should i take this offer?

[FightingDrag]

and i mean a side income, i am a college student and need some way to make some extra cash, and why not some geocoins? im loving this new hobby, and ppl i show it to go nuts over it to

[+Eartha]

You might be a little late to jump on that bandwagon, but before you think about this, please read the pinned threads on geocoin policy. Know that it takes money to make money. You have to come up with a pretty sizable amount to get started, and the geocoins must be trackable to be allowed to sell them in here. As a college student, you'd be spending probably more than you wanted to, and then you have to wait for the funds to trickle back in. You might be better off trying to sell geocoins on ebay, but you HAVE TO OWN THEM, that part is most important. And if you were looking to go the vendor route, you would have to get on the approved vendor list, to be a vendor in here. As a student, can you take time from your schedule to pack, ship, keep track, set up a PayPal account, etc....? This is not a great way to make a quick buck. It takes time to produce a geocoin, and you have to come up with something that people like, use original artwork, hasn't been done before, appeals to the masses, and then hope it sells. Getting a side job might be more lucrative.

[+MustangJoni]

You might be a little late to jump on that bandwagon, but before you think about this, please read the pinned threads on geocoin policy. Know that it takes money to make money. You have to come up with a pretty sizable amount to get started, and the geocoins must be trackable to be allowed to sell them in here. As a college student, you'd be spending probably more than you wanted to, and then you have to wait for the funds to trickle back in. You might be better off trying to sell geocoins on ebay, but you HAVE TO OWN THEM, that part is most important. And if you were looking to go the vendor route, you would have to get on the approved vendor list, to be a vendor in here. As a student, can you take time from your schedule to pack, ship, keep track, set up a PayPal account, etc....? This is not a great way to make a quick buck. It takes time to produce a geocoin, and you have to come up with something that people like, use original artwork, hasn't been done before, appeals to the masses, and then hope it sells. Getting a side job might be more lucrative.

 

Since when do you have to be on the approved vendor list to sell coins here? I don't mean to flip, but I never knew that was a requirement.

[+Jackalgirl]

What Eartha said, +1. I've had other friends talk about how they want to cash in on this lucrative market, but it is an expensive lucrative market, and it's only lucrative, really, once you have a reputation as either a good designer or vendor. Most mints/companies will want you to mint a minimum of 100 coins to do an order. It's really easy for a coin order, even with so few coins, end up being in the $500-$700 range (depending on the size and complexity of the coin, of course), BEFORE the $1.50-per-coin tracking code and the $150 for the unique icon (makes the coin more marketable).

 

What I would recommend, though, if you're into geocoin design, is to shop your designs around to the vendors (in the pinned thread). Many of them will have a program whereby if they think your design is marketable, they'll produce it for you and pay you in coins (and often, your coins get to be in a special plating you pick as your "Artist Edition"). Then, sell those on eBay, or directly via Z-Shops, etsy, PayPal or other easy-to-setup online store.

 

This saves you from the relatively ENORMOUS initial outlay in funds, frees you from having to keep track of people's money (what a headache!), and also relieves you of the drudgery of pick-and-pack (except for, of course, those AEs you do sell, but 20 AE packages is easy-peasy compared to, say, 200 coins packages).

 

The best thing of all is that it gets your foot in the door. You'll learn what is and isn't possible within the medium and you'll build your reputation as a designer at very little cost to you.

 

THAT, I completely and totally and highly recommend. : )

[+Eartha]

You might be a little late to jump on that bandwagon, but before you think about this, please read the pinned threads on geocoin policy. Know that it takes money to make money. You have to come up with a pretty sizable amount to get started, and the geocoins must be trackable to be allowed to sell them in here. As a college student, you'd be spending probably more than you wanted to, and then you have to wait for the funds to trickle back in. You might be better off trying to sell geocoins on ebay, but you HAVE TO OWN THEM, that part is most important. And if you were looking to go the vendor route, you would have to get on the approved vendor list, to be a vendor in here. As a student, can you take time from your schedule to pack, ship, keep track, set up a PayPal account, etc....? This is not a great way to make a quick buck. It takes time to produce a geocoin, and you have to come up with something that people like, use original artwork, hasn't been done before, appeals to the masses, and then hope it sells. Getting a side job might be more lucrative.

 

Since when do you have to be on the approved vendor list to sell coins here? I don't mean to flip, but I never knew that was a requirement.

 

I said to be a vendor, not just to sell them in here.

[+MustangJoni]

You might be a little late to jump on that bandwagon, but before you think about this, please read the pinned threads on geocoin policy. Know that it takes money to make money. You have to come up with a pretty sizable amount to get started, and the geocoins must be trackable to be allowed to sell them in here. As a college student, you'd be spending probably more than you wanted to, and then you have to wait for the funds to trickle back in. You might be better off trying to sell geocoins on ebay, but you HAVE TO OWN THEM, that part is most important. And if you were looking to go the vendor route, you would have to get on the approved vendor list, to be a vendor in here. As a student, can you take time from your schedule to pack, ship, keep track, set up a PayPal account, etc....? This is not a great way to make a quick buck. It takes time to produce a geocoin, and you have to come up with something that people like, use original artwork, hasn't been done before, appeals to the masses, and then hope it sells. Getting a side job might be more lucrative.

 

Since when do you have to be on the approved vendor list to sell coins here? I don't mean to flip, but I never knew that was a requirement.

 

I said to be a vendor, not just to sell them in here.

 

I really don't see the difference. Anyone who sells coin is a coin vendor, even if they are just an individual. I can think of two sellers who have stores who aren't on the list.

 

What are the criteria to be an approved vendor?

[+tsunrisebey]

It's not something I would suggest and that's the honest truth. Having done this for 4 years now, I wish I had done some things differently but it's too late for me

 

Jackalgirl had a good idea in that, shop your design to one of the larger vendors and receive Artist Editions which you can in turn sell or trade. There is virtually no expense to you doing it that way.

 

The geocoin "business" from a small time vendor perspective can be very deceiving. Many small-time vendors go rogue and there is a reason for that, it's not as lucrative as people think.

 

In my case, I pay a monthly fee to have my site hosted and that is not cheap, I paid thousands of dollars to have my site built since I know nothing of computers. I pay a high monthly internet fee because I don't live in an urban area and I need to be not get bumped off my store during a high customer load/sale Aka F5 storm I don't sell designs every month so I lose money in this area.

 

The majority of the time, you lose $$$ on your time. I've spent countless hours, logging orders, shipping, packing, going to the post office, etc. all of which I do for "free". I often ask myself what's wrong with me, lol.

 

There are alot of tiny expenses on the vendor side which the average person does not see. Your initial investment for 1 design will cost you probably over $1,000. Many of my designs, the die fee alone is over $500 granted I do big, shaped coins. The Pegasus coin I just did, was closing in on the $800 mark for the die fee. I haven't even made my $$$ back on that design yet on the first round of selling. Hopefully I will on the remint.

 

The killer part as a vendor (at least for me): The ebayers are making more $$$ on my designs that I am and quicker! That is a fact. I only surpass them in the long run.

 

If you can keep your expenses low, come out with popular designs, you could make a few extra bucks and get yourself a couple of meals from McD's

 

There is also the design aspect, if you can do all the design work yourself, you can save yourself the design fee.

 

In my experience only, I've found that in the end, I kind of break even. I give alot of coins away, I've tried to keep costs low. I lose money on my time and just try to cover my investment.

 

Most people today do presales and reservations to play it safe, I tend to buck that trend with an outright order and sale and take my chances.

 

There really are so many things to think about as a small time independent vendor. I've learned alot over time but I could afford to do it being retired from one career and working full-time in addition.

 

If I had it to do all over again, I'd work with a large vendor and let them sell my designs so I wouldn't spend countless hours on coin matters. I'd let them take on all the costs and time consuming efforts and I really do mean that. It's one of the reasons I've really slowed down on design output, it's just alot of work for very little payback on the $$$ side of things (for me). I would defintely do things differently.

 

The one thing I don't regret in all of this which has kept me doing designs here and there is the emails and comments I get from people. My designs mean alot to me, I love the drawing aspect of this and watching the design come to life. Giving a piece of yourself through this medium is an awesome opportunity and I feel very fortunate to be able to allowed to stay in this community. There are times when I've wanted to just throw in the towel because this was just so much work and there were so many frustrations that I don't voice about all of this however I'll get an email from someone. These emails are special stories that a customer will will take the time to open their hearts and tell me how much a design has touched them or how meaningful the coin is to them. It's in those moments when I think I can't do this anymore, that I keep going because that is all I ever wanted to do in the first place was make meaningful designs and hope that people could see that "magic" if you will.

 

As a small time vendor going it on your own, you need to do this because you love to do it, if you can do this for the love it the community will allow you to stick around

 

If you want to make $$$, do a kick-butt design, let a big vendor sell it for you and sell your AE coins on ebay.

 

Best wishes either way...

 

tsun

 

edit to add: I did not touch on alot of things because I have to go to work however I just wanted to get the main idea across that tis is not a get rich quick thing

Edited September 8, 2010 by tsunrisebey

[+Eartha]

 

I really don't see the difference. Anyone who sells coin is a coin vendor, even if they are just an individual. I can think of two sellers who have stores who aren't on the list.

 

What are the criteria to be an approved vendor?

 

There are many individuals who sell coins. They have a vendor make them (through the mint).

And there are vendors. They have store fronts (shop websites). They can sell trackable geocoins in these forums, but to be on the Approved Vendor List (the AVL), they have to go through Groundspeak, have proven themselves to follow through, and be approved by Groundspeak to be on the list, where people can find them here quickly, and know that they have a track record of some kind selling geocoins. You wouldn't want to pick one out of thin air, because you might end up with one of those companies out in left field that end up counterfeiting your coin and selling it later, we've seen counterfeiters too. Being on the AVL is better for a vendor's business.

Some of the ones in here are working on being approved. One is about to be added to the list. The list grows, and once in a while, sadly, the list can shrink, as we've seen happen in the past, when a vendor fails to follow through on orders. Then they are removed from the list. The Approved Vendor List is not to be confused with the other list, on the Groundspeak site, that lists vendors that sell Shop Groundspeak items. That is not the same list. Some of those people pay to advertise here and do so through the "business development department" with Groundspeak.

[+Droo]

Wow.... what great input from everyone to get a well rounded idea of what's involved with producing the beauties we all cherish so much here. It all seemed so simple in the beginning but when you scratch the surface there really is a ton of unnoticed work and effort - kudos to everyone who has managed to bring a coin to production and sale.... heroic efforts, indeed.

[+Dale n Barb]

Having made several coins ourselves as well as being a reseller of coins I have a different perspective than many. Everyone so far has pointed out some very good and accurate facts of the costs that go into making a coin. Until you actually sit down and start designing your coin and working through the process until you take delivery I don't think you can understand what it takes to actually have a coin made both time and financially.

 

Now from a resellers point of view Eartha has also touched on this but here is my take. We actually have a retail location. People come in all the time and say they want to go home and open up their own geocaching store. I always try to warn them that this is not a money maker. Our full time business is the money maker and the geocaching is just what we like to do. It takes a tremendous amount of investment both in time and money to have product for people to choose from. If you are just trying to make a quick buck on the side with geocaching then your best bet is Ebay. We try to stay away from there for reputation purposes. There are some very reputable people selling coins on there but there are also plenty of others out to rip you off. Like others have said, you can usually make more money and quicker selling coins there. I have seen all of the designs we have made selling on there for more than we sell them for. I think people get caught up in the whole bidding war thing.

 

Anyway, good luck with trying to make a little money on the side with a hobby you love. There is nothing wrong with that. Starting here and asking questions is going to help you out a lot. You will get a lot of different opinions that you can do with what you want. It is good to see what everyone has to say.

[+t@ndre]

Wow tsun loved your words!

 

Whenever you need courage emails I can be the first to send..

 

keep your awesome work!

 

It's not something I would suggest and that's the honest truth. Having done this for 4 years now, I wish I had done some things differently but it's too late for me

 

Jackalgirl had a good idea in that, shop your design to one of the larger vendors and receive Artist Editions which you can in turn sell or trade. There is virtually no expense to you doing it that way.

 

The geocoin "business" from a small time vendor perspective can be very deceiving. Many small-time vendors go rogue and there is a reason for that, it's not as lucrative as people think.

 

In my case, I pay a monthly fee to have my site hosted and that is not cheap, I paid thousands of dollars to have my site built since I know nothing of computers. I pay a high monthly internet fee because I don't live in an urban area and I need to be not get bumped off my store during a high customer load/sale Aka F5 storm I don't sell designs every month so I lose money in this area.

 

The majority of the time, you lose $$$ on your time. I've spent countless hours, logging orders, shipping, packing, going to the post office, etc. all of which I do for "free". I often ask myself what's wrong with me, lol.

 

There are alot of tiny expenses on the vendor side which the average person does not see. Your initial investment for 1 design will cost you probably over $1,000. Many of my designs, the die fee alone is over $500 granted I do big, shaped coins. The Pegasus coin I just did, was closing in on the $800 mark for the die fee. I haven't even made my $$$ back on that design yet on the first round of selling. Hopefully I will on the remint.

 

The killer part as a vendor (at least for me): The ebayers are making more $$$ on my designs that I am and quicker! That is a fact. I only surpass them in the long run.

 

If you can keep your expenses low, come out with popular designs, you could make a few extra bucks and get yourself a couple of meals from McD's

 

There is also the design aspect, if you can do all the design work yourself, you can save yourself the design fee.

 

In my experience only, I've found that in the end, I kind of break even. I give alot of coins away, I've tried to keep costs low. I lose money on my time and just try to cover my investment.

 

Most people today do presales and reservations to play it safe, I tend to buck that trend with an outright order and sale and take my chances.

 

There really are so many things to think about as a small time independent vendor. I've learned alot over time but I could afford to do it being retired from one career and working full-time in addition.

 

If I had it to do all over again, I'd work with a large vendor and let them sell my designs so I wouldn't spend countless hours on coin matters. I'd let them take on all the costs and time consuming efforts and I really do mean that. It's one of the reasons I've really slowed down on design output, it's just alot of work for very little payback on the $$$ side of things (for me). I would defintely do things differently.

 

The one thing I don't regret in all of this which has kept me doing designs here and there is the emails and comments I get from people. My designs mean alot to me, I love the drawing aspect of this and watching the design come to life. Giving a piece of yourself through this medium is an awesome opportunity and I feel very fortunate to be able to allowed to stay in this community. There are times when I've wanted to just throw in the towel because this was just so much work and there were so many frustrations that I don't voice about all of this however I'll get an email from someone. These emails are special stories that a customer will will take the time to open their hearts and tell me how much a design has touched them or how meaningful the coin is to them. It's in those moments when I think I can't do this anymore, that I keep going because that is all I ever wanted to do in the first place was make meaningful designs and hope that people could see that "magic" if you will.

 

As a small time vendor going it on your own, you need to do this because you love to do it, if you can do this for the love it the community will allow you to stick around

 

If you want to make $$$, do a kick-butt design, let a big vendor sell it for you and sell your AE coins on ebay.

 

Best wishes either way...

 

tsun

 

edit to add: I did not touch on alot of things because I have to go to work however I just wanted to get the main idea across that tis is not a get rich quick thing

[Geocoin Design]

<snip>

If you can keep your expenses low, come out with popular designs, you could make a few extra bucks and get yourself a couple of meals from McD's

</snip>

heh... especially since they have a $1 menu!

[avroair]

Jackalgirl had a good idea in that, shop your design to one of the larger vendors and receive Artist Editions which you can in turn sell or trade. There is virtually no expense to you doing it that way.

 

I have been making and selling geocoins for a while now. But I really don't have the time to set up a shop and sell my wares (especially if a design goes south and doesn't sell) so I have taken the route above. I have been asked by many to set up a web store, maybe in the future, but currently it's easier for me to have someone else produce the design and get some income from it that way.

[+WRITE SHOP ROBERT]

If you have the skills to design geocoins, there are probably more lucrative places to use them, doing graphics of many sorts. This is a very small very niche market at best. Most players here do it for the love, as most artists do.

[+tsunrisebey]

Wow tsun loved your words!

 

Whenever you need courage emails I can be the first to send..

 

keep your awesome work!

 

 

Thanks you're a sweetie

[+Vanelle]

I make coins because I love them and I enjoy design. Everything folks have said here about the substantial time and financial investment investment is 100% true. I do not believe that anyone who is making geocoins on a small scale is really pulling in much monetary gain from it.

 

MoopAlong said something very funny, smart and most decidedly TRUE when I first inquired about producing some of my work. He said, "..realize as a professional in the field [geocoin design is] nothing like your real life money making."

 

I've produced my own personal geocoin, and participated in a couple of event coins. For my personal, it cost $1,200+ and I've mostly traded them, set them free and left them in caches (although sold a few). For the event coins, the small profit ended up covering the cost of throwing the event in the first place (food, prizes, location fees, etc..).

 

I've also had some of my designs produced by other, larger vendors, and here my answer echoes Jackylgirl, Avroair and tsun. Not having to run a store, or stuff envelopes or keep track of people's orders is really wonderful. I honestly do not understand how folks like tsun and zelanzy manage to have their regular life and also run a webstore. Getting a set of AE coins (to trade or sell) without having to deal with all the storefront business is just great. And I've had excellent experiences with the vendors who have chosen to work with me.

 

I'm going to vendor at GCF this year (one table for 6 hours, no store, no envelopes to mail), and I've been keeping very careful track of every single expenditure (bank fees, shipping, icon, tracking numbers, mint costs, event fee, banner, display stuff, plane ticket, hotel, etc). I've produced and fully paid for two coin designs. What I am hoping for is that the sale of the coins brings me close to breaking even for the event. If that happens, I will be shocked.

 

If people like the coins and say nice things about them (again, echoing tsun), then I will be thrilled.

[+2LittleCache]

I conquer with most that has been said on this thread. Trust me, this is a game that is truly "Not about the numbers". But a fun game indeed!

[+The Moop Along]

 

MoopAlong said something very funny, smart and most decidedly TRUE when I first inquired about producing some of my work. He said, "..realize as a professional in the field [geocoin design is] nothing like your real life money making."

 

 

Wow, look at you quote me. I'm flattered I can't be anything but honest about that. No one is in it to win it. We didn't open DirectMint so we could all retire. It's mostly because I really really enjoy making coins for people. Mike and Rusty don't complain about the small bump in their paychecks either, but for the amount of hours I put into the website, it's just about break even. I usually have about a dozen jobs going at any one time, and working a 9-5 around that is well, I guess it can only be described as a labor of love.

 

TMA

[+Zelanzy]

Ye thrill: reservations flyin in / orders chuggin' / positive comments / 100 facebook likes

 

Ye LOL: taking 5 mint artwork passes to center a pupil in an eye socket / straight line as in no curve!!! / surprising mint by saying thank you in Chinese

 

Ye reward: failing twice to succeed once / a design so good a customers require a remint / + vs - on tax form

 

Lives for these things, sir zelanzy does. I say go for it!

[FightingDrag]

I got the offer of making coin designs, and either i can get some free coins from the printer, or i can buy the coins i design off the mint.

 

so the options are

1. Printer sells coins, and i get some free copys

 

2. I buy coins, and sell them myself

 

 

im a college student, but allways nees a hobby, would you do #1 if you cant afford #2?

[+Jackalgirl]

You asked this before, although a little differently, and I wouldn't say anything different now than I did then. I would absolutely not recommend that someone brand new to designing geocoins produce a coin at cost right at the beginning. Having a mint produce (and sell) the coins, while paying you in coins (preferably your own artist's edition) is the way to go for brand-new designers, especially ones without a lot of money, which you mentioned was a challenge for you, in terms of buying coins. Having the mint pay you in coins is a good way to build up both a portfolio and a reputation.

[+Eartha]

Also, since you are student, you should learn the terminology used in coin collecting/producing. It's the minter, not the printer, unless these will be paper coins.

And unless you are a college student with a trust fund, I would follow Jackalgirl's advice, and the advice given to you in the other thread, which is now being merged into this thread.

Do you know that you can make your own signature items to put in caches? It doesn't have to be a geocoin. You can buy a few travel bug tags and attach them to your signature item and let them travel.

Here are some examples of cacher's sig items.

[+Droo]

The best way to see if either option will work or what it's worth to you is to do it. For your first design have the vendour work with the mint and deal with the minutae of producing your coins. Remember that they are taking the financial risk of production and will take the brunt of the losses if it doesn't sell well and also deserve the lion's share of the gains if it does. If you can get a dozen AEs for it see what you can sell them for here or on eBay or trade them .... that's your commission for the design; the coin YOU designed. Pretty darned cool.... all you did was create a design and someone made it for you at no cost to you when you couldn't afford to buy coins. Not a bad way to start a modest collection, don't you think?

[+anne.and.eli]

A lot of people have taken that offer - that's how many designers got into designing coins. It's a very low-risk proposition, requires no money up front, and is something that is not seen in many other design fields.

 

So yes, I suggest you take it unless you have ~$1000-$2000 you have sitting around that you don't mind possibly losing and like gambling.

[+anne.and.eli]

(of course with that said, I DO fund my own, and I'm a college student, but I'm happy with a hobby that pays for itself.)

[+Zelanzy]

With all your hesitation I'm guessing that you aren't very comfortable with the design. In which case, I say to just have someone else fund it.

 

Why not post the design here and get some focused feedback on it?! That will help you much more than asking us to blindly give advice

[ATMouse]

It's how I got my designs made.

 

Short answer: yes.