My experience with coins on TV is with our Shopping Channel here in Canada. There is a coin dealer from the Toronto area who comes to TSC every couple of months.I sometimes sit in front of the TV and yell at them - my family and friends ask me why I watch if I get so upset. My answer is that I love to look at the coins. The thing they do that bothers me the most is that their information is often not exactly untrue but grossly misleading.The best example,I think involves what The Royal Canadian Mint calls "Prestige Proof sets". These sets have been issued since 1971 and have been greatly improved in both quality and presentation over the years. A current issue prestige set sells for about $80.00. Here is what they do: they assemble a group of these sets most of them going back to the earlier years and sell them for a price that amounts to about $50.00 each. You are then led to believe that you are getting an $80.00 value for $50.00. What they don't tell you is that the issue price in the 70's was from $12.00 to $18.00 and that many of the earlier sets are actually selling at below issue price. I asked a coin dealer what he thought of this and he said it actually helped him because his prices were so much better.
As a dealer who competes directly with the TV shows (QVC), I can tell you that most of the TV customers hear how a particular coin or set is going up in price, so they call us to sell their high valued possession. We are made out to look like the charlatans because we do not pay TV prices. On an extra note, the TV channels when buying at the coin shows are very agressive and usually pay better than ask on their purchases. They also rely on not so accurate info. A good example is the sets. The pitch will go something like this. 100 million collectors have entered into the coin market (true) if all switched to Morgan dollars there would not be enough to go around (true) so buy now before the market price goes up because of these collectors. Well Morgan dollars have gone up in the past 5 years. Has the supply disappeared? No. Will it? No. As prices rise, people sell. This is the law of supply and demand. One that I love the most. If we (TV Show) were at the coin show, selling these 10 1921 Morgans for $399. we would be the talk of the show. Of course they would. If we (dealers) could get $40 for a $15 dollar coin from thousands of customers we would be the talk of the show also. Be careful out there. Know your coins, and know their values. That is what will save you no matter where you choose to shop.
ND, does QVC sell "normal" coins? I have never seen QVC sell coins on TV, and on their website they only have the "colored coin" junk. Maybe at 3:30 am. Yeah they stretch the truth a bit on that Morgan story. I think I can understand why they have to charge those prices -- the TV time is so expensive they have to. With other consumer goods (appliances, pots and pans, etc.) you actually can do quite well compared with Dept. stores, but they sell tons of consumer goods and cannot sell tons of coins to be able to charge even regular retail "trends values". However, the fact that these coins sell for close to double retail still bothers me --- the only reason this happens is because the customers do not know about the "normal" coin market. As you say, ND, the QVCs and Coin Vaults are reaching a different market, but it still bugs me a little -- I think this market is getting "hoodwinked" somewhat. I wonder what level above retail the FTC would consider as fraud. The cases cited in coin books I have read involved wealthy people who were hoodwinked into paying 10x retail for coins. 2x is probably not there, but could be pushing the envelope.
QVC has a store here in Delaware. Yes they sell all sorts of coins. Absolutely overpriced. The fact that they all charge near double or more bothers me also. It is up to us dealers and collectors to share the truth about coins and their prices. Until we all do this, that part of the market will always be over charged. It only hurts all of us in the end. Once these TV customers find out that they were charged between 100 and 400 percent over retail, they leave the hobby disgusted. Without collectors, our coins go down in value. QVC claims to have 8 million customers. How many do the others have?
ND, therein lies the Catch-22. To reach the customers and make a profits, it appers you have to charge above retail. Unless the ANA a pool of dealers create the "Coin Channel" I don't know how else this market can be reached and sold to at "fairer" prices. Like you said, until then dealers and collectors need to use other means to publicize the truth about the market. Has anyone attempted to publicize this truth in the non-numismatic media (i.e newspapers, Wall Street Journal, money section of Newsweek, Money magazine, etc.) Probably, but I would be interested in knowing specifics if you (ND) or anyone else knows of any.
Our firm runs all of our advertising in non-coin related media outlets. This is my attempt at letting the TV viewers know that there are other avenues for purchasing coins.
Oh, BTW ND, does the DE QVC store sell the coins next to the pots & pans, or is it coins only?? I was at the QVC store in Lancaster, PA a few years back and did not see any coins.
the coin vault has a dedicated group of collectors who have bought numerous items, some with a long order history. and from personal experieince quite a few of these buyers have a physically disablility that preculeds them from attending coin shows and their only source of purchasing is "from the comfort of their own home". as a matter of fact the show is getting ready to come on in 45 minutes as i type this they are setting up the set
I'll be watching the Coin Vault tonight after the NBA round hoop Championship Finals game 1 is over. Go Pistons! Crush those Lakers! The presentation of the coins on the Coin Vault is really nice. Wonder what the Daily Special deal will be tonight?
the TBV, (Todays Best Value) which will start @ midnight eastern is: SACRAMENTO SILVER YOU WILL RECEIVE: *(1) 16OZ. (POUND) OF 90% SILVER COINS. ALL COINS WILL BE PRE-1965 MINT (APPROX. 80 - 100 COINS TOTAL) AND WILL INCLUDE: ROOSEVELT DIMES, WASHINGTON QUARTERS, AND AT LEAST (1) EACH OF THE FRANKLIN AND KENNEDY HALF-DOLLARS ARE GUARANTEED. **ALL OTHER COINS / SELECTION IS OUR CHOICE. no grades provided but my educated guess will be XF-AU depending on the coin(s)
I guess my dictionery must be wrong - it says that silver is weighed in troy ounces, which come 12 to the pound.
well we get that question all of the time but they sell it in 16oz lbs here. as i type this we have sold 123 lbs
Yes 16 ounces is a pound. Yes 12 troy ounces equals a pound. 90% silver isn't measured out in troy ounces.
I am an avid Coin Vault fan, and... spoiler alerts A-WAY! shopathometv.com does not exist. It now redirects to the Coin Vault's website. Also, I heard, that in the 1990s, S@H sold counterfeit baseball cards and bats. And, they've moved to Dish Channel 225, and now have a Sunday show from 7-11 pm.
That may be due to the fact that this thread is almost 9 years old. Sometimes it's best to look at the posting dates before commenting on archived information.
...and this isn't the only one. New user Nevadabell decided to resurrect three Coin Vault threads with different, rather vague comments. I'm not really sure what's going on...
