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eatstayplay.com geocoin


goosefraba1

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Very clever thing to do!! and both coin and the tokens are pretty!

So... if you place the 50 tokens you earn a coin but you have to free it too and not keep it in your collection?

 

I wish I could have a token series and a coin of that in my collection!

 

....but... I am not even in USA, and I think this is only for USA! Well.... Greece is far away!!!!

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So....to get a free geocoin you have to drop 50 of their tokens in other caches and put something in your log that verifies it like: "dropped a token from xxx.com"? Sorry, but that's a little too commercial for me.

 

I don't want a bunch of logs promoting a website on my caches - I find it a bit obnoxious. That's very different than reading "dropped a XXX coin/TB" because you're not soliciting.

 

Gut reaction = no likey.

Open to hear other opinions to convince me otherwise.

Edited by Kealia
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I guess it is pretty commercial, but they look a lot better than half the crap that I find in caches anyway. Placing the tokens that they give you seems no different than people placing their business cards in a cache... plus the tokens are much better looking imo than business cards.

 

Also, how is this much different than McToys in caches... are they not promoting McD's (no offense to those McToy collectors)? So, I guess it just depends on the mindset of the cacher.

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At first when I read the OPs post I was really interested since I've recently been bit by the geocoin bug. However, after viewing the web page that describes the program I'd have to say there's no way I'd participate. I don't say that because I feel there is anything sinister that we all need to boycott. The reason I wouldn't consider participating is that their geocoins are as attractive as a billboard to me (that translates into they aren't worthy of any admiration like good geocoins are). If they could come up with a very nicely designed geocoin that first and foremost looked nice and the advertising was an extra rather than it's sole purpose then I'd change my mind, but as it currently stands I'll avoid this one. That's just my 2 cents which I realize won't get me much either here or anyplace else. :anibad:

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I guess it is pretty commercial, but they look a lot better than half the crap that I find in caches anyway. Placing the tokens that they give you seems no different than people placing their business cards in a cache... plus the tokens are much better looking imo than business cards.

 

Also, how is this much different than McToys in caches... are they not promoting McD's (no offense to those McToy collectors)? So, I guess it just depends on the mindset of the cacher.

 

The difference with McToys is that they are designed to serve their purpose as toys and the advertising (if there is any on them which I don't think there is most times) is subtle and their toys don't look like a billboard masquerading as a toy. Compare that to these geocoins that are miniature billboards masquerading as geocoins in my opinion. Ok, I'll go back to the shadows now.

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At first when I read the OPs post I was really interested since I've recently been bit by the geocoin bug. However, after viewing the web page that describes the program I'd have to say there's no way I'd participate. I don't say that because I feel there is anything sinister that we all need to boycott. The reason I wouldn't consider participating is that their geocoins are as attractive as a billboard to me (that translates into they aren't worthy of any admiration like good geocoins are). If they could come up with a very nicely designed geocoin that first and foremost looked nice and the advertising was an extra rather than it's sole purpose then I'd change my mind, but as it currently stands I'll avoid this one. That's just my 2 cents which I realize won't get me much either here or anyplace else. :anibad:

 

I am new to this.... but it seems to be the Butt ugly coins that return to the owner... the pretty ones seem to be the ones that get muggled. I have no problem in "earning" these coins for the sole purpose of getting more coins into circulation.

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I don't even think Grandma LaMure's "Javelina Help'r" which can even make collared peccary palatable(according to the website) can make this coin palatable!

 

 

:anibad: sadly, it seems someone has found a loophole to promote themselves through geocaching. what's next? will vendors start selling LE coins ONLY to folks that display a bumpersticker on their vehicle promoting them?

 

 

I'll pass....

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I had the same gut reaction as Kealia. They're basically offering to pay me for acting as distributors of commercials with...a commercial geocoin.

 

I don't think of those tokens as toys. They're not swag; their design is a bit too simplistic for me to imagine that people would actually seek out a cache for the whole purpose of finding one of their tags. The tags are just ads. Were I to find one in a cache, I would see that it's an ad and leave it be (there's nothing on the tag to clue me in that it would be interesting to me; it relies on me being curious about the name or the tag in order to go out of my way to find out what it's about).

 

I also have to explain that I am a advertisement distributor:

 

You agree to also post that you put them in the cache on geocaching.com (So other people know to look for them!)

 

Furthermore, it's not clear from the website whether you actually get to own or keep the geocoin they give you, either. It could very well be that they expect to adopt it over to you and release it -- yet another commercial in circulation. Even if you did get to keep it, it's not one that I'd want to keep. Sorry, the design is just to simplistic for me.

 

I don't mind the occasional business card or commercial token, but /50/ in a local area? Sorry, it just doesn't jive too well with me. I guess what bothers me isn't that there are commercial geocoins out there -- but that this one is just so mercenary and obvious.

 

For those of you who enjoy 'em, tho, go do your thing. : ) The website may actually even be useful for planning a trip. Best of luck, and I hope that those of you who participate have a great time and find some outstanding caches!

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What fresh horror is this ?

 

You'd think that they would at least reward you with a decent coin for filling up caches with their junk advertising "tokens".

 

Sounds like Trash In rather than Trash Out (CITI)

 

Dante has an inferno waiting for them !

Edited by haysonics
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Thanks for all of the replies... I am now debating whether I will take part in this or not. I guess that I didn't realize how frowned upon this would be. I guess that I understand that geocaching should not become comercialized (sp? sorry I've been taking spanish and it is messing with my english spellings)... lord knows that I could not handle a Starbucks at every cache site.

 

Thanks,

Goose

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I'm not against geocaching being used for commercial purposes or, say, people selling geocoins commercially (that is, to make money).

 

But this just seems so...is "mercenary" the right word, after all? Still, some people might enjoy it and if so, good for them (and I mean that sincerely). : )

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Thanks for all of the replies... I am now debating whether I will take part in this or not. I guess that I didn't realize how frowned upon this would be. I guess that I understand that geocaching should not become comercialized (sp? sorry I've been taking spanish and it is messing with my english spellings)... lord knows that I could not handle a Starbucks at every cache site.

 

Thanks,

Goose

 

Not saying that you shouldn't do it. Just that I wouldn't (and why). If you want the coin, go for it. I would suggest, though, that you try to spread the tokens around a bit. Don't spam your local area with ads, that's all. This might be an incentive to range a bit wider afar than you might have initially, which would not really be a bad thing after all, right? : )

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What is funny here, is that I would not have found this if not for this forum.

 

Anyway, I see that it is a bit commercial, but I did like the site and its purpose. I thought the tokens and coins were cute enough. I would be willing to help them spread their message to geocachers, as it is an appropriate audience for what they are selling (outdoor adventure information). And hey, I like coins in the wild, even if I don't always take personal interest in their message. I personally have nothing to lose in this.

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I wanted to thank you for all your great comments about this!

 

I'll take some time to explain to answer some of your questions:

 

First off, yes, you get to keep the geocoin. We'd LOVE for you to circulate it, but if you don't want to, that's your decision. You get to name it and give it a mission.

 

USA only: Well, we’re only offering website information about the USA so it doesn’t make sense to extend it to other countries. I know that geocaching is a world-wide activity.

 

As for putting out 50 tokens into an area, we thought that that would be about 10 caches. Not at ALL enough to saturate all the caches in a given area. And, so far, I haven't had any requests from cachers that even live in the same CITY so I don't think it'd be too much.

 

The design: I’m sorry that some of you don’t like it! I do. If you don’t like them, then by all means, don’t participate.

 

 

EatStayPlay.com promotes geocaching as a featured activity on our website in the hope to introduce others to this activity. We’ve redesigned our website with GPS coordinates on a lot of our pages to make it easier for people to find geocaches.

 

Our ‘What is Geocaching?’ page on our website is actually one of our most popular pages – like top 5. Our users ARE interested in geocaching and are getting started with this activity.

 

We love the fact that geocaching is so family friendly, positive, and supportive of the environment. I think that encouraging people to pick up trash when they are out and about is FANTASTIC and something I’ve been doing for years. I also love that everyone is welcomed with open arms to geocaching and they know that other cachers will be supportive.

 

Are we commercial? Well, we ARE a business. We sell advertising. We give away free information. The goal is always to promote outdoor adventures and family fun.

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I really don't think that reading a note that this token is in a cache would motivate me to find that particular cache. I don't see these as trade items either. If I were to post that I left one in a cache I would post generically that I left a token period. I don't want commercial things in any of my caches so I wouldn't leave them in others caches and then promote the website in my log. I don't care if the website promotes outdoor activites, sells gps or what not, it is still commerical and the same as business cards in my mind. Those also get removed from my caches when I do maintenance BTW.

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Hello all.

To answer some questions:

The Jeep Travel Bugs were a promotion done in cooperation with Groundspeak. Groundspeak released them by passing them out to cachers to distribute. They were done 4 years in a row. Yellow, then Red, then White, then Green. They are not being done this year.

The Project Ape caches were also set up in cooperation with Groundspeak a very long time ago (relatively speaking) and were to promote the Planet of the Apes movie remake. Props and items from the movie filming were placed in those caches. There are only one or two Ape caches left, as they are archived, no more are placed.

This geocoin design was approved by Groundspeak for a trackable geocoin, but Groundspeak was not aware of the token releases. Groundspeak would prefer not to see ads or commercial promotions posted to cache pages. Caches are not approved if they have a commercial agenda to them, so logs promoting commercial endeavors are not encouraged.

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Hello all.

To answer some questions:

The Jeep Travel Bugs were a promotion done in cooperation with Groundspeak. Groundspeak released them by passing them out to cachers to distribute. They were done 4 years in a row. Yellow, then Red, then White, then Green. They are not being done this year.

The Project Ape caches were also set up in cooperation with Groundspeak a very long time ago (relatively speaking) and were to promote the Planet of the Apes movie remake. Props and items from the movie filming were placed in those caches. There are only one or two Ape caches left, as they are archived, no more are placed.

This geocoin design was approved by Groundspeak for a trackable geocoin, but Groundspeak was not aware of the token releases. Groundspeak would prefer not to see ads or commercial promotions posted to cache pages. Caches are not approved if they have a commercial agenda to them, so logs promoting commercial endeavors are not encouraged.

 

Not arguing the point here, but felt this could be a little clearer....Are you saying it isn't against the rules, but really not wanted? Or are you saying don't do it, it isn't allowed? Just felt that needed to be a little more defined.

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I'm saying this type of thing, once started, is too hard to monitor. We are not the cache police. It is not encouraged. Groundspeak does not read every single log on every single cache page, geocoin, or travel bug. Nor do we read every single post in the forums. We rely on the community for their help here in the forums, and the community is really great about letting us know when something is awry.

Regarding the cache logs, if there are a plethora of them, they may edit them, but Groundspeak doesn't pay someone to sit in the office, all day long, editing cache/bug/coin logs. They have better things to do, like keep this website running 24/7 for everyone. This is a game, a hobby, a sport, and it's always been that geocaching should be commercial free fun for all. Ads you see on the website help keep this website going. But we like to keep them off the cache pages, without having to be cache cops.

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I'm saying this type of thing, once started, is too hard to monitor. We are not the cache police. It is not encouraged. Groundspeak does not read every single log on every single cache page, geocoin, or travel bug. Nor do we read every single post in the forums. We rely on the community for their help here in the forums, and the community is really great about letting us know when something is awry.

Regarding the cache logs, if there are a plethora of them, they may edit them, but Groundspeak doesn't pay someone to sit in the office, all day long, editing cache/bug/coin logs. They have better things to do, like keep this website running 24/7 for everyone. This is a game, a hobby, a sport, and it's always been that geocaching should be commercial free fun for all. Ads you see on the website help keep this website going. But we like to keep them off the cache pages, without having to be cache cops.

 

Would there be any issue with, say, just logging something like:

 

Took: Purple McToy

Left: Green McToy, eatplaystay token

Signed log

 

?

 

If I am not mistaken, the company simply wants you to mention that you've left the token, not necessarily to leave an ad (e.g., posting "I left this great token from <link> eatplaystay.com </link>, a great all-needs travel portal etc etc etc", which would be unacceptable).

 

Like I said, I myself am uninterested in this program for the reasons already mentioned; however, I can't see as it would cause that much of a problem if it were done discreetly and without spamming local caches with handsful of tokens (which I think the company looks to be trying to avoid also, to their credit).

 

Edited to add: it might be a stretch to call it a "collector's token", I realize, so I took that out.

Edited by Jackalgirl
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Hmmm..... Maybe there was a geocoin, a mystery one... I do not know if it was trackable... probably it was not, that was made for commercial reasons!!!

 

I am talking about the dark knight mystery geocoin!

 

It was made when the last batman movie was about to be in the cinema's and after some time it was gone! It is been so long since one was seen! I think when the movie was not in the cinema's as a new movie, the coin was gone!

 

Too bad... I am still trying to find one! :)

 

Now about these tokens... if they are considered to be a kind of signature items??

 

Some months ago there was a coin, the Map@Syst Geocoin and many of us agreed to help these coins to move... I was one of them... wasn't that coin a commercial one?? I do not know so I am asking, ok? ;)

 

I believe other commercial coin also exist, so... the whole problem are the tokens?? How about if the company put a number on them, and every 2 months for example, the company will have a lottery, with a winning number, and the geocacher who will have the token with that number wins a geocoin??? Of course I do not know if that is ok with Groundspeak...

Edited by GATOULIS
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Would there be any issue with, say, just logging something like:

 

Took: Purple McToy

Left: Green McToy, eatplaystay token

Signed log

 

?

 

If I am not mistaken, the company simply wants you to mention that you've left the token, not necessarily to leave an ad (e.g., posting "I left this great token from <link> eatplaystay.com </link>, a great all-needs travel portal etc etc etc", which would be unacceptable).

<snip>

 

That would be the same as, for example, saying "left Starbucks poker chip", "Left Walmart token" (if they were to give such a thing out). It's a simple mention, and there are tons of threads on how people feel about that kind of cache swag. However, if someone were to be encouraging people to log a promotional paragraph, as in your example above, it's a considered commercial.

 

This is Groundspeak's information page on advertising. There are also 13 links in the Groundspeak Knowledge Base about how to go about advertising, or being an approved vendor, setting up promotions.

 

Since we don't play cache police, it is taken on a case by case basis. For instance, a forum post report, or someone writing to Groundspeak and reporting a cache/trackable log that they don't like, or find offensive in some way.

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TY for the clarification. BTW, that link you provided links to a page that tells you how to purchase banner ads on Geocaching.com. Nothing there about in-log advertising. : )

 

It's posted in the Groundspeak Terms Of Use

See:

(e) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.

 

When one signs up for an account with geocaching.com, there is a place to check that one has read the terms of use. We hope people do.

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TY for the clarification. BTW, that link you provided links to a page that tells you how to purchase banner ads on Geocaching.com. Nothing there about in-log advertising. : )

 

It's posted in the Groundspeak Terms Of Use

See:

(e) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.

 

When one signs up for an account with geocaching.com, there is a place to check that one has read the terms of use. We hope people do.

 

I did. But that was two years ago and I forgot. The reminder is good. : )

 

But, again for clarification, there's no problem with commercially- or agenda-aimed geocoins or TBs, correct?

 

Where is the line drawn: writing about the theme on the coin/bug or on something attached to the coin/bug = okay, but posting about the agenda or commercial purpose on the TB/coin page (since that would be posting a form of solicitation) = not okay? (Or is it okay, since it's directly relating to the bug or coin and not to a specific cache?)

 

Sorry to dig so deep in the weeds on this. I thought I had a solid understanding of what's permissible with bugs/coins and now I'm finding that I'm not so sure.

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Hmmm..... Maybe there was a geocoin, a mystery one... I do not know if it was trackable... probably it was not, that was made for commercial reasons!!!

 

I am talking about the dark knight mystery geocoin!

 

It was made when the last batman movie was about to be in the cinema's and after some time it was gone! It is been so long since one was seen! I think when the movie was not in the cinema's as a new movie, the coin was gone!

 

Too bad... I am still trying to find one! :)

 

 

I truly believe that the mystery coin giver, in this case, had no connection with the movie release, other than being a fan. So to insinuate that this was a commercial venture is simply not true.

 

....and no it wasn't me

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TY for the clarification. BTW, that link you provided links to a page that tells you how to purchase banner ads on Geocaching.com. Nothing there about in-log advertising. : )

 

It's posted in the Groundspeak Terms Of Use

See:

(e) Upload, post or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation.

 

When one signs up for an account with geocaching.com, there is a place to check that one has read the terms of use. We hope people do.

 

I did. But that was two years ago and I forgot. The reminder is good. : )

 

But, again for clarification, there's no problem with commercially- or agenda-aimed geocoins or TBs, correct?

 

Where is the line drawn: writing about the theme on the coin/bug or on something attached to the coin/bug = okay, but posting about the agenda or commercial purpose on the TB/coin page (since that would be posting a form of solicitation) = not okay? (Or is it okay, since it's directly relating to the bug or coin and not to a specific cache?)

 

Sorry to dig so deep in the weeds on this. I thought I had a solid understanding of what's permissible with bugs/coins and now I'm finding that I'm not so sure.

 

No problem, I want you to understand. Here's the issue:

The geocoin design was approved. Using the tokens as a promotion by using the cache logs and TB logs was not discussed with Groundspeak prior to launching them. The geocoin by itself is fine. It's trackable on geocaching.com even.

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No problem, I want you to understand. Here's the issue:

The geocoin design was approved. Using the tokens as a promotion by using the cache logs and TB logs was not discussed with Groundspeak prior to launching them. The geocoin by itself is fine. It's trackable on geocaching.com even.

 

No no no no -- that part I totally grok.

 

I'm actually talking about TBs & coins in general. Let's say, for example, I am a fan of a charitable cause: First Widget in Space. I want to promote my cause.

 

I canNOT create a "First Widget in Space" cache and link to firstwidgetinspace.org. I also can't sign all of my logs with "check out firstwidgetinspace.org -- let's get a Widget in space!"

 

However, there's nothing to stop me from creating a "First Widget in Space" geocoin, or a "First Widget in Space" travel bug. Would I be able to promote the cause on the geocoin/travel bug's own page (with the applicable links), or would that run afoul of the "posting" provision of the membership agreement? Or would the geocaching.com page for the geocoin/travel bug /not/ be allowed to have a promoting description with links to the applicable page(s)? (I'm not talking about the bug itself. I'm assuming that I can attach whatever propaganda to the bug itself that I want.)

 

I've kind of gotten off-topic here, away from eatplaystay in particular and onto geocoins/TBs that promote a company (or, more importantly to me, an agenda) in general.

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Hmmm..... Maybe there was a geocoin, a mystery one... I do not know if it was trackable... probably it was not, that was made for commercial reasons!!!

 

I am talking about the dark knight mystery geocoin!

 

It was made when the last batman movie was about to be in the cinema's and after some time it was gone! It is been so long since one was seen! I think when the movie was not in the cinema's as a new movie, the coin was gone!

 

Too bad... I am still trying to find one! :D

 

 

I truly believe that the mystery coin giver, in this case, had no connection with the movie release, other than being a fan. So to insinuate that this was a commercial venture is simply not true.

 

....and no it wasn't me

 

Hello my friend! :P

 

hmm... You may be right! Yes! why not? If you like a movie series etc.... you can make a mystery or a normal coin for it! :laughing:

 

A fan of the movie!!! If he/she is that, I like him/her a lot!!!! :D

 

I was sad when I saw in the Tv, that in the last book of batman.... batman dies!!!

 

How they thought of that???

 

Anyway...

It was just a thought that it may be a commercial coin because the coin was out at the time the movie was about to come in the cinema's...

I remembered that when the movie "lost in space" the remake.. was about to go out in the cinema's, there was a greek phone card with the poster of the movie and it was an advertisment for it!

 

I hope the mystery giver was not offended by my post and I really hope I didn't put a shadow on the dark knight geocoin!!!

 

Dark knight mystery coin giver.... I am deeply sorry if I offended you my friend!!!

Please accept my apologies!!! :ph34r:

 

After all.... I like this coin so much, and it is very very high in my wishing list!!!! :mad:

Huh.... I suppose I have to wait for the next batman movie.... ;)

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No problem, I want you to understand. Here's the issue:

The geocoin design was approved. Using the tokens as a promotion by using the cache logs and TB logs was not discussed with Groundspeak prior to launching them. The geocoin by itself is fine. It's trackable on geocaching.com even.

 

No no no no -- that part I totally grok.

 

I'm actually talking about TBs & coins in general. Let's say, for example, I am a fan of a charitable cause: First Widget in Space. I want to promote my cause.

 

I canNOT create a "First Widget in Space" cache and link to firstwidgetinspace.org. I also can't sign all of my logs with "check out firstwidgetinspace.org -- let's get a Widget in space!"

 

However, there's nothing to stop me from creating a "First Widget in Space" geocoin, or a "First Widget in Space" travel bug. Would I be able to promote the cause on the geocoin/travel bug's own page (with the applicable links), or would that run afoul of the "posting" provision of the membership agreement? Or would the geocaching.com page for the geocoin/travel bug /not/ be allowed to have a promoting description with links to the applicable page(s)? (I'm not talking about the bug itself. I'm assuming that I can attach whatever propaganda to the bug itself that I want.)

 

I've kind of gotten off-topic here, away from eatplaystay in particular and onto geocoins/TBs that promote a company (or, more importantly to me, an agenda) in general.

 

 

That is what I meant by "sadly, it seems someone has found a loophole to promote themselves through geocaching." in so many words... I just didn't spell out all the little details. I hope Groundspeak nips this in the bud before it becomes common practice.

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I haven't made one yet. I was de-motivated by the cold reception my Windows Vista geocoin idea received.

 

<grin> Sometimes coin design is like submitting writing to publishers. You end up with a big stack of rejection notices. You just gotta keep at it. : )

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I am sure the Mariah Carey 2009 (Still annoying in eight octaves) geocoin will do much better. The AE has glitter !

Edited by haysonics
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Most things in life, and in caching, have agendas. Cachers, Caches, Coins, TBs, Swag ...

 

For the moment, lets stick to the things I find in the cache, not the cache itself...

 

Jeep TBs, Diabetes TBs, Deaf Awareness Coins, Breast Cancer Awareness Coins, a TB that asks you donate to a local food bank, one for the Humane Society, a Todies Wild Ride coin, a coin for your local geocaching group, a sticker from your fire department, a squeezy ball from a local company, a frisbee from a local radio station, a business card with a cachers name and weblink, a key ring from the florist, a personal sig item from a cacher, a gift card to a local restaurant, a CD.

 

These are all things that I have found in caches, and each has an agenda they are promoting. Some of them are more commercial than others, some are non-profit types, and some are just ego items. Look at them, take them or leave them, maybe even throw them away. I don't really see the big deal. The eatstayplay tokens are no different.

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Most things in life, and in caching, have agendas. Cachers, Caches, Coins, TBs, Swag ...

 

For the moment, lets stick to the things I find in the cache, not the cache itself...

 

Jeep TBs, Diabetes TBs, Deaf Awareness Coins, Breast Cancer Awareness Coins, a TB that asks you donate to a local food bank, one for the Humane Society, a Todies Wild Ride coin, a coin for your local geocaching group, a sticker from your fire department, a squeezy ball from a local company, a frisbee from a local radio station, a business card with a cachers name and weblink, a key ring from the florist, a personal sig item from a cacher, a gift card to a local restaurant, a CD.

 

These are all things that I have found in caches, and each has an agenda they are promoting. Some of them are more commercial than others, some are non-profit types, and some are just ego items. Look at them, take them or leave them, maybe even throw them away. I don't really see the big deal. The eatstayplay tokens are no different.

 

And please, don't forget the golf balls! lol

Edited by cache_in_hand
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Most things in life, and in caching, have agendas. Cachers, Caches, Coins, TBs, Swag ...

 

For the moment, lets stick to the things I find in the cache, not the cache itself...

 

Jeep TBs, Diabetes TBs, Deaf Awareness Coins, Breast Cancer Awareness Coins, a TB that asks you donate to a local food bank, one for the Humane Society, a Todies Wild Ride coin, a coin for your local geocaching group, a sticker from your fire department, a squeezy ball from a local company, a frisbee from a local radio station, a business card with a cachers name and weblink, a key ring from the florist, a personal sig item from a cacher, a gift card to a local restaurant, a CD.

 

These are all things that I have found in caches, and each has an agenda they are promoting. Some of them are more commercial than others, some are non-profit types, and some are just ego items. Look at them, take them or leave them, maybe even throw them away. I don't really see the big deal. The eatstayplay tokens are no different.

 

And please, don't forget the golf balls! lol

 

Hey I've found some really good golf balls. I trade for them and give them to my brother in law. One was even a collectors ball because it was from the 1995 US Open and he has that one on display. :D

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Hey cachers I have been watching this thread for a bit...

 

I like the coin's design wish I could see its back though.....

 

If I may ask waht is the difference between a log entry of;

 

Left porsche TB, SL, Took Purple People Eater TB.

or

TNLNSL

or

Took Fire-Eater Geocoin, left Eat, Stay, Play Token...

 

Does not seem all that bad to me.....

Mybe I am missing something.

 

Got the comerical aspect, but at least they are promoting caching....

and they seem to understand the sport, unlike many coin Dealers just looking for our $'s.

 

I am still on the fence.

On+the+fence.JPG

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Despite the comments in this thread the idea of this sounded fun to me. Heaven knows, I've found much worse items than a few ESP tokens in a cache! So I went ahead and signed up. The service is fast, I received my tokens today and plan to start dropping them in caches tomorrow. Plus, the tokens are kind of cute, I love the bright colors! If I found one in a cache I'd certainly take it if for no other reason than to add it to my collection of signature and "oddity" items that I've found. So I'm glad to participate in this and hope others will too, thanks for letting me join Kim!

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Thanks guys for all of the responses on this topic. My mind has went back and forth on this issue. I received the tokens in the mail yesterday... they are actually better looking than most of the crap that I find in the caches. I don't know... can't help but want to participate.

 

The more that I think about it... it seems like anything that you find in a cache is commercial. For example, if you open up a cache to find a set of pathtags... they tell you to visit the pathtags website to log the tag. They, in turn, hope that you decide to create your own pathtag... commercialism. Or... say you find a travelbug in a cache... that travelbug is in itself a form of commercialism that is set up in order to promote the purchase of more travelbugs.

 

On the other side of the fence, I realize.. even though I am a newbie... that this is not a game that would truly benefit from high-end commercialism. For example, the XGAMES really promoted extreme sports in the 90's. It started a craze that spread these sports to BFE towns in rural places... even ohio. That promotion spread the idea of extreme sports... athletes gained from the creation of better equipment... but the idea of extreme sports has become rather close-minded. Instead of just going out and having fun, the athletes are going out to win the competition in order to gain more sponsors. Could this happen in geocaching... it is unlikely, but there could be similarites.

 

Hope this helps express my point of view.

 

I think that I will place these tokens in caches... but I am going to do my own twist. I will only leave them in rural caches... and I will leave a note explaining why I am leaving them... maybe place them in a ziplock back with a WARNING sticker about commercialism.

 

Thanks, Goose

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Thanks guys for all of the responses on this topic. My mind has went back and forth on this issue. I received the tokens in the mail yesterday... they are actually better looking than most of the crap that I find in the caches. I don't know... can't help but want to participate.

 

The more that I think about it... it seems like anything that you find in a cache is commercial. For example, if you open up a cache to find a set of pathtags... they tell you to visit the pathtags website to log the tag. They, in turn, hope that you decide to create your own pathtag... commercialism. Or... say you find a travelbug in a cache... that travelbug is in itself a form of commercialism that is set up in order to promote the purchase of more travelbugs.

 

On the other side of the fence, I realize.. even though I am a newbie... that this is not a game that would truly benefit from high-end commercialism. For example, the XGAMES really promoted extreme sports in the 90's. It started a craze that spread these sports to BFE towns in rural places... even ohio. That promotion spread the idea of extreme sports... athletes gained from the creation of better equipment... but the idea of extreme sports has become rather close-minded. Instead of just going out and having fun, the athletes are going out to win the competition in order to gain more sponsors. Could this happen in geocaching... it is unlikely, but there could be similarites.

 

Hope this helps express my point of view.

 

I think that I will place these tokens in caches... but I am going to do my own twist. I will only leave them in rural caches... and I will leave a note explaining why I am leaving them... maybe place them in a ziplock back with a WARNING sticker about commercialism.

 

Thanks, Goose

 

There ya go i just got my packet in the mail 2 days ago..

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I would love to try this but I don't live in the staes but what can you do

 

That's easy if you don't mind a little substitution. How about going around your area and filling up 50 caches with McDonald's flyers. Then reward yourself by cutting a geocoin sized circle out of a cheeseburger wrapper. Mail it to yourself with a thank you note from Ronald (fake his signiture). Put your new coin and thank you note on your mantlepiece. Make sure to point it out to friends when they come over.

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I would love to try this but I don't live in the staes but what can you do

 

That's easy if you don't mind a little substitution. How about going around your area and filling up 50 caches with McDonald's flyers. Then reward yourself by cutting a geocoin sized circle out of a cheeseburger wrapper. Mail it to yourself with a thank you note from Ronald (fake his signiture). Put your new coin and thank you note on your mantlepiece. Make sure to point it out to friends when they come over.

 

seems like someone has got a bug in his Vegamite sandwhich... :wub:

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I would love to try this but I don't live in the staes but what can you do

 

That's easy if you don't mind a little substitution. How about going around your area and filling up 50 caches with McDonald's flyers. Then reward yourself by cutting a geocoin sized circle out of a cheeseburger wrapper. Mail it to yourself with a thank you note from Ronald (fake his signiture). Put your new coin and thank you note on your mantlepiece. Make sure to point it out to friends when they come over.

thanks I will do it twice then I'll trade one to you for one of your coins :wub:

Edited by jasondulac
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