Would it be in poor taste to leave "coupon" in a cache?

[+cherry59714]

I was curious to hear other opinions on leaving a "coupon" in a visited cache with the intent on someone using it? For instance I own my own photography business and have 20% off coupons that I distribute at festivals and fairs, would it be gauche to leave some in a local cache(s)?

[+J the Goat]

Some people will say yes, some will say they're just extra garbage in the cache and will remove them and throw them away, some people will use time. Personally, if I found a coupon in a cache for a service that I'd use, I'd use it

[+BlueDeuce]

self-serving garbage.

[+J the Goat]

See? ^^^

[+BlueDeuce]

I couldn't resist.

[+J the Goat]

 

But seriously though, see? ^^^

[AZcachemeister]

A coupon with no expiration might be useful to some.

If I was planning to have some photography work done, I would certainly prefer to give the business to a fellow Geocacher.

It all depends on how you do it.

If you take something (ANYTHING) and all you leave is one of your coupons... .

If you take nothing, and leave a coupon... .

If your coupon is attached to a cool sig item (like a camera charm, or anything photography related)... .

 

The bigger issue is that paper products tend to get a bit skanky with time, even in the most weather-proof cache containers.

[+Walts Hunting]

Better than some of the trashy items I have seen. Go for,it.

[+BlueDeuce]

 

But seriously though, see? ^^^

 

Just try to make them worth collecting.

Edited August 12, 2012 by BlueDeuce

[+popokiiti]

It would be neat if those coupons could be photographic fridge magnets....show the item to you for the discount? It would then be a signature item also...just a thought. Business cards leave me cold, I'm afraid.

 

edit to add what I thought, but didn't type! - maybe place a sticker with info on the reverse?

Edited August 12, 2012 by popokiiti

[+BlueDeuce]

Tell me you have expectations on swag. Do you think it's 20% off?

[+Hot Pepper Crew]

I once found a coupon in a cache from a scenery photographer that was good for a free download of a high resolution image from his website that he sells. That was cool swag. A 20% off coupon would be considered trash and would be removed from my cache. Hide a cache and put a coupon for a free session for FTF, then you're talking!

[+The_Incredibles_]

Taking advantage of a geocache placement by putting any type of advertisement in it, IMHO, is in poor taste.

 

Geocaching is supposed to be non-commercial. There are lots of other ways to advertise.

[+cherry59714]

Taking advantage of a geocache placement by putting any type of advertisement in it, IMHO, is in poor taste.

 

Geocaching is supposed to be non-commercial. There are lots of other ways to advertise.

 

Just for clarification, my intent is not to advertise but to give back to my fellow geocachers. I know it takes time and energy to geocache, from maintenance to searching for caches. I am so excited about geocaching that I wanted to give back in a way that I could. For example if I knew a fellow geocacher owned a restaurant I would go eat there. If a geocacher owned a clothing store, I would check it out. My thought was if it was a service you needed/wanted anyway, why not make it a little better for you. It was "hey all you cool people, here is something I can give you". My intent is not to get business, rather if it was a service you were already looking for this was how I could help you.

 

So would it be more acceptable if it was a "free" service?

 

What if you found a "free coffee" coupon that a random geocacher left? (would that be in poor taste?)

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

What if you found a "free coffee" coupon that a random geocacher left? (would that be in poor taste?)

Free coupons (coffee, popcorn, soda), scratch-off (unused) lottery tickets, winning McD game pieces and like items are left quite frequently.

 

Try this... your "free" coupon comes into your business, and you folks have a wild discussion about geocaching, etc. Kind of like an Event Cache every time a cacher stops in with one! Keep your personal geocoin or TB handy for 'discovery'.

It don't get any better than that!

[+stijnhommes]

It would also depend on where the cache is. If you live in California and you visit a cache in Florida, leaving that coupon would be pointless in my opinion. Leave it in local caches or make sure your website can handle things otherwise.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Taking advantage of a geocache placement by putting any type of advertisement in it, IMHO, is in poor taste.

 

Geocaching is supposed to be non-commercial. There are lots of other ways to advertise.

 

Just for clarification, my intent is not to advertise but to give back to my fellow geocachers. I know it takes time and energy to geocache, from maintenance to searching for caches. I am so excited about geocaching that I wanted to give back in a way that I could. For example if I knew a fellow geocacher owned a restaurant I would go eat there. If a geocacher owned a clothing store, I would check it out. My thought was if it was a service you needed/wanted anyway, why not make it a little better for you. It was "hey all you cool people, here is something I can give you". My intent is not to get business, rather if it was a service you were already looking for this was how I could help you.

 

So would it be more acceptable if it was a "free" service?

 

What if you found a "free coffee" coupon that a random geocacher left? (would that be in poor taste?)

 

No matter how you feel about it or how you phrase it or whether it's free or 20% off, the end result is that you are promoting your business.

 

I"m OK with finding scratch and win tickets in caches. I've never found a free coffee coupon, but I *think* I would be OK with it, as long as the person leaving the coupon was not affiliated with that business. I"m thinking here of coupons for free McDs coffee, that sort of thing, where someone may have gotten a stack of and was just trying to get rid of it. If a cacher's friend was running a local coffee shop and gave their friend a stack of coupons to put in caches, I'd not be OK with it.

 

I just don't like the idea of coupons from local businesses, free or otherwise. Could you imagine when geocaching is even more popular than it is now? And local businesses hear that other businesses are leaving coupons in caches. The last thing I want to do when I'm going for a nice walk to find a cache filled with such coupons. Commercialism is *everywhere*. Wouldn't it be nice if geocaching could be the one thing you can do where you're not bombarded with advertising?

Edited August 12, 2012 by The_Incredibles_

[kanchan]

No matter how you feel about it or how you phrase it or whether it's free or 20% off, the end result is that you are promoting your business.

Agreed. I'm not saying the OP is trying to promote their own business here (I think rather not), but since it's almost impossible to draw a clear line between pure "give-back" and commercial "promotions" (even if it's a free coupon), I'd rather say better not.

[AZcachemeister]

 

No matter how you feel about it or how you phrase it or whether it's free or 20% off, the end result is that you are promoting your business.

 

 

If you had to pick between two businesses for some goods or services you wanted, and you had the choice between a business owned by 'a friend', and one owned by a stranger which would you pick?

 

Maybe it's just me, but I do feel a kinship with fellow geocachers for some strange reason. If they can provide a service I need, I will pick them every time. If I get 20% off, so much the better.

 

Much like the highly discussed religious tract (advertising a religion, eh?), if you don't care, just ignore it.

[+crsandtweetygirl]

I may or may not use coupons in caches but everyone geocaches their own way with their own rules. Best of all, you don't have to listen to, or follow anyones advise pro or con. Mine included. If you want to, just do it!

[+The_Incredibles_]

 

No matter how you feel about it or how you phrase it or whether it's free or 20% off, the end result is that you are promoting your business.

 

 

If you had to pick between two businesses for some goods or services you wanted, and you had the choice between a business owned by 'a friend', and one owned by a stranger which would you pick?

 

Absolutely I would go with my friend. However, if they were a friend of mine, I'd already know what they did and no doubt, they would offer me a discount, if asked. No coupon needed.

[+chasclifton]

I was curious to hear other opinions on leaving a "coupon" in a visited cache with the intent on someone using it? For instance I own my own photography business and have 20% off coupons that I distribute at festivals and fairs, would it be gauche to leave some in a local cache(s)?

 

I have pulled a lot of expired coupons from caches. On the other hand, I have one in my wallet that I mean to use one of these days.

 

Maybe one reason for the plague of expired coupons is that the cachers themselves are often just passing through and won't be back in that particular town or neighborhood to use it?

[+Ben0w]

If it is 100% free AND without any other restriction, then I would consider it OK. If it's your own business and you take another swag item for it, then it would be a bit smelly. Then better leave it as tag item.

 

Personally I have no problem with advertising by a free give away. But "20% off" is worth nothing, since you still have to spend the other 80% on something you may not need anyway.

 

Any other, like business cards or flyers are just spam and should be CITO'd. Especially when they're paper in a damp cache.

 

Coupons with a time restriction are not OK, since they soon are worthless trash - even 1 year is short in "cache time".

 

I once gave a coupon for a nearby restaurant/bar as FTF prize, the cache is themed around the location there including the bar (which has a unique bath attached) and so it was absolutely fitting, it was obvious that the coupon was found quick, it was a 100% worth voucher for a small meal or a cocktail and it's not my business nor from a relative (I'm a frequent flyer there, but that doesn't count). The FTFinder spent a nice summer evening at the cache location, enjoyed a cool drink at the bar and wrote a thankful log entry about his experience. So, nothing against coupons/vouchers, if they are placed with thought.

 

However, for your "20% off" I would say: no, that's not an equal or uptrade swag. It's just a give away. Most probably I would let it stay in the cache, because I have no frequent interest in a photography business.

[+Chokecherry]

 

No matter how you feel about it or how you phrase it or whether it's free or 20% off, the end result is that you are promoting your business.

 

 

If you had to pick between two businesses for some goods or services you wanted, and you had the choice between a business owned by 'a friend', and one owned by a stranger which would you pick?

 

Maybe it's just me, but I do feel a kinship with fellow geocachers for some strange reason. If they can provide a service I need, I will pick them every time. If I get 20% off, so much the better.

 

Much like the highly discussed religious tract (advertising a religion, eh?), if you don't care, just ignore it.

 

To me if I don't know the cacher personally they are still a stranger and one I'm much more skeptical of if they feel the need to advertise their business in a cache on top of it.

 

I agree with the other commenter on this that if someone is an actual friend of mine I'd be getting a discount without having to dig a soggy coupon out of a cache.

 

If i have a good or service I need I get the best person for the job not some stranger who happened to cache.

[+cherry59714]

Thank you all for your responses. You have all given me much to consider. Being so new to geocaching I appreciate the input.

[knowschad]

Thank you all for your responses. You have all given me much to consider. Being so new to geocaching I appreciate the input.

 

You know, I think that, regardless of your motivation for wanting to leave coupons in caches, in the long term, you will find that geocaching is more fun if you leave your work out of it, anyway. Let work be work, and geocaching be geocaching.

[+dprovan]

Whenever I see a 20% off coupon, I read it as, "I set my prices 25% more than I need to so I can give everyone 20% off coupons and make them think they're getting a deal." I wouldn't object, but nor would I find it of any value. Just like people that leave their business cards. I'm not sure if there's anything you could do to make this the entirely altruistic act you want it to be. I think knowschad has a good point, and no matter how you spin it, it's still going to smell of your work, not the act of geocaching charity you intent. And I have to admit, I normally treat such coupons as a CITO opportunity.

 

Oh, by the way: if you do something like this, try to avoid leaving it in a cache that might sometimes get water in it. Otherwise, it will just become more mush clogging up the cache.

[+eyeinthesky]

I was curious to hear other opinions on leaving a "coupon" in a visited cache with the intent on someone using it? For instance I own my own photography business and have 20% off coupons that I distribute at festivals and fairs, would it be gauche to leave some in a local cache(s)?

Personally I feel if you want to leave a coupon in a Geocache make it a coupon you purchased for something free at a business other then your own (eg i have left FTF coupon for national name ice cream store, local theater, free drink at a major fast food place) Keep profit out of it make a kid jump with excitement, i love the image of that