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SOS... Save Our Swag.... ?


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We've had a rash around the area with cache raiders where trackable items, mainly geo-coins, disappear from a container without being logged out and without anyone signing the log book between placement and disappearance. We have taken quite a few of our trackable target caches and made them into Premium Member Only hides but not sure if that does much. Has anyone had experience with changing caches to Premium Only better secures the contents? We're a pretty heavy tourist area, especially when it's cold up north, and I get emails from people about to visit asking if there are secure caches where they can bring some trackables to drop off. I have a tough time giving them any suggestions.

 

Does anyone have any better ways to secure trackables in their hides or make the caches less vulnerable? I know I could make them a dozen miles out thru the woods but people wanting to just move trackables would prefer a rest area hide over a day long hike but would like their valuables to be secure when they are dropped off.

 

Would making them a simple multi help even if it was something really, really simple?

 

Suggestions??? <_<

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It will help some but won't completely erase the issue. I have a member's only cache with pathtags and have some come up missing now and again. Missing in the sense that I HOPE they trade even....not just take them. I was thinking about turning it into a multi.....thing is, multi's aren't so popular around here so they may sit for a while.

Edited by Casting Crowns
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making the caches PM only might help a bit, but i wouldn't hold my breath

unfortunately it seems to be a very common "disease" lately, add to that that some newcomers to the game are not even sure what to do and how to properly log trackables

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I forget what people were calling them, but you can print a paper copy of the geocoin and laminate it and then send it out so the real coin stays safe and sound at home. I just found one of these the other day, and while they're nowhere near as cool to find and pick up, the process is the same and I fully understand not wanting to spend some scrilla on a coin just to have some a-hole decide they want to keep it for themselves.

 

There's that idea. As far as the caches being raided, I don't think there's anything to do about it. Just because somebody throws down the massive amount of $30 for a yearly membership doesn't mean they're more likely to be a good cacher. It just means they payed the 30 bucks.

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I forget what people were calling them, but you can print a paper copy of the geocoin and laminate it and then send it out so the real coin stays safe and sound at home. I just found one of these the other day, and while they're nowhere near as cool to find and pick up, the process is the same and I fully understand not wanting to spend some scrilla on a coin just to have some a-hole decide they want to keep it for themselves.

 

There's that idea. As far as the caches being raided, I don't think there's anything to do about it. Just because somebody throws down the massive amount of $30 for a yearly membership doesn't mean they're more likely to be a good cacher. It just means they payed the 30 bucks.

 

 

Just my opinion... but I wish the "proxy" coin idea would go away. That is what you are describing. A coin can be purchased for five bucks. Thats less than a cup of Starbucks coffee. As far as the concept goes, you could give your purchased tracking number to a styrofoam Starbucks cup and send it out if you wanted, though I doubt anyone would move it.

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...

 

Just my opinion... but I wish the "proxy" coin idea would go away. That is what you are describing. A coin can be purchased for five bucks. Thats less than a cup of Starbucks coffee. As far as the concept goes, you could give your purchased tracking number to a styrofoam Starbucks cup and send it out if you wanted, though I doubt anyone would move it.

Its not just your opinion.

 

'proxy' coins are just lame. Many look like trash occupying the cache.

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I forget what people were calling them, but you can print a paper copy of the geocoin and laminate it and then send it out so the real coin stays safe and sound at home. I just found one of these the other day, and while they're nowhere near as cool to find and pick up, the process is the same and I fully understand not wanting to spend some scrilla on a coin just to have some a-hole decide they want to keep it for themselves.

 

There's that idea. As far as the caches being raided, I don't think there's anything to do about it. Just because somebody throws down the massive amount of $30 for a yearly membership doesn't mean they're more likely to be a good cacher. It just means they payed the 30 bucks.

 

 

Just my opinion... but I wish the "proxy" coin idea would go away. That is what you are describing. A coin can be purchased for five bucks. That's less than a cup of Starbucks coffee. As far as the concept goes, you could give your purchased tracking number to a Styrofoam Starbucks cup and send it out if you wanted, though I doubt anyone would move it.

 

Some proxies are better than others. While I'm sure that you can purchase a coin for $5 (because I have) I'd opine that most of them run an average of $9 and many exceed $10. I'm not crazy about proxies, but I completely understand the "why" behind them. Also- Groundspeak doesn't prohibit them so I wouldn't expect them to be going anywhere soon.

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Some proxies are better than others. While I'm sure that you can purchase a coin for $5 (because I have) I'd opine that most of them run an average of $9 and many exceed $10. I'm not crazy about proxies, but I completely understand the "why" behind them. Also- Groundspeak doesn't prohibit them so I wouldn't expect them to be going anywhere soon.
I agree that a cardboard cutout of a coin is a tad lame. And locking boxes with coins inside IMHO would just lend itself to the whole container getting taken (unless it was chained to a tree which would just mean the tree gets destroyed, too). One thing I heard was that drilling a hole in the coin and putting a tag on it makes it less tempting to steal as it's kind of defaced to a raider. But these are things the owner of a trackable does, as an owner I cringe when I see a neat trackable or unique coin pop into one of my caches.

 

I hate having to turn caches into premium only as this cuts a ton of people out of the fun as many, many cachers are not premium members.

 

Would it be improper to post something like TRADE SWAG ONLY - BECAUSE OF RISK OF THEFT IT IS RECOMMENDED TO NOT PLACE GEOCOINS IN THIS CACHE....? I'd almost rather do that then make them all premium only and cut them off from the non-premium members.

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I forget what people were calling them, but you can print a paper copy of the geocoin and laminate it and then send it out so the real coin stays safe and sound at home. I just found one of these the other day, and while they're nowhere near as cool to find and pick up, the process is the same and I fully understand not wanting to spend some scrilla on a coin just to have some a-hole decide they want to keep it for themselves.

 

There's that idea. As far as the caches being raided, I don't think there's anything to do about it. Just because somebody throws down the massive amount of $30 for a yearly membership doesn't mean they're more likely to be a good cacher. It just means they payed the 30 bucks.

 

 

Just my opinion... but I wish the "proxy" coin idea would go away. That is what you are describing. A coin can be purchased for five bucks. Thats less than a cup of Starbucks coffee. As far as the concept goes, you could give your purchased tracking number to a styrofoam Starbucks cup and send it out if you wanted, though I doubt anyone would move it.

 

$5 coins? i never found one yet, maybe the micro coins, all i have is $11 and up and i am just keeping them as personal coins....

 

its really sad to see this kind of behavior, and i think sooner or later as people get tired of throwing money out the window either the "proxy's" will be the norm or the whole coin TB business will fade away

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Not to be contentious about it but I bought ten trackable coins from the coin trading forum Thursday or Friday (can't recall) as a surprise for the spouse, for $58. including shipping!

 

 

 

edit to add- don't want to turn this into a "proxy" debate, just posted what I said earlier in reference to missing items from the caches in the OP. I have been more than open about my thoughts on cache raiders. <_< I think they suck!!

Edited by NeecesandNephews
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hmm, i've not had any trackables taken, but a recently placed cache was raided, the FTF emailed me that all contents had been removed prior to his finding. but i can't make them premium caches, since i've not shelled out the money for a premium membership

 

Years ago there was some bozo who was stealing the contents of caches and hiding them elsewhere. In some instances he would provide coordinates or instructions as to where the contents were hidden. Sometimes he didn't.

 

I had a cache looted and replaced the contents. Then about 4 or 5 years later someone e-mailed me that they found the contents of one of my caches while looking for another one in the park. He told me where I could find them and sure enough there was a Ziploc bag filled with the original logbook and contents.

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hmm, i've not had any trackables taken, but a recently placed cache was raided, the FTF emailed me that all contents had been removed prior to his finding. but i can't make them premium caches, since i've not shelled out the money for a premium membership

 

Years ago there was some bozo who was stealing the contents of caches and hiding them elsewhere. In some instances he would provide coordinates or instructions as to where the contents were hidden. Sometimes he didn't.

 

I had a cache looted and replaced the contents. Then about 4 or 5 years later someone e-mailed me that they found the contents of one of my caches while looking for another one in the park. He told me where I could find them and sure enough there was a Ziploc bag filled with the original logbook and contents.

 

I'm not sure what to say about this. I don't understand why some people have to be intentionally difficult. Unless it was a muggle who thought he was playing the game the right way, which I highly doubt.

 

Luckily, we haven't had the cache raider problem to an extreme in our area. Some coins disappear, but most of them stay where they're at, and nobody's trashing caches. Hopefully it stays that way...

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I'm not sure what to say about this. I don't understand why some people have to be intentionally difficult. Unless it was a muggle who thought he was playing the game the right way, which I highly doubt.
When certain people get done spray painting street signs and garage doors, get done smashing mailboxes and pull all the wings off all the flies they can find, they need something else to satisfy their demented, twisted, sick need to try to pass their misery on to others and unfortunately some of them discover geocaching :huh:

 

Luckily, we haven't had the cache raider problem to an extreme in our area. Some coins disappear, but most of them stay where they're at, and nobody's trashing caches. Hopefully it stays that way...
Consider yourself lucky. Had a hanging puzzle cache where you had to retrieve a bison from inside a ball... ball ripped from the hanger, tossed 50-feet away, bison tube gone. Neat squirrel camo inside a log as a stage to a multi... totally gone. Fake ant hill cache, found 60-feet away from GZ where it looked like someone was walking off with it and changed their mind because the lid was broken. This is in the last couple days. Probably a dozen geocoins and a handful of TB's missing without logged visits recently, too. Making me seriously think about going micro-only except in the woods :)
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I feel your pain iMPG!! :)

 

Had another thread a while back in which I explained about a group of college kids who had a buddy that was a site member. Buddy turned this group on to raiding, by giving them coordinates written on a sheet of paper. Caught them at a cache practically in my back yard, and they explained what they were doing. Using a cell phone gps they were "collecting" what one kid described as "all kinds of cool s**t people leave for you to take." I thought I was going to stroke out right there!!! ;)

 

Funny thing is... the response I got here was surprising!! I expected everyone to share my displeasure with it. Not so.

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I feel your pain iMPG!! :)
Thanks.... there's a lot. Had at least two dozen geocoins disappear recently, too.

 

Funny thing is... the response I got here was surprising!! I expected everyone to share my displeasure with it. Not so.
Don't find that funny.... my response would be "How far from the cache did you bury the bodies? Don't want to turn cachers off by the smell"... ;)
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IMHO...... the harder it is to get to a cache, the less likely it is to be raided. ;)

 

SO.... Any coins I find in "easy" caches get moved to caches that are more remote. Now TBs are a different thing. I figure we all know that eventually a TB will go missing. It's a chance we take when releasing one and we're willing to take that risk. Right now in our area one specific TB Hotel seems to be getting hit fairly regularly resulting in a loss of TBs. I've temporarily put that cache on my ignore list. I won't put anything in it. Such is life.

 

I had a conversation yesterday with another cacher about proxy coins and I can honestly say I still have mixed emotions. I know that I don't want my coins, which cost an average of $12-15, to go missing. I'm not willing to toss money like that into the wind. So my coins are in my personal collection, to be discovered at events, but I may make a proxy to release as well. I still need to think about it for a while. :)

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I feel your pain iMPG!! ;)
Thanks.... there's a lot. Had at least two dozen geocoins disappear recently, too.

 

Funny thing is... the response I got here was surprising!! I expected everyone to share my displeasure with it. Not so.
Don't find that funny.... my response would be "How far from the cache did you bury the bodies? Don't want to turn cachers off by the smell"... :mad:

"how far did fom the cache did you bury the body?" ;):)

 

no no no, you kidnap them and sell their body parts for money to replace the tackables stolen :mad:

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