I grow tired of calling the U.S. Mint and having them telling me that the 2010 Native American $1 coins will be available for shipping on a certain date, only to have them keep moving the shipping date futher and further away, every time I check their website. :headbang: Hopefully, at least the 2010 half dollar coin bags are ready, and I can at least get those, and a $250 refund for my NA dollars that are simply not coming, since late Febuary. I ask again, has anyone else here had this problem with the U.S. Mint's Direct Ship Program? Because, if so, I'd like to know what the heck is going on with this crap. How are people getting ahold of the 2010 Native American $1 coins? Are they paying for the collector versions at a premium and just spending them anyway, and taking a loss?
Usually, yes. They will buy what they want, pick out the best and submit them for grading, and spend the rejects. What else could they do with them ?
I know many collectors who are taking advantage of the Direct Ship Program and have already received their orders. There are many reasons that could affect shipping schedules, and the DSP is certainly not the first to be affected by it. The introduction of the SQ Program, the 2001 Buffalo Commem $ and the 2008 Fractional Buffalo Gold are a few that were delayed because the Mint was swamped with orders. One year, proof sets were delayed until November or December because of problems with suppliers. I don't know the specifics of your case, but if you didn't place your order early, it's very possible that the demand is outpacing the supply, and you have to realize that the Mint still has other production schedules they must meet (by law) at the same time. I recall one instance when another collector was ranting and raving on another forum about not receiving his online order from the Mint, and it delayed so long that the product sold out before his order was ever filled. He was absolutely livid, and when he found out that the Mint didn't fill his order because he had forgotten to update his credit card expiration date, he went ballistic. The problem is that it is not the policy of the Mint to contact customers to advise them if a card is about to expire because that information is not made available to Mint employees. In effect, it was his own damn fault, not the Mint's. Chris
...maybe your NA's are held up because they are still checking them for the taylor error that was discovered. they recalled a bunch of them to double check them for the taylor coin that was mixed in the NA batch and ended up with the 2010 date on the edge. (the taylors were minted in 2009) jmo. :kewl:
I must be one of the fortunate ones. I have never had a delay in any order, or a backorder when ordering from the mint. I'm sure that now that I have spoken, the unfortunate will bite me in the rearend...
A common mistake that happens quite a lot is that someone will place an advance order that may take 2-3 months before the Mint starts shipping. Sometimes delays can push the expected shipping date even further back. In the meantime, their credit card is renewed but they forget to update it on the Mint's site. When the product does finally ship, the Mint will not send the order because the credit card info shows an expired date. The Mint does not contact the buyer when this happens. If the buyer doesn't remember to update the info, the product could end up selling out, and the buyer would be SOL. Chris
And if they DO update the card on the website, most of them don't realize that they have to get customer service to update the card on their placed orders/subscriptions as well. Placed orders use the version of the card that was active at the time the order was placed, so even if you update your card on the site, the order is still using the outdated information.
