I need for my collection from someone else that had them but didn't send because the coins value didn't meet the minimum dollar amount per coin value. If you have many high dollar coins to trade, list them on the BST or World BST boards. I keep looking there for stuff I want but the postings are very few and far in between for items that I want for my collection!

<< I also think that the person sending should contact the next receiver to see what they primarily collect to keep things relevant. >>

That is a good idea, BUT, if I have nothing that the next person is really interested in, should I request a bye? and then ship to the next person in hopes they have something more in line with the next persons collecting interest? If I do, and that person who next gets the box finds something that does pertain to the bypassed collector is he or she obligated to leave it in the box? Random draw, no knowledge of wants (as regulars, we all know what everyone collects to some extant anyway) I think we should just put in a greater value of what we take out so the next person keeps getting a better selection to go through. I didn't know I wanted a 1963 New Zealand half crown until I saw one! WHY? I don't know, but I have a really nice one that does not fit into ANYTHING I currently collect but it sure is a nice looking coin AND I HAVE IT! (you don't). Thanks Eric!

I pulled a couple of coins out of the box that I really had no plans of trading for, I may put them back in the next go round, but odds are I have created a couple new venues for collecting that I will keep adding to over time as pieces come up from time to time here and there if the price is right. This is just what I need, more coin collecting interests to be on the look out for... Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy




Rick

olmanjon

Like the first time we tried this (and we got bamboozeled) I loved this idea. Being able to trade for coins that my local dealers do not have is great. I don't like to buy sight unseen through the mail, so this gets around that pain also. About the only thing that I would not like to see is cleaned coins. I once was at a flea market and a dealer from Canada was there with a tub full of coins in 2 x 2's. It was a very sunny day and I bought about 12 pieces. When I got them home and out of there cardboard holders I discovered that they had all been cleaned and not the grades that I had been led to believe. Since then all cleaned coins have left a bad taste in my mouth. Other than this one little comment, I would love to be considered again for the next round.
Olmanjon

spoon

OK, guys, I really want to get this thing going before those yetis drag me away again!

So how's this sound for the terms going into Round 2:

All the same rules of play as before, with these modifications:
- All swaps must be inventoried on the spreadsheet.
- No cleaned coins unless traded at or near bullion value. No more than one ounce per person per round.
- No coins below XF from 1900+ for over BV outside of the junkbox (exceptions allowed for interesting stuff).
- Coins valued over $20 should be swapped for coins in that same bracket within reason (that is, try not to put in 5 cheapos for one nice coin - a $15 coin plus a $10 one for a $25 coin should be ok though)


The key here is to trade quality. We all have wildly different tastes with a lot of overlap. And we often don't know we want something until we see it. But too much stuff only a mother, er, hard-core collector can love leaves little of general interest for the wider group. I think we're all more likely to jump at something interesting we've never seen or considered before if it's high grade. But if it's unfamiliar and average circ, odds are we'll deliberate a while but ultimately pass. So lets keep passing along quality.

On cleaned stuff, I largely agree with you, Jon, I hate seeing cleaned stuff with list prices.. but I think we should allow the option with limitations. I myself hoard junk silver and I pulled a bit that I didn't have already from the box. I wouldn't mind a lightly cleaned pocket piece worthy coin or two. Plus, it might help a budget collector afford a nice coin in the box. But, yeah, it should definitely stay at BV unless there's something really spectacular.

I'll have a pile of stuff in the junk box for you, Rick

I think we did a decent job last time price-wise and it seemed a lot of us did pull quite a few nice cheapos out. So I don't think we should have a minimum value. But in order to not dilute what's already there (and hopefully build upon it), lets try to not trade cheapos for nicer stuff. Things above $20 or so should be swapped for items of a like value.

OK, well, my long-windedness is probably scaring people off.. let me know what you guys think. This isn't final and I'm certainly not overlord here! This is meant to be a community thing

And let's start building the roster. Shoot me a PM if you want in on Round 2! (I do need to play catch up on my PMs )

Rickc300

Count me in! PM sent... And thanks for doing this!

Rick

Muygrandeoso

PM sent. Thanks for heading this up.

spoon

Alright, let's start taking entries. If there's anything more to hash out, we'll deal with it as it comes. I've got a list of everyone starting in the first post.

olmanjon

OK--Lets do it. Is it my turn yet? yet? yet?
Olmanjon

spoon

OK guys, time for me to take some heat! I've definitely slacked on this.. haven't had time for the forum most of the summer and, even though I'm back now, I'll probably be off to Yetiland again in a month or so.

I do still have the box fully intact. I haven't touched it since last spring, but I'll probably be tossing a few more odds & ends in there before it ships.

So. Is there still any interest in this? If so, I'll need one of you guys to take over as moderator since I'll be bowing out keeping busy with other things.

I think this was pretty fun and it seems most of us got some interesting things out of it, so I hope we can keep it going. I know I'd like to jump back in at a later date when I can. But if this is going to continue I'll need you guys to keep it going. Should we move toward an ad hoc type of giveaway like the first one Stork organized? I don't know.

If anyone is still interested, old swappers or new folks who want to join up, please do PM me to let me know you're interested. I'll keep things going for now and get the ball rolling again until someone else can take over. Once I hear back from a couple of you that this is still viable I'm just going to pick someone randomly and get this thing out the door before I'm overtaken with other things again!

spoon

Looks like we're going to have a short list so far!

The box is now en route to olmanjon - actually, tracking shows it's already in Rochester
Jon - Let me know when you get it and I'll send the spreadsheet.

Ormandh has agreed to take the helm moderating this when I disappear again so you guys might want to start directing queries to Dan. I can still field questions and sign people up for the time being though.

Oh, btw, the box weighed nearly 10 pounds! (in a Medium flat rate box - with signature confirmation it's ~$12)

spoon

I hate to say it, but this little project just isn't viable. Time to shutter the Never Ending Giveaway for the time being. Perhaps someone else would like to start up something like what Stork and I attempted, have at it.

But for me, this ground down to a demonstration of Greshams Law. I just received the box back today and looking at it I just don't think it's worth the postage to keep this going. There are some nice Canadian bits and few other things still totaling a few hundred dollars, but mostly it's flea market stuff. So, if you guys want to keep this going, let me know. But I'm bowing out.

I'm under a crunch with a bunch of projects coming together right now, so I haven't done the full accounting on the contents and who contributed what, but I'll get to that as I can in a few days. I know we had a few people who contributed more to the box than they took out. If you have an overage on it, get in touch by PM and we'll see how we can cash you out if you're interested in recouping your overage.

Otherwise, let's brainstorm on what to do with the remains. I'll let you guys know once I've gotten everything tallied in a few days and share the spreadsheet. We can either try to sell it off, donate it to the LM trip fund or something, pass it off to YNs, or just hold a few one time giveaways and be done with it. My vote is leaning toward the last option.

Let me know what you guys think. If you participated at any point and I don't hear from you I'll get in touch before we take any further action on this.

Sorry it didn't work out better.

olmanjon

Spoon-I would like to thanky you very much for all of the hard work that you have put into trying to keep this going. I understand where you are coming from when you say there isn't much in there anymore of value, but I have to say that the old axiam holds true, that "one mans junk is another mans treasure." All of us collect different things-comic books-rocks-mason jars and of course coins. Not all of us collect pristine 18th century or older silver coins however. A lot of us just collect those 25c junk items. Some of us are investors-some of us collect just for the fun and beauty that a coin brings to us. Many early 1900 coins from Italy are cheap but really have a lot of artistic flair about them. I for one would like to see this continue. Just send it to the next person on the list. If someone doesn't want to be on the list anymore they can just ask to be removed. I think there is still enough interest in it to continue. What do you say guys? Is there interest or not? If you don't have the time anymore spoon, that is fine. Thanks again for your assistance in the past. Just pm me the list and I will try to carry the ball for a while if anyone is interested.
Olmanjon

ormandh

I would lean towards giving the proceeds to an LM trip OR make a trust as a scholarship for a YN. -Dan

Muygrandeoso

<< <i>I would lean towards giving the proceeds to an LM trip OR make a trust as a scholarship for a YN. -Dan >>



I agree!!!

Chris

olmanjon

OK-I will go with that. No one seems to be interested anymore anyway. Good suggestion. Thanks again for all the work from anyone connected to this endevor.
Olmanjon

spoon

Yeesh. I was afraid you guys would go that route.. more work for me! Seriously, though, I think that probably is the best way. I've still got a bit of my own stuff to sell off too so whenever I get the time I'll go ahead with that plan and dedicate the proceeds to the LM trip fund unless anyone can point me to another worthy cause. Of course, I still need to get that full accounting done and get in touch with round 1 participants to see if we need to cash anyone out to make things fair.. I'm pretty sure everyone's satisfied where they are though. I'll let you guys know when I do have everything ready so you know it's on the up-and-up.

ormandh

I would be glad to photograph and sell some of the things through my account. I would only expect for the fees to be paid.

spoon

Nah, it's ok. I was just kidding. And like I said, I have some things of my own to sell too, so maybe my extra stuff will help get some attention to these items on ebay - though I'll more than likely send them up on the BST here first. It'll just be a couple weeks before I get around to it.

spoon

OK, guys, I've heard back from most of you via PM so I'm going to move forward with the sales while I have time this week. There were a few withdrawals, I took a modest chunk of silver myself to defray sales costs and recoup a fraction of what I put in (over $150 overage). And I adjusted the prices of some remaining items down, usually due to cleaning - only a few were adjusted up. I have the spreadsheet completed for anyone who'd like to see the final accounting. I'm projecting around $300, plus or minus, to come from this.

For the first round of selling, I'm putting everything up on my usual sales list to be posted/linked in the BST. I've marked all the Giveaway items with a red LM - since that seems like the most likely recipient of the proceeds. Whatever doesn't sell there after a few weeks will go on ebay as I have time. I'll come back once the bulk of it is sold and seek your agreement on where to send the proceeds, whether LM's trip fund, a YN program or something else.

EDIT - I'll keep a tally of the money raised here.

I just contributed the proceeds to date to the Marcie Swoveland memorial fund, I think a worthy cause that Rob would certainly approve of - $71.85 on 15 April.

Current total - $32.22