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US Mint online ordering "Best Practice" scenarios

KudbegudKudbegud Posts: 4,735 ✭✭✭✭✭
There are as many methods of ordering on line from the Mint, meaning the steps that are followed. Some seem counter productive and actually slow your check-out progress. I hope a consensus "Best Practice" procedure can be presented here to relieve the frustration of release date ordering on the Mints overwhelmed system. Hours spent getting through the check-out process should not be then norm. Some of the frustration is self induced by the customer and doesn't warrant hate toward the Mint.

True, the Mint could have a "Worse Case", over engineered, ordering system that would not be taxed except a couple of times a year. That's a budgeting problem that I read the mint is addressing in 2012. But overflow servers sitting idle 95% of the time is not very efficient and not prudent in these budget constrained times.

So what can we do, the customers, to ease the flow of the ordering process with out unnecessary bandwidth overload?

I assume it can be agreed that your account at the Mint should be set up in advance and kept up to date with a current shipping address and non-expired credit card. You should probably log in to your Mint account at least 15 minutes before the publicized availability start time. Be at the product page ready to "Add to Cart" just after the start time. If your there before the start time, no "Add to Cart" button will be there so you will just have to reload, which may not be the best method. Once at that first "Cart" page, use "Quick Check-Out". Your logged in, the system knows your standard info, why waste time and system resources verifying info you know to be correct already?

And now the variables that I hope can be discussed and clarified:

Use one browser. There is a finite number of simultaneous connections that can be sustained at any given moment. Logging on using multiple browsers or browser tabs only clogs the system and slows things down.

Don't hit Re-load or Refresh or Page Back unless you get an actual "Page Timed Out" changed window. As I understand it, and I welcome correction to my understanding, your browser has an indication that a page has been requested and is loading by showing some sort of spinning indicator. As long as you see it spinning, your request is still processing and will happen as all the requests are processed and yours is next in line. Computers aren't smart just very fast and orderly. A request is made and it gets processed in an orderly manner, generally first in, first out sequence. Each time you force a refresh, you start the process over, loosing your place in the Que and going to the end of the line. Each new request needs to be kept track of and processed and routed correctly. Refreshing constantly takes more system resources away from orderly processing than if single request makes, then waiting 500 ms for the process to proceed. I know your excited, but be patient.

To recap: Make sure your log-in and account information is correct a few days in advance. Use one browser to log-in at least 15 minutes prior to the start time. Don't go to the product page until the start time. Adjust the quantity and "Add to Cart", then choose "Quick Check-Out". Don't refresh unless you get a "Timed Out" notification page.

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