Latest US Mint HOF sales report 4/6

Yeah the mint probably has an "experience rate" of cancels/returns/bad cards/etc, so they'll be for sale until they believe they've over sold enough to cover those bad sales.

 

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If they had the product ready to ship when they offered it up for sale (like most businesses do), they could charge people right away and reduce all these delays. The Mint can get away with this because they have no competition. I was not shy about telling them this in their latest survey.

 

How can you have them ready to go when the cumulative limit is 50K and you have no idea how many of each you'll sell?

 

I agree, they shouldn’t produce too many until they have an idea of how many will sell, as typically they don’t sell anywhere near their limit. HOWEVER, the big guys should not get all the available inventory before everyone else. I don’t know what the answer is, maybe let big sellers order very early, like when production begins, so the mint can make plenty for them, as well as the expected demand from all the little guys.

 

There should be NO early ordering for the big guys. Pick a release date, have orders placed in a specified manner and everyone gets them that way. Equal opportunity for all. No early/special releases at shows or other venues.

 

Yeah, I know how letting them order early sounds like an advantage, but it’s not. The mint could set limits based on early orders, so that no one corners the market. The big guys get the quantities they want whether or not they order early and they get them before us the way it’s handled now. Of course the way it’s handled now, allows the big guys to make the most profit, as they have them before all of us - so in essence they have cornered the market temporarily.

I wouldn’t rule out that they are already ordering early or the second they go on sale, on a special phone line. I believe many years ago, it was public knowledge that they ordered that way.

 

I would like them to do marketing research and figure out how many to produce like most businesses do. They already hire high priced National Analysts to conduct their surveys, why not have them do an estimate on production runs. I would even prefer a policy in which they make a certain number in a run (25,000 for example). If they sell these out during a certain time period and demand is still great, then produce another batch of 25,000. If 2,000 then remain unsold out of the 50,000, then melt if bullion or offer at a discount to get them out the door. If they fall 2,000 short, then make an announcement that demand has exceeded supply and disappoint only 2,000 people and send them to the secondary market. I will bet overall customer satisfaction would increase. The label makers still get their money, and collectors have a fair chance to buy what they want.