retrieve an unactivated coin from my own cache?

[mikenewell]

Would it be considered bad taste or bad etiquette to retreive an unactivated geocoin from my own cache? Over the weekend a local cacher left an unactivated geocoin in one of my caches. When he logged the visit to my cache, he mentioned dropping off the unactivated coin and that it was for anyone who wanted it, to keep as their own. Well, when my kids (9 & 4 yr old) found out there was an unactivated coin in our cache, they pleaded and begged with Dad to let them go retreive it. So, off we treked the 3.5 mile journey and picked up the coin. I have since sent a message to the original owner of the coin to make sure it was ok with him that we (the owners of the cache) picked up the coin. I haven't heard a nay or yay yet from the owner so I wanted to check here to see what everyone else has to say.

[+LadyBee4T]

I think you will get opinions both ways. Personally if you traded even or better yet up and logged it that it would be ok.

[+kdv]

I think it's not the most elegant move, but I have seen worse. How about an official cache reviewer retrieving an unactivated coin that was put as a FTF prize in a cache mere hours after having published said cache? (without putting anything in its place, so on top of everything else trading down too)

 

Would it be considered bad taste or bad etiquette to retreive an unactivated geocoin from my own cache? Over the weekend a local cacher left an unactivated geocoin in one of my caches. When he logged the visit to my cache, he mentioned dropping off the unactivated coin and that it was for anyone who wanted it, to keep as their own. Well, when my kids (9 & 4 yr old) found out there was an unactivated coin in our cache, they pleaded and begged with Dad to let them go retreive it. So, off we treked the 3.5 mile journey and picked up the coin. I have since sent a message to the original owner of the coin to make sure it was ok with him that we (the owners of the cache) picked up the coin. I haven't heard a nay or yay yet from the owner so I wanted to check here to see what everyone else has to say.

[+luckycharmer]

Sure it's OK for the owner to retrieve the coin. That's how a lot of the mystery coins are sent out. BUT REMEMBER to leave something of equal value for the next finder.

 

What coin did you find?

[+fairyhoney]

I think it's not the most elegant move, but I have seen worse. How about an official cache reviewer retrieving an unactivated coin that was put as a FTF prize in a cache mere hours after having published said cache? (without putting anything in its place, so on top of everything else trading down too)

 

 

Now That is just BAD

[+The Moop Along]

I'll echo luckycharmer. It's just fine to go do that, as long as you leave some sort of trade swag in its place. That's what I would do anyway.

 

TMA

[+Kealia]

I agree as well. It's fine as long as:

1) You trade evenly

2) You don't do it everytime that something nice is dropped (of course I guess if you trade evenly it doesn't REALLY matter - you just don't want to be seen as taking all the good stuff)

[mikenewell]

thanks for all of the replies, yes we did trade up and actually restocked our cache with all kinds of new goodies for future cachers.

[+Kealia]

Then life is good, and balance has been restored to The Force.

[mikenewell]

Sure it's OK for the owner to retrieve the coin. That's how a lot of the mystery coins are sent out. BUT REMEMBER to leave something of equal value for the next finder.

 

What coin did you find?

 

It's a gold South West Nova Scotia geocoin (beautiful). Can be seen here: http://3geeks.ca/index.php?option=com_cont...3&Itemid=34

[+kdv]

Well in that case I don't see any problem at all either. If an unactivated coin were to be dropped in one of my caches close to home, I might pick it up myself too, leaving another unactivated coin or something else of at least equal value in its place.

 

thanks for all of the replies, yes we did trade up and actually restocked our cache with all kinds of new goodies for future cachers.

[+kdv]

 

Now That is just BAD

 

Glad you think so too! It's cache GC165FG. Read it and weep

[+Droo]

With early notifications available to Premium Members the cache owner's emails of logged activity and coins left in a cache no longer poses an advantage. The willingness to hike 3.5 miles to get a coin out of a cache that you won't log a find to is.

 

The story of the volunteer reviewer using his/her position to get earlier notifications of new caches for FTF prizes shows that even the PTB can play this game badly.

[mikenewell]

With early notifications available to Premium Members the cache owner's emails of logged activity and coins left in a cache no longer poses an advantage. The willingness to hike 3.5 miles to get a coin out of a cache that you won't log a find to is.

 

The story of the volunteer reviewer using his/her position to get earlier notifications of new caches for FTF prizes shows that even the PTB can play this game badly.

 

ummm.. kinda confused as to what you're saying in the first part of your reply? as to whether you think it was ok or not? at any rate, I did log a note on my cache listing that we picked up the coin so others would not make the long hike just for the sake of the coin

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

 

Now That is just BAD

 

Glad you think so too! It's cache GC165FG. Read it and weep

Given the limited information available on the webpage, I don't think it's fair to speculate on what happened.

 

With early notifications available to Premium Members the cache owner's emails of logged activity and coins left in a cache no longer poses an advantage. The willingness to hike 3.5 miles to get a coin out of a cache that you won't log a find to is.

 

The story of the volunteer reviewer using his/her position to get earlier notifications of new caches for FTF prizes shows that even the PTB can play this game badly.

 

As you noted, with instant notifications available, who's to say the reviewer had an advantage? The cache was published on the 23rd and the FTF was on the 24th - since there is no timestamp, there is no way to tell how much time actually passed - just speculation.

 

More importantly, this is off-topic for this thread. It's not about whether or not volunteer reviewers should have the right to be FTF or not (open a thread in the General Section for that discussion). This thread is about whether or not it's OK for an owner to re-visit his/her own cache.

[+joranda]

 

Now That is just BAD

 

Glad you think so too! It's cache GC165FG. Read it and weep

Given the limited information available on the webpage, I don't think it's fair to speculate on what happened.

 

 

September 24, 2007 by xxxxx (252 found)

Difficile non andare subito a trovare questo cache, a due passi da casa. Facile ritrovamento ma buon nascondiglio. Grazie mille per il coin.

---

Hard not to visit this cache right away, since it is located very close to our house. Easy finding but good hiding place. Thanks for the coin. No Trade.

[CnK] xxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

It looks like it is all in black and white here. Says,"Thanks for the coin. No trade."

That is sad that the reviewer ran out to get the coin after they published it.

I did remove the names as to not upset anyone on the forums.

[+Eartha]

Would it be considered bad taste or bad etiquette to retreive an unactivated geocoin from my own cache? Over the weekend a local cacher left an unactivated geocoin in one of my caches. When he logged the visit to my cache, he mentioned dropping off the unactivated coin and that it was for anyone who wanted it, to keep as their own. Well, when my kids (9 & 4 yr old) found out there was an unactivated coin in our cache, they pleaded and begged with Dad to let them go retreive it. So, off we treked the 3.5 mile journey and picked up the coin. I have since sent a message to the original owner of the coin to make sure it was ok with him that we (the owners of the cache) picked up the coin. I haven't heard a nay or yay yet from the owner so I wanted to check here to see what everyone else has to say.

 

I think your answer is right there in your post. (I put it in bold to point it out more clearly)

[+guinea gal]

I have a similar scenario. You're driving by a cache that you haven't found yet, but your traveling companion has. You stop at the cache (its location was very obvious) and your friend hops out of the car to retrieve it for you. There happens to be an unactivated geocoin in there. Instead of offering it to you, your traveling companion decides to keep it for herself.

My personal opinion is that, the traveling companion wouldn't have stopped at that cache that day on her own volition, so she shouldn't keep the coin.

And before anyone asks, no, she didn't leave anything: equal value or otherwise.

[+Butterfly_lady]

Would it be considered bad taste or bad etiquette to retreive an unactivated geocoin from my own cache? Over the weekend a local cacher left an unactivated geocoin in one of my caches. When he logged the visit to my cache, he mentioned dropping off the unactivated coin and that it was for anyone who wanted it, to keep as their own. Well, when my kids (9 & 4 yr old) found out there was an unactivated coin in our cache, they pleaded and begged with Dad to let them go retreive it. So, off we treked the 3.5 mile journey and picked up the coin. I have since sent a message to the original owner of the coin to make sure it was ok with him that we (the owners of the cache) picked up the coin. I haven't heard a nay or yay yet from the owner so I wanted to check here to see what everyone else has to say.

 

You placed the cache - surely you could consider it as thanks from another cacher.

 

After all, he mentioned it in his / her log, and that log is emailed to you, so you are the first (with watchers) to be alerted to the coin's presence.

I understand some people do the same sort of placement with mystery coins.

Edited May 6, 2008 by Butterfly_lady

[+DaFunkyFrogs]

The cache belongs to you. Everything in the cache belongs to you. You have as much (or more) right to trade out swag in it as anyone else.

Good cache maintenance includes removing things that are best in other locations, such as your coin album.

[+darnjoeSNARG]

Trade even or up and there's no problem.

 

While I might be able to resist an unactivated geocoin, there's no way I would be able to pass up a mystery coin if it showed up in a cache that I owned! I'd just leave one of my own unactivated coins to pay it back.

[Arf2-D2]

This is just me, but if I like a cache and want the owner to have a shot at what I left (usu a pathtag since I don't have my own coin), I don't mention it in my log right away.

I PM the cache owner letting them know it is there.

Then, after giving him time to retrieve it if he wants it (say, a week), I edit my log to say that I dropped it.

If I don't do that, then I intend it for the next cacher who wants it.

Of course, once its out of my hands - its out of my hands!

 

Personally, I wouldn't (and haven't) gone back to my own cache to retrieve an unactivated coin (even if I wanted it), but again, that's just me.

 

And, leaving an unactivated coin for an unactivated coin, as others have suggested, sounds fair to me.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Arf2-D2

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

Then life is good, and balance has been restored to The Force.

 

May the Force be with you.