Becare who you buy coins from!

[+supertbone]

I got an email yesterday from another user saying he bought one of my coins at the Geocoin Event in February in Temecula, CA and he wondered how he could activate the coin under his user ID. I never sold any of my coins and all my coins, except for a one that is in my possession, were placed as travelers in caches. It look like some other cacher swiped my coins from a cache and fraudulently 'sold it' to this guy. The guy who sent me an email is now out money. So as an FYI be careful who you buy your coins from!

 

It is crap like this that has caused me to stop buying coins.

[+Hula Bum]

Does he remember who he bought it from? Would be good info to have.

 

Sorry to hear that your travellers are being stolen and sold and sorry for the guy who bought it.

[+Anthus]

I got an email yesterday from another user saying he bought one of my coins at the Geocoin Event in February in Temecula, CA and he wondered how he could activate the coin under his user ID. I never sold any of my coins and all my coins, except for a one that is in my possession, were placed as travelers in caches. It look like some other cacher swiped my coins from a cache and fraudulently 'sold it' to this guy. The guy who sent me an email is now out money. So as an FYI be careful who you buy your coins from!

 

It is crap like this that has caused me to stop buying coins.

 

Sorry to hear about that. If you know the seller's caching name, can you email it to me so that I can be better advised when purching coins. I'm not sure that GC forum rules permit you to list their name or not.

 

Thanks....Anthus

[+GeoSmurfz]

I wonder if this would also go for Mission (Santa, Cupid, Leprechaun, ect)?????? I wonder if I should check all the coins that I have from trades also???????

[+sweetlife]

shouldnt be too hard to find out who sold him the coin look who held it last, but anyway, if he purchased it off of ebay, have the buyer report him and he will be blocked as a seller, that will protect the rest of us when we are purchasing coins. reporting him to Groundspeak should also get him removed from the site.

[CinemaBoxers]

I got an email yesterday from another user saying he bought one of my coins at the Geocoin Event in February in Temecula, CA and he wondered how he could activate the coin under his user ID. I never sold any of my coins and all my coins, except for a one that is in my possession, were placed as travelers in caches. It look like some other cacher swiped my coins from a cache and fraudulently 'sold it' to this guy. The guy who sent me an email is now out money. So as an FYI be careful who you buy your coins from!

 

It is crap like this that has caused me to stop buying coins.

 

If I bought an activated coin, I would quickly notify the seller, AND I would also tell the owner who I bought it from. Are you sure that the 'buyer' is kosher and didnt pick it up in a cache? Id ask for it back.

 

We bought a coin that had a duplicate tracking number for an entirely different coin. (Actually, WE had the correct coin, but the other coins owner had already 'activated it'. We contacted them, and the minter, and got a replacement. We also sent out the 'activated' coin to the person who activated it!

 

And.. got a nice pathtag in the process!

[+Kealia]

shouldnt be too hard to find out who sold him the coin look who held it last, but anyway, if he purchased it off of ebay, have the buyer report him and he will be blocked as a seller, that will protect the rest of us when we are purchasing coins. reporting him to Groundspeak should also get him removed from the site.

 

I would guess that whoever took it out of a cache and sold it likely didn't log that they had it. Just my guess...

 

eBay will not recognize the coin "owner" as the person who set it free. Moun10Bike's coins all explicity state on the coin page that the coin is not be sold and show him as the owner. They did nothing when he repeatedly tried to get his coins pulled down when people were selling them.

 

And unless you can PROVE something, Groundspeak isn't going to take action.

 

Bottome line:

1) Buyer beware

2) Not everybody that deals with coins or hangs out in these forums is just a nice person who wants to give to the community. Most are, but as in any slice of society, you get all kinds. Sad reality.

[+Droo]

(....snip some)... It look like some other cacher swiped my coins from a cache and fraudulently 'sold it' to this guy. The guy who sent me an email is now out money. So as an FYI be careful who you buy your coins from!

 

It is crap like this that has caused me to stop buying coins.

 

I wonder if the seller was the same guy who stole Alabama Ramber's Moun10bike coin.

[+Renegade Knight]

If I were to buy a collection to re-sell sooner or later I'm going to come across a coin that I bought in good faith but which isn't legit. Having just bought the coin I'd really not be thrilled about losing my money on it.

 

But it begs the question.

Do you only pay for collections AFTER you have confirmed each individual coin is legit? That would mean collections are worth less since you have to invest a lot more time into them.

 

Do you offer the coin to the last known owner at cost? Not the best deal for the owner.

 

Do you just releast ie and suck it up? That also means that collections would be worth less on average since the risk has to be factored in when buying one.

 

Stuff to think about.

[+fairyhoney]

[+prntr1]

(....snip some)... It look like some other cacher swiped my coins from a cache and fraudulently 'sold it' to this guy. The guy who sent me an email is now out money. So as an FYI be careful who you buy your coins from!

 

It is crap like this that has caused me to stop buying coins.

 

I wonder if the seller was the same guy who stole Alabama Ramber's Moun10bike coin.

 

I thought is was the number 1 Alabama coin that got stolen/misplaced/traded by accident

 

Edited to add:

 

Thought so, here is the link to the original thread

Missing Geocoin

Edited April 6, 2007 by prntr1

[+Dr. Whoever]

Referring to Kealia's post. True and Sad, as he mentioned most here are good folks but there are the BAD BOYS out there too. I traded and purchased coins before at events (4 total) that actually were activated and belonged to someone. When I found this out and I contacted the people that traded and sold them. Even though they all had been geocaching members for quite some time they all claimed ignorance, yet each time did not want to refund or trade back the coins or cash. Take these words to heart. BUYER BEWARE!

I would seriously recommend if purchasing, always go with a trusted geocaching coin person or company. None of the companies listed in the forum pinned threads as sellers are out to give bad business and all will treat the caching customer right. This also goes for some of the private cachers who are producing coins. Most are very reputable and will make good on all deals. Once in a while we find the shady deals, but those are usually picked up on very quickly and exposed.

One more thing. A good rule of thumb is to not commit to sending your money if coins are not available or in the hand of the sellers. There have been multiple complaints about the LOOOOOONG waits and this can be a very misleading and disturbing practice. The companies advertising on Geocaching.com don't practice this. They are very good about getting orders in and shipping them as promptly as possible. I myself will only invoice when the products are available and will ship the next business day as most people know who have bought from me.

So in summary, go with reputation and service. If you are unsure ask other cachers before purchasing. or trading to make your coin experience a pleasant one instead of a sour taste.

[+CachingCoins]

This is all good reading & I appreciate all of you who took the time to respond to this. At times, I have gotten caught up in the frenzy. I even tried to buy the Brooklyn Bridge & swampland in Fl. I always try to remind myself to stop & take a breath. Think about it a moment before I pounce. I have been burned. I appreciate the reminder to be careful!