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Seeking Brutal Honesty


nolefan9399

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My new coins, NOLEFAN9399& KimbyJ's Just Married 2007, have been on sale now for a little over a month now and I haven't even sold half of them :( I know :( lol. I see some coins that have just gone on sale are already sold out. I am just seeking some brutal honesty on why these aren't going out as fast as others. With this insight I may be able to get something changed or know to take a different route next time. I am a lover of geocoins and only want to put quality coins out there. This time I didn't put the story with the coin like I did with my last coin. Not sure if that is what it is or something else. Please help.

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My new coins, NOLEFAN9399& KimbyJ's Just Married 2007, have been on sale now for a little over a month now and I haven't even sold half of them :( I know :( lol. I see some coins that have just gone on sale are already sold out. I am just seeking some brutal honesty on why these aren't going out as fast as others. With this insight I may be able to get something changed or know to take a different route next time. I am a lover of geocoins and only want to put quality coins out there. This time I didn't put the story with the coin like I did with my last coin. Not sure if that is what it is or something else. Please help.

 

The first thing that comes to mind is that you made twice as many as you needed. You overestimated demand.

 

Demand is hard to gauge at times. A beautiful design will sell well. But that beauty is in the eyes of the collective buyers. Not the seller.

 

I have a hard time picturing a "Just Married" coin specific to you has much interest outside the people who know you. Unless the design was universially adored.

 

Some perspective. A year ago, ICE would have to watch a coin issue carefully and time our purchase to when they first appeard. Not even then was there a guarantee that we would get the coin for our members. Now, we can take our time and let our own schedule determine when we make a purchase. A lot of that is that there are now so many more coins out there to be had. Any one garden variety coin doesn't matter a whole lot.

 

I have not seen your coin. You didn't provide a link. So "Garden Vareity" is my opinion based on your report it didn't sell out. On average most coins are average...

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It's a nice coin, but so personal that I think it does help to know the person. Also, there are so many coins out there now buyers have to keep in mind that new coins are always coming out. It's one of the reasons that we have decided to go non trackable, etc when we do our personal. Most likely we'll give it to friends, drop it in caches or trade in person with those who meet us. We dont want to hassle and stress of preorders, packaging, worrying about sales, etc.

 

Good luck!

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There are _so_ many coins being released at the moment that I think some of us are having to consider just what types of coins we are collecting - I know I am. I had been buying every coin released but as I collect sets rather than just one of each I was just not able to continue at that rate. This coin was not in the list of what is in scope - sorry.

 

Sue

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I'm starting to think that most coins are being bought up in bunches to be sold on ebay. That being said, I've noticed that many personal coins don't seem to have that high of a re-sale value for some reason.

 

Most people will buy a state coin before they buy a coin for a person they have never heard of. Value is set accordingly. You would need to have a most excellent personal coin insofar as design or be so well known for some reason that your coin stands out. Moun10bike for example made the first geocoin and is well known on top of that.

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Honestly, bad timing. Here's my take on current coins. The following comments are Opinions. NOT fact.

 

If you'll look at a number of coin companies today, they have 40+ coins in stock. That's not profitable. Think if they had 100 pieces of each coin, at $4 each, that's $16000. That's probably a low guess. I've seen these coins sit, and sit, and sit. It even appears that some inventory is set in at low quantities and "sells out", only to be refilled later with the rest, to try and draw "want".

 

I know as a consumer, I'm overwhelmed. I think the majority of coins coming out today are drab and common, and not many catch my eye. Couple that with the fact that they show up in bunches of 3, 6, or 12 at a time, I mean, geez. Who can afford to buy even 1 each of twelve new coins at a time? Not me :(

 

The coins I have bought in the last 3 months, are really low runs, and unique designs. I'm tired of coins in more than one metal, super duper secret LEs, huge group coins, and personals for sale. I have lots of general examples, like, how many coins can you have with the same theme/design, but that would be making specific digs at someone in particular.

 

Unfortunately Duane, your coin doesn't have anything "over the top" to it. It's very special to you, nicely designed, and competitively priced. Heck, I like it. It's the market, not you. I don't know the minting quantity, but IMHO, if it's more than 250, that's way too many. There's not as many people that want every geocoin anymore, because it's become mundane.

 

I'm thinking many coin companies will start to be more selective on the projects they agree too, because the "funded" coins, where the requester gets free stuff, and the store sells the rest, aren't moving in a lot of cases.

 

Again, all the above comments are Opinion only. Go ahead and hate me :(

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I just saw your coin today. I was cruising around the forum looking for new coins when I saw mention of yours on a thread. I thought yours was a really neat coin and if I were in a buy state I would have bought at least two but this is simply not the case. (I have buying splurges and then remorse when I see coins that I can't get because I've already blown my coin budget for that week.) :(

Perhaps it is more of a breakdown of communication? Not enough advertising?

The coins that have sold out really fast as of late are either GeoWoodstock related OR were first time seen designs (the laptop and PDA). The PDAs were available for a few days if I remember correctly. Of course I also am more likely to buy a coin from some one I know too. The forum threads for new coins that seem to go fast also seem to be updated pretty often by the owner with info on where the coin is in production or answers to buyer questions. Just my two cents

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Ok here is the story. A little over a year and a half ago I got an IM from KimbyJ, who lived/lives in Ohio and at the time I lived in Florida, saying 'I see you are into Geocaching.' I responded yes and we started talking from there. To make a long sappy story short, I moved to Ohio to be with her and landed a great job to boot. We both at the time had over 1500 finds each at the time and now we are over 2100 each. We got married on Feb. 23rd. of this year and I know we are not the first geocachers to get married but we decided to celebrate by putting our thoughts on a coin. The coin represents my love of Jeeping and the words Jeeping and caching our way to another adventure just represents our approach on life.

The coins have been on sale over at LANDSHARKZ for a little over a month. Here is a pic of the coin for those who have not seen them yet: 2007Silverfront.jpg2007Silverback.jpg

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I saw your coin and bought one for my collection. But I to agree there are a lot of coins comming out at the same time, I know I have 2 designs on the way to me and another 4 in production, and my 1st coin I made 500 of the same metal and I still have more than half of them left, so as I learned to get lower amounts and make them in more than one metal, I think if you make a coin in more than 3 metals is excessive. 3 metals is enough for a collector to choose a metal they like and you can still make a beautiful coin.

 

I remember your 1st coin and I know they sold out, and that was thru a different store so I can see why they sold faster. The other site is visited more often then the current site you coins are on, and people are just choosing certain coins or sellers based on the quality of their coins, I have seen coins sit for months and others sell out in 5 to 20 mins. Its just the brakes. But By telling the story and advertising the coins I think you may get some more sales.

 

Good Luck and Happy Caching

Socalgeocoins.com

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Like others have said, it seems this is a very personal geocoin. If a local geocacher I knew personally had gotten married, I would definitely want the coin. I had actually thought about having a wedding coin minted for my wedding and using it as the wedding favor to give to my relatives and friends.

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There were only 250 coins made so I could get it trackable and have a unique icon as I have seen a lot of people demanding. 30 of those coins I got leaving only 220 to sell. With as huge as the community is I thought this would be no problem considering the way some coins were flying off the shelves so to speak. I have seen some good points here and I appreciate it. Sometimes a personal can be too personal maybe like in thi case. Plus I am no Moun10bike lol. Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

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I like your coin and since I feel I know you I want it in my collection. :(

 

One thing that is a turn off is the cost. I know the coin itself is not so much overpriced priced but it is the shipping from Canada to the US that is the killer.

 

If I want only one coin it will cost me $12.50 now if I get 2 coins one in each finish then it cost me $21.75 about $10.88 per coin which is more reasonable. But that goes back to it being a very personal coin, people really do not want 2 of them.

 

I agree with TSD a personal coin should cost $10 shipped. That is about the limit for me. :(

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Here are the problems:

 

1. Biggest: Coin overload, which consists of just plain to many coins available for purchase, plus much harder to come up with a truely unique design. Because people can't buy everything, they have mostly reduced their overall coin budget.

 

2. This coin is so personal, that unless people have a relationship with you, it is unlikely people will buy it, in part because of #1.

 

3. It is a a neat coin, but doesn't really jump out at you so no real strong motivation for people to purchase, and I am guessing it is being looked at as not having a lot of resale value on ebay.

 

I have a coin that I did for a new grand daughter. It is trackable with a unique icon, that is quite unique, that will go up for sale in a few weeks. I made 250 which is all that will be made. I will put up for sale 200 at a fairly low price, and do not really expect it to sell like gang busters.

 

The bottom line is that market has changed. It used to be that you could sell 250 of almost anything. It is just not the case anymore. I suspect most people would be supprised at the number of individuals who have made coins and are having a hard time selling them. So please know that sell outs are the exception not the rule right now.

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The general state of geocoins, there are a couple of factors I think contribute:

(1) group projects have eaten up money that would go toward coin purchases. The projects have allowed people to own 'personals' without forking out for 250 coins

(2) the geocoin market is flooded with new coins coming out every day

(3) most of the new coins coming out aren't original ideas (how many pirate coins are we gonna have this year?) in fact, some look almost identical to others produced before them

(4) there are far more vendors selling commerical coins than there were 6 months ago

(5) it's the start of summer and many people are on vacation, going out geocaching and not paying such close attention to geocoins ~ the same thing happened last year ~ money is spent elsewhere. There is less forum activity than the winter months

(6) with delays and other policy changes at the mint, gettting 10 of 10 metals, 10 in different colors etc costs more than it did before

(7) the hype that some coins are selling like hotcakes tends to be just that: hype. it's a good selling tactic to lowball the order bin and then restock it later

 

Some of these, I believe, are factors into why your coins are not selling.

 

Is it possible for you to buy the remaining stock and use them as traders, I am sure when someone meets you they would like to trade personals with you... then it becomes personal again. :(

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In the "brutal honesty" department, I'm afraid the coin just didn't "do it" for me and that tends to be how I choose the coins I want to buy.

1.) I prefer coins that have metal and are clearly 3-D.

2.) The bright, primary colours didn't catch my eye the way I'm sure it was intended.

3.) I don't own a Jeep and there are lots of Jeep coins out there.

4.) As was already mentioned many times, I don't know you personally and this is a very, very personal coin.

 

I know a lot of people aren't going to like my personal coin even though I think it's tremendously cool and unique. That's why I'm not even trying to sell them. My intent/hope is to trade them so the costs will work out in the end.

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I like your coin, and if I knew you I would definitely buy it. But because, as others have said, it is a very personal coin more about you and KimbyJ's 'special day' than about caching as such.

 

But I must admit I traded for a DLiming/KimbyJ personal coin because I thought it was spectacular. I loved the 3D building on the back, it reminded me of places I've cached with my son, and the butterfly on the reverse side was gorgeous.

 

I guess it is a personal preference thing. Some coins call loudly to me, some coins are quieter. :(

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**snip**

 

That's why I'm not even trying to sell them. My intent/hope is to trade them so the costs will work out in the end.

 

That part right there makes me want one. You've made it personal again. Put me on your list. :(

 

What he said :(

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I don't know you or KimbyJ, but loved the whole idea behind the coin and bought one right away. I guess I'm off the beaten track on this one! Can I use your story in the post above when I post the coin on my collection site?

 

Along the lines of what he said. I bought the coin immediately (and more than one). I love the design and symbolism of it. Landsharkz did a great job with the artwork too.

Edited by AtlantaGal
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I bought one when I normally buy 2 of each coin I get. The reason I was only partially interested is that this is a celebration of YOUR marriage and of HUGE importance to you and Kimby and not of great significance to geocaching or geocoining. Your friends, on the other hand, and fellow jeepers and 4WDers should've been snapping these up like pretzels. :(:(

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Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

 

 

I spent THE BEST day of my cachin' career with YOU and the rest of the NEFGA Jeep club. I'll buy one of your coins if you need the sales, but I prefer to trade. Your coin would actually still have meaning for me if I bought it. :)

 

 

I'm not moved to buy many coins. Nearly the entire 100+ coin collection I have has been given to me or traded for at events. I've also traded a few by mail.

 

 

I bought my own coin press more to have something of like value to give in return than anything, but also to have a unique wedding gift for the guests at my wedding. It only turned into a business because of the demand for my coins locally and the fact that smashed coins have a much wider appeal than geocoins. I figured that my equipment may pay for itself in a few years. Hey. I've made $30 so far. I'm on my way. :P:(

 

 

I haven't fired the bullet on my own trackables yet, but I will some day. I have half a dozen trackable projects on the drawing board. I'm in no rush though. :(B)

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I think you've seen most of the reasons why your coin isn't selling posted up above somewhere by now so I'm not going to repeat them here. .

 

In my mind the question for you now becomes what can I do to move the rest of them?? You can stick with trying to sell them and hope for the best. Eventually if people want them they will sell out.

 

Or you can buy the remaining lot from the mfr and use them for trades. Being a collector you know how expensive it can get to buy all the coins you want. If you bought the remaining coins and used them as trade bait for coins that you would normally buy I can almost guarantee you the money you would have spent on buying those same coins will cover the expense of making your own coin. Many people above have mentioned the personal aspect of your coin. It would be a lot more personal and more people would be willing to trade for it if they got it from you personally in trade for another coin.

 

Just a thought. This approach has worked for me in the past.

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One change that is not mentioned here is that when geocoins were new, the whole concept of coin designs was new to many geocachers. Several coin options seen in other markets were not ever seen in geocaching markets. These days, many of those options and styles have been used up and there are going to be repeats and things will look more mundane. Several geocoin people expected "new and different" in most new coins, but with a lot of different coins out there these days, the race has about beat itself. The whole market change is all part of the stabilization process now that the newness has wore off.

 

I don't think the "hype" thing of sales has any affect. I have not noticed anyone put coins up on sale than take them down just to make people think they sold fast. If anything, that hurts sales. Many vendors keep partial batches on hold until their previous sales clear out so they can fill bad shipments or replace defective coins. Then they put the left over's up when it is the right time. That is just good business. For us, that is about 3 to 4 times per coin design until we are certain all shipments are completed for each inventory batch sold. Sometimes the inventory system has some issues and makes a coin look like it is being taken off and put back up. The last Geocoinfest coin was on the site for two weeks until someone finally bought it. Shoppers putting the coin in the cart and then removing it from the cart kept the coin looking like it was sold then back up. I would rather sell all coins in one batch, but that is not possible since things happen with shipments and defective coins need to be replaced.

 

I also disagree that popularity of a cacher has anything to do with personal coin sales. I have seen very popular cacher coins sell slow and little known cacher coins sell fast. I have also seen some personal coins sell more than some state or regional coins. It all depends on a combination of pricing, market timing, market demand, design, and advertising. That is how all product sales are based.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with your coin, it is just the market isn't the same as it used to be. "Saturation" might be the word for the change.

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