I still think that they chose PCGS because they are so close, basically a couple miles a way. No shipping costs involved, just drive the armored truck over. It was cheaper than doing it themselves. For all we know maybe PCGS offered to do it for advertising. Anythings possible right?
<< <i>Let's say I wanted to get numerical grades on mine...how much woukd that cost? Would I have to pay for First Strike, even though it's already in a FS holder?
<< <i>It's just that A-Mark handles so much business any potential gains vs. costs would be a grain of sand on a beach and hardly worth the effort. >>
Agreed 100%.
<< <i>People would have bought all of them without the holder. What do they gain in this? >>
No returns and happy customers. >>
I could see the happy customers all right but would anyone be unhappy even if they got one in a flip? Haven't heard of one yet. What if they had a dealer that offered them a big bullion buy for 69's and 70's or they kept them for their best customers? Not saying it happened but could it?
Gold and silver are valuable but wisdom is priceless.
<< <i>But that means each coin must be graded, even if it is just to see if it meets the MS69 criteria. That's labor which would add to the cost. I still think the initial allocation of 3000 sets were all slabbed, ungraded. The second allocation is probably in process and will be sold later either to those on the wait list or in a subsequent offering. >>
Exactly as he said, and more. What would A-Mark do with a small hoard of 69s? They are still limited to what they can charge by the mint's guidelines, assuming they continue to follow them. It makes no sense that they would cherry-pick or have PCGS grade all of them and slab the culls as BU. The extra expense for grading them is a no-go under the pricing limitations. Do you think that 90% of the submission are really culls? I don't. >>
The whole cherry pick suggestion is pure nonsense... >>
I see where you are going, but 10% or fewer could be 69s and dealt out the back door. >>
It's just that A-Mark handles so much business any potential gains vs. costs would be a grain of sand on a beach and hardly worth the effort. >>
I agree the profit motive is weak after selling 3000.
The hypothetical 69's could be gifts to their better customers.
So if I wanted to send in my set from AMark to PCGS for grades, I could just submit them under Express for $50, Regular for $30 or Modern for $14 and the First Strike would carry over to the graded coin?
A PCGS set of all 69s is going to realize some real cash. What if they got 300 sets of 69s? A set will easily go for $5k, on the low side at this moment. That's $1.5m gross..... not too shabby...even a company like that can not ignore 1.5 mill. I understand I'm oversimplifying a little but bear with me.
Successful transactions with keepdachange, tizofthe, adriana, wondercoin
<< <i>A PCGS set of all 69s is going to realize some real cash. What if they got 300 sets of 69s? A set will easily go for $5k, on the low side at this moment. That's $1.5m gross..... not too shabby...even a company like that can not ignore 1.5 mill. I understand I'm oversimplifying a little but bear with me. >>
It would be interesting to see if the 69 populations jump dramatically in the next week.
Gold and silver are valuable but wisdom is priceless.
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change.
Successful transactions with keepdachange, tizofthe, adriana, wondercoin
<< <i>So if I wanted to send in my set from AMark to PCGS for grades, I could just submit them under Express for $50, Regular for $30 or Modern for $14 and the First Strike would carry over to the graded coin? >>
I wonder how HSN and Coin Country made out? I think you CAN buy one from each AP, because HSN and Coin Country definitely go more than 1 per from an AP and you know they didn't place their orders over the interwebs. They got HUNDREDS before the "public" was able to buy them from the likes of GC or whoever. If they had to wait like we did, they would have sold maybe 3 sets total and be out.
If they tried to play by the rules and use hundreds of employee credit cards and hundreds of "ship to" addresses, it would have taken a week to process all that info. I think they placed an order on the phone with their "buddies' and wired all the money to the AP in one transaction.
In fact, I know this is how HSN did it, because Mezak stated on the air that HSN was able to acquire hundreds of sets due to their "special relationship" with an AP. He has since backed off from saying that, but did state this when they were first offered.
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change. >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these. What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks.
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change. >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these. What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks. >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these. What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks. >>
Their motivation is money - that is their business. And any company that has minimums of 100 oz of gold and 5000 oz of silver is making lots of it. Just ask our friend from the UK. He paid dearly for those 5 sets - and I don't mean $875.33 each. For him to get through like that, he was talking to a trader. And to get 5 sets, he placed more than the minimum order. The initial outlay for this ATB program probably came out of their marketing budget. They have customers on 6 continents. That's where the rest of the pucks will end up. This is all part of the cost of doing business with the elite.
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."
If memory serves, AP's receive a rebate of the premium they pay over spot based on their orders. Each level earns a higher rebate level. No idea where the breaks are, but I imagine this was a quick way to get closer to the next level...
<< <i>But that means each coin must be graded, even if it is just to see if it meets the MS69 criteria. That's labor which would add to the cost. I still think the initial allocation of 3000 sets were all slabbed, ungraded. The second allocation is probably in process and will be sold later either to those on the wait list or in a subsequent offering. >>
Exactly as he said, and more. What would A-Mark do with a small hoard of 69s? They are still limited to what they can charge by the mint's guidelines, assuming they continue to follow them. It makes no sense that they would cherry-pick or have PCGS grade all of them and slab the culls as BU. The extra expense for grading them is a no-go under the pricing limitations. Do you think that 90% of the submission are really culls? I don't. >>
The whole cherry pick suggestion is pure nonsense... >>
I see where you are going, but 10% or fewer could be 69s and dealt out the back door. >>
Now Ms. M........ you're being cynical.
So far of the four AP's to "go," I think today's was the fairest. Most everyone wanted a PCGS FS, nobody had to put out extra for it, etc. OTOH, as someone at MTB told me when I mentioned I got real lucky on 4 of my order being real purty....."you're lucky, we were VERY disappointed because of the quality of the coins we received." So, everybody today will get generic BU instead of grades. Ok, then it will be up to everyone to decide for themselves if they are happy with that or want to go for numbers. I think if you get good coins, you'll go for numbers. If you get rough ones, you'll stay with BU.
That's the other issue with the pucks. It's a lottery within a lottery. You gotta get a set, first, to play and then you have to hope that your set is good enough to get you good grades, whether you're keeping them as a collector or gonna become a freakin flipper. Personally, I'd love to see every collector today get 67's and higher and every flipper get 64's and under.
I tend to agree with 7over8 and others who believe that we might actually have witnessed a rarity...namely and AP that essentially dumed its load according to Mint regs with minimal fuss.
I suspect that any "missing" coin sets will ultimately be accounted for in their secondary offering, rather than a targeted 69 cherrypicking operation.
And here's another thought...maybe they decided to GIVE some coins (or even sets) away to their larger customers as a major goodwill offering. Just a thought...and I don't know if the Mint rules disallowed a partial giveaway.
And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal?
<< <i>And here's another question for the audience...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
And if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I'm pucked out. Will wait for the Mint's offerings.
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I've been one and done from day one. I can't justify grabbing another set while someone else still wants one.
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
My plan was to get twenty family and friends to each buy 1 set from each of the 9 APs for a total of 180 sets. Then I would sell all the sets on ebay for $2500 per set. That's $450,000 before I pay each of them back their original investment. So, after I pay back the $171,000 to my friends and family, I walk with $279,000. However, somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked and ended up buying just 2 sets total. Man...my plan seemed so good. LOL.
Could not get in, once I did it was the wait list at about 11:50am. I hope that puts me at one of the 250. I have given up on the damn apmex alert list.
PEACE! This is the first day of the rest of your life.
I just noticed that a sealed set got NO bids w/an opening bid of $2200. This is less than some non-sealed sets went for an much less than a sealed set went for on Sun. It's so hard to discern any consistent pattern w/these things (except that they are slowly going down).
Who's left: D.G., CNT (second quarter), the rest of A Mark (how many sets - only 250?), APMEX (when will that be?) and the 3690 sets that Pru didn't sell yet??
If there are no APs selling anytime soon and coinsantiques is out, given that the Ftrade sets are in limbo and the AMark sets won't ship for weeks, the supply may contract and prices go back up - esp. with all of the publicity. Who knows?
(Sorry if any of this is a repeat of posts made over the past few hours, I have not read the posts since about 17:00 yet.)
And one more thing....THANKS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH to those of you w/computer expertise who helped me and others out in the heat of battle. Your help was absolutely invaluable. That's what makes this forum so great! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!
I got on the A-Mark wait list site around 9PM eastern. I'll give that a .01% chance of panning out. And that would be ahead of the APMEX Alert Me place in queue. and also ahead of the Overnight mail with a failed delivery attempt Saturday.
I especially appreciate the "shift-F5" keystroke hint that broke the cache problem with refreshing. That was a new one that resulted in success. (that goes out to the Ms)
#12xx Success!
I heard it was about 12 Noon PT when they went dark.
Refs: MCM,Fivecents,Julio,Robman,Endzone,Coiny,Agentjim007,Musky1011,holeinone1972,Tdec1000,Type2,bumanchu, Metalsman,Wondercoin,Pitboss,Tomohawk,carew4me,segoja,thebigeng,jlc_coin,mbogoman,sportsmod,dragon,tychojoe,Schmitz7,claychaser, Bullsitter, robeck, Nickpatton, jwitten, and many OTHERS
<< <i>I just noticed that a sealed set got NO bids w/an opening bid of $2200. This is less than some non-sealed sets went for an much less than a sealed set went for on Sun. It's so hard to discern any consistent pattern w/these things (except that they are slowly going down).
Who's left: D.G., CNT (second quarter), the rest of A Mark (how many sets - only 250?), APMEX (when will that be?) and the 3690 sets that Pru didn't sell yet?? >>
Dang, I've been finding the ebay ATB puck book rather informative on these matters but it looks like someone finally purchased it. Too bad, was a good resource.
Successful transactions with keepdachange, tizofthe, adriana, wondercoin
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I'm done with buying anymore as well. I almost hope FideliTrade cancels mine, but am also kind of excited to possibly have a unsearched one and get it graded.
<< <i>My plan was to get twenty family and friends to each buy 1 set from each of the 9 APs for a total of 180 sets. Then I would sell all the sets on ebay for $2500 per set. That's $450,000 before I pay each of them back their original investment. So, after I pay back the $171,000 to my friends and family, I walk with $279,000. However, somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked and ended up buying just 2 sets total. Man...my plan seemed so good. LOL. >>
Comments
is there a larger holder fee?
<< <i>Let's say I wanted to get numerical grades on mine...how much woukd that cost? Would I have to pay for First Strike, even though it's already in a FS holder?
-Paul >>
Send it to PCGS on a modern regrade.
<< <i>
<< <i>It's just that A-Mark handles so much business any potential gains vs. costs would be a grain of sand on a beach and hardly worth the effort. >>
Agreed 100%.
<< <i>People would have bought all of them without the holder. What do they gain in this? >>
No returns and happy customers. >>
I could see the happy customers all right but would anyone be unhappy even if they got one in a flip? Haven't heard of one yet. What if they had a dealer that offered them a big bullion buy for 69's and 70's or they kept them for their best customers? Not saying it happened but could it?
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>But that means each coin must be graded, even if it is just to see if it meets the MS69 criteria. That's labor which would add to the cost. I still think the initial allocation of 3000 sets were all slabbed, ungraded. The second allocation is probably in process and will be sold later either to those on the wait list or in a subsequent offering. >>
Exactly as he said, and more. What would A-Mark do with a small hoard of 69s? They are still limited to what they can charge by the mint's guidelines, assuming they continue to follow them. It makes no sense that they would cherry-pick or have PCGS grade all of them and slab the culls as BU. The extra expense for grading them is a no-go under the pricing limitations. Do you think that 90% of the submission are really culls? I don't. >>
The whole cherry pick suggestion is pure nonsense... >>
I see where you are going, but 10% or fewer could be 69s and dealt out the back door. >>
It's just that A-Mark handles so much business any potential gains vs. costs would be a grain of sand on a beach and hardly worth the effort. >>
I agree the profit motive is weak after selling 3000.
The hypothetical 69's could be gifts to their better customers.
Joe
<< <i>Looks like the A-Mark ATB link is dead. >>
Working for me, I think your work connection is blocking it.
Overdate, BestMR, Weather11AM, TDEC1000, Carew4me, BigMarty58, Coinsarefun, Golfer72, UnknownComic, DMarks, JFoot13, ElKevvo, Truthteller, Duxbutt, TwoSides2aCoin, PerryHall, mhammerman, Papabear, Wingsrule, WTCG, MillerJW, Ciccio, zrlevin, dantheman984, tee135, jdimmick, gsa1fan, jmski52, SUMORADA, guitarwes, bstat1020, pitboss, meltdown, Schmitz7, 30AnvZ28, pragmaticgoat, wondercoin & MkMan123
<< <i>A PCGS set of all 69s is going to realize some real cash. What if they got 300 sets of 69s? A set will easily go for $5k, on the low side at this moment. That's $1.5m gross..... not too shabby...even a company like that can not ignore 1.5 mill. I understand I'm oversimplifying a little but bear with me. >>
It would be interesting to see if the 69 populations jump dramatically in the next week.
<< <i>thats pocket change for them. >>
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change.
<< <i>So if I wanted to send in my set from AMark to PCGS for grades, I could just submit them under Express for $50, Regular for $30 or Modern for $14 and the First Strike would carry over to the graded coin? >>
the lowest they will take is regular $30.
first strike is $18 on top
all 2010s are FS eligible.
I wonder how HSN and Coin Country made out?
I think you CAN buy one from each AP, because HSN and Coin Country definitely
go more than 1 per from an AP and you know they didn't place their orders over
the interwebs. They got HUNDREDS before the "public" was
able to buy them from the likes of GC or whoever. If they had to wait like we did,
they would have sold maybe 3 sets total and be out.
If they tried to play by the rules and use hundreds of employee credit cards
and hundreds of "ship to" addresses, it would have taken a week to process
all that info. I think they placed an order on the phone with their "buddies'
and wired all the money to the AP in one transaction.
In fact, I know this is how HSN did it, because Mezak stated on the air
that HSN was able to acquire hundreds of sets due to their "special relationship"
with an AP. He has since backed off from saying that, but did state this when they were
first offered.
<< <i>
<< <i>thats pocket change for them. >>
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change. >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these. What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>thats pocket change for them. >>
I'm playing a bit of the devil's advocate here. But if that's pocket change, then the profits they're realizing from selling any of these is pocket change.
They had to set up a retail outlet, etc etc. PITA for a bit of pocket change. >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these. What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks. >>
it's surefire, easy money.
<< <i> >>
It does make you wonder why A-Mark and the other big boys with no retail presence decided to sell these.
What is their motivation. I'm really glad they did, though, if only to keep GC from getting their hands on more pucks. >>
Their motivation is money - that is their business.
And any company that has minimums of 100 oz of gold and 5000 oz of silver is making lots of it.
Just ask our friend from the UK. He paid dearly for those 5 sets -
and I don't mean $875.33 each.
For him to get through like that, he was talking to a trader.
And to get 5 sets, he placed more than the minimum order.
The initial outlay for this ATB program probably came out of their marketing budget.
They have customers on 6 continents. That's where the rest of the pucks will end up.
This is all part of the cost of doing business with the elite.
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."
~ Vince Lombardi
That would certainly appear to be the case.
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."
~ Vince Lombardi
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>But that means each coin must be graded, even if it is just to see if it meets the MS69 criteria. That's labor which would add to the cost. I still think the initial allocation of 3000 sets were all slabbed, ungraded. The second allocation is probably in process and will be sold later either to those on the wait list or in a subsequent offering. >>
Exactly as he said, and more. What would A-Mark do with a small hoard of 69s? They are still limited to what they can charge by the mint's guidelines, assuming they continue to follow them. It makes no sense that they would cherry-pick or have PCGS grade all of them and slab the culls as BU. The extra expense for grading them is a no-go under the pricing limitations. Do you think that 90% of the submission are really culls? I don't. >>
The whole cherry pick suggestion is pure nonsense... >>
I see where you are going, but 10% or fewer could be 69s and dealt out the back door. >>
Now Ms. M........ you're being cynical.
So far of the four AP's to "go," I think today's was the fairest. Most everyone wanted a PCGS FS, nobody had to put out extra for it, etc. OTOH, as someone at MTB told me when I mentioned I got real lucky on 4 of my order being real purty....."you're lucky, we were VERY disappointed because of the quality of the coins we received." So, everybody today will get generic BU instead of grades. Ok, then it will be up to everyone to decide for themselves if they are happy with that or want to go for numbers. I think if you get good coins, you'll go for numbers. If you get rough ones, you'll stay with BU.
That's the other issue with the pucks. It's a lottery within a lottery. You gotta get a set, first, to play and then you have to hope that your set is good enough to get you good grades, whether you're keeping them as a collector or gonna become a freakin flipper. Personally, I'd love to see every collector today get 67's and higher and every flipper get 64's and under.
I suspect that any "missing" coin sets will ultimately be accounted for in their secondary offering, rather than a targeted 69 cherrypicking operation.
And here's another thought...maybe they decided to GIVE some coins (or even sets) away to their larger customers as a major goodwill offering. Just a thought...and I don't know if the Mint rules disallowed a partial giveaway.
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal?
<< <i>And here's another question for the audience...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
And if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I'm pucked out. Will wait for the Mint's offerings.
Still no word from Fidelitrade.
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I've been one and done from day one. I can't justify grabbing another set while someone else still wants one.
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
What about yours?
<< <i>Just checked my PayPal transaction to A-Mark and the it appears as "pending".
What about yours? >>
same here
<< <i>Wow, did someone offer to for one peanuts at the concession stand? >>
I dunno but they sure don't fit into the slots very well when you need a Twix.
Fred, Las Vegas, NV
Who's left: D.G., CNT (second quarter), the rest of A Mark (how many sets - only 250?), APMEX (when will that be?) and the 3690 sets that Pru didn't sell yet??
If there are no APs selling anytime soon and coinsantiques is out, given that the Ftrade sets are in limbo and the AMark sets won't ship for weeks, the supply may contract and prices go back up - esp. with all of the publicity. Who knows?
(Sorry if any of this is a repeat of posts made over the past few hours, I have not read the posts since about 17:00 yet.)
<< <i>One other question: Does anyone know precisely when the 250 wait list/registration screen went up?? Thanks. >>
https://www.buyamericathebeautifulnow.com/register.aspx
<< <i>One other question: Does anyone know precisely when the 250 wait list/registration screen went up?? Thanks. >>
I think there were 5-10 minutes between when the sales cut out and the wait list began.
#12xx Success!
I heard it was about 12 Noon PT when they went dark.
<< <i>Big news from ampex
Come back and enter every month! wooohoooo >>
What they hey, I'm in. I won an MS63 common date $20 Saint from Heritage two years ago for filling out their annual survey.
<< <i>Amazing! They really don't waste any time, do they?! >>
I wonder how the buyer will feel when he/she sees the prices in two months when they arrive....
<< <i>I just noticed that a sealed set got NO bids w/an opening bid of $2200. This is less than some non-sealed sets went for an much less than a sealed set went for on Sun. It's so hard to discern any consistent pattern w/these things (except that they are slowly going down).
Who's left: D.G., CNT (second quarter), the rest of A Mark (how many sets - only 250?), APMEX (when will that be?) and the 3690 sets that Pru didn't sell yet??
>>
Dang, I've been finding the ebay ATB puck book rather informative on these matters but it looks like someone finally purchased it. Too bad, was a good resource.
<< <i>And here's another question for the Greek Chorus...assuming you now have at least a set or two...will you be trying for more in upcoming sales from the other APs? Or do you now plan to stand pat and wait for the special Mint version?
Alternatively, if you do plan to buy more...how many sets would you consider to be your "dream" goal? >>
I'm done with buying anymore as well. I almost hope FideliTrade cancels mine, but am also kind of excited to possibly have a unsearched one and get it graded.
<< <i>My plan was to get twenty family and friends to each buy 1 set from each of the 9 APs for a total of 180 sets. Then I would sell all the sets on ebay for $2500 per set. That's $450,000 before I pay each of them back their original investment. So, after I pay back the $171,000 to my friends and family, I walk with $279,000. However, somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked and ended up buying just 2 sets total. Man...my plan seemed so good. LOL. >>
LMAO!!
<< <i>
<< <i>One other question: Does anyone know precisely when the 250 wait list/registration screen went up?? Thanks. >>
I think there were 5-10 minutes between when the sales cut out and the wait list began. >>
So the list went up at about 3:00 EST?