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To say the least, I have been absent from geocaching for the most part for about a year and a half. My premium membership has long since expired, but I'm considering renewing it.

 

As I look at the caches in my area that have been created in my absence, I don't feel quite the excitement I once did. Sure, there are now an abundance of unfound caches for me to get out and enjoy, which is especially cool for an area that has traditionally had a fairly low density of cache placement. My only problem, is that I considered most of the caches in my area to be of great quality. Many of these newly placed caches aren't living up to my expectations.

 

Which brings me down to my question. I'm considering placing premium member caches of good quality in the area. Are there others out there that place premium member caches for this reasoning: to have a group of "elite" geocaches? What are your other reasons for doing so?

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You don't want to be a Premium Member for the Premium Member caches. You want to be a Premium Member for the Pocket Queries, caches along a route feature, and bookmarks.

 

There are a few PM caches that "great" caches or caches release first as a PM cache to give an edge to the PMs on the FTF hunt. But the ability to ask the Groundspeak database to give you information on up to 500 caches (soon to be 1000) by way of a PQ that are of your choice of type, difficulty, terrain to your liking it's what rocks. If you do any road trips the ability to create a route from point A to point B and retrive information on your selected type of caches within your determined distance from your route sure can add fun to the trip and ease in planning a geocaching road trip.

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You don't want to be a Premium Member for the Premium Member caches. You want to be a Premium Member for the Pocket Queries, caches along a route feature, and bookmarks.

 

There are a few PM caches that "great" caches or caches release first as a PM cache to give an edge to the PMs on the FTF hunt. But the ability to ask the Groundspeak database to give you information on up to 500 caches (soon to be 1000) by way of a PQ that are of your choice of type, difficulty, terrain to your liking it's what rocks. If you do any road trips the ability to create a route from point A to point B and retrive information on your selected type of caches within your determined distance from your route sure can add fun to the trip and ease in planning a geocaching road trip.

 

Oh, I most definitely agree. It is definitely a must feature, and as I get back into geocaching a bit more, I plan to use it a great deal.

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To say the least, I have been absent from geocaching for the most part for about a year and a half. My premium membership has long since expired, but I'm considering renewing it.

 

As I look at the caches in my area that have been created in my absence, I don't feel quite the excitement I once did. Sure, there are now an abundance of unfound caches for me to get out and enjoy, which is especially cool for an area that has traditionally had a fairly low density of cache placement. My only problem, is that I considered most of the caches in my area to be of great quality. Many of these newly placed caches aren't living up to my expectations.

 

Which brings me down to my question. I'm considering placing premium member caches of good quality in the area. Are there others out there that place premium member caches for this reasoning: to have a group of "elite" geocaches? What are your other reasons for doing so?

Making a cache a PMOC is not going to make the cache elite, maybe elitist, but not elite.

There are few reasons I can come up with to make a cache PMOC.

#1. Thank you premium members. (It would be nice if the BMs could make PMOCs too, it isn't to difficult to let a BM CO look at it)

#2. Cache traffic reduction.

#3. Adding an extra layer of challenge for a BM.

 

They do not

  1. Stop maggots.
    • Some have PM accounts.
    • some are determined enough to triangulate them.

[*]Make the cache better.

[*]Encourage others to hide more caches.

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I'm not sure you should really bother.

If the thought of caching is not that exciting to you, then I can't see you lasting long anyways.

Just a thought!

 

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I am not as excited about the geocaches that have been placed while absent.

Geocaching still interests me a great deal.

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#2. Cache traffic reduction.

 

 

That is the reason that I made one of my caches PM. The final is a handmade piece that may be highly desirable for someone to take home with them. It is easy to spot once you get to GZ, so I've also locked it in place just in case some non-cacher happens to walk through that area. I know that it could still be taken, but I have done what I can to decrease the odds of that happening. I worked over a week on the final. It was great fun, but it wouldn't be fun for me to replace it. Therefore, if it walks off, that is the end of the cache.

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I have a couple premium caches out there... and my reason is I just watch to see who has visited the page. Its actually kind neat to see where some of the people hail from that look at the descriptions.

 

Odie

 

Personally, I find this a bit creepy. Now that I own a PM cache and I see how it works, I am really hesitant to visit or revisit PM cache pages. I'm one who generally likes to go back and check on the pages of caches that I have done to see what others have experienced there, but now, I avoid doing that with PM caches. I don't like the feeling that I may be watched and, possibly, suspected of doing something wrong if that caches turns up missing.

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I'm not a big fan of PM caches. I've been seeing a lot of them pop up in my area and I don't understand why. They are just your average caches and I see no reason for them to be PM caches except to satisfy the virtually ogling cache owner.

 

OR? Could they be placed without the necessary permission and the PM cache designation helps to hide the fact from the public??

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I have a couple premium caches out there... and my reason is I just watch to see who has visited the page. Its actually kind neat to see where some of the people hail from that look at the descriptions.

 

Odie

 

Personally, I find this a bit creepy. Now that I own a PM cache and I see how it works, I am really hesitant to visit or revisit PM cache pages. I'm one who generally likes to go back and check on the pages of caches that I have done to see what others have experienced there, but now, I avoid doing that with PM caches. I don't like the feeling that I may be watched and, possibly, suspected of doing something wrong if that caches turns up missing.

 

You're preaching to the choir there, Printess. Hit the nail right on the head, right from "creepy", all the way down to "suspected of doing something wrong". In our opinions, of course. ;)

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Personally, I find this a bit creepy. Now that I own a PM cache and I see how it works, I am really hesitant to visit or revisit PM cache pages. I'm one who generally likes to go back and check on the pages of caches that I have done to see what others have experienced there, but now, I avoid doing that with PM caches. I don't like the feeling that I may be watched and, possibly, suspected of doing something wrong if that caches turns up missing.

 

Dunno...seems like it could also make for an interesting run-around game if you knew of a PMO with a really paranoid cache owner...never placed a PMO cache, and have no plans to, so really have no idea how that particular mechanism works other than the tales folks tell.

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There are a couple of PMO caches in my area... a TB hotel and a regular I can think of off the top of my head.

 

I am a premium member, my caching/relationship partner is not. Why? We're college students, and the fact of the matter is we simply can't afford $60 a year, especially when $30 will suffice (for just one of us to be PM, and we share the emails/notifications as we share the email). Come to think of it, we save up all the change we can just to get one PM membership, so why bother with two.

 

It's created a few issues with the PMO caches in the area, especially since he wants to dp his TBs/Coins into them because, all in all, they are very neat caches. But, is there anything so special about them? Probably not.

 

I understand the purpose of making TB hotels PMOC - reduces the risk of coins going missing from cachers who don't understand the purpose of them. But, just an average cache? Don't understand it. Personally, I find it prejudice against all us starving college kids who cache because it's something we can do for *almost* free when trying to avoid homework. Caching is supposed to be something everyone can do, not just those who can afford it.

 

Just my thoughts though. ;)

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Though there are few open trails in NYC, mine are premium member so the cache maggots don't get o it.

You mean so the casual maggot does not get to it.

no, I meant don't. I am from NY after all

Explain to me how a PMOC stops anything but the casual maggot.

I can tell you how it doesn't stop a determined one.

1. You will never know if a PM maggot has the coords if they PQ your PMOC.

2. You will never know if a BM maggot has the coords if they use the triangulation work around.

 

You may trying to stop maggots with a PMOC, but you are only going to stop casual maggots.

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The only premium caches I've seen (albiet in only a few months of caching) are premium because the cache is unique and an cacher who is careless and impatient could do damage. One is a locked box where you must figure out how to get the lock open (no bolt cutters please) and the others are a series of hollow electrical junction boxes some of them in very close proximity to REAL junction boxes (don't shock yourself, damage the real ones, or accidently cut the power to a building).

 

That to me seems like the perfect reason for a premium cache: reducing the risk of damage to a cache or things in close proximity to the cache because of the unique nature of the cache. Not every premium member is a patient, veteran cacher but these seem like caches best done after you have some experience despite not deserving a high difficulty rating.

 

Premium caches that are relatively normal but made premium just to make the cache high quality and free of riff-raff is probably both ineffective and elitist.

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I made my only cache premium member because I don't want it to go missing. It cost money/time to make a geocache and to have it go missing from a careless geocacher isn't something i want to happen.

 

Because we all know a careless cacher or cache thief would never pay $30 for a premium membership.

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Groundspeak has created a third class of user, the "non member". That would be people who buy a GeoMate Jr or other GPS unit with hundreds of thousands of coordinates sets pre-loaded. That's in addition to the existing "member" and "premium member" categories.

 

To me, people who buy a GPS unit with coordinates pre-loaded are muggles until they visit the website and figure out what the game is about. But there's no requirement to do that.

 

I'm somewhat offended that Groundspeak would reduce my efforts into simple coordinates, to be sold in bulk to muggles.

 

Since Groundspeak never added a "member-only" attribute for caches (meaning, available to members and premium members only), I had only one choice if I wanted to keep my coordinates from being sold in bulk to the public. Premium member only.

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Groundspeak has created a third class of user, the "non member". That would be people who buy a GeoMate Jr or other GPS unit with hundreds of thousands of coordinates sets pre-loaded. That's in addition to the existing "member" and "premium member" categories.

 

To me, people who buy a GPS unit with coordinates pre-loaded are muggles until they visit the website and figure out what the game is about. But there's no requirement to do that.

 

I'm somewhat offended that Groundspeak would reduce my efforts into simple coordinates, to be sold in bulk to muggles.

 

Since Groundspeak never added a "member-only" attribute for caches (meaning, available to members and premium members only), I had only one choice if I wanted to keep my coordinates from being sold in bulk to the public. Premium member only.

I think that is another valid reason.

Jane Blow looks at a little gpsr and reads a blurb.

Spontaneity buy!

Hasn't bothered to read a thing except how to operate it.

Unintentional mugging ensues.

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I've placed two premium caches in the past. Both were in sensitive areas and I wanted to minimize the odds of inexperienced cachers finding them. I do believe, though there is no way to prove it either way, that premium members are more likely to be more experienced in both finding and hiding caches and therefore, on the average, more likely to successfully re-hide the cache as found. I remember in my early days that despite my best intentions I sometimes couldn't remember exactly where or how the cache was placed b/c in our excitement we would just grab it. Now I'll note how it was found, and re-hide it even better if it's obvious some cover has fallen off - rocks or sticks are lying around the cache that previous finders didn't bother to put back. Just one small example. Another big impact is on travelers. I personally have introduced two friends to caching who were all gung ho and took travel bugs assuring me they would move them along (b/c I gave them a lecture before they took them) and one gave hers over to me weeks afterwards and the other still has hers months later (I haven't seen her in a while).

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#2. Cache traffic reduction.

 

 

That is the reason that I made one of my caches PM. The final is a handmade piece that may be highly desirable for someone to take home with them. It is easy to spot once you get to GZ, so I've also locked it in place just in case some non-cacher happens to walk through that area. I know that it could still be taken, but I have done what I can to decrease the odds of that happening. I worked over a week on the final. It was great fun, but it wouldn't be fun for me to replace it. Therefore, if it walks off, that is the end of the cache.

 

As a CO...this is my reason for a PO cache (#2. Cache traffic reduction.). Still no cure all. Better to change locations (IMO).

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Rather than start a new thread, maybe I can ask a question here regarding a cache that has been switched to premium members only. I had saved the cache information to my official Groundspeak iPod app and sometime later was nearby and went looking for it. I’m pretty sure where it is, I was so close, I think, that I went to log a DNF on 4/8/10 but could not because it is now for premium members only. Here is my question: would it be against geocaching ethics to continue looking for it and if/when I find it to sign the log? So presumably if I become a premium member at some point, I could post the find, indicating date found. Cache ID is: GCWXMP and logs up to April 18, 2010 are on my iPod; apparently the log updates despite the fact that I have not become a premium member. (Cache is at a high foot traffic urban area).

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As a geocacher who has hidden 123 physical caches over six years, I can say without a doubt that my premium caches last longer, the swag almost never degrades, and I have less maintenance checks to perform. Many of my caches disappeared after being converted back to regular caches. Your results may vary. If I want to make my caches virtually muggle proof, I make them difficult puzzles, with insane hikes.

 

My best hides (swag, location, history lessons, hikes, etc) are all premium member caches.

Edited by Kit Fox
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Rather than start a new thread, maybe I can ask a question here regarding a cache that has been switched to premium members only. I had saved the cache information to my official Groundspeak iPod app and sometime later was nearby and went looking for it. I’m pretty sure where it is, I was so close, I think, that I went to log a DNF on 4/8/10 but could not because it is now for premium members only. Here is my question: would it be against geocaching ethics to continue looking for it and if/when I find it to sign the log? So presumably if I become a premium member at some point, I could post the find, indicating date found. Cache ID is: GCWXMP and logs up to April 18, 2010 are on my iPod; apparently the log updates despite the fact that I have not become a premium member. (Cache is at a high foot traffic urban area).

 

If you find it and sign the log, then you can log the find on Geocaching.com.

 

You can do so whether or not you are (or ever become) a Premium Member.

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There is a 'back door' that allows non-premium members to log the cache...

 

Jeremy has stated in the forums that there are no plans to 'close the back door' to stop non-members logging, if they have found the cache and signed the log.

 

I think it would only be polite to ask the cache owner before using the 'back door' to log your find.

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I have to say as new person discovering there is a premium member only cache kind of disappointed me. As a newbie it would have been in my best interest to avoid the forums as well generally speaking.

 

But I'll just toss my thought out there. I'm poor. I stumbled on this activity via my Iphone not long ago. Bought the app which literally took about 20 minutes of debate with my friend who split the cost with me because he's poor as well and the app in the world of apps is not cheap.

 

Invested in a GPS. Didn't go super high end but didn't go lowest end and didn't buy from this site either with preloaded coordinates. Took the more difficult way and we load our own. Still at the bottom of the implied class system.

 

Come to find out in caching that swag is tradable and people expect better swag instead of the stuff we can afford if we plan on trading. Ok so there went our idea to hit the dollar store and buy some cheap stuff because we don't want to be inappropriate with the caches or insult other cachers (needless to say I do find the cheap swag very endearing when I find it in caches but that's another topic).

 

And then learned that really you need the $30/year membership to access all the caches to find...

 

And we're back to we're poor. Having really enjoyed this hobby immensely I'm pretty bummed out about this. We thought we found something that we could afford and enjoy where class and money was irrelevant and we were obviously wrong. We'll continue doing the free ones of course because we enjoy the premise.

 

But I agree with an earlier poster about premium member only leaning toward elitist. I wish I could afford a yearly membership but I can't and neither can he. We took our tiny little bit of fun money and invested what we could in this. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy it as much as a paying member or that I'm not as careful with the caches or travel bugs. It means I'm poor. I wish I could keep up with the Jones' in this hobby but I can't.

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I have to say as new person discovering there is a premium member only cache kind of disappointed me. As a newbie it would have been in my best interest to avoid the forums as well generally speaking.

 

But I'll just toss my thought out there. I'm poor. I stumbled on this activity via my Iphone not long ago. Bought the app which literally took about 20 minutes of debate with my friend who split the cost with me because he's poor as well and the app in the world of apps is not cheap.

 

Invested in a GPS. Didn't go super high end but didn't go lowest end and didn't buy from this site either with preloaded coordinates. Took the more difficult way and we load our own. Still at the bottom of the implied class system.

 

Come to find out in caching that swag is tradable and people expect better swag instead of the stuff we can afford if we plan on trading. Ok so there went our idea to hit the dollar store and buy some cheap stuff because we don't want to be inappropriate with the caches or insult other cachers (needless to say I do find the cheap swag very endearing when I find it in caches but that's another topic).

 

And then learned that really you need the $30/year membership to access all the caches to find...

 

And we're back to we're poor. Having really enjoyed this hobby immensely I'm pretty bummed out about this. We thought we found something that we could afford and enjoy where class and money was irrelevant and we were obviously wrong. We'll continue doing the free ones of course because we enjoy the premise.

 

But I agree with an earlier poster about premium member only leaning toward elitist. I wish I could afford a yearly membership but I can't and neither can he. We took our tiny little bit of fun money and invested what we could in this. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy it as much as a paying member or that I'm not as careful with the caches or travel bugs. It means I'm poor. I wish I could keep up with the Jones' in this hobby but I can't.

I'm being honest here. I would rather pay the 30 a year for membership here vs 60 a month for a cell phone. Heck 15 every 3 months for a Tracphone.

In fact I have Tracphone with zero air time on it because as far as I am concerned the only reason I would need a cell phone is if I get into a situation I need 911 to get me out of.

Even in rural Michigan there are more than enough payphones for personal needs.

Cut your monthly phone bill in half by saying "Forget being able to be contacted 24/7" then keep your cell phone for 911 and you can use the savings from month 1 on a membership here.

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>snipped<

And then learned that really you need the $30/year membership to access all the caches to find...

The first 200 caches closest to home, five are PM caches.

Three are puzzles, and i think they will stay PM so the cache owner can see who is looking at them.

 

The other two are new caches, that I think will be opened to all after a week or two.

 

That's still 195 caches to go for with out having to pay.

 

As to swaps, there is nothing stopping you from leaving two one doller items in place of a one dollar item taken.

(I rarely swap these days, and most caches are micro with nothing to swap anyway!)

 

The other reason here in the UK that caches go PM only is when they start being deliberately trashed by cache maggots...

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There is a 'back door' that allows non-premium members to log the cache...

 

Jeremy has stated in the forums that there are no plans to 'close the back door' to stop non-members logging, if they have found the cache and signed the log.

 

I think it would only be polite to ask the cache owner before using the 'back door' to log your find.

Thanks for the info., Bear and Ragged. Contacting the cache owner would be my preferred way to start. He is a well known cache finder as well and I’ve seen many of his reported finds recently. I might even e-mail him just for fun if it comes up again as a DNF, and certainly if I find it.

 

I’m not too concerned about it as there are a lot of urban caches and they often get disabled, one of them was disabled after I reported a problem. Now I’m into an awareness of going after new caches while they are newly placed and still there. :rolleyes:

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There is a 'back door' that allows non-premium members to log the cache...

 

Jeremy has stated in the forums that there are no plans to 'close the back door' to stop non-members logging, if they have found the cache and signed the log.

 

I think it would only be polite to ask the cache owner before using the 'back door' to log your find.

 

Here are instructions on how to log the cache, complete with a link to the CEO of Groundpeak Inc's opinion on the matter all in one forum post!! That would be here

 

To heck with asking the cache owner before logging your find. Either non-premium members can log MOC's, or they can't. And I've seen a disturbing development recently that would indicate that they can't. 'Nuff said there. :rolleyes:

Edited by TheWhiteUrkel
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I have to say as new person discovering there is a premium member only cache kind of disappointed me. As a newbie it would have been in my best interest to avoid the forums as well generally speaking.

 

But I'll just toss my thought out there. I'm poor. I stumbled on this activity via my Iphone not long ago. Bought the app which literally took about 20 minutes of debate with my friend who split the cost with me because he's poor as well and the app in the world of apps is not cheap.

 

Invested in a GPS. Didn't go super high end but didn't go lowest end and didn't buy from this site either with preloaded coordinates. Took the more difficult way and we load our own. Still at the bottom of the implied class system.

 

Come to find out in caching that swag is tradable and people expect better swag instead of the stuff we can afford if we plan on trading. Ok so there went our idea to hit the dollar store and buy some cheap stuff because we don't want to be inappropriate with the caches or insult other cachers (needless to say I do find the cheap swag very endearing when I find it in caches but that's another topic).

 

And then learned that really you need the $30/year membership to access all the caches to find...

 

And we're back to we're poor. Having really enjoyed this hobby immensely I'm pretty bummed out about this. We thought we found something that we could afford and enjoy where class and money was irrelevant and we were obviously wrong. We'll continue doing the free ones of course because we enjoy the premise.

 

But I agree with an earlier poster about premium member only leaning toward elitist. I wish I could afford a yearly membership but I can't and neither can he. We took our tiny little bit of fun money and invested what we could in this. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy it as much as a paying member or that I'm not as careful with the caches or travel bugs. It means I'm poor. I wish I could keep up with the Jones' in this hobby but I can't.

I'm being honest here. I would rather pay the 30 a year for membership here vs 60 a month for a cell phone. Heck 15 every 3 months for a Tracphone.

In fact I have Tracphone with zero air time on it because as far as I am concerned the only reason I would need a cell phone is if I get into a situation I need 911 to get me out of.

Even in rural Michigan there are more than enough payphones for personal needs.

Cut your monthly phone bill in half by saying "Forget being able to be contacted 24/7" then keep your cell phone for 911 and you can use the savings from month 1 on a membership here.

 

My cell phone is my only phone and it's cheaper for me to maintain my one cell phone than to play with the phone company where I live. It was a calculated move to go cell phone only for me since I live rurally and spend time commuting in sometimes nasty weather anywhere I go. So one of the phones had to go and the home phone lost.

 

Anyhow, realistically a subscription to a website is just not an option financially for people. Doesn't matter how much fun said website is it's just not in the monthly/yearly budget for many people (and I know I'm not alone).

 

It's great that people want to limit themselves to only having premium members seek out their caches. I'm simply suggesting being mindful that not all people who play this game are in a position to buy their way into coordinates. And I'm not entirely sure how much you want to limit the ability for people to get interested in this. Where I live we don't have a huge troop of people leaving caches out. It's not very popular. I think it would be great if it got more popular and didn't become some little secret group that does that thing with the GPSes. But that's me being silly again.

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I make them PMO's if they are a little to close to my home ground ... to keep the mass of people off my property, but still allow the other premium members to come hang out from time to time ... i have made a lot of friends geocaching, and all of them are PM's! heck i even meet a neighbor 5 houses down just recently, but not until she became a premium member.

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I have to say as new person discovering there is a premium member only cache kind of disappointed me. As a newbie it would have been in my best interest to avoid the forums as well generally speaking.

 

But I'll just toss my thought out there. I'm poor. I stumbled on this activity via my Iphone not long ago. Bought the app which literally took about 20 minutes of debate with my friend who split the cost with me because he's poor as well and the app in the world of apps is not cheap.

 

Invested in a GPS. Didn't go super high end but didn't go lowest end and didn't buy from this site either with preloaded coordinates. Took the more difficult way and we load our own. Still at the bottom of the implied class system.

 

Come to find out in caching that swag is tradable and people expect better swag instead of the stuff we can afford if we plan on trading. Ok so there went our idea to hit the dollar store and buy some cheap stuff because we don't want to be inappropriate with the caches or insult other cachers (needless to say I do find the cheap swag very endearing when I find it in caches but that's another topic).

 

And then learned that really you need the $30/year membership to access all the caches to find...

 

And we're back to we're poor. Having really enjoyed this hobby immensely I'm pretty bummed out about this. We thought we found something that we could afford and enjoy where class and money was irrelevant and we were obviously wrong. We'll continue doing the free ones of course because we enjoy the premise.

 

But I agree with an earlier poster about premium member only leaning toward elitist. I wish I could afford a yearly membership but I can't and neither can he. We took our tiny little bit of fun money and invested what we could in this. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy it as much as a paying member or that I'm not as careful with the caches or travel bugs. It means I'm poor. I wish I could keep up with the Jones' in this hobby but I can't.

 

I ditched the fancy internet phone for a plain jane cell phone.Saved much more money than the membership fee cost.I realized I dont need a bunch of features I never use anyways.I have no need for internet and e-mail when I am away from home,I do plenty of that when I am home.I can see the need for a cell most of the time,but I see no need for internet and such.I do the pre-pay thing with my cheap 29 dallar phone and it only costs me about 20 bucks a month.Much cheaper than an i-phone and service plus the cost of the app.

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Which brings me down to my question. I'm considering placing premium member caches of good quality in the area. Are there others out there that place premium member caches for this reasoning: to have a group of "elite" geocaches? What are your other reasons for doing so?

 

I would say you should place high quality caches open to the public at large. This was hopefully others in your area will get exposed to caches that meet your standards and will place higher quality ones on their own. By limiting the caches to members only, you vastly restrict your audience.

 

Personally the only time I would make a cache of mine members only would be in a high muggle area, and even then I would probably either not place the cache, or take my chances.

 

As others have stated, you want the membership for the PQ's, not the extra caches.

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Two reasons I like PMO caches:

 

In more sensitive areas, it reduces the number of finders and (hopefully) there will less destruction due to less foot traffic in the area of the hide.

 

So I have a slightly safer place to release and move geocoins through. I have released dozens of geocoins and lost many over the years. I have only lost one that was in a PMO cache and that was because the entire cache was muggled.

 

Sure geocoin thieves can pay $30 for premium membership but in my personal experience, they tend not to.

Edited by ThePetersTrio
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For me, not being a Premium Member has nothing to do with money. I’m very surprised at the comments here and on the linked threads about how one should become a member, after all, almost anyone can fit it into his budget. I don’t care if I can log a PM find online but do appreciate knowing how the site works. It’s also interesting that many posters who weren’t members when they posted now have “premium member” under their avatars.

 

No doubt I’m typical, I didn’t become a PM when I joined the site mainly because I don’t even know if this hobby/sport will fit into my lifestyle and I don’t know what kind of cacher I will be. I live in an urban area and found my first few caches using only the site info. with maps, notes and photos on my camera. I decided to put off even researching GPS units until I have some experience, probably in a year when Black Friday comes around again. 2009 Black Friday I bought an iPod and loaded the Geocaching.com app which seems enough for now; and btw isn’t that a sort of “donation,” anyway it’s selling something to people who come to the site. I haven’t even figured out what pocket queries are and why they are so great. :lol:

 

As an aside, I'm also learning the short history and politics of the game, and have been out looking for, hush, caches that are not acceptable on this site.

 

I’ve also recently joined Postcrossing which encourages donations to help run the site, has no extra bennies that I know of for donating except that your name is posted when you do send in some money; at some point I will donate, but for the moment I just sometimes send thank you postcards to those who do donate.

 

I may well become a PM here once I see the rhythm of one full year; I joined in November, was addicted for a while, went out caching almost every day, was constantly planning next hunt, then the rainy season came and I backed off, now the weather is nice and I’m less addicted but fitting it in here and there which may be how I want it to be; that would be enough reason to donate.

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I'm poor. I (have an) Iphone

Isn't than a contradiction in terms? :lol:

 

I think it means he spent all his money on an iphone, so now he IS poor.

 

 

And, more on topic, the percentage of PMO caches is so low around here that I just can't get worked up about the issue at all.

Edited by Mosaic55
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I waited about a week to become a premium member because I wanted to make sure I liked this. I do, so I joined to support the site. $30 isn't that much...less than $3 a month. I've only hidden one cache, and it was easy and in a beautiful spot I wanted to share. I have set loose 2 coins and understand I may lose them. I have been impressed at how nice everyone was when I first started and had questions. Now I wonder..."cache maggots?" What are those? It sounds mean. I want everyone to find my caches, and most of the ones in my area have dollar store trade items, mostly for kids. I don't trade anything. I do it for the adventure. Is this sport/hobby becoming elitist/competitive? That would be a shame.

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Though there are few open trails in NYC, mine are premium member so the cache maggots don't get o it.

You mean so the casual maggot does not get to it.

no, I meant don't. I am from NY after all

Check out what happened in the Utica/Rome area for the past 8 years. Hundreds of caches stolen/destroyed by a single person, even PM-only caches. This person paid $30 for several years just so he could ruin geocaching for everyone in that area.

 

Allegedly, of course. It's not going to trial, but tons of evidence was found in his trunk (cache containers & logbooks).

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