Recyclersteve wrote:Morsecode wrote:I suppose it's a start, validating a market and what-not. Still...hard to get excited about copper at $16+ per pound.
The coins are cool looking, and some will collect them for that reason. But if they wanted to get serious about cu...where are the 50lb, 100lb ingots?
These prices remind me of the Home Shopping Network and some of those full page ads in the paper that have ridiculous prices. How in the world can they, in good conscience say one ounce is "ONLY" 99 cents. Plus shipping and handling, of course. And they have the stones to say that if you buy 500 or more there is no discount. They ought to be ashamed of themselves!
For those who would argue that production cost are high and that they've got a business to run, I agree. But if they can't offer true value (real value, not some imaginary so-called collector value), then they shouldn't be trying to sell these. I know- caveat emptor. Emptor schmemptor!
I used to get annoyed when people sent me ranting emails (not unlike your post) demanding I sell them fancy .999 fine copper bullion for 10% over spot "because that's how it works with silver." There are numerous examples on this forum where I responded to such statements with examples of the processes and costs involved and demonstrated the impossibility of their wishes. Some can do math and understand, others ignore reality and lash out at how greedy I am and how copper sellers are getting rich by charging so much over spot. Instead of continuing to be annoyed, I started challenging them to start their own company, undercut all the rest of us, and get rich themselves. So far nobody has done it
People gladly fork out $2 - $3 over the spot price of silver for a shiny new one ounce silver round. But offer them a copper round for $1 total (not $1 over the metal value, just $1 total) and they throw an absolute hissy fit, ignoring the fact that in many ways copper is actually more difficult and expensive to process than silver.
I don't market copper bullion as a get-rich investment, and it does irk me when other sellers promote it that way. Even so it's still a far cry from selling plated buffalo replica coins on TV for $20 a pop. It's not pretending to be anything other than a pretty piece of .999 copper.
"If they can't offer true value (real value, not some imaginary so-called collector value), then they shouldn't be trying to sell these" doesn't make any sense. Is the "true value" of a $400 iPhone the $10 in materials it takes to build one? Or is value added because of the effort put into manipulating those materials and the resulting end product, which is more useful than just a pile of raw material? How about diamonds? If you are in the right place geographically, you can literally find them laying on the ground. But they aren't worth anything until somebody with the tools and knowledge turns them into something appealing. You ever order aluminum barstock? It sure is a lot more expensive than what you get for recycling soda cans. Should they be ashamed for making and selling it because it costs more than the spot price of aluminum? Value is determined by buyers and sellers making voluntary exchanges. Saying a company shouldn't make and sell something because you personally don't value it as highly as another person is kinda like saying you either expect companies to sell you things for less than market value or to close up shop
Copper bars and rounds are what they are, and it's a free market. Different people have different reasons for buying. If you don't like it, don't buy it
. I, for one, don't see any value in fancy serial numbers on paper currency. That certainly doesn't mean I'll tell somebody they should be ashamed for trying to sell them for more than face value
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 9:53 am
