Micra Man
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Posts
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Posts posted by Micra Man
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I guess we could just up the shipping and always charge for the insurance so we are covered.
Ah, but eBay states that shipping charges are only for costs incurred. Now with detailed feedback it's helping to keep some people honest. It sure helped to drop my shipping charges down, as well as some people I've made purchases from.
I have a customer who purchased the insurance and then feels the coin should arrive quicker than the estimated ETA. Now that sufficient time has past that and I could actually file the postal investigation, they think that I am just stringing them along. I guess that some people just don't know what feedback is for; if nobody else has ever left a complaint, most likely I'll take care of them, if not, PayPal will.
Personally, I think that there are a lot of people that can't pass up the geocoins but since they don't feel secure shopping on the internet, they're going to really make things difficult for you with lots of emails.
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Great coin! Will have to add this to my collection when the time comes.
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Got my order in, hope I'm not too late.
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Thanks for posting that Lenny. I wasn't aware of that information either. Seems they should have made some type of announcement.
Thanks from me too Lenny. I haven't missed a Signal coin yet and was wondering when I would finally have to stop collecting them but I see that decision has been made for me. If I had to make the decision to stop collecting the coins it would be like pulling the life-support for a close family member. Now I can only look back at my binder with Signal coins, much like looking at photo albums of the family as they grew older. I guess we can always tell Signal stories here, to help keep the memories alive. Ahhhh, that was a good time of my life. I'll miss you old friend, I'll cherish the memories always.
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Eartha - hi!
I was not suggesting that we do this for ALL geocoins, heavens no. I was only considering it here for some caches where numerous coins are being stolen. As a matter of fact, every time one is dropped it goes missing. If the thief did not know where the coins are, they can't very well get to them unless they visit every cache. Once another honest cacher picks the coin up, the tracking number WILL be used when it is moved to another cache. And yes, the owner would have the name of the last person to have it. For example the one I just dropped is still in my inventory even though it is in the cache. This is really no different than if I would have dropped it in there other than that the icon would be on the web page. It still has to be picked up from either me or the cache and tracking number entered to move it. The fact that people steal these Eartha, drives me nuts!
I can't imagine sitting in front of a bunch of things you have stolen and actually enjoy them, but that is just me. Trying to think of a way to out think the creep... I know most cachers don't visit here, but if I can save a couple of coins that mean a lot to someone, I want to try. One that the jerk stole was a gingerbread coin from a little kid who got it for Christmas. sheesh! Here's the unpleasant part... theft is a real part of our lives, whether it be a geocoin, swag, the cache itself or any non-cache related item. We haven't found a way to stop thieves from stealing anything else so we're not going to be able to stop them from stealing caching items. If fact, there's no way you'll ever stop a caching thief because you can't even use the law to help. Try to imagine chasing down a police officer to tell them that a $10 geocoin was stolen from a Tupperware container tucked in the roots of that tree beside the trail. Ok, ok, I realize that the first thing you'll have to do is explain geocaching from the very beginning, but after that, show the officer that this person didn't even have the decency to sign the log book. Try to imagine the officer's concern as they consider trying to track some unknown person, running around in the woods taking inexpensive items from small containers, hidden around trees and bushes. Imagine this same officer, taking this perplexing dilemma to the precinct and asking some of the other officers how one might go about catching this geocoin fiend. Now, this poor, conscientious officer, trying only to uphold the law and incarcerate those who disregard it, has to try and persuade their captain to pull some of the officers off of that murder investigation to try and catch this marauding crook.
I have many coins wondering around out there somewhere and it used to drive me nuts when I found out that coins weren't being logged properly. Then I realized, as coin after coin was being stolen, that I wouldn't have to worry about it for too much longer. The answer for me was to stop placing coins into caches and then, one day, my surplus of wondering geocoins would have to run out. Sure I'll still be out the $1500 or so that I paid for them but sometimes you need to just dust off and move on.
I understand the seriousness of geocoin theft, it's cost me a lot of money and needless frustration but you have to understand that there's nothing you can do about it. Some people weren't loved by their mothers, the way they should have been, and turned to a life of crime. Probably the only reason they know how to find the geocaches that the coins are in, is because they stole the GPSr too. Unfortunately, if somebody, who doesn't even want to steal a coin, picks one up and finds that it's not even logged into the cache, then it's kind of like a 'Freebie' because nobody has any idea where it is. Now they take that coin home and sit in front of the warming glow of their monitor, toying with the idea of whether they should log the coin in or just put it into a safe place of their own, because there's that overwhelming urge to keep something that nobody knows anything about; there's absolutely no way anybody could ever find out who took that unlogged coin... ever. Next thing you know, that same, once innocent cacher, has seen life from the dark side and finds out what they're capable of and suddenly you find out that someone in the area is stealing cacher's cars while they're looking for caches. Do you want to be that person who's responsible for turning this cacher's life around, just because you were trying to frustrate and confuse the geocoin thief? No, nobody wants to know that they turned someone from a pillar of the community to a common crook, living on the streets and in the shadows.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that one shouldn't be upset about the geocoin thief in your neighborhood and that something should be done, but what. Here's where the local geocachers need to get together and ward of these evil doers. One would be better off putting together a geocaching posse, log a few coins into a cache and stake out the area, lying in wait for the geocoin transgressor. What you do with them is nobody's concern, they need to be stopped; maybe a good caning would help.
Sure, I've wanted to hang a few coin thieves myself, some don't even try to hide what they're doing, like they can miss that warning by your coin's icon in their inventory. Meanwhile, these people are actively caching several times a week, 6-7 months later, logging in all their finds while pretending not to see your coin's icon and it's warning. There's a blatant disregard for the very people that are trying to make the sport better for those very same freeloaders; and these are only the cachers who bother to log that they picked up the coins.
I'll put my hand in the ring and assist you in any way you can think of to rid the world of these pestilent cachers but merely trying to confuse them, and others, doesn't seem to be the answer, at least not to me. I do appreciate you feeling the need to fix these low down, good for nothing varmints. Some of the logs of other cachers also warm my heart when they feel so distraught when it appears as though your coin went missing from their cache. One person was leading up his own investigation at an event, trying to match up the handwriting in the logbook of the person who merely wrote that they took my coin. I'm glad that this disregard for other's property bothers many others as well, just there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it but write about it here in the forums. If anybody has a better idea, please let me know. In the mean time I'm going to keep putting out leg-hold traps around my caches when coins are logged into them.
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As an e-bay buyer or a coin buyer in general, if I don't choose to buy insurance and the coin doesn't show up, it my problem. I would not expect a refund, nor would negative feedback or even neutral feedback occur.
This assumes I either trust the seller implicitly or I can track myself that the package was sent.
This is how I am about making purchases as well but too many of my eBay customers don't even allow a reasonable amount of time for the items to arrive before they start hassling me about ship times and if I'm going to refund money or send another coin. If they don't purchase the insurance they aren't owed anything. How is it they feel they can demand I look after them when they did nothing to insure their package would arrive?
I have included a disclaimer on my listings now that states that the seller cannot be held responsible for items damaged or undelivered if the recommended insurance is not purchased.
The other idea a lot of buyers seem to have is that the more they bid, on the coin the faster it should arrive. I understand that they dropped a lot of money for a coin and can't wait for it to arrive but unless they pay more for the shipping it won't arrive any quicker.
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Got my email in; hopefully the coins aren't all gone yet.
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Yeah...that does stink.
I just found that one of my first geocoins that I set free has been sitting with a user for 5 months. After a little research, I found that this geocacher is holding at least 5 other geocoins as well, all for the last 3 months or more. This wasn't a newbie or a muggle or anything, this is a geocacher who actually logged the coins as finds. What can you do about something like that?
Unfortunately, there is nothing that you can do. Just yesterday I noticed that one of my geocoins was dropped back into a cache after being held for 7 months. There had been no response to me email. Part of what you have to try to understand is that there are a lot of seasonal cachers that may not cache for over half the year or that in the area they live the caches may be under several feet of snow.
It doesn't pay to get all excited about coins that aren't regularly being logged, I know from my own experience. I currently have over 90 geocoins out in the wild and have learned to have more patience. All of my coins go out with a travel tag that requests cachers to log their finds and return the coin to another cache within 2 weeks. It's amazing how this is rarely done. If people can't do what is requested of them they shouldn't be picking up the coins.
The only thing a coin owner can do to get his/her coin back into circulation is to send a carefully worded email that asks if the cacher still has the coin or whether they merely neglected to log it into a cache. Then you ask that, if they still are in possession of it, that they please return it to a cache as soon as possible. I never send out emails before at least 3 months has past and have pretty much stopped sending follow-up emails as this may only upset the cacher who then decides to keep your property as opposed to returning it to circulation, in spite.
If anyone has any better ideas, please let me know. Thanks!
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When you think of it, shouldn't it be the coin owners that should be taking offense to people running out to their own caches to grab a coin when nobody else even had a chance? Even that summary sentence lacks any clarity. Don't coin owners want their coins moved rapidly and frequently, no matter who moves them(as long as they move them quickly and don't steal them). I am both a cache owner and have over 90 coins out there in other people's caches. I too collect coin icons and can't see where people should get bent out of shape because I drop what I'm doing to run out to grab a coin out of my own cache, especially when it's these very people who don't see the point in geocoins, don't want to get involved but love complaining about things that have no bearing on their own lives. Should I rather wait till someone else gets it in a few days and then wait another two to three weeks to find they've dropped it 100s of km away and I'll never see that coin come through my town again? As a coin owner, if you're planning on moving my coins quickly, run out as fast as you can to grab my coins, if they're in your own cache or someone else's, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE???? Maybe some people should use their time geocaching instead of pouting here in the forums.
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If there are any more gold coins left I'll take two.
Thanks!
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Hey, it's just toilet paper. I don't know why some people are getting all worked up. They go out and by the real thing don't they?
It's different, I think it's great and I'd get a couple of these.
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I was climbing up to a cache that was on a hill. My shoes didn't have much tread left on them at the time and I was being very careful because of this fact. I was nearly at the cache when one of my feet slipped. Immediately, with the added weight and pressure on my other foot, it slipped as well. Since I was walking up the hill I fell forward with my face landing right into some stinging nettles. They got me on the nose and forehead but the worst was right in my eye socket.
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I am typing this message as I ready to stand back from the FLAMES.
People have talked about drilling a coin. However, I have heard of people photocopying the coin's front - back and releasing the photocopied coin as a traveler. What are the group's thoughts on this practice? Is this allowed?
I have picked up one of these ridiculous things. How is this a geocoin? That's like placing a picture of a cache for people to find, with a photo of the trade items. I mean, come on, there has to be a point where people take the odd risk in life.
Here's my theory: if your geocoins go missing, buy more. Isn't this the same thing you'd do with almost anything else you own? Say someone takes your car... Are you going to take a picture of your car to work with you and walking from now on? No! You're going to get back out there and buy another car and hope that this one doesn't go missing.
In summary, to each his own, but you won't find pictures of geocoins in my collection.
Do you really want cachers all over the world posting comments letting people know how frugal you are? -
I have 20 coins. Several have been reported missing but they have all been returned, so far. I too asked the probability of them going missing and was told that eventually they all will. There are a lot of collectors out there but there's pride in ownership, not taking coins
. If you only have a couple of coins you will focus all your attention on them and if one goes missing you will get upset/disappointed. Get lots of coins, if one goes missing it's not such a big deal.
Putting your coins in caches is much like loaning items out, if you want it to return to you the way you leaned it, don't loan it out. If you want to keep your coins, don't put them in caches, or, do as I do and always buy duplicates and keep one for yourself and turn the others loose.
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Out of the different geocaching software that I've tried, BeeLine's the one I bought and then stopped trying more. I don't know if it's the best but it's the best I'd tried.
There is no mapping but for this I also run MapSource and just bounce between the programs. There is one major problem with this and that is that I still need to log in all the coordinates on MapSource so that I can drive to them
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I live in Abbotsford, BC and have done a search on GC.com for benchmarks in my area and the only listings that come up are in the US (Washington).
Aren't there any benchmarks in BC or other provinces?
Vegas Gamblers first personal coin
in Trackables
Posted
Just got mine this morning!