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M.R. Roberts - Wynyard Coin Centre Renews Collector Passion through Fair Launches
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Wynyard Coin Centre has been a pillar of the numismatist community in Sydney, Australia, and beyond since 1966, buying and selling coins from around the world. On the first Thursday of every month at 8:30 am, customers could be found lining up outside the store on Barrack St. or queuing online to get their hands on the newest releases.
However, in the last year, Wynyard’s staff began to notice it wasn’t just collectors or hobbyists that were clamoring for their coins.
For about 12 months, every single hot release was getting hit with bots. Within seconds, the stock was selling out. We knew that stock wasn’t going to genuine collectors. I'd been working with a few other companies and had different bot solutions, but we just seemed to be chasing our tail every time. We didn’t seem to be getting anywhere and customers were getting pretty frustrated.
The Challenge
Joshua Brown, E-commerce Lead at Wynyard, began to notice the rate of sellouts happening online was not humanly possible.
“For about 12 months, every single hot release was getting hit with bots. Within seconds, the stock was selling out. We knew that stock wasn’t going to genuine collectors. I'd been working with a few other companies and had different bot solutions, but we just seemed to be chasing our tail every time. We didn’t seem to be getting anywhere and customers were getting pretty frustrated.”
In late 2023, Wynyard’s team got a recommendation to try EQL. With just days before the biggest release of the year, Joshua decided there was no time to waste in getting set up to even the playing field for their launches.
“I contacted EQL on a Tuesday, and we were up and running for the launch the following Thursday, within a week we kicked things off,” said Joshua.
The Fix
Initially, Joshua worried that Wynyard’s most loyal customers who had been buying coins with them for decades might be reluctant to adopt a changing system, but his worries subsided within just hours of opening their first EQL launch.
“We did a bit of pre-launch education, but due to the short time frame, I was a little worried about how our fans would react. But then the launch happened, and people saw that it actually works, and the feedback was just unreal; messages, emails, Facebook comments. It was fantastic.”
Through EQL’s platform, the Wynyard team was also able to use their launch to direct customers back to other coins on their website that might interest them, which led to an increase in sales on those items.
“I put a (post-entry CTA) back to a product on our website I thought was on its last cycle, but we sold around 20 units through the launch. On our second launch, we’ve sold around 40 to 50 additional units.”
The Outcome
In partnering with EQL, Wynyard has not only stopped bots from clearing out stock and created additional revenue, but more importantly, they’ve rekindled the passion of coin collecting for their loyal customers.
“A lot of our customers have been collectors for many years, some as long as five decades. Prior to partnering with EQL, we were receiving feedback from some of these long-term customers who were contemplating abandoning collecting altogether. The challenge to acquire new issues was just becoming too much for them, a lifelong pastime and passion was no longer enjoyable for these collectors.
Supplying bots and resellers offers no reward to our business. I’m confident that partnering with EQL will continue to enhance the collecting experience, contributing to the sustainability of a loyal, long-term customer base."
Interested in using EQL for your next hot launch? Get in touch.
Learn more about the M.R. Roberts - Wynyard Coin Centre here.
Supplying bots and resellers offers no reward to our business. I’m confident that partnering with EQL will continue to enhance the collecting experience, contributing to the sustainability of a loyal, long-term customer base.
Get in touch
Want to learn more about running fair launches with EQL?
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