Rant: Price of supplies going up yet again.

About 3 years ago I was getting 2x2s for 2.5 cents each.

Now they have gone up from 4 cents to 5.5 cents each.

While this seems like a small amount of money, it all adds up in a hurry.

I think the local dealer has gotten greedy by raising the prices. Figuring people will still buy them because they are a tad cheaper than the internet.

So if they are 6 cents a piece online, they charge 5.5. That's free enterprise for ya's.

 

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Everything has gone up in price just in the past few years, nothing new or surprising

 

That's why i buy them online from JP's.

 

Ya think?

 

About 3 years ago the price of oil was under $70 a barrel. Lately it has been ovr $100, qbout a 50% increase, The plastics are made from petroleum products, so such an increase is not surprising. Buy several hundred or a thousand now, sell some, and stockpile the rest. The chances of oil increasing is more than the reverse IMO.

 

Whos buying 2x2s anyway? Cardboard and staples arent good for coins. Anything youd put in a 2x2 may as well go in a roll.

 

I don't understand this thought process. A little common sense and being even the slightest bit careful and no cardboard, dust, or staples will ever touch the coin.

 

Some people believe if you open a 2x2 near a coin, that the microparticles of cardboard dust leftover from the manufacturing process will blow over the surface of the coin, impairing the details. No I'm not joking.

I put my low grade coins in 2x2s. Even if they are worth $50. Highgrade coins with a value over $10 go in airtites.

 

My answer was in regards to plastic 2X2 "flips" rather than 2X2 "cardboards".

 

I personally don't care for them.

It's a hassle if you ever need to get the coin out. When you're using a tool to slide under the staples, it always has the chance to slip and scratch the coin. Then you need to completely remove the staples so you don't scratch the coin taking it out. The card board is not inert. And then the argument turns to, "Well, maybe it doesn't matter because the coins are well circulated." Then I have to ask why go through the hassle of putting them in individual 2x2s in the first place? The thin plastic window doesn't protect the coin from contact damage.

The way I store stuff I have never seen the need to use them. I've left a few common things in their 2x2s from when I purchased them. But I've read that they are not good for long term storage of nice coins. I believe they have a limited purpose. I keep worn stuff together in rolls/tubes as much as possible because it's not worth messing with.

Everything else I collect either goes in a box, an album, is in a slab or is nice enough to go in air-tites or intercept 2x2s. I guess some people like fooling around with them. They're just not my cup of tea. They have enough negatives to where they don't seem like an attractive option for much of anything.
I know dealers use millions of them, but it's because they have gobs of inventory and it would get fairly expensive for them to use the good stuff. If somebody goes to a show and buys a $5 gold indian or even an ASE in a 2x2, the buyer is probably going to put it in a an upgraded holder for their collection.

 

You don't think the cost of fuel being what it is might have something to do with the increase of prices?

I mean delivery companies raise their prices all the time when their fuel costs increase, as well as other economic increases.

 

Thanks for that explanation Vess! I understand your point of view better now. You also happen to have the same point of view as my local coin shop owner. He hates the things and says they're worthless. He actually uses the paper coin envelopes for his personal collection.

For my uses, I like the cardboard 2x2's. I may actually switch to the plastic/mylar flips because it gives a little more "cushion"......haven't decided.

The cardboard 2x2's work well for me and my interests. For the record, I don't slide ANYTHING under staples. I have a small pair of pointed pliers to remove any staples I need to. I NEVER remove a coin without completely removing at least two staples first.
Also, to remove cardboard dust and other particles, I use compressed air. A quick shot to each side of the 2x2 and each side of the coin. I allow them to "dry" for about 15 secs.

 

Yeah, that and general inflation. I don't think anybody's getting rich off of selling 2x2s because they went up a penny and a half.

I looked at a Beckett baseball card monthly price guide I still had from 2005 the other day. They were $4.99 at that time. The price guide section had glossy, color pages with photos to help locate sets.

I just bought this month's (April 2012) Beckett yesterday. The price guide is huge but has been reduced to non-stop fine print on cheap, newspaper type pages, non-color, no photos. They are $10.69 now. That's a price increase to complain about. Luckily I don't buy them very often. The price of everything is going up. I don't blame it on free enterprise.

 

just cut the window with a scalpel or xacto type knife tool.

 

I don't have a problem with the cost of supplies going up, I have a problem with coins being so expensive now. Seems like everything has tripled since the 90's. I blame the quarter program for bringing in all of the new collectors. Didn't we have enough quarters already! We should have all cashed in our change jars in 98.

 

2x2's in my opinion are what the dealer gives you for the ride home from spending next months rent. So you dont have to handle it raw....:hail:

 

Everything is going up..... chocolate bars used to be a dime, milk was a quarter, bread was 10 for a dollar...... but then I was making ninety cents an hour and my rent was $95 month.

Hopefully your wage is keeping up.

 

You are lucky if your getting them at that price in Ireland there is no coin shops never mind coin supply shops, the cheapest I can get 2x2s for is around $0.20 which is on ebay and if you add on postage I`m getting them for $0.28 each, consider yourself lucky!!. So I rely on album pages and cheap whitmans for storage sadly , you will probably see me advertising in the wanted list asking for 2x2s or airtites/capsules soon.

 

WOW, ow9654.......that's crazy. PM me next time you need supplies. I'll include what you need in my next order and send them along to you. I'll trade you for some nice Irish coins.!?

 

I used to get these for $1 for a pack of 100. Gas was 25 cents a gallon. I feel they are still a good choice for low end coins if you smash the staples down. Don't try to pull the staples. Just pop the window with a toothpick and the coin will come out.