Lemon Fresh Dog

A big THANK YOU to BlueDeuce -- some prizes for the contest arrived today.

You know.....I am getting pretty obsessed about this little bear! haha! I hope to see it as a real TB one day.

Keep on caching! The choice of name is a little unfortunate, but keep having fun and once you've gotten the reputation as a TB mover I am sure that the ones you kept a little too long will fade from peoples memory.

I've always wanted to find an A.P.E cache -- and now I have the next best thing! Some lovely coins. Thanks for making these -- they were actually nicer than I thought they would be -- those little emerald markers were fun. I placed one in a cache the other day and it was picked-up in less than 24 hours! Now to watch it move across the world -- hey....maybe it can find an A.P.E. cache even if I am too far away?

Sounds fun....I know I would certainly add some fun fiction to this fine find.

opps.... my bad. I didn't realize that this was indeed someone serious -- I thought they were really joking. It's always interesting to see how people that lack power or direction in their lives choose to manifest their psych into activities such as this. Ruin others fun, build false "empires", and otherwise try to be something...anything for attention. It's ussually someone that has a lot of other "struggles" in dealing with others or their own self-image. We should all hope they get the help and balance they need sooner or later. It appears that these types of unstable folks are in several areas and countries (there is one that took one of my Travel Bugs as part of their "agenda") Oh well....so be it.

Always have, always will. I am getting a little more selective on the caches I place non-traveller coins into. I used to just leave coins and take nothing. Now, I will trade fair -- so if the cache has an item that is of the same quality/value as a coin, I will trade an unactivated coin for it (which I then will likely just place in the next cache). I definately plan to stop noting it in my logs though. Travellers go into almost every cache.

I've completly switched to being a design-only collector. I will buy designs I like that look good. If I buy multiples (which I often do so that I can cache some) then I *may* go for a variety. I am especially hostile to *limited* metals and the like. I think it takes away from the true spirit of what a geocoin* should be and I will not support it in the least. To me the hobby is an inclusionary one and I do not like exclusionary activities (with the exception of some member-only caches, but that's because I think everyone should support the site -- which is OT) *(IMO - a geocoin is a signature item of an individual or organization)

Hopefully you are joking. Who are "they" and are you not simply repeating the same pain on others? With only one post -- I suspect you are a SOCK PUPPET -- which of course means you have no spine.

Hello all, The Red-Handed coin was a joke that turned into a coin. Everyone was complaining that coins were being stolen and it was suggested that folks might not know what to do with a coin when they found one. So I created the most obvious coin I possibly could. The coin was sold at cost to anyone that wanted it on a pre-order basis. I think somewhere around 475 were pre-ordered at $5.50 a coin. I kicked in the extra cash and brought the order above 500 (600 actually) in order to get the coin cost down (we also needed 500 to get the tracking - which added $1.50 to each coin). Way back then, they didn't offer custom icons for anything less than 1000 coins --- in fact, I think custom icons may not have even existed formally at the point the coin was created. So many folks have these. It's sort of a "community" coin that I project managed. I'd do it again just to give folks a cheap, trackable coin (I even thought of a left-handed, red-handed version), but I found the mailing out was pretty time-consuming in general. I'll leave coins to organizations that have volunteers to package and mail them. I have about 50 left that I place in many caches -- many as FTF prizes. Like everyone, I paid my share of the cost for these - $5.50 a coin.

sadly....I'm too large to fit into a cache container (I suppose if one had a blender and lots' of time...) The idea is fun. I have seen vehicles of cachers as TB's. (I think Nicolo has his Jeep as one -- he even had the TB tag blown up to MASSIVE proportions as a window decal).

I totally agree. More power to them. At some point I think editions will start selling less, then not at all. We are far, far away from this point from what I see. It's as if we are at the 30% point of the "Beanie Baby" craze. There are still many more we can expect and many that will buy. Haha! I guess in 5 years I'll either be saying "told you so" or trying to buy all the "coins" I missed on eBay. BTW -- Loggerheads -- I hope you know that I really liked your turtle design and have absolutely no personal issues with you. Sometimes folks start to think this is a personal thing --it really isn't.

I think $1.50 per tracking number and $150 for an icon is enough of a fee. I think they should charge even more! As much as they can get! After all -- it's free enterprise.

This would be accurate if we were in a store and not in the forums. Here, we should feel free to freely comment on any aspect of the "sale" as long as we remain respectful and within the guidlelines of the forum rules. In fact, I like the free exchange of ideas. Imagine if I was new to geocoin collecting and I didn't realize that not everyone thinks this is a geocoin and/or priced appropriately. On the other hand ... if it sells out, I bet it will go for $20+ on eBay. In my experience with hobby collectibles, there will be a shift soon and many, many folks will sell their collections en mass. (hey....isn't this already happening already?). People will stop buying every coin. Hey! they may become so de-valued that they end up in caches! (Beanie Babies anyone...anyone...anyone...?)

The creation and sale of this coin is very much within the limits of the entire geocoin hobby (which doesn't have any limits other than icon/design approval by GC). I think that folks should choose individually to buy or not buy it. That stated, I personally think it is way too expensive. It's obviously a way for the creator to make money (or "free" coins, or whatever). My opinion is that the creation of "personal" coins that are sold at profit or to pay for the coins is lame. However, that's just my opinion. If someone came out with something really cool I would probably buy even consider buying them. They would just have to be way more geocaching related than this one. As for the sports card, comic book references. They are, in fact, quite accurate. The difference in scale is relative to the number of enthusiasts. Over production of "geocoins" will change the hobby of geocoin collecting (in fact, it already has). This may be a good or bad thing. Good -- more coins, less rare, more in caches (maybe). Bad -- not as fun to find, boring (McCoins?). Everyone should feel free to hold their own opinions on this and guide their personal actions accordingly. I, for one, will not buy this coin. That's a personal choice. I also will choose to not see it as much of a geocoin. It's a nice commercial product that has an ammo can on it, but beyond that it's really not for me. Why post my thoughts here? This is a forum -- and ideas should be freely exchanged. Personally, I think Groundspeak should charge an advertising fee for anyone that posts coins for sale in the forums. Maybe they allow free advertising because they charge for tracking numbers. Still -- it's currently a pretty sweet deal for those that have made in a for-profit manner. AND.....let me RE-state. I respect and believe in everyones right to both create and buy these coins. I also demand my personal right within the guidelines of the forums to express my disagreement with the whole concept. <edit> for one very obvious spelling error

Might as well speculate I would think that a business (Groundspeak) would not want another business (Commercial coins) generating revenue through their customer base (us) with no kickback. It would be too difficult to determine which coins are profit motivated, etc. So a blanket policy that only allows the promotion of coins generating revenue to Groundspeak (Tracking numbers ARE $1.50 a pop) makes sense from a business standpoint. That's just speculation though. Personally, I like when Organizations and State Geocaching associations sell coins here -- I like to buy them. I do not like when someone sells personal coins at a profit or as a way to subsidize their production costs. * That's just me though -- I TOTALLY respect everyones rights to do whatever they want. -- and it's another thread anyways.

Sorry Avroair, I was posting my last post at the same time you were --- my comment was not directed at you whatsoever.

Just to be 100% clear. This is not a question of whether someone SHOULD or SHOULD NOT make money on a coin. The quesiton is whether you would buy one and for how much.

I don't especially like this topic since it is just beating a dead horse and has been discussed before but..... I'm sorry, but I am not judging anyone and/or trying to be negative, non-american (although I am not), etc, etc. Nor do I really care what others do in as much as it doesn't affect me one way or another. There is no dead horse unless we start judging and telling people their opinions are wrong. I asked a question. A simple one at that. I also stated an opinion without making judgement on anyone holding an alternate opinion. Personally, I feel any coin that generates a profit for any reason is commercial. I do not like to buy coins from individuals that generate a profit -- whether that profit is intended as a subsidy to their own coins or whether that profit is profit for it's own sake. I do buy coins from organizations. However, I also respect people's right to do what they want. No beating here. Just a question to see what the general population thinks as a whole.

The big difference is that you are the "manufacturer" of the personal coin you have made. If you are both selling AND trading this coin, you have created two seperate distributiuon methods. Most trade-only coins have a single distribution channel (trades) (if you also cache and gift the coins, you can add additional methods of acquisition - however these are ussually of limited geographic scope and do not have as much of an impact as selling in addition to trading). I guess I should add -- why trade for a coin you can just buy? (unless you can trade a coin you got cheaper than the price you would pay)

Nice coin. I'll pass due to price. This is not whining, this is customer feedback.

In another thread (several actually), coins have been offered at prices above the cost to procure them. These coins are then sold at a profit. What happens to that profit? 1) it goes into the sellers hands 2) it is sometimes used to provide "free" or "cache" coins. 3) sometimes both The above is fine, but not all that relevant to the question I pose: Do you support commercial coins? If so, what are the ranges of prices you would pay for a coin? As I pose the question, I suppose I should go first and provide BOTH a yes and a no! I will buy the odd commercial coin if it is from an organization or of very high interest to me (like a place I used to live or visit). I will not buy personal coins that seek to make a profit. My reasoning behind this is that a "geocoin" to me is not a souvenir, but an artifact of an activity and hobby. So when I acquire a state or organizational coin, I know that the profit is likely benefiting the hobby as a whole. I will pay up to about $10 and ussually only $7-8 max. When I trade for a personal coin, I know that I acquired it from a cacher that had it made as part of their interest in the hobby. I ran out of my coins and had to stop trading, but I have a new order of 100 different coins coming in soon for face-to-face trades. To me, a personal design that is sold at a profit, regardless of the number of ammo cans, etc, etc on it isn't a true geocoin. It's a way for someone to either subsidize their own coin or make money at the expense of the hobby -- I truely believe that the glut in these coins has hurt the hobby more than it has helped. I do feel folks have the right to create, sell, buy and do whatever they want. I just ain't shopping. That's MY story and I'm sticking to it! What are your thoughts?

Try the thread called "Baby Geocoins" Congratulations and best wishes to you and your wife on a happy, healthy pregnancy and baby! Welcome to the REAL world of work! There is nothing more important than children and I hope you will post some nice photos when the time comes. I know that Nicolo did a great coin to celebrate his grand-daughters first birthday. ('Lil Seeker), but these may be hard to find.

Oh -- almost forgot!! I grab random coins from my trader jar and activate them when I go caching. Pretty much all I leave in caches these days are coins, "Feeps" and new packaged toys (Hot Wheels and Polly Pockets).

The way I do it is as follows: 1) If I can buy the coin and want it, I buy it (and extras) one for my collection, the rest go into a trader jar 2) If there is a coin that I want that is only for trade, I try trade for it 3) Now, I have a trader jar, plus one of each coin in my collection If some new coins come out and I need cash to buy them, or if they are trader-only coins, I will use my trader jar to trade and/or sell on eBay to get the cash to buy. Sometimes I end-up with more than one of a coin due to trades etc and all extras are in the trader jar. If I bought or traded for them and I have an extra -- they are in the jar and are going to be used to get more unique coins for my collection one way or the other. I will not normally trade for a coin I can buy. Why? Because to do so would take away a coin from my trader jar that could be used for a coin that I couldn't buy. It is far easier for me to come up with $7 than it is for me to replace a coin that came out 6 months ago as a trader. In fact, I have really cut down on both buying and trading (via mail at least). My newest coin is a cache and face-to-face coin only (with a few going out as gifts). With postal rates out of Canada being so silly now and the huge amount of coins out there -- I can't keep up! Also, buying personal coins sort of annoys me a little. If they are offered at cost -- that's cool. What I don't like is when they are sold at a "small profit" to cover the coins that the person is going to place in caches and/or trade. This means it's really not a personal coin, but rather a personal design that is being paid for by the community. The way I see it, if I want some more coins today I will check to see what is on sale and grab a few of the ones I like. While some sell out fast, there are always some coins for sale somewhere. Then, once a year, I have a personal edition made and use these to trade for sales I missed or to place in caches.