Casascius selling direct again

[JustJake]

I got the announcement that Mike is selling Casascius direct again but at a minimum of 50 coins.  Then I saw the prices.  Wowza!

Let me say right now that I am a huge proponent of letting the market decide the price and I certainly don't begrudge Mike on his choice of prices.  I am interested in the general sentiment.  Are the prices too high for other people?  I want to resell these as individual coins and I don't think I will be convincing individual buyers that my margin plus Mike's margin is worth it.  Right now it sits at 1.26x for the 1BTC coins and 1.52x for 0.5BTC coins.

Mike's coins are excellent products and I did order a 25BTC coin because the margin was very reasonable, but when I made that order I actively decided to not get any of the roles of coins.  Take that as feedback Mike.  Hopefully others will chime in.

[BitAddict]

I was going to buy too, but 1,26x when you're buying 50 coins is too much... It's nearly $40 on each $145 coin.
At that price maybe i would buy 1 for me, because casascius is doing a good work and it's a nice thing to spread the word... but no more.

[stereotype]

I got the announcement that Mike is selling Casascius direct again but at a minimum of 50 coins.  Then I saw the prices.  Wowza!

Let me say right now that I am a huge proponent of letting the market decide the price and I certainly don't begrudge Mike on his choice of prices.  I am interested in the general sentiment.  Are the prices too high for other people?  I want to resell these as individual coins and I don't think I will be convincing individual buyers that my margin plus Mike's margin is worth it.  Right now it sits at 1.26x for the 1BTC coins and 1.52x for 0.5BTC coins.

Mike's coins are excellent products and I did order a 25BTC coin because the margin was very reasonable, but when I made that order I actively decided to not get any of the roles of coins.  Take that as feedback Mike.  Hopefully others will chime in.

Those prices kill any chance for so called 're-sellers' to make a market.

1.52x? Thats way over the recent Casascius auction ( ) prices, so 'letting the market decide' does not seem to apply here.

In any event, and like i said in his thread, theres a risk of damaging brand Casascius. The latest actions, for me, just chip away at the magic, and i say that with huge regret.  
 

[rpietila]

Just please tell him (to Mike), how you (the critic) would have done it??  

This one guy is overwhelmed with the demand and realizes that his services are worth more than he previously asked for them.

I also raised my prices when I felt the pressure, now I am able to make one deal per day (+the aftermath) and still take care of my daughter...

[rpietila]

+ I am routinely selling non-collector (2012/2013) casascius for about the following:

BTC1 = 1.50
BTC5 = 6
BTC25 (2011 but with correct hologram) = 28.5

[ZephramC]

I got the announcement that Mike is selling Casascius direct again but at a minimum of 50 coins.  Then I saw the prices.  Wowza!

Let me say right now that I am a huge proponent of letting the market decide the price and I certainly don't begrudge Mike on his choice of prices.  I am interested in the general sentiment.  Are the prices too high for other people?  I want to resell these as individual coins and I don't think I will be convincing individual buyers that my margin plus Mike's margin is worth it.  Right now it sits at 1.26x for the 1BTC coins and 1.52x for 0.5BTC coins.

Mike's coins are excellent products and I did order a 25BTC coin because the margin was very reasonable, but when I made that order I actively decided to not get any of the roles of coins.  Take that as feedback Mike.  Hopefully others will chime in.

Those prices kill any chance for so called 're-sellers' to make a market.

1.52x? Thats way over the recent Casascius auction ( ) prices, so 'letting the market decide' does not seem to apply here.

In any event, and like i said in his thread, theres a risk of damaging brand Casascius. The latest actions, for me, just chip away at the magic, and i say that with huge regret.  
 

If the demand for coins for this price will be well below Mike expectations, he will probably lower the price. If there is still reasonable demand then the marked has decided.

[rpietila]

I was once a loyal customer, I'm now thinking about just making my own :/

I think the same, how about join forces? I think Casascius can better position himself to the elite collectors' coins market for now. Elite is always good if you can get there, and I think Mike has his business in a good order now!

[stereotype]

Just please tell him (to Mike), how you (the critic) would have done it??  

This one guy is overwhelmed with the demand and realizes that his services are worth more than he previously asked for them.

I also raised my prices when I felt the pressure, now I am able to make one deal per day (+the aftermath) and still take care of my daughter...

Ive got no business telling anyone how to do it. Mike will do, and has every right to, charge or do whatever he sees fit. All i can do is question over-all value, decide what value is left for me, and judge what value can be passed on. Like others here, that question has obviously been answered.

[stereotype]

+ I am routinely selling non-collector (2012/2013) casascius for about the following:

BTC1 = 1.50
BTC5 = 6
BTC25 (2011 but with correct hologram) = 28.5

IMO those prices are spot on for a retail buyer. How much would you charge for a 0.5 coin?

[rpietila]

+ I am routinely selling non-collector (2012/2013) casascius for about the following:

BTC1 = 1.50
BTC5 = 6
BTC25 (2011 but with correct hologram) = 28.5

IMO those prices are spot on for a retail buyer. How much would you charge for a 0.5 coin?

Tough one  Molecular says he does not want to charge BTC1 and I also think it's excessive. His idea was .85, don't think it is a good one..

But there is no sweet spot sub-1 except .75 which would be akin to giving them out at cost. If I had them, I would perhaps go for 0.9 or keep it as a strict collector's special at 1.

[stereotype]

+ I am routinely selling non-collector (2012/2013) casascius for about the following:

BTC1 = 1.50
BTC5 = 6
BTC25 (2011 but with correct hologram) = 28.5

IMO those prices are spot on for a retail buyer. How much would you charge for a 0.5 coin?

Tough one  Molecular says he does not want to charge BTC1 and I also think it's excessive. His idea was .85, don't think it is a good one..

But there is no sweet spot sub-1 except .75 which would be akin to giving them out at cost. If I had them, I would perhaps go for 0.9 or keep it as a strict collector's special at 1.

My experience on 1btc sales kinda showed a sweet spot of around 1.60-1.70. The price correction/crash saw that reduce significantly, along with interest. If someones selling for x2, where do i buy their sales technique?!

[rpietila]

My experience on 1btc sales kinda showed a sweet spot of around 1.60-1.70. The price correction/crash saw that reduce significantly, along with interest. If someones selling for x2, where do i buy their sales technique?!

Here.

[rpietila]

Yeah i kinda thought I would already be in that classification. I have a 1000 BTC gold coin of his and was trying to buy two more. Trying since February.

You can't develop a collector's value for them if you have them all...

Is the supply of them capped?

[bitcl1234oinfever]

I think Mike can offer to sell them at whatever price he wants to. People here seem jealous of him. He's the one who makes them, he can price them as he would like to. If you dont like the price, its very simple, you DONT BUY IT!! Why make a thread and call him out?

If you want a porsche and the dealers is asking X amount and you think its "absurd", move on......Stick to your escort or jeep or what have you. To say the Porsche dealer is charging way too much, well, its quite obvious that in the first place you couldnt afford it so you come down on them, and in this case, Mike.

Next thing I will see is "your a newbie, wtf do you know?", just wanted to get that in before someone else did.

[bitcl1234oinfever]

I think Mike can offer to sell them at whatever price he wants to. People here seem jealous of him. He's the one who makes them, he can price them as he would like to. If you dont like the price, its very simple, you DONT BUY IT!! Why make a thread and call him out?

If you want a porsche and the dealers is asking X amount and you think its "absurd", move on......Stick to your escort or jeep or what have you. To say the Porsche dealer is charging way too much, well, its quite obvious that in the first place you couldnt afford it so you come down on them, and in this case, Mike.

Next thing I will see is "your a newbie, wtf do you know?", just wanted to get that in before someone else did.

The issue with me is I was involved in negotiations with him before he moved up the prices. He knew in Feb I was trying to buy his coins and was waiting for his new .5 BTC to place my large order. He could have told me he was going to do something different and that I should order then but he did not.

So yeah, I won't be buying, hell right now I can't. He never sent me the BTC payment address he asked me to wait for because he said his site might get hacked. And now it is not even listed on his site so I can't even buy the unsafe way.

His plan to only sell coins via 3rd parties is crazy to me. I have a hard time trusting one person, let alone some unknown reseller. there is no way in hell I would give over 2,000 BTC to some one I did not trust. I don't know if he changed his mind about that cuz some coins are now back on his website.

I also had a special project for one of the gold coins. I found a workshop here in Thailand that was going to mount it so I could wear it on a chain or resell it. I thought that might get some good media for him and BTC.

I'm just tired of it really. It seems to me he forgot about his loyal long time supporters/collectors and tried to grab this new money from all the new people.

Sure it is a business and he is making business decisions and he can do whatever he wants but we can also as consumers voice our thoughts on a forum and chose not to buy.

I hope he does well and I still really like the coins. I'm going to be keeping the ones I have but just will no longer be collecting them like I thought I would.

I get your point and I cant speak for Mike but I can only THINK he doesnt want a few "people" to corner the market. Thats how I would interpret it. I dont think its all about the money with him. I am sure he has made a pretty penney already and is set for life or maybe close to it. I really think he wants a lot of people to be able to have bitcoins and not have to always pay extra as in ebay or however else most resellers would sell them. I could also be totally wrong and out in left field. Just my 2 cents.

[rpietila]

The issue with me is I was involved in negotiations with him [Mike Caldwell] before he moved up the prices. He knew in Feb I was trying to buy his coins and was waiting for his new .5 BTC to place my large order. He could have told me he was going to do something different and that I should order then but he did not.

So yeah, I won't be buying, hell right now I can't. He never sent me the BTC payment address he asked me to wait for because he said his site might get hacked. And now it is not even listed on his site so I can't even buy the unsafe way.

His plan to only sell coins via 3rd parties is crazy to me. I have a hard time trusting one person, let alone some unknown reseller. there is no way in hell I would give over 2,000 BTC to some one I did not trust. I don't know if he changed his mind about that cuz some coins are now back on his website.

I also had a special project for one of the gold coins. I found a workshop here in Thailand that was going to mount it so I could wear it on a chain or resell it. I thought that might get some good media for him and BTC.

I'm just tired of it really. It seems to me he forgot about his loyal long time supporters/collectors and tried to grab this new money from all the new people.

Sure it is a business and he is making business decisions and he can do whatever he wants but we can also as consumers voice our thoughts on a forum and chose not to buy.

I hope he does well and I still really like the coins. I'm going to be keeping the ones I have but just will no longer be collecting them like I thought I would.

Your frustration reminds me of what I have been experiencing locally with Technomage. He is running this business, which used to be the bitcoin company in Finland. I started buying bitcoins from him last September, and everything worked smoothly until about March. I have bought many bitcoins from him, and I was definitely their largest paying customer. Then he starts to ignore me, and spends more time talking about me in their private chat, than talking to me, their largest customer. He has not called me, nor answered to my call, for 3 weeks now.

Now that is not a way to handle your biggest customer. He [me, the biggest ex-customer] ends up making a better system, overtaking your business just for the indignation ("vitutus" på finska) that he is not being served. They actually had a broker desk that I could call at will, back in March! Now, WTF, the person I am assigned with to be helping with my business, is not picking up the phone for THREE WEEKS. HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I CAN BUY OR SELL BITCOINS OR ANYTHING IF YOU DON'T PICK UP? It is all right if you want to be sent email, but I have almost finished using it, did not read my main business email address for 3 weeks - if you have sent an apology there I HAVE NOT READ IT, I want to be served by voice.

Oh I see, I was exposed for not reading my email. Perhaps it would have been all good if only I had opened that one (I still haven't). We are all stressed over having so much to do, the difference is that you generally should not make your biggest customer as angry as Goat is over Mike or I am with Henry.

[rpietila]

Oh yeah, I am also not angry with Henry, he can serve his smaller customers and piss on me if he wants. But for some reason I don't feel good about it and thought I wanted to let you know, and perhaps he wants to join in the discussion since he likes to chat by computer and not over the phone.

[rpietila]

Good that you mentioned, I will have to contact you by some other means available, every day until the wire clears, and every week/month thereafter, just to make sure you are happy. Unlike the other two guys, I really want to serve my biggest customer and there is no excuse.

[JustJake]

This is for bitcl1234oinfever and it is not meant to be sarcastic in any way.

From my experience (and I see it in Mike's comments) it is really hard to put the correct value on your own product.  You want people to buy but you also want to make sure you are maximizing your own value.  It is really easy to make incorrect assumptions about what people are thinking and the hardest customers to read are the ones who did not buy anything.  There are so many reasons to not buy something, most of which you have no hope of addressing.

Now I could have just sent a message to Mike myself about my concerns but the issue with that is I am one data point with my own whims and fancies and you can't just cater to one data point.  I thought I would create this thread to consolidate feedback from multiple people.  I was fully expecting some people to chime in saying, "no, this actually works and here is how."  I was also expecting people to chime in with varying levels of emotional baggage.  Whatever, it is all feedback and I am pretty sure Mike is the kind of guy who knows how to parse and use feedback.  This stuff is gold for a business.

In any case, I hope that Mike is able to use this.  For me, his rolls of coins don't make mathematical sense to purchase as a wholesaling option.  I think others have agreed.  I am sure Mike has other feedback in the purchase rate of the rolls.

[tymm0]

You can always make your own