I just finished watching the taped HSN coin shows that were on earlier this evening and they sold a lot, I mean a lot of coins. There highest seller was the ASE '09 MS70 First Day of Issue by ANACS. They sold 3532 of these coins @$79.99 with $8.95 shipping and handling. I know it costs a lot to be on TV, but no matter how you do the math that is a lot of money. They also sold a lot of other coins beside this one, well over a 100 sets of Sac Proofs 2000 to 2008 @$169.95 plus shipping and handling, and several others. Their presentation and marketing was excellent on everything they had. People can say a lot of things about them, but you would have to include they are good at selling coins. It makes me think the coin market must still be alive and well to at least the TV faithful.
My daughter and her husband were flipping through the tv channels out in the living room as I was passing them on the way to the kitchen (beer) when they came upon the show you mention. The Sac proofs were being offered and they asked me if the price was in line with what I thought it should be. I told them to cut that $170 price tag in half and then, maybe, I'd consider buying them. Another thing...I didn't hear the sales pitch these guys were making but I told them both that there was no gold in the sak's. That seemed to surprise them. Apparently the boys on the show were referring to the coin as "the golden dollar". Bet that term sucks a lot of people into their outrageous deals.
I am no fan of those purveyors, and sometimes wonder at the audacity of their pricing. However, the term "golden dollar" is used by the US Mint: one could say it was "coined" by them, I suppose. I agree that it borders on the misleading, though only to the truly uninformed. Of course, those are the folks that hucksters see as the low-hanging fruit. Caveat Emptor.
I saw the same program, are the 2009 silver eagles out on the market? I have ordered some from the mint in subscription.
I tend to agree with you. I know it is almost a requirement for many folks to badmouth HSN for various reasons including price. But they frequently sell collections of coins in very nice presentation boxes that would be difficult to assemble one at a time for most of their customers. And when you consider that their primary audience consists of casual buyers and people giving gifts, the premium price isn't a big deal. They don't sell counterfeits, switch coins, fail to deliver, or use many of the other tactics that are the real problem in the hobby.
