Buy Presidential Dollar Coins with CC @ Face Value, Free Shipping
Jul 22, 2011, 3:00 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:01 pm
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Gol-durn media done did us in!
Seriously though, if the Mint was complaining about having too many excess coins on hand and not being able to get rid of them before, just wait and see how slowly they will be able to get rid of them now. For all of the faults of the card program, I guarantee more people were taking a few of those coins and spending them and the gas station, in vending machines, in addition to taking them to the bank. On the whole, more dollar coins were almost certainly circulated than will be now that they are harder for people to get direct shipped. Rather short-sighted and reactionary on the part of the Mint, if you ask me.
Seriously though, if the Mint was complaining about having too many excess coins on hand and not being able to get rid of them before, just wait and see how slowly they will be able to get rid of them now. For all of the faults of the card program, I guarantee more people were taking a few of those coins and spending them and the gas station, in vending machines, in addition to taking them to the bank. On the whole, more dollar coins were almost certainly circulated than will be now that they are harder for people to get direct shipped. Rather short-sighted and reactionary on the part of the Mint, if you ask me.
Jul 22, 2011, 3:01 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:03 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:04 pm
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i'm actually sort of relieved. although i will have to find another way to meet minimum spends, and i won't see the pleasantly surprised look on folks faces at cash-only restaurants and farmer's markets, the gas mileage i get in my car will certainly go up without the heavy boxes in the trunk!
Jul 22, 2011, 3:05 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:06 pm
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what about pending orders?
i placed an order for 24 boxes a week ago...what about those? (I have an exceptions request as I order these for my vending machine business )..
I checked the order and it says IN PROCESS still...
I checked the order and it says IN PROCESS still...
Jul 22, 2011, 3:10 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:11 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:11 pm
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From the Mint's site:
"As a self-funded agency, the United States Mint turns revenues beyond its operating expenses over to the General Fund of the Treasury"
The shipping, CC fees, and related overhead paid by the mint for the coin program increase operating expenses. Egro, decrease the amount of $$ that goes into the General Fund of the Treasury.
"As a self-funded agency, the United States Mint turns revenues beyond its operating expenses over to the General Fund of the Treasury"
The shipping, CC fees, and related overhead paid by the mint for the coin program increase operating expenses. Egro, decrease the amount of $$ that goes into the General Fund of the Treasury.
When I took economics years back, we were taught that if you have excess capacity, it's worth producing at cost because you cover your fixed costs and spread them out.
As long as the mint made something, there was an increase to the general fund, not a decrease.
Jul 22, 2011, 3:17 pm
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On a PER UNIT BASIS. If the increased volume that was being generated by CC sales was significant, the total that went into the general fund would be increased.
When I took economics years back, we were taught that if you have excess capacity, it's worth producing at cost because you cover your fixed costs and spread them out.
As long as the mint made something, there was an increase to the general fund, not a decrease.
When I took economics years back, we were taught that if you have excess capacity, it's worth producing at cost because you cover your fixed costs and spread them out.
As long as the mint made something, there was an increase to the general fund, not a decrease.
Jul 22, 2011, 3:19 pm
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Telling about gigs is what gets deals cancelled faster. Knew at some point when I started the mint gig in Aug 2009, it would end. It was a great run. It will be harder to meet some minimum spends on some CC bonuses without the mint.
If I had some gigs better than the mint, I would not tell a soul................except maybe Jinxers the cat on youtube
Jane Liaw, for someone with a degree , going public like that was foolish for 15 min of fame. No hard feelings over this. If it wasnt you, it would be someone else. No more mint miles for anyone now. That goofy reporter needs a shot of dumb-arse vaccine for that slanted view of "travel hackers"
1 yr 11 months-------not a bad run.
If I had some gigs better than the mint, I would not tell a soul................except maybe Jinxers the cat on youtube
Jane Liaw, for someone with a degree , going public like that was foolish for 15 min of fame. No hard feelings over this. If it wasnt you, it would be someone else. No more mint miles for anyone now. That goofy reporter needs a shot of dumb-arse vaccine for that slanted view of "travel hackers"
1 yr 11 months-------not a bad run.
Jul 22, 2011, 3:20 pm
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My telephone discussion with a Mint customer service representative indicated that all non-shipped orders will be cancelled.
This program has been great. We all knew it would end someday, and that day is today.
I did around 250K over the multi-year period of time and took some premium cabin international airline trips and stayed in some hotels that simply would not have been possible without this program. So if anyone from the Mint reads this, I just want to say thanks.
The program was a tremendous example of behavioral microeconomics at work. It would be a fine subject matter for a college student to do an economics paper on.
The Mint faced a dilemna. Congress required the Mint to produce a large number of dollar coins that they were unable to sell to banks in the same manner that they are able to sell other coins to banks. (The Mint apparently has no problem selling coins of denominations other than $1 to banks).
So the Mint started a program in which it sold the dollar coins to consumers who used credit cards (with no charge for shipping or credit card processing fees). The credit card processing charges were borne by the U.S. government and not directly charged back to the Mint (according to the Wall Street Journal article). Although the Mint incurred the shipping charges, its overall results were much better in comparison to a situation in which it was unable to sell the dollar coins, had to report them as inventory, and potentially had to build a warehouse to store the coins.
The Mint shouldn't be criticized for this. The Mint executives got much better bonuses as a result of being able to show a nice profit from selling the dollar coins, less shipping costs, than they would have received if the dollar coins had gone unsold and generated disastrous financial results for the Fed. This good thinking on the part of the Mint causes me to have a great deal of confidence in them.
We the consumers recognized an opportunity to earn a lot of miles and points for free, less the effort it took to spend them or deposit them; and, if you didn't do this, trust me when I say that it took some effort. Ever transport 5K in coins down the sidewalk? Nothing wrong with taking advantage of a money-making opportunity - that is what Capitalism is all about.
What a lot of people don't understand about Adam Smith's invisible hand is that it often gives someone the finger, although the invisible nature of the hand keeps us from knowing so. That someone in this situation is the banking system, which now possesses $1.2 billion in dollar coins that the media is so fascinated with, because no one seems to want these coins. They could save the government a lot of money if it had the courage to replace dollar bills with the dollar coins, but the government is unwilling to do so because Americans are resistant to change.
Anyway, thanks Mint. It has been great.
This program has been great. We all knew it would end someday, and that day is today.
I did around 250K over the multi-year period of time and took some premium cabin international airline trips and stayed in some hotels that simply would not have been possible without this program. So if anyone from the Mint reads this, I just want to say thanks.
The program was a tremendous example of behavioral microeconomics at work. It would be a fine subject matter for a college student to do an economics paper on.
The Mint faced a dilemna. Congress required the Mint to produce a large number of dollar coins that they were unable to sell to banks in the same manner that they are able to sell other coins to banks. (The Mint apparently has no problem selling coins of denominations other than $1 to banks).
So the Mint started a program in which it sold the dollar coins to consumers who used credit cards (with no charge for shipping or credit card processing fees). The credit card processing charges were borne by the U.S. government and not directly charged back to the Mint (according to the Wall Street Journal article). Although the Mint incurred the shipping charges, its overall results were much better in comparison to a situation in which it was unable to sell the dollar coins, had to report them as inventory, and potentially had to build a warehouse to store the coins.
The Mint shouldn't be criticized for this. The Mint executives got much better bonuses as a result of being able to show a nice profit from selling the dollar coins, less shipping costs, than they would have received if the dollar coins had gone unsold and generated disastrous financial results for the Fed. This good thinking on the part of the Mint causes me to have a great deal of confidence in them.
We the consumers recognized an opportunity to earn a lot of miles and points for free, less the effort it took to spend them or deposit them; and, if you didn't do this, trust me when I say that it took some effort. Ever transport 5K in coins down the sidewalk? Nothing wrong with taking advantage of a money-making opportunity - that is what Capitalism is all about.
What a lot of people don't understand about Adam Smith's invisible hand is that it often gives someone the finger, although the invisible nature of the hand keeps us from knowing so. That someone in this situation is the banking system, which now possesses $1.2 billion in dollar coins that the media is so fascinated with, because no one seems to want these coins. They could save the government a lot of money if it had the courage to replace dollar bills with the dollar coins, but the government is unwilling to do so because Americans are resistant to change.
Anyway, thanks Mint. It has been great.
Last edited by Andy2; Jul 22, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Jul 22, 2011, 3:22 pm
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:23 pm
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