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Geocoin Purchasing Conglomerates


Jan and the Percey Boys

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It seems to me as the geocoin craze continues that it might be worthwhile for a pinned topic be added of those groups who want to buy GC Trackable Coins in bulk.

This would allow state and organisation minters to cover die and design fees with a few E Mails - rather than the vagaries of the forum ordering system or paypals notorious abilities!!!

 

I can think of probably 5 or 6 groups which probably would buy 250 between them but rather than speak for others lets see if we can start a list that is pinned

 

I am involved in EGG (English Geocoin Group) which buys for UK cachers (English, Welsh,, Scottish and Northern Ireland)

 

We at present order 50 at a time but that is growing

 

Who else buys in bulk

 

Bob

Edited by Jan and the Percey Boys
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Make sure our group of 2 gets added to this list... we usually buy 2-3 coins!

 

or maybe,

 

We can start our own group, which will be large enough to buy the whole coin edition in one fell swoop. Then we can worry about PayPal invoices, who gets what, and shut everyone else out.

 

:anibad:

 

*edited for spelling*

Edited by FlyinV
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I am organizer for the Pacific Coin Collective (PCC), which is based in Washington state and has mostly local members (to minimize reshipping), altho we do have a Tennessean (hi spencersb!) and membership is open to US and Canadian residents. We buy 3 coins/member, which translates to 45-54 coins, depending on member solvency at purchase time. :anitongue:

 

Nurse Dave has the largest club, by far. I don't see how he manages 40+ members, I have my hands full with half that many, esp. on heavy-buy weeks! However, we are organized along the same lines, and he was very helpful with advice during our setup phase. Tip o' the hat to him! :ph34r:

Edited by hydnsek
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I would add that some of these coin groups are selective about their purchases.

 

For example, Nurse Dave's group does not usually buy personal coins and the membership has started to become pretty vocal against purchasing coins not made by local cachers to represent their area. For example, the group declined to purchase any of the summit series coins, the "San Francisco"/Southbayday coin, the COOL group coin, etc.

 

The GBA club Marky mentioned (and I think the PCC group, correct me if I'm wrong) are also selective and won't automatically purchase any coin that comes along either.

 

I guess my point is that people shouldn't view these large groups as an automatic sale for 200+ coins.

Edited by Team Nazgul
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ICE is a small group and how many we order depends on the coin type. We cover Southern Idaho which is the normal travel territory for members to save on re-shipping.

 

Right now we buy.

 

Organization/Country/State Coins.

Signature Coins

Event Cache Coins

Coin Group Coins

Cache Coins,

Related Coins (like Xmas, Caught Red Handed, Mad Cow)

 

ICE doesn't do commercial coins.

How many we order depends on the type.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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The GBA coin club buys country, state and regional coins and the odd event or club coin. We tend to pass on more expensive coins(that are obviously produced for profit) or coins that are produced without the consent of the people the coin is representing. We generally buy 65 coins.

 

To inform us an upcoming coin(we'll prepay for anything we are interested in as a group) please contact me. Backup buyers are Marky, mjp303, mystery ink or touchstone(not in any order).

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I would add that some of these coin groups are selective about their purchases. The GBA club Marky mentioned (and I think the PCC group, correct me if I'm wrong) are also selective and won't automatically purchase any coin that comes along either.

I couldn't edit my previous post so....

 

This is correct. PCC limits our buys to

- Always: US state (and some regional) coins, and Canadian provincial coins, created by local geocaching groups.

- Sometimes (based on voting): international, event, and 'special' coins.

- No: We don't buy personal or limited-edition coins. (OK, we've made a couple LE exceptions, but in general we only buy the 'standard' issue.)

 

And to recap my previous post: we buy around 54 coins at present (3 coins/member).

Edited by hydnsek
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Does this mean that groups are going to get precedence in ordering?  I guess I need to belong to a group to have a better chance of getting a coin now.  any openings??

Coin clubs don't get any special treatment when it comes to placing orders. I have to wait for the 'on sale' time and fight to get my order placed before a coin sells out just like you do. The only difference is that I'm ordering for 18+ people, instead of just myself, so my Paypal bill is a LOT larger. :lol:

 

I guess the only 'advantage' we get is (usually) a break on shipping cost. Bulk shipping of 50+ coins is a lot cheaper than if they were shipped as multiple 1-3 coin orders, so the sellers often recalculate shipping and insurance costs for us vs. 'per coin' prices. It sometimes saves us .50 to $1 a coin.

 

The advantages of coin clubs as I see them are:

- Bulk ordering. For the members, it means someone else (me) gets to deal with all the hassles of coin buys - crazy sale times, placing orders, fighting Paypal, etc. For sellers, it's easier to track and package one large order vs. many small orders.

- Reduced shipping/insurance costs. See above. Since most of my members are local, there's no additional shipping after I receive the coins.

- Many eyes watching for new issues. It's hard to keep up with all the new coins coming out, so PCC members are assigned specific forums to watch (national, regional, state, international) and they alert us as soon as they see news of a new coin that fits our purchase criteria. In fact, this is probably THE biggest advantage of a coin club.

 

That said, PCC has membership openings (email me if interested), and I believe Nurse Dave does too (he has the largest club). Can't speak for any others.

Edited by hydnsek
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- Many eyes watching for new issues. It's hard to keep up with all the new coins coming out, so PCC members are assigned specific forums to watch (national, regional, state, international) and they alert us as soon as they see news of a new coin that fits our purchase criteria. In fact, this is probably THE biggest advantage of a coin club.

I agree, this is one of the biggest advantages. I know this doesn't apply for other coin clubs, but another advantage of the GBA coin club is getting to meet up regularly and share a pitcher of good micro-brew beer and distribute coins. Good times...

 

--Marky

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- Many eyes watching for new issues. It's hard to keep up with all the new coins coming out, so PCC members are assigned specific forums to watch (national, regional, state, international) and they alert us as soon as they see news of a new coin that fits our purchase criteria. In fact, this is probably THE biggest advantage of a coin club.

I agree, this is one of the biggest advantages. I know this doesn't apply for other coin clubs, but another advantage of the GBA coin club is getting to meet up regularly and share a pitcher of good micro-brew beer and distribute coins. Good times...

 

--Marky

:ph34r::lol: Actually, that's a PCC advantage as well....we are meeting next Friday for a holiday coin distribution party!

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For sellers, I would add that it really helps to give the coin clubs a few days lead to react. Sometimes there are discussions about whether or not to buy a coin, and if a coin is offered with little advance notice it is more likely that the clubs (and indivduals for that matter) will miss out.

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I have been doing most of the ordering on behalf of the UK Coin Club (UKCC) which has been referred to wrongly as EGG. We set it up to save on shipping costs. However, it came to light in the past few days how we are actually getting double charged on postage. As groups you should be aware that a lot of these coins are being sold POSTAGE INCLUDED So when ordering large amounts of coins (in our case 40-50) we are paying over the top for postage.

After reading numerous posts about shipping charges in the US costing from $1.30-$1.85 for a single coin.....do the maths!

I have emailed several people that we have made these large purchases from and asked for a partial to full refund on shipping charges as it only costs around the $30.00 mark to ship the number of coins ordered to the UK. I have heard back from one person so far agreeing that $65.00 was a bit high. You might want to look at your own orders.

I propose that when making club orders that we ask for the cost of the coins without postage and then add on a reasonable sum for the postage. True this might IRK some people but I don't think we need to be taken to the cleaners just because we are a group.

:ph34r::lol::)

Lynn

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Hello...my name Go JayBee and I am addicted to GeoCoins so I started my own Coin Guild:

 

Go JayBee's GeoCoin Collectors Guild (GoGCG)

 

It is a small group of 7 right now, and I don't expect it to get any larger. I do all the buying mostly to support my habit. 10 coins at a time of whatever is out there. Although the members seem to prefer trackable w/ icon coins right now. So I've been staying away from purchasing Personal Coins. That makes it better for myself since I get to do trades with my own Personal Coin.

 

Buying in lots of 10 does cut down on the shipping which I include with the cost per coin to our members. I'm not into it to make money...I'm happy to break even plus I get to make coins available for others to enjoy.

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how about support for cachers who'd like to make personal geocoins, but would actually like to put them in caches to be found, rather than just dropping them in the mail?

I'm sure the groups could help you out with that too, although they might like a little incentive, if you know what I mean. <_<

 

P.S. I'm with the COOL group

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As an update:

 

- The GBA coin Club is basically defunct now, although they still have a few orders in place and one more to do as of today.

 

- Nurse Dave's coin club is transitioning to a new leadership. The club won't be purchasing any coins for a few weeks at the very least. When it returns it looks like it will likely be buying fewer coins per order than before, although that's jst my personal conjecture at this point. The membership has pretty overwhelmingly expressed an interest in remaining selective in the club purchases and avoiding personal and commercial coins, and sticking to those from states and local organizations.

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As an update:

 

- The GBA coin Club is basically defunct now, although they still have a few orders in place and one more to do as of today.

We prefer 'restructuring'. :P

 

THe time it's taken our fearless leader to search out coins and the associated costs has just been MUCH more than anybody ever expected.

 

So for those minting - don't count on the GBA to buy every coin. We're going to be VERY selective with purchases.

 

More to come.

 

I expect other coin groups to follow suit if they haven't already.

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Following in the footsteps of Nurse Dave's club, and the retrenching of GBA....

 

The PCC (Pacific Coin Collective) is disbanding, effective this week. We've had a great time for six months, but interest among the membership is waning, costs are high, and the organizer is suffering burnout (and nobody wanted to take it on). So, no more 50-60 coin purchases from us!

 

Thanks to all the coin sellers for your support of our bulk purchases, and all the new friends I've made through geocoin-ing.

 

Most of us will continue to buy a few coins individually, altho I plan to mainly trade out my existing stock.

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... I am involved in EGG (English Geocoin Group) which buys for UK cachers (English, Welsh,, Scottish and Northern Ireland) ... Bob

 

Hey Bob,

 

Someone is sending me an England English Egg Geocoin. I'm not sure if I'll be getting the activation code with it or not. Is there a website for EGG? ... and is there a specific website for retrieving an England English Egg Geocoin Activation Code?

 

Tom

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We have a local group and we purchase about 60 for the group. We only distribute locally to avoid the extra shipping costs.

 

--Marky

I live in Bremerton, how do I get involved? I need someone to chat with about purchasing a GPS too. I currently have a Tom Tom and Think i can do much better with a hand held. can reach me at misenar@yahoo.ca

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We have a local group and we purchase about 60 for the group. We only distribute locally to avoid the extra shipping costs.

 

--Marky

I live in Bremerton, how do I get involved? I need someone to chat with about purchasing a GPS too. I currently have a Tom Tom and Think i can do much better with a hand held. can reach me at misenar@yahoo.ca

Woah, old thread!

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We have a local group and we purchase about 60 for the group. We only distribute locally to avoid the extra shipping costs.

 

--Marky

I live in Bremerton, how do I get involved? I need someone to chat with about purchasing a GPS too. I currently have a Tom Tom and Think i can do much better with a hand held. can reach me at misenar@yahoo.ca

 

Just to let you know, that quote was from three years ago. Marky's coin buying group is no longer together and was based in the Bay Area, California.

 

If you need info about a GPS, try asking in the GPS and Technology forums. Welcome to caching!

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So, to resurrect the original purpose of this thread...

 

Are there currently any coin purchasing groups still around?

 

I am so very happy to hear from everyone and I apologize for not responding promptly. I am moving and having a moving sale so I have been neglecting other obligations.

 

The coins are for sale. I ask everyone to wait a week or two until I get to the new place and then I can contact everyone.

 

Thank you very much for your patience!!!

 

April

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So, to resurrect the original purpose of this thread...

 

Are there currently any coin purchasing groups still around?

 

I am so very happy to hear from everyone and I apologize for not responding promptly. I am moving and having a moving sale so I have been neglecting other obligations.

 

The coins are for sale. I ask everyone to wait a week or two until I get to the new place and then I can contact everyone.

 

Thank you very much for your patience!!!

 

April

 

I guess there isn't a coin purchasing group still in operation. I live in Shoreline so I'll meet with people interested in buying 5 or more coins. It will save on postage (of course, the price of gas might not make it worth the drive ;-)

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We have a local group and we purchase about 60 for the group. We only distribute locally to avoid the extra shipping costs.

 

--Marky

I live in Bremerton, how do I get involved? I need someone to chat with about purchasing a GPS too. I currently have a Tom Tom and Think i can do much better with a hand held. can reach me at misenar@yahoo.ca

Woah, old thread!

How do I get involved with your group?

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We have a local group and we purchase about 60 for the group. We only distribute locally to avoid the extra shipping costs.

 

--Marky

I live in Bremerton, how do I get involved? I need someone to chat with about purchasing a GPS too. I currently have a Tom Tom and Think i can do much better with a hand held. can reach me at misenar@yahoo.ca

Woah, old thread!

How do I get involved with your group?

 

See post #43, the group has disbanded.

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I have been looking for a way to buy or get in on a bulk geocoin order. I really like using geocoins but don't like ordering them 1 at time and paying shipping on each coin. I have found a couple where I could get 20 geocoins in a package on amazon.com but their selection for that kind of order is limited. Does anyone know of a group local in the NW Mississippi SW Tennessee area that I could get in with?

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I have been looking for a way to buy or get in on a bulk geocoin order. I really like using geocoins but don't like ordering them 1 at time and paying shipping on each coin. I have found a couple where I could get 20 geocoins in a package on amazon.com but their selection for that kind of order is limited. Does anyone know of a group local in the NW Mississippi SW Tennessee area that I could get in with?

 

be aware that these groups of coins are most likely non-trackable...they make for nice swag, but that's about it

 

ILYK
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