Well, I didn't think I would ever see this but Shop @ Home actually had an item that they were selling close to current street price. Of course, we all know what the Westward Journey Coin/Medal set originally cost them from the Mint but they were selling these for $69.95 with a Stretch Pay of around $23. That's about what I've been seeing these on eBay so I pulled the trigger. Since I've been backorderded on this set from the Mint over and over, I figured that I'm going to be paying that much anyway when they finally cancel my order and I have to go to the secondary market to buy one of these. And besides, if I do get my order from the Mint then I can always sell this set for what I paid for it and still come out OK. I didn't think I'd ever find something that they were selling that I'd consider worth buying, since they're so over-priced by 2 to 3 times but whaddayaknow. But before we pat them on the back too quickly let's figure out how they aquired so many of those sets......hmmmmmmm......could it be that every employee and their family members ordered 5 sets each in order to give them the quantity they needed. They probably dug up ever dead relative in the family tree. Of course, they sold out within 15 minutes of airing the item. Anyway, I finally got one coming and the Mint can play whatever game they want with the ship dates.
I saw those last nite. That's the 1st time I have ever seen a reasonable price on there. By reasonable, I mean about current going price. I sold a set last night for $71 + shipping. I started the auction @ $19.95 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8314445759&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT
I wonder how they got them so cheaply. The sets sold out so no large orgers were able to be placed and the sets are currently going for $70.00 all over the place. So how did Shop At Home get a quantity (100+) to sell for the going price.
Like I said, they had every employee and their relatives order 5 sets when the Mint started taking calls for this set. No telling how many S@H started with but they sold out very quickly.
I seriously doubt that S@H had a 5 set per person limit, though the logistics of one are funny to imagine. As is typically lately, the mint seems to give preferential treatment to overpriced bulk sellers while forgetting the "little guy". But I guess when you've got a cash cow like the US Goverment to pay your bills, you can afford to not care much.
