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Can't Activate GeoCoinFest Coin!


Go JayBee

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I got the Oregon coins yesterday and retrieved the Activation Code from LandsharkZ's site for one of the coins.

 

Went to Groundspeak to activate it, and I get a "no match"...

 

Anyone else get the coins yet? If so....try to activate one and let me know what happens.

 

I tried 2 more codes, and got the same result. The Tracking numbers are plenty big enough not to be misread....I KNOW I've read them correctly.

 

This is just irritating me. Groundspeak should be the one to distribute the codes to the end user, after all, they are the ones assigning them to the vendors! Why do I have to go through 2 layers to activate a coin?

 

Steps off Soap Box....takes a deep breath....goes to fridge....gets a beer.

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Why do I have to go through 2 layers to activate a coin?

 

Because it is easier (and thus cheaper) for the original seller of the coins

They only need to get their codes loaded into a database, and they are done

Printing out lists of coin codes and activation codes, then cutting them apart and matching them to coins and inserting them into the sleeve is a fair amount of work

 

You are probably saving 50 cents or a dollar per coin by doing the lookup yourself

 

Another selling point - if a coin changes hands, it is an opportunity for the activation code to get lost

Again, makes more work for the original seller, who must now respond to your e-mail requesting the code

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Why do I have to go through 2 layers to activate a coin?

 

Because it is easier (and thus cheaper) for the original seller of the coins

They only need to get their codes loaded into a database, and they are done

Printing out lists of coin codes and activation codes, then cutting them apart and matching them to coins and inserting them into the sleeve is a fair amount of work

 

You are probably saving 50 cents or a dollar per coin by doing the lookup yourself

 

Another selling point - if a coin changes hands, it is an opportunity for the activation code to get lost

Again, makes more work for the original seller, who must now respond to your e-mail requesting the code

 

 

Bhob,

 

I understand your point completely. My original thought was: Why can't the "end user" just go to one place (the place that creates the codes, i.e Groundspeak) to get the Activation codes? Seems that there would be a layer of possible errors removed. But no....you have to go to coincodes, to oakcoins, to hogcode, to landsharkz, to geocoinclub, to cachingplace, etc, etc. Then you finally get to Groundspeak, and they tell you that the code does not exist? What the "H"?....They were the ones that assigned the code in the 1st place! And they feign stupidity all of a sudden? Not our fault...you musta read the number wrong...re-check it and try again. :D

 

Edit to add:

 

I sell coins....but, I always make sure that the Act Codes are valid. I will sell no coin without the Code...it is my standard.

Edited by Go JayBee
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Oops !

Sorry that I misunderstood your original question

 

I suspect that this will mostly work itself out before too long

At some point, one of the services will get good enough at it that they can do it so cheaply that most of the rest will just farm it out to them - maybe CoinCodes, maybe somebody else

 

About a year ago, when Groundspeak stopped giving out codes to people who could not find them, the word from an admin that I know was that they could not afford to provide codes at the $1.50 per coin price point

 

So, I would not expect Groundspeak to step up and do it, unless the price went up

 

This is all just my opinion - I have no inside information on any of this

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I agree that it seems odd that Groundspeak provides the codes, but sometimes they are "missing" for a while

 

Previous posts that I have read seem to indicate that this is a two-step process

1. generate codes

2. load them into the database

 

Obviously, step #1 must be done early, so that codes can be sent to the factory to be engraved on the coins

 

But, for some reason or another, the folks who do these tasks sometimes leave a long gap of time between the two actions

 

Which sometimes means that when the coins get released, the codes have not yet been loaded

 

It seems like it would make sense to do the load shortly after the generate

After all, the codes have been paid for at that point, and it will have to be done eventually

The effort required is probably the same no matter when it is done, and it would make for happier customers

Edited by Bhob
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I guess it wasn't just that one coin, eh JayBee?

 

We'll be looking into this first thing on Monday... that should not need to be said but I'll say it anyway.

 

We are going away, but we'll be in cellphone range all day Monday and Groundspeak will be our first call at 9am.

 

I've checked that I sent the right file to the mint and can't find anything wrong at this end. I'm not sure of the processes at Groundspeak but I'm sure they'll be on top of this right away.

 

There is really nothing that we can do until Monday so enjoy the weekend <_<.

 

JayBee has the right idea... takes a deep breath....goes to fridge....makes a Sharktini :huh:

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I guess it wasn't just that one coin, eh JayBee?

 

We'll be looking into this first thing on Monday... that should not need to be said but I'll say it anyway.

 

We are going away, but we'll be in cellphone range all day Monday and Groundspeak will be our first call at 9am.

 

I've checked that I sent the right file to the mint and can't find anything wrong at this end. I'm not sure of the processes at Groundspeak but I'm sure they'll be on top of this right away.

 

There is really nothing that we can do until Monday so enjoy the weekend :huh: .

 

JayBee has the right idea... takes a deep breath....goes to fridge....makes a Sharktini :huh:

 

 

Thanks LandsharkZ for piping in...

 

I never thought that you were at fault here...I've just been exposed to a huge chink in Groundspeak's armor and thought I would rant about it. You were most forthcoming by having the codes available to the recipients of the coins within hours of delivery. Great job...well done.

 

 

Groundspeak needs to step up to the plate and be responsible for assuring that the codes that they assign to you (and other vendors) are available to the end user. After all, they are given to you first! Why can't those same codes be avaiailble to all of us?...They were generated by GS in the 1st place!

 

 

Going to the fridge again....you know the rest. <_<

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I agree that it seems odd that Groundspeak provides the codes, but sometimes they are "missing" for a while

 

Previous posts that I have read seem to indicate that this is a two-step process

1. generate codes

2. load them into the database

 

Obviously, step #1 must be done early, so that codes can be sent to the factory to be engraved on the coins

 

But, for some reason or another, the folks who do these tasks sometimes leave a long gap of time between the two actions

 

Which sometimes means that when the coins get released, the codes have not yet been loaded

 

It seems like it would make sense to do the load shortly after the generate

After all, the codes have been paid for at that point, and it will have to be done eventually

The effort required is probably the same no matter when it is done, and it would make for happier customers

 

 

Bhob,

 

You've hit the nail right on it's head...this is exactly what Ive been getting at. <_<

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OT: Does anybody have an extra to trade?

 

I agree it would be best to have everything done all through Groundspeak. It would make it so much easier to find codes. There are so many coins out there that have no online hosting and if the slip is lost then you have to spend along time searching for the code.

 

J

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Hey Jaybee! What were you doing trying to activate the coin before the event! :P hehe! :D

 

 

Did you have something to do with that? :P At least you could have warned us! Those Beefsteak pics really worked, I guess. I'm picturing Signals' lilly white butt lying on a Lillypad. Anyone got those pics yet? I see a new coin coming.... :)

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Having the same problem here. I was going to activate some to plant in caches to be found and logged during the event. SO does that mean we will not be able to do that until Oct 6?

Without any firm word from the powers that be, it seems so. Still, it could give people further reason to search, as the cache could contain an unactivated coin.

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Just my 2 cents, but as I have had a problem with database loads - I loaded the codes on CastleMans site and 2 different coins (types, not individual coins) could not be retrieved from the database. I reloaded the codes and got the same error a second time. I actually had to download the DB, search for the two coin 'types' and manually delete all the codes for that particular coin... twice. Then reloaded again and it worked.

 

I suspect this is the same type of database load error that occured at Groundspeak. Give 'em a break - they generate literally thousands of codes weekly and sometimes something gets missed. It's not because of lack of attention, when codes are loaded into a DB, there would not be any indication of a 'bad load'.

 

Believe me, it's not fun going through 17,000 codes and deleting 660 of them by hand. (after all, I did have to FIND the codes in there first)

 

For the amount of codes that GS must have in their activation database, I would personally hate to have to go through it manually and find how ever many codes they had to generate for this particular coin. It's a pain in the arse, but until someone points it out to them, they would have been clueless as to the error. It takes someone to point it out to them so it can be corrected as soon as possible.

 

I realize that not everyone is perfect, and GS Lackeys are certainly not any mightier than anyone else, so go easy on 'em. We're all in this thing together. Now that it has been pointed out, I'm sure they will put in place some sort of 'verify the codes can be retrieved and activated' segment in their standard operating procedures for uploading activation codes.

 

Although I do feel your pain JayBee, I also understand the other side as well, and I just wanted you to know that it's not all human fault... sometimes, computer programs can have a glitch... sometimes. :D

 

Keep your chin up, you will be able to activate that coin soon, if you haven't already.

 

~J

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Just checkin' in from So Cal... :)

 

Glad this is all sorted out... Bryan assured us before we left that it would be taken care of. We're pretty sure we sent the icon images a couple of weeks ago, but we'll check and make sure later this week after we're home. Now we gotta find a cache big enough tomorrow to drop all the coins and TB's we brought with us so we don't end up lugging them back home again!

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