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Garmin geocoin promotion:All coin versions now released.


slimey

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Millets in Kingston, Surrey, uk said they are out of stock and only had 16 coins, they went to staff and friends.

 

If that's true, then Garmin will want to know about it. They didn't spend all that money on promotional items to attract people into the store to look at their products, only to have those items not get any further than the stock room. :D

Edited by sTeamTraen
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Millets in Kingston, Surrey, uk said they are out of stock and only had 16 coins, they went to staff and friends.

 

If that's true, then Garmin will want to know about it. They didn't spend all that money on promotional items to attract people into the store to look at their products, only to have those items not get any further than the stock room. :D

 

That's just life unfortunately, things like this tend to bring out the worst in people :D

 

Whilst some cachers are still trying to get a coin others have got 2 for themselves, one for each family member or an extra to post to a friend. They're even turning up in the hands of US collectors already. All of these things are probably outside of what Garmin intended, but that's just human nature and I'm sure that Garmin had a pretty good idea what was likely to happen. The publicity that Garmin has had on this forum alone has probably more than paid for the coins, the fact that a few have hit the intended target is just a bonus :D

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Just to let you know, Blacks in Newastle seem to have a supply we have been on two seperate weekends and got one, the first time they wanted proof that you were a geocaher (told them nothing), the second time they never mentioned a thing and handed over a coin, but they seem to be all Big Bens. :D

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or an extra to post to a friend.

 

... and what would be so wrong with that really?

 

Hands up, I posted some to other cachers (who incidentally weren't particularly friends, just people I have seen on this forum), as they live in far flung parts of the country and had no Blacks store near them. As a result, Garmin have publicity in areas they might not have expected.

 

I did a circular tour of Blacks stores in central London, by wheelchair to collect them so they weren't exactly on a plate either!

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Millets in Kingston, Surrey, uk said they are out of stock and only had 16 coins, they went to staff and friends. What hope do we have to get one. Is there an address where we can write off for one...or are we going to miss out.

 

Ragged Robin

 

That's out of order, espescially as they're not allowed to enter the competition:

 

... Employees and close family of Garmin and of the partner companies involved are not eligible.

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Millets in Kingston, Surrey, uk said they are out of stock and only had 16 coins, they went to staff and friends. What hope do we have to get one. Is there an address where we can write off for one...or are we going to miss out.

 

Ragged Robin

 

That's out of order, espescially as they're not allowed to enter the competition:

 

... Employees and close family of Garmin and of the partner companies involved are not eligible.

I hadn't seen that, but I was sure that it is against the law for employees and family to participate in any competition within the UK. So before seeing Marty's post, I took it upon myself to bring it to the attention of Groundspeak.

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they wanted proof that you were a geocaher

Huh? :D

 

The mind boggles as to how you could prove this.

Do the secret cacher's handshake :D:D say no more.

Keep looking furtively around the store. Lifting up displays, and looking for suspicious piles of sticks. That kind of thing.

Or just say "What would I want with a geocoin if I wasn't a geocacher?"

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or an extra to post to a friend.

 

... and what would be so wrong with that really?

 

Hands up, I posted some to other cachers (who incidentally weren't particularly friends, just people I have seen on this forum), as they live in far flung parts of the country and had no Blacks store near them. As a result, Garmin have publicity in areas they might not have expected.

 

I did a circular tour of Blacks stores in central London, by wheelchair to collect them so they weren't exactly on a plate either!

 

I wasn't suggesting that it was wrong, it was a comment on the shades of grey that exist in life. On the face of it there's nothing wrong with it, until someone finds that the last coin at one of the stores you visited was given away just before they got there :D

 

It was suggested a few posts up the thread that it was wrong for members of staff to get coins for family members. It seemed a bit strange that someone complained about this when it passes with comment that people pick coins up for friends or get a few extra for trade. The end result is exactly the same and both actions could be perceived as a bit unfair or selfish.

 

My personal line is that I'll drop into a store when and if I pass one and see if they have a coin available. I'll be disappointed if they haven't, but that's life. If I really desperately wanted one I'd have made the effort to dash out and get one for myself :D

 

My real point was exactly as you say yourself. We're all doing a good and very cheap job of providing Garmin with a lot of publicity, I'm sure they're not to bothered how we do it :D

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they wanted proof that you were a geocaher

Huh? :D

 

The mind boggles as to how you could prove this.

Do the secret cacher's handshake :D:D say no more.

Keep looking furtively around the store. Lifting up displays, and looking for suspicious piles of sticks. That kind of thing.

Or just say "What would I want with a geocoin if I wasn't a geocacher?"

 

Or just cut to the kill and whop your GPS out onto the counter :D

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As an ex-pat I am looking to trade for any of the Garmin UK coins... since people seem to like em to send out. I can release one in the US to travel for people to watch. :D Can also trade ya a handful of coins for one so you can activate a bunch and send them into the country side. They won't be in the contest, but at least you will have more travelers. :D

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Popped into the Newport, South Wales branch of Millets this morning and asked about the Geocoins, just got a blank expression back...they didnt have a clue of what I was talking about.

I did check this morning on my one and only cache hide as I knew there had been a BigBen coin placed in it, the quality of the coins are great I thought :D shame Millets couldn't help me :D

 

Mike

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I was in Abergavenny this morning and Monmouth this afternoon so popped into both the Millets stores, niether of them have had deliveries of coins but both stores were aware of them but didnt have any further info regarding when/if they'd be having any.

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike

 

I have telephoned all of the Milletts and Blacks stores within a 35 mile radius of my home. None of the Milletts stores had any coins, and most did not know what I was talking about. But all of the Blacks stores knew about the promotion, and some had coins or were awaiting further supplies.

 

So if you have got any local Blacks stores, I think these are the better option.

 

Regards Tarot

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Is it just the Big Ben ones in circulation at the mo?

 

Mike

 

Yes from what I have read on these pages and from talking to the participating stores, only the Big Ben coin has been made available. Garmin are leaving it pretty late if they are going to get the other four designs released in time for the end of the promotion on 30th September. I guess they may release all of the remaining coins together or possibly extend the promotion.

 

Regards Tarot

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Went into Blacks in Derby at lunch today to see if the new batch of coins had arrived. Confusingly, I ended up speaking to two different staff members who had heard two different stories.

 

Staff member one said they had been told that after the initial launch of the Big Ben coins, they would be getting a different coin batch every week untill all the sets had been released. However no more coins had arrived, and they didn't know of any shops who had had anything other than the Big Ben ones. Nor had they been given a delivery date for the next batch.

 

Staff member two said the store manager had told them that different Blacks regions had already been issued with different sets of coins to be released at different times. The manager also claimed to have seen some at another store, but would not tell the staff member I was talking to, which coins and at which stores. The staff member concerned was surprised when I told them the Big Ben coins had been released in different regions of England outside the North region.

 

If the staff at Blacks don't know, what hope is there for the rest of us :yikes: .

 

As an aside, the staff in Millet's in Derby know nothing about the promotion.

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Went into Blacks in Derby at lunch today to see if the new batch of coins had arrived. Confusingly, I ended up speaking to two different staff members who had heard two different stories.

 

Staff member one said they had been told that after the initial launch of the Big Ben coins, they would be getting a different coin batch every week untill all the sets had been released. However no more coins had arrived, and they didn't know of any shops who had had anything other than the Big Ben ones. Nor had they been given a delivery date for the next batch.

 

Staff member two said the store manager had told them that different Blacks regions had already been issued with different sets of coins to be released at different times. The manager also claimed to have seen some at another store, but would not tell the staff member I was talking to, which coins and at which stores. The staff member concerned was surprised when I told them the Big Ben coins had been released in different regions of England outside the North region.

 

If the staff at Blacks don't know, what hope is there for the rest of us :P .

 

As an aside, the staff in Millet's in Derby know nothing about the promotion.

 

 

Suggest you speak to Staff member one next time, thats the story I got from Blacks at both York and Norwich this week when I visited. Still not managed to get my hands on a Big Ben coin to release, let alone any of the other designs :yikes: , even after visiting every Millets and Blacks between York and Suffolk at the weekend. Anyone in Chester care to pop in to Millets on my behalf ? I'd send you an SAE and be very grateful. Pretty Please... :P

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I popped into Blacks in the Metro Centre today and asked if they had any coins left. The man I asked told me they had none. He also confirmed that a new set were meant to be released each week and that despite expecting some last week, nothing had arrived and they were hoping for some this week.

Apparently they only got 20 coins and they'd all gone within 4 hours. I got the feeling this wasn't the first time he'd been asked about this recently as he seemed a bit like "not another one of them..."

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Not great news folks....

 

I popped to Blacks, Basingstoke this afternoon and was told the following:

 

They were expecting to receive the coins in 4 batches. The first one they only received a fraction of the number they expected and only on the one design. He had expected the next three to arrive at regular intervals however nothing more had appeared. They have now been told that there has been a 'cockup' over the whole thing and that they won't receive any further coins and that as far as they (Blacks) were concerned they were no longer part of the promotion.

 

So, as has previously been discussed, it seems Garmin may have not been fully prepared for this. That or the coins are very late being minted and they have had to delay the promotion until they receive the rest. Either way, its not great.

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Not great news folks....

 

I did try to call Garmin at their Southampton HQ on Friday to get some clarification. The receptionist had not herd of the contest, but put me through to their marketing department. Unfortunately I just got a voice mail service, so I will try again tomorrow and pass on any news.

 

Regards Tarot

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Not great news folks....

 

I did try to call Garmin at their Southampton HQ on Friday to get some clarification. The receptionist had not herd of the contest, but put me through to their marketing department. Unfortunately I just got a voice mail service, so I will try again tomorrow and pass on any news.

 

Regards Tarot

You beat me to it...!

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Not great news folks....

 

I did try to call Garmin at their Southampton HQ on Friday to get some clarification. The receptionist had not herd of the contest, but put me through to their marketing department. Unfortunately I just got a voice mail service, so I will try again tomorrow and pass on any news.

 

Regards Tarot

You beat me to it...!

 

Hi Bambography

 

I think you should also try to contact them tomorrow, I might not be able to get through at the best times because of my strange shift times.

 

Regards Tarot

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Hi i have just got off the telephone with the manager of Blacks in York, he told me that he'd had a lot of interest in the Garmin promotion and like me one of his staff was eagerly awaiting the rest of the coins as their father was cacher and they'd been trying to get him a set of the coins. The manager stated that he didnt know when they were going to get any more of the coins but that he'd phone Garmin direct and would return my call.

 

Fifteen minutes later he returned my call and said that Garmin had informed him that "There would be no more further deliveries of the coins as the promotion had now been ended early" so i asked about the other coins which were due to be released he said as far as he knew that was it they were not going to be recieving them.

 

So unless this is a ploy to stop us bombarding them with telephone calls or as i believe has been stated earlier Garmin/The mint have dropped a BOO BOO it looks like thats it.... Unless you get to know more info that states different?

 

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

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Not great news folks....

 

I did try to call Garmin at their Southampton HQ on Friday to get some clarification. The receptionist had not herd of the contest, but put me through to their marketing department. Unfortunately I just got a voice mail service, so I will try again tomorrow and pass on any news.

 

Regards Tarot

 

As promised I did telephone the marketing department at the Garmin HQ today, but on both occasions everyone was at meetings and could not take my calls. I have been given an email address and will try to get any further information or updates on the status of the contest.

 

The situation does seem pretty dire, especially with the information from the manager of the York store. If the contest is to close early, I would expect Garmin to make an announcement quite quickly.

 

Regards Tarot

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Just had a reply from Garmin which confirms the information posted by Rothstafari. I also asked how many coins were minted, here is the full reply for continuity.

 

Hi Robert

 

 

I can confirm that the remaining 4000 Garmin geocoins will be available at an additional 308 locations across the UK as of Friday 29th August.

 

 

Designs include

 

 

Clifton Suspension Bridge

Stone Henge

London Eye

Angel of the North.

 

The list of participating stores will be updated on the 29th August. http://garminuk.geocaching.com/stores/

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Simon Gilbert

Marcoms Associate Garmin (Europe) Ltd

 

 

So there must have been 5000 coins minted in total.

 

Regards Tarot

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Millets in Kingston, Surrey, uk said they are out of stock and only had 16 coins, they went to staff and friends. What hope do we have to get one. Is there an address where we can write off for one...or are we going to miss out.

 

Ragged Robin

 

That's out of order, espescially as they're not allowed to enter the competition:

 

... Employees and close family of Garmin and of the partner companies involved are not eligible.

 

I got one from Milletts in Kingston with no trouble at all, so I'm not sure that's true. It's found it's way to the Czech Republic...

 

Lee

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This promo all seems too good to be true, it is.

 

Having seen this advertised for aabout three weeks I found out the the nearest store for the SW is Bournemouth (100 miles from where I live).

 

I enquired at Blacks last week about when they will participate and they informed me that "possibly in the next 2 weeks and that all stores will only receive 18 coins in total". What a croc!!!!! You've got to be quick and crafty on the day that shop gets them. It's a first come first served basis, whether you're into geocaching or not.

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This promo all seems too good to be true, it is.

 

Having seen this advertised for aabout three weeks I found out the the nearest store for the SW is Bournemouth (100 miles from where I live).

 

I enquired at Blacks last week about when they will participate and they informed me that "possibly in the next 2 weeks and that all stores will only receive 18 coins in total". What a croc!!!!! You've got to be quick and crafty on the day that shop gets them. It's a first come first served basis, whether you're into geocaching or not.

 

I'm not quite sure what your point is here. Unless they did the distribution via the Post Office there were bound to be areas of the country some way from a participating store, and with tens of thousands of geocachers in the UK, some people are bound to miss out.

 

It's unfortunately quite common with "cool free stuff paid for by somebody else" that supplies are not unlimited. :laughing:

Edited by sTeamTraen
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As confirmed by gushoneybun tonight at 7 pm...

 

"I got a Big Ben one today from Blacks in Thurmaston near Leicester. They still had a few more in an envelope"

 

OK the race is now on for #2 in the series..Good Luck Cachers! :D

 

Oooops! The Mighty Duck has noticed my error and haste..... :D:laughing::D

Edited by currykev
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I've merged currykev's Topic into this thread because the Garmin Geocoin #2 has not yet appeared and his post still refers to the Big Ben coin.

 

When someone actually gets their hands on the second coin issued, please feel free to start a new Topic for it and I'll close this one if necessary.

 

mandarin

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I've merged currykev's Topic into this thread because the Garmin Geocoin #2 has not yet appeared and his post still refers to the Big Ben coin.

 

When someone actually gets their hands on the second coin issued, please feel free to start a new Topic for it and I'll close this one if necessary.

 

mandarin

 

My 1st email from Garmin stated:

 

I can confirm that the remaining 4000 Garmin geocoins will be available at an additional 308 locations across the UK as of Friday 29th August.

 

I received a 2nd email response from Garmin with regard to my question about how the remaining designs would be distributed. Their reply stated:

 

The intension is for the coins to be mixed up and spread across the UK giving everyone a fair chance of getting hold of the different designs.

 

So if all 4000 remaining coins are going to all 384 Blacks & Milletts stores that works out at about 10 coins per store. And we may need to have 4 new threads, one for each new design. Sounds like a busy day for the stores !!

 

Regards Tarot

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