First Ten Finders: Multiple reward implementation

[+BillsBayou]

I'm in the final stages of setting up a very difficult puzzle cache. I thought it'd be nice to give away special edition signature items to the first ten finders. Essentially, it's a hand-carved polymer clay coin, just over an inch in diameter.

 

The only problem is: How do I effectively give out these coins to the first ten finders?

 

Potential solutions and problems:

1) Put all ten in the cache, but someone along the way may take more than one (or all!).

2) Put the coordinates to a nearby 35mm film canister in the cache for ONE coin; check and replace after each find is posted. Problem: someone may just stop off at the cache and pick up the latest coin.

3) Have the finders email me for these coordinates after each find. Problem: They might not be able to get to the coin for a while, or at all.

 

Any suggestions?

[+Sevilon]

Maybe you can have them contact you, and then mail the coin to them?

Not quite as cost effective, but it would eliminate the above problems.

[bogleman]

leave a gift certificate (using a post card) with a picture of the item, they put a mailing address on it and send it to you - you mail the treasure to them.

[+briansnat]

I'd put each one in a small envelope labeled "first finder", "second finder", etc.... I would hope that one of the finders would not be so low as to take all the coins.

[+hurley_108]

I think it's a great idea! Kinda redefines FTF in a fun way!

 

I can really only speak to what I'd do in my area. Around here, I get the impression just about everyone is a good, honest cacher, and wouldn't take all ten (or however many were left when they got there), so I'd put all ten in at once. But that's just me.

[+BillsBayou]

briansnat, what's up with your avatar? Is that a cacher who didn't put the log back in the ziplock bag?

[+BillsBayou]

I like the mail it idea. I can put the coin at a location around town, or I could mail it to you. I guess I'll have to check to see what little padded envelopes cost and what they cost to ship. Still, $10 isn't much to spend when I'm building the popularity of a cache.

[+GreyingJay]

Whether you mail it or have a personal hand-off, probably the best way to ensure your items don't disappear thanks to a greedy cacher, or a muggle, or whatever, is to employ the certificate idea already mentioned.

 

Sounds like fun! First 10 finders is pretty generous.

[+EScout]

I have had prizes for the first 3 finders. I also say that one prize is for each finder or group of finders. I did not want one group of three to take all. My preference is to reward individual effort, especially on difficult ones.

[+onesearching2find]

I had a similar dilema recently when I placed a series of caches for my boyfriend's birthday. I had a personal coin made for him and planned on placing a coin in each cache, but I didn't want just a couple people to grab all of the coins. My problem was solved when the coins where not done by the time I planned on releasing the caches. I placed a coupon with a picture of the coin in each cache. I asked that each person only take one and had my e-mail address on the coupon so they could contact me to receive their coin. Once the coins where in I had a little party and distributed some coins then, some where mailed, some where delivered at events, some where picked up in person and some where left at a designated area for pick up. It has worked out so great! Not only did the coins all go to different people, I got to meet or have contact with lots of different cachers. The only drawback was that not everyone looked at the coupon long enough to realize what it was. In fact when my boyfriend found the first cache with a coupon in it he thought "A paper coin, that's kind of lame......" All of the caches have been found over 10 times and there are still coin coupons out there. But I guess that just may mean everyone is playing by the rules because I have distributed a lot more than 10 coins so far!!

[+CENT5]

Mail it no question.

 

I tried much the same and someone took 9 coins out of the cache. Of course they also failed to note their name in the log.

 

Now I would leave a 10 laminated cards with my e-mail and the coin name (without the trackin #) so the FTF has 1st choice.

 

Do NOT leave 10 coins in a cache. They WILL disappear and no one will ever know who it was.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I have two special prizes from caches, both mailed. There was a certificate in the cache, you filled it in, mailed it to the owner and got your prize mailed to you (or it could be left in a cache). If you're willing to do it, it works well. Generally mailing coins runs .86 for postage, not bad.

[+halffast]

I guess I live in an area with good and honest cachers.I left a $10.00 gift card to walmart in a cache for the first cacher under 12 and the cache was logged multiple times and after 6 monthes the gift card was finally taken from a 9 year old.I also did a 27 cache puzzle and left a FTF STF & TTF prize at the final.This cache was in the forest and someone could have taken all 3 prizes but 3 differant cachers got them.The prizes was all double bladed Axes with a pic of an old cabin on them.I burned FTF STF TTF and the GC code into the handles of the 3 axes.I live in an area where I would put all the finder prizes in the cache when placed.That way if its not a local they get their prize when they find the cache.Mailing sounds like a good idea if you dont trust the cachers in your area.

[+Jamie Z]

I placed a very physically difficult 2-stage multi. In the final cache, I left a numbered series of laminated business cards showing inclusion in the "5-star Terrain Club." (Which really doesn't exist.)

 

I thought the cards would be kind of cute.. had... oh... 15 printed up the first time around. The first 15 were gone in about a week. I printed up 25 more. Gone. Had to fill again. I must have one of the most-often logged 5-star caches around. Or so it seems.

 

They're fairly cheap to produce.. maybe $0.25 each or so, given all my materials, and they're are a priceless memento for a lot of people who have found the cache. Some logs claim victory that they finally obtained a card. In other words, they're a huge hit.

 

I know you were going with coins... but I wanted to point out that the items don't necessarily need to be monetarily valuable to be valuable to geocachers.

 

Jamie

[+Kryten]

Cachers can be honest. Once I was FTF at a bonus cache but I cheated by doing only 4 of the 6 primary caches. This was at an event and the FTF prize was a half bottle of single malt whisky (contraband alert ! but in Scotland and our standards slip sometimes ) I took the FTF certificate but left the golden nectar for someone who had done the job properly. So did the next few finders until the bottle was taken by the first person to genuinely find all 6 primary caches.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

If I can throw in my two cents.

 

Would you consider having an "nth" to find as well? I had a difficult cache where I put in three prizes: 1st to find the easy way, 1st to find the hard way, and I think 10th to find (the last one is still out there). The finders only took the only they were entitled to.

 

By having the "nth" to find (without stating in the cache listing what "n" is) gives the cachers who don't normally beat the FTF hounds a chance for a nifty prize. I would state that such a prize exists in the cache listing.

 

And I think the mailing option would work best in your case.