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An idea that I have been toying around with for years came to light in a different thread, and I would like to get your take on whether or not this would be something the majority of people would take advantage of...
Currently our attribution fee - per coin - is $4. Don't worry, we do not foresee this going up any time soon.
Just so you understand the time put into your coins when you send them: What we do during attribution is look at the coin and compare it to existing listings to see if there is a match. This generally takes an average of 15 minutes per coin. If the coin does match a listed die but is of a different die state, or if it does not match existing die listings at all, we take images of the coin and list it on the website. This takes another 20-30 minutes per coin, usually. When we attribute coins we also usually fill out a flip insert with the proper die number on the insert, and if the flip needs to be replaced, we do that too. Then we turn around and write a letter on coppercoins letterhead to the submitter letting them know our findings. This can take from ten minutes to a half hour depending on the number of coins on which we are reporting. A package of 10 coins generally takes four to six hours of our time. Honestly, we do this service for far less than minimum wage - believe it.
That aside, now to the real subject of this post...
I am considering designing a nice printed label that would be used on a flip insert - at an extra charge - that would include the die number and other details. We would then seal the flip (new flip we would provide) - so collectors, sellers, and buyers would know the exact coins we handled as attributers. This is a bit of a departure from the "certification service" we considered for a while last year, but not too far away from it.
Attribution, per coin, is $4 as stated before. I believe we could do this "enhanced attribution service" for another $2.00 per coin. The coin would still go through the same attribution, but the flip would be sealed, and there would be a bar code (and legible serial number of the same) on the insert that will eventually come into play with "MyCoppercoins" when it opens - probably in the Spring next year. Even the enhanced service is no more expensive than other attributers' regular service, and there's no electronic record of their attributions.
Once MyCoppercoins is going strong, collectors will be able to look up coins that have been attributed using the "enhanced" service by entering a serial number (found on the flip insert) into a screen on the website. They will be able to see details about the coin that are not on the flip, and whether the coin was used as a plate coin for the site.
The cost of doing this service would basically be a wash for us, because I would have to order custom labels (and keep ordering them), a heavy duty heat sealer (the cheap ones would only prove to be temporary), and a color laser printer (to print the labels), along with the programming (20 hours worth) and database storage (up to a gig) of all the coins treated to this service. So really, the question is not about how much the added service costs - it's as cheap as it's going to get.
So what do you think? Would you USE the service IF we provided it? Right now this is just a thought, so don't start packing coins to send just yet. EVEN IF we do decide to do this, it wouldn't "happen" until close to the end of the year.
Currently our attribution fee - per coin - is $4. Don't worry, we do not foresee this going up any time soon.
Just so you understand the time put into your coins when you send them: What we do during attribution is look at the coin and compare it to existing listings to see if there is a match. This generally takes an average of 15 minutes per coin. If the coin does match a listed die but is of a different die state, or if it does not match existing die listings at all, we take images of the coin and list it on the website. This takes another 20-30 minutes per coin, usually. When we attribute coins we also usually fill out a flip insert with the proper die number on the insert, and if the flip needs to be replaced, we do that too. Then we turn around and write a letter on coppercoins letterhead to the submitter letting them know our findings. This can take from ten minutes to a half hour depending on the number of coins on which we are reporting. A package of 10 coins generally takes four to six hours of our time. Honestly, we do this service for far less than minimum wage - believe it.
That aside, now to the real subject of this post...
I am considering designing a nice printed label that would be used on a flip insert - at an extra charge - that would include the die number and other details. We would then seal the flip (new flip we would provide) - so collectors, sellers, and buyers would know the exact coins we handled as attributers. This is a bit of a departure from the "certification service" we considered for a while last year, but not too far away from it.
Attribution, per coin, is $4 as stated before. I believe we could do this "enhanced attribution service" for another $2.00 per coin. The coin would still go through the same attribution, but the flip would be sealed, and there would be a bar code (and legible serial number of the same) on the insert that will eventually come into play with "MyCoppercoins" when it opens - probably in the Spring next year. Even the enhanced service is no more expensive than other attributers' regular service, and there's no electronic record of their attributions.
Once MyCoppercoins is going strong, collectors will be able to look up coins that have been attributed using the "enhanced" service by entering a serial number (found on the flip insert) into a screen on the website. They will be able to see details about the coin that are not on the flip, and whether the coin was used as a plate coin for the site.
The cost of doing this service would basically be a wash for us, because I would have to order custom labels (and keep ordering them), a heavy duty heat sealer (the cheap ones would only prove to be temporary), and a color laser printer (to print the labels), along with the programming (20 hours worth) and database storage (up to a gig) of all the coins treated to this service. So really, the question is not about how much the added service costs - it's as cheap as it's going to get.
So what do you think? Would you USE the service IF we provided it? Right now this is just a thought, so don't start packing coins to send just yet. EVEN IF we do decide to do this, it wouldn't "happen" until close to the end of the year.
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