Mint Vs. Reseller - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,259
FinanceGuru Valued Member United States 337 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 09:02 am I'm planning on buying a 2014 set of U.S. Coins. These are available from the US Mint and various coin resellers such as Littleton. Is there any reason that folks choose to buy from a reseller instead of direct from Mint? The only 2 advantages I see are possibly faster shipping and Littleton gives you those 'shares' that can be used for purchasing other coins. Anyone have a strategy in missing? Report this Post to the Staff

Fat Freddy Pillar of the Community United States 1200 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 10:31 am I've stayed away from Littleton. I don't have a good feeling about a marketing method that involves a sweetheart intro deal followed with a "we just don't go away" style of trying to maintain repeat customers. I prefer stable pricing and not having to deal with a marketing program that gets surgically attached to me. I'm not a big buyer of US proofs and sets, but I get what little I buy directly from the mint. Their shipping times aren't breathtaking, but that's OK because I'm not in a big hurry and they ship my order, they leave me alone (which I like a lot). Report this Post to the Staff
denco7 Pillar of the Community United States 2543 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 11:02 am The question is, are you willing to pay more to get it faster. Like it or not, the mint takes care of their best customers first. They are a self supporting entity under the control of the U.S. Gov't , they remain a non burden to the taxpayers, as long as they can remain profitable. So I would be hugely disappointed if they didn't conduct their business like any other profitable company. Take care of your HSN's Coin Shoppes, Littleton's and such because they are your core. So they will always get their pre-orders first. So if you want it quick, get it from them. But you are going to be paying a premium. You are going to be paying the mint's profit and Littleton's profit. They extra money {over the mint's price) at Littleton is going to be far more than any share dollars you are going to get for future coins. Report this Post to the Staff
TheForce Pillar of the Community United States 4867 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 11:04 am An advantage of buying from the mint is that your sets are not cherry picked. A reseller buying a bunch of sets I'm sure go through what they get and keep the best ones then sell you the rest. Report this Post to the Staff
denco7 Pillar of the Community United States 2543 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 11:16 am Quote: An advantage of buying from the mint is that your sets are not cherry picked. The disadvantage of buying from the mint is that your sets are not cherry picked. Just look at the 2013 LE Silver Proof sets. I don't think anyone here has gotten one without a scratched or marred lens yet. If you buy it from an LCS, you get to look at it in hand and decide. Or you leave it to your seller to go through the return process with the mint and sell you a nice one. Because their reputation is on the line. Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 12:40 pm Many dealers purchase bulk quantities from the Mint. Mostly for resale at their stores or at a coin show. In every instance of this at coin shows, they are still sealed and not cherry picked at all. Why should they do that? Makes no CENTS. They get them for resales so their best sales comes from unopened sets. Opening them for any reason is just not to smart for a dealer. As to buying proof sets, that is sonething I stopped not to long ago. IF you get a Red Book and look at pages 346 and 347 you would see the issue price of Proof sets and their approximate present values. Many of them are less than issued in value. Some about the same. In other words, just not a good thing to purchase any way. Since I have and use Albums, and most have a slot for Proofs, I still find it easier to buy loose ones at a coin show. Most of the sets the Mint sells contain coins I just don't need or want. And you have to pay for shipping too if from the Mint. This is sort of the same thing with books, such as the Red Book or Albums. Dealers get a break in prices due to bulk purchases and can then resell for much cheaper than even the publisher such as Whitman, publisher of the Red Book. Report this Post to the Staff
hesgut Pillar of the Community 1028 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 1:41 pm Yes, many proof sets or mint sets lose value from their original mint purchase price. I buy them anyway just to have them. The advantage to buying from a coin shop (or at a show) is that you can avoid getting a bad set. I have had to send my proof sets back to the mint two different times over the years for less than perfect coins. I wouldn't recommend any other method of purchase other than mint or in your hands on the secondary market. Report this Post to the Staff
FinanceGuru Valued Member United States 337 Posts	Posted 03/30/2014 8:52 pm Good advice everyone. Thank you! Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,259

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