My bet is that they did it because of all the confusion between orders under 5k and ones over. It was less work for them to make everyone do it regardless and lie to the public about government regulations than it was to differentiate between the two. Now my hopes sit with Roo and Bullion Bourse coming through with the goods. Although even if they do my goal of having 300 sets of each lunar are out the door and I need to find something else to concentrate on. Me thinks I need to win the lotto and start a QLD mint with better business practices.
On the 8/7/11 I placed an order for 2oz Rabbits. The f^*+## perth mint had plenty in stock when they took the order. It finally arrived yesterday on the 31/8/11 Over 7 weeks to ship a product that they had in stock. This is the sort of crap a dealer has to put up with day in day out. If I ordered it from Gainsville, I would have got it within a fortnight. The f*^#^@ perth mint deserves every criticism that's heaped on them. A throughly incompetent business managed by a group of anal retentive Napoleons and idiots (Bron is the exception) Watch these bums squirm away from all this debacle, blame everyone but themselves, reward themselves with a big bonus and repeat this process next year.
Not picking on you fishy, and I certainly agree with you on the privacy front but here's my experience Registered on the website, accidentally put the wrong address in so gave them a call and they fixed it up. You then print out the ID verification form (automatigically completed with your details) and take it to Auspost. If your license is up to date, they record the number on the form, get you to sign the piece of paper and they post it off on your behalf. Done. The only extra 'info' they have available to them in comparison to any other dealer you've done an electronic transfer with is a record of your license number.
The Perth Mint are not adhering to Commonwealth law. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Amendment Instrument 2009 (No. 2) adds a section to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 that exempts dealers from having to collect and record ID for transactions under $5000. The Perth Mint collect ID on all transactions, regardless of value, for commercial reasons i.e. to reduce fraud. That is not a legal requirement, that's a business trying to avoid being ripped off. The difference between bullion and proof coins as far as AUSTRAC is concerned is that buying and/or selling bullion is a "designated service" when done in the course of carrying on a business. Proof coins, on the other hand, are just shiny stuff like a watch or a pair of cuff links or a necklace.
I agree its because they know they can .They are the only mint here & they think theyre f#$kin god. As a few members know i was going to have some rounds made & the prices PM wanted were nothing short of extortionate so i could have no possible chance of competing with themselves {& they are already overpriced] Along with the interrogation of what i was doing why i wanted them etc.Its none of their friggin business!!!! Just make them & be grateful i offered you my business Along with the unrealistic timeframe they gave me it made me laugh to think that something as simple as a silver round that has been manufactured for over a century was made out to be rocket science . They have the monopoly & they like it that way . Until theres another competitor in the australian market it will stay that way & we will be at the mercy of another gubmint beaurocracy that has no idea except how to screw the people .I got over PM a while ago its easier to order from the US as you say its utterly ridiculous bordering on stupidity. What a f#$ckin joke it makes me ashamed to be australian were better than that..... much better .
i signed up last week or so. the first time around i put my adress as my mailing adress to avoid confusion, and when i take the form to the post office im told it has to match my license. ffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuu
OK, appears I am wrong... My understanding is you can walk into the Perth Mint and buy any amount of bullion you want under $5k and not show ANY identification whatsoever. If you purchase over $5k then ID is required as per AUSTRAC regulations. Proof coins and the like are not subject to AUSTRAC regulations and therefore you could purchase any amount and not be required to show ID. BUT should you appear a dodgy character and the mint have 'suspicions' about the transaction (well-founded or not) they CAN request ID and complete an AUSTRAC SUSTRANS report (or whatever it's called these days) - regardless of the amount. Why there is a difference for online transactions I don't know or care to speculate on. Perhaps the mint don't have the IT infrastructure to establish seperate trading accounts for individuals 'allowed' to purchase over $5k and those not... ? No obligatory smiley.
Received an email response to an email I sent them. The way it reads you should be able to still do a telephone order without registering.
Going to go anti-the norm here and say I've never had a problem. Having said that I go to the counter and buy in under 5k allotments so have never had to register.
Must say that the mint were splendid hosts today - and people were able to buy <$5k at the counter without ID - I had to do a full AUSTRAC form as my total for 5oz gold and 20oz silver was $10,005! But seeing as I'm not in the money laundering business, big deal. The ID for all online bullion sales has been a requirement since perthmintbullion.com launched, so there shouldn't have been any surprises there guys. We've had months to open accounts and be prepared before today rolled around. Don't be surprised if there's similar issues for the proof launch - and there's far fewer of those on offer.
Cheers. Can't see the difference between calling and walking in off the street. I mean they have you address at least with a telephone order.
I used to import 1000s of lunar coins back from the US 2009. My price with postage, insurance, and currency conversion was still cheaper, than the biggest discount given to Perth Mint local distributors.
Absolutely ludicrous! Dont you just feel that we always pay top price here in Australia for Australian goods, no wonder everyone is purchasing from overseas these days!
All of my dealings with the Perth mint have been a smooth operation. No trouble at all except when they ran out of bars, that upset me :/
To the OP - I didn't encounter the same problem. I registered once for the Bullion Site (with ID etc), and I have access to both the Coin Site and the Bullion Site (using the same login). I have also ordered from both sites with no problems.
