Good morning all,
I have just become aware of this thread. Otherwise I would have replied sooner.
First however, I want to thank Sap for pointing out that there is another thread that he provided that addresses a number of questions, opinions and concerns that I hopefully fully answered. So I would ask that you take a few minutes to read these for a much better understanding of who we are and what we do. Thank you.
Turning to your specific comments please let me respond in chronologic order:
To Joeyuk: I couldn't agree with you more for the lack of desire for collectors outside the US not caring for slabbed coins... for now. If you may recall in the late 80's neither did US collectors care or know about slabbed coins. This eventually changed after a perceived need to help the average investor was filled by the establishment of
TPG services. Obviously they would not still be in business and thriving 25 years later unless that perception was in fact reality. Having said that, human nature is human nature whether in the US or anywhere else. People want assurances. The fact that collectors outside the US currently don't see a need, apparentley both PCGS and NGC do. They are spending of millions of dollars in the establishment of overseas offices. They are opening up more each year. They
obviously see a potential there and I'm sure that they would not take these risks unless they felt them warranted (sort of like the late 1980's).
How do you see the landscape overseas in 25 years? Do you think that the TPGs will still be in business there?
Regarding how long that we have been around, although WINGS was established in 2008, it wasn't until the FUN show in 2013 that we started actively started marketing ourselves to the public. There were a small number of WINGS stickers that were applied to slabs before then but only for dealers. So, in essence, we have been active for only 14 months.
To DVCollector: You raise a very real and valid issue. Believe me, we recognized this also. To address this concern we have hired consultants who do have the expertise to do the job at no extra cost to the customer. Our main concern is making sure that the coin in question is properly reviewed to determine if that coin is premium quality for the grade assigned to it by a
TPG service. If there is any doubt about a coin it does not get stickered, period. Also, we are NOT a
TPG service. We review the work of TPS services similar CAC but for world items.
To zxccxz: I respect your opinion and yes, you have only seen a handful of them to date. The numbers are increasing weekly and the coins are showing up in auctions. Let's talk in 5 years. I will point out that we had a 100% sell through rate at both the Goldberg's pre-Long Beach auction in Sept (400 lots) and in Stacks just concluded NY auction (100 lots). These were reserve auctions and the coins sold over estimate. Not that this is rare in the auction industry for the auction companies to estimate low, as we all know that they do. However, when an auction's results realized 150% over pre-auction estimates and WINGS coins hammered at more than 200% over estimates (as was the case in Goldberg. Waiting on Stack's statistics) it seems to me that the bidders who looked at our coins did seem to agree that the coins were better for similar coins with the same grade but without our sticker. They perceived that there is value in owning a premium quality item of the same grade as contrasted with one without a designation. They also recognized that it will be more liquid with a WINGS sticker than without one.
I respect your opinion that you think WINGS stickered coins are worthless nor would you pay a premium for them. I hope that opinion will change as you have an opportunity to personally review more and more over time. If you have the skill set to determine if a coin is premium quality for the assigned grade I am confident that you will conclude that a WINGS stickered coin is, in fact, a premium quality coin for the grade. If you don't have that skill set then unfortunately you must rely on the holder or an expert that you trust.
To mkman123: We could not ask anything more of you and do agree that you should buy the coin that you like more, not what we or TPGs may think. As we all know, grading is an art and not a science. In a room of 10 graders you may have 2 or 3 different grades assigned to the same coin. Similarly with determining whether the coin is premium quality. Our stickers only indicate our opinion that it is of premium quality. We accept and respect the fact that some others may disagree. We also believe that more will, over time, agree with our opinion.
Now, I have been asked to define "premium quality" versus "solid for the grade". Here is the easiest analogy that I can think of. If on a test you received an 87 or 88 or 89 you would get a "B". If on that same test, I received an 84, 85, or 86 I would also get a "B" (and obviously if I received an 80-83 that too would be a "B"). So I ask you, if instead of a test in school this was a coin, which coin graded "B" would you rather own? After all, a "B" is a "B", or is it? That is why we chose as our slogan that, "ALL EQUALLY GRADED COINS ARE NOT EQUAL".
Finally, we are starting to catch on. One quick way for you to see this is that there are now 3 threads on this forum about us. A year ago, the first one was started.
I hope that I have been responsive to each of you. If I haven't please let me know and I will make sure that it is answered. You may not agree with my response, but you will receive one. You can either ask it here in the forum (the preferred method) or email me at Larry@Wingscoins.com or call me at 855-339-4647).
Thank you for your time.
Larry Michelson
Posted 02/01/2014 8:13 pm
They're worthless to me. I've only seen a handful of coins with them. I wouldn't pay a premium for them.
