AppleZippoandMetronome

I've seen a lot of reports of hazing on these coins between here and the Facebook groups. Its appeared on other metals so I don't think its a traditional milkspot problem but possibly something to do with the dies they used for these? I obviously don't know and haven't seen any explanation from others complaining about it. Sadly people complaining to the RM about this have been told they'll either get their coin back or a refund if they return these - they apparently aren't reminting any of them.

You would have thought that if the flippers were returning coins on a large scale the RM would just change their selling T&C or cancel the customers RM account, it costs companies a small fortune to deal with returns.
You just have to accept that at the moment speculators are going to try to make money out of coins, it's a bull market with high gold price/low interest rates/popular hobby/plenty of releases to speculate on.
 

I'm less and less inclined to participate in the new releases game now.
Will stick with the great engravers as I've got my foot in the door to keep series going.
My spare cash will just go into sovereigns and 1oz gold bullion I think

This 100% happens and to add to that on the Facebook groups. When a coin sells out but does not have insane hype. On the groups people will offer the coins at cost or they will send it back. They offer it at cost to you so they can build their spend history with the RM. You could easily get into the higher tiers and it wouldn't cost you a penny. 

So....
Thought just occurred to me. 
You see so many flippers listing coins up on eBay or FaceWhack time and time again. Some don't sell, some do and make a nice profit.
But...Heres the thing. A seller could very easily get email confirmation of their order, list the coin and if it does NOT sell then just return it to the Mint for a refund after 14 days from delivery. You don't need a reason to return as a distance seller the RM has to honour the return and also there is NOTHING stopping an unscrupulous coin flipper making a small mark on a coin to damage it and say thats how it arrived.
If the coin sells, hello profit.
If the coin does not sell then straight back to the mint for a refund. 
I really hope this isn't the case but I would not be surprised at all if this happens. 

Wtf
Am certain everyone involved will have died of boredom before the last coin is released 😂 

I haven't got the patience to do this another 21 times to complete the collection! 

No one has a crystal ball here so you aren't ever going to get a definitive answer. Also the comparisons to the Una need to stop. The Una had a release that couldn't be much more different from the release of both the 3Gs and Gothic part 1. You'll never get the same result when flippers buy up all the stock and dump on the secondary market enmasse - something that didn't happen with the Una but will almost certainly happen with every other Great Engravers release because of the Una. 
You aren't alone though in what you paid for yours. I picked up a couple at around the £600 mark and have picked up a couple more around the £400 mark. It was predicted by many that prices would continue to fall when they were being sold for £600 and those predictions have played out. As to how they'll from here... again I can't offer a definitive answer but to me the value of these coins was only ever going to be as a two coin set and I still think the release of the second coin might boost the value of the first. I think you need to be in this one for the long term as you need to give a chance for the flippers to get rid of their stock and these to disappear into collections before you really see value tick back up. I suspect we could see prices go even lower as graded coins being dumped onto the market enmasse is something that is yet to come.
Its possible those of us who bought at these prices will face a loss - always a risk - but I'm still fairly confident in them long term especially as a set.

No one has a crystal ball here so you aren't ever going to get a definitive answer. Also the comparisons to the Una need to stop. The Una had a release that couldn't be much more different from the release of both the 3Gs and Gothic part 1. You'll never get the same result when flippers buy up all the stock and dump on the secondary market enmasse - something that didn't happen with the Una but will almost certainly happen with every other Great Engravers release because of the Una. 
You aren't alone though in what you paid for yours. I picked up a couple at around the £600 mark and have picked up a couple more around the £400 mark. It was predicted by many that prices would continue to fall when they were being sold for £600 and those predictions have played out. As to how they'll from here... again I can't offer a definitive answer but to me the value of these coins was only ever going to be as a two coin set and I still think the release of the second coin might boost the value of the first. I think you need to be in this one for the long term as you need to give a chance for the flippers to get rid of their stock and these to disappear into collections before you really see value tick back up. I suspect we could see prices go even lower as graded coins being dumped onto the market enmasse is something that is yet to come.
Its possible those of us who bought at these prices will face a loss - always a risk - but I'm still fairly confident in them long term especially as a set.

No one has a crystal ball here so you aren't ever going to get a definitive answer. Also the comparisons to the Una need to stop. The Una had a release that couldn't be much more different from the release of both the 3Gs and Gothic part 1. You'll never get the same result when flippers buy up all the stock and dump on the secondary market enmasse - something that didn't happen with the Una but will almost certainly happen with every other Great Engravers release because of the Una. 
You aren't alone though in what you paid for yours. I picked up a couple at around the £600 mark and have picked up a couple more around the £400 mark. It was predicted by many that prices would continue to fall when they were being sold for £600 and those predictions have played out. As to how they'll from here... again I can't offer a definitive answer but to me the value of these coins was only ever going to be as a two coin set and I still think the release of the second coin might boost the value of the first. I think you need to be in this one for the long term as you need to give a chance for the flippers to get rid of their stock and these to disappear into collections before you really see value tick back up. I suspect we could see prices go even lower as graded coins being dumped onto the market enmasse is something that is yet to come.
Its possible those of us who bought at these prices will face a loss - always a risk - but I'm still fairly confident in them long term especially as a set.

No one has a crystal ball here so you aren't ever going to get a definitive answer. Also the comparisons to the Una need to stop. The Una had a release that couldn't be much more different from the release of both the 3Gs and Gothic part 1. You'll never get the same result when flippers buy up all the stock and dump on the secondary market enmasse - something that didn't happen with the Una but will almost certainly happen with every other Great Engravers release because of the Una. 
You aren't alone though in what you paid for yours. I picked up a couple at around the £600 mark and have picked up a couple more around the £400 mark. It was predicted by many that prices would continue to fall when they were being sold for £600 and those predictions have played out. As to how they'll from here... again I can't offer a definitive answer but to me the value of these coins was only ever going to be as a two coin set and I still think the release of the second coin might boost the value of the first. I think you need to be in this one for the long term as you need to give a chance for the flippers to get rid of their stock and these to disappear into collections before you really see value tick back up. I suspect we could see prices go even lower as graded coins being dumped onto the market enmasse is something that is yet to come.
Its possible those of us who bought at these prices will face a loss - always a risk - but I'm still fairly confident in them long term especially as a set.

I make part of my living on ebay and would guestimate that about 15%ish of my sales are GSP sales. I'll try to address your questions in the order asked.
The only real pitfall I could think of would be failing to put the number on the package that identifies what the item is and where it is going. If printing labels direct from ebay or via Royal Mail you don't have to worry so much about this as the address will include the number. If you're writing it out just ensure you write it down as it is given to you. Without the number they won't be able to ID the package and I suspect it would just get sent back to you or discarded.
Only ever send something internationally through the GSP. Now I've personally used my discretion a few times and sent an inexpensive large letter sized item internationally to the odd buyer with good reputation who is just looking to save a few ££s (the GSP really is very uneconomical for smaller inexpensive items) but these days I wouldn't entertain the idea of sending larger or more expensive items any other way. The best thing about the GSP is that once the items reach the UK warehouse for forwarding your liability is done. No one can put in a false claim against you trying to say it didn't arrive or arrived damaged, etc. All that becomes ebays problem to sort out. You should of course ensure items are well packed and ensure items are insured between you and the forwarding warehouse but once there you are done.
As above GSP sales make up 15ish % of my ebay sales so sales I presumably wouldn't have without it. I think its also very adventagous for items that are available here but not abroad.
I'm not sure when it started but its been going for some years now and I've not had a single problem with international sales since I started using it. I've had the odd person try it on saying they didn't get the item or whatever and I just refer them to ebay customer service and generally never hear anything about it again. I think for sellers its a great system.

I make part of my living on ebay and would guestimate that about 15%ish of my sales are GSP sales. I'll try to address your questions in the order asked.
The only real pitfall I could think of would be failing to put the number on the package that identifies what the item is and where it is going. If printing labels direct from ebay or via Royal Mail you don't have to worry so much about this as the address will include the number. If you're writing it out just ensure you write it down as it is given to you. Without the number they won't be able to ID the package and I suspect it would just get sent back to you or discarded.
Only ever send something internationally through the GSP. Now I've personally used my discretion a few times and sent an inexpensive large letter sized item internationally to the odd buyer with good reputation who is just looking to save a few ££s (the GSP really is very uneconomical for smaller inexpensive items) but these days I wouldn't entertain the idea of sending larger or more expensive items any other way. The best thing about the GSP is that once the items reach the UK warehouse for forwarding your liability is done. No one can put in a false claim against you trying to say it didn't arrive or arrived damaged, etc. All that becomes ebays problem to sort out. You should of course ensure items are well packed and ensure items are insured between you and the forwarding warehouse but once there you are done.
As above GSP sales make up 15ish % of my ebay sales so sales I presumably wouldn't have without it. I think its also very adventagous for items that are available here but not abroad.
I'm not sure when it started but its been going for some years now and I've not had a single problem with international sales since I started using it. I've had the odd person try it on saying they didn't get the item or whatever and I just refer them to ebay customer service and generally never hear anything about it again. I think for sellers its a great system.

Whilst I like the sound of this and think it will potentially be the RM playing to its strengths...  could they not give it a rest for a while?!? Just had an email this morning apologising that my silver proof annual set is delayed potentially until the end of February and know from seeing posts here and on FB that many others are awaiting open orders. They really should be sorting all these out before contemplating yet another release.

Maybe we should all start emailing someone at the RM about this. It’s become almost weekly now. But I suppose it’s a business and we aren’t expected to buy; we choose to. So I doubly they’d deem our concerns valid. 

Whilst I like the sound of this and think it will potentially be the RM playing to its strengths...  could they not give it a rest for a while?!? Just had an email this morning apologising that my silver proof annual set is delayed potentially until the end of February and know from seeing posts here and on FB that many others are awaiting open orders. They really should be sorting all these out before contemplating yet another release.

It seems to me with the gothic crown seemingly continuing to fall on the secondary market, any flippers looking at this release might be disappointed.
I guess at the end of the day, if collectors are getting tired of new releases, even paying retail price, you can't expect a rush to pay inflated prices on the secondary market.
This one might be one to buy on the secondary market. Let's see

Following on from the deal posted on the gold/silver deals last month, I took the plunge in between Christmas and new year and purchased some things from tavex bullion. On the deals thread there were a few people who were interested in buying from them but unsure due to their recent arrival to the UK market, so I'd thought I'd share my experience.
So I managed to buy 10 silver britannia's, a 1oz gold Britannia and a queen Victoria sovereign.
The Silver brits all came in coin capsules, they look to be free of any dents, scratches or damage, and are all minted in 2021. But nearly all of them do have heavy milk spotting. Now I'm not an expert on milk spots, but this package was held up with royal mail for over a week and I'm wondering if being stored in a cold sorting office/van has contributed to the milk spotting as I've not got any other coins as heavily spotted as these. I'm not worried though as these are bullion coins going into a coin tube.
The gold Britannia is in perfect condition, again arrived in a coin capsule, minted in 2022 and the only fault I can find with it is the luster of the coin isn't as high as my other 1oz gold brit.
The Queen Victoria sovereign is dated as 1898 and I have to say the condition of this 124 year old coin is absolutely fantastic. Apart from a few very light surface scratches (from cleaning maybe) the coin it's self is absolutely lovely. Didn't come in a coin capsule, but well packaged.
The packaging of the coins was great too. Arrived in a jiffy bag, 2 boxes with foam packaging cut out to hold each coin. On the whole apart from the milk spotted silver brits there is nothing I can complain about. I was invoice number 180 odd, so going by that I'm guessing they are slowly picking up customers. I'll be sure to buy from them again. Hope this helps anyone who was in 2 minds about purchasing from them.
 

I make part of my living on ebay and would guestimate that about 15%ish of my sales are GSP sales. I'll try to address your questions in the order asked.
The only real pitfall I could think of would be failing to put the number on the package that identifies what the item is and where it is going. If printing labels direct from ebay or via Royal Mail you don't have to worry so much about this as the address will include the number. If you're writing it out just ensure you write it down as it is given to you. Without the number they won't be able to ID the package and I suspect it would just get sent back to you or discarded.
Only ever send something internationally through the GSP. Now I've personally used my discretion a few times and sent an inexpensive large letter sized item internationally to the odd buyer with good reputation who is just looking to save a few ££s (the GSP really is very uneconomical for smaller inexpensive items) but these days I wouldn't entertain the idea of sending larger or more expensive items any other way. The best thing about the GSP is that once the items reach the UK warehouse for forwarding your liability is done. No one can put in a false claim against you trying to say it didn't arrive or arrived damaged, etc. All that becomes ebays problem to sort out. You should of course ensure items are well packed and ensure items are insured between you and the forwarding warehouse but once there you are done.
As above GSP sales make up 15ish % of my ebay sales so sales I presumably wouldn't have without it. I think its also very adventagous for items that are available here but not abroad.
I'm not sure when it started but its been going for some years now and I've not had a single problem with international sales since I started using it. I've had the odd person try it on saying they didn't get the item or whatever and I just refer them to ebay customer service and generally never hear anything about it again. I think for sellers its a great system.

For those wondering about the SOTD sov
 

Topically, if anyone else like me really likes the box that the premium proof set comes in, it looks like the same box is now available as a collection case for gold bullion brits and sovereigns:

 
https://www.royalmint.com/invest/bullion/bullion-coins/gold-coins/10-coin-britannia-collection-case--1-coin/
https://www.royalmint.com/invest/bullion/bullion-coins/gold-coins/19-coin-sovereign-collection-case--1-coin/
https://www.royalmint.com/invest/bullion/bullion-coins/gold-coins/10-coin-sovereign-collection-case--1-coin/

Thats a big relief. Thanks kindly for posting that!

Thats a big relief. Thanks kindly for posting that!

I’ve received mine today 
mintage says 550 

Just received my sliver piedfort set looks quite good