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How To Get Bulk Codes


MindlessEngine

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I have been getting into TBs lately and I had a few TBs that had gone missing at some point in there venture. I made those into (i.e. Backpack, name tag, car, etc.). I am looking to purchase codes for all kinds of things and I saw bulk codes on geocaching.com, but I had to buy 50 which is out of the question. Coming about $75 atleast. Does anyone know of a website or something like that to get them cheaper?

 

Maybe if someone here is feeling really good today, could possibly have me adopt a few of your MIA TBs?

 

Thanks!!

Alex.

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28 minutes ago, MindlessEngine said:

I have been getting into TBs lately and I had a few TBs that had gone missing at some point in there venture. I made those into (i.e. Backpack, name tag, car, etc.). I am looking to purchase codes for all kinds of things and I saw bulk codes on geocaching.com, but I had to buy 50 which is out of the question. Coming about $75 atleast. Does anyone know of a website or something like that to get them cheaper?

 

Maybe if someone here is feeling really good today, could possibly have me adopt a few of your MIA TBs?

 

Thanks!!

Alex.

$2.50 is the least expensive TBs I've seen on Shop Geocaching (clearance). That is the current price as well.

 

13 minutes ago, MindlessEngine said:

Thanks. I was wondering if there was a cheaper way to get JUST codes so it is cheaper. Really just giving codes should be really cheap since there is no item ?

Someone, at some time, had to pay for those codes, though.

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8 hours ago, MindlessEngine said:

Thanks. I was wondering if there was a cheaper way to get JUST codes so it is cheaper.

Really just giving codes should be really cheap since there is no item ?

 

But because those codes aren't attached to an item at the time of sale, they have an order policy and guidelines.

One is that the items are family-friendly, particular wording must be present, and a buncha other stuff.    :)

It was enough that we found it cheaper (and a lot less hassle..) to have a manufacturer do it for us.

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4 hours ago, Jane Storm said:

Is it possible to purchase online a single tracking number without buying a TB on geocaching store?

 

No.  The tracking codes  are only sold in groups of 50.    They're used for geocoins mostly.   :)

If pricing at the store seems to be an issue, just type geocaching trackables in google, and one of the partnered sites probably has something on sale you can purchase for that code.

Realize that what you purchase may have an icon unusual for what you wanted the code for  (let's say a "hello kitty" icon for a car decal).

 - Many tags are different than the standard Travel Bug icon.     

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2 minutes ago, TmdAndGG said:

Sadly, no.

 

Yep.  The reason being that the code only,  unattached to a coin, tag, or something,  doesn't yet conform to the order/policy guidelines.

That "cover yer can" thing I believe.    

Once a trackable with a code belongs to you, it's a whole-different animal (within reason, I'd bet).     :)

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I've repurposed a couple of my codes.  I have two geocoins which each came with a proxy tag (not sure if that's the real term, but basically it lets you send out the proxy to travel and keep the nice coin at home).  I realized that my proxy tags had different tracking numbers than my coins, so I used the proxy tag tracking numbers for other trackable items.  And I kept the coins at home as they're really nice.

 

The only problem is that my repurposed tracking codes are categorized under their original trackable type; I'm not sure if I can have that changed to something else (which I've seen done with tattoos).

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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

If pricing at the store seems to be an issue, just type geocaching trackables in google, and one of the partnered sites probably has something on sale you can purchase for that code.

Realize that what you purchase may have an icon unusual for what you wanted the code for  (let's say a "hello kitty" icon for a car decal).

 - Many tags are different than the standard Travel Bug icon.     

 

If I understand correctly, let's say I decide to buy the ''hello kitty'' to use its tracking number, my trinket will have the ''hello kitty'' icon? In fact, pricing isn't my issue at the moment, but the shipping time-frame is. I've been leaving in a very remote place and I will be relocating in a very near future. My objective was to let a trinket here with the objective of reaching my new location. It looks like I will have to do it the other way around: from my new location to the current one. 

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8 hours ago, Jane Storm said:

If I understand correctly, let's say I decide to buy the ''hello kitty'' to use its tracking number, my trinket will have the ''hello kitty'' icon? I

 

We have reference numbers, to bring you to that trackable's page, and a tracking code  that allows you to log it.

 - But yep, whatever that tracking code was attached to.   :)

A friend of mine has a plastic "disc" with the tracking code from a long -"missing" geocoin. 

He uses it to allow people he meets on-trail to Discover it.

The code belonged to a "cat" geocoin, and when people log his plastic disc, they accrue a "cat geocoin"  icon in the shape of a cat's head.

Here's a pretty-lengthy section from the Help Center on Trackables.  

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I purchased a couple of geocoins long ago that had an icon I wanted which would be relevant to what I attached the code to and be discovered. I bought a geocoin bike so I could use the code to track my bicycle, and an iphone coin to track my smartphone. No reason you can't repurpose the code of an existing trackable item, but yes you just need to be aware that the icon (and the base part of the trackable title) won't change.  You can customize the name of the trackable, but there's a series name that can't be changed either.

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23 hours ago, Jane Storm said:

 My objective was to let a trinket here with the objective of reaching my new location.

It looks like I will have to do it the other way around: from my new location to the current one. 

 

Sounds fun, but realize that once you release your trackable into the wild, you no longer have control of it.   

It might not have reached your "new" location for some time, if at all.  That "anyone can play" thing...     :)

We've seen a few now who've been lucky in having their trackables go where they'd like it to, but most we've seen don't.

Many we know are just happy they're still in play.

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On 6/8/2020 at 3:55 PM, Jane Storm said:

What do you mean by trackable type?

 

A trackable shows up in your profile under a certain trackable type, like "Jeep 4x4 Travel Bugs" or "Mary Hyde's Treasure" or "HQ GeoTour Geocoins" or whatever.  You see it when you click on your trackable tab in your profile.  

 

What I was saying is that I was repurposing my proxy tag trackable codes, so if something was originally from a "GIFF 2018 Geocoin" and then I use that code for something else, like a backpack, my backpage trackable page will show up as a GIFF 2018 Geocoin, which obviously it's not.  Anyone who discovers my backpack will see a GIFF 2018 Geocoin in their list of found trackable types.

 

Maybe you can ask HQ to change your trackable's type, I don't know though.  I've heard that if you buy a plain ol' travel bug dog tag and use that code as a tattoo, HQ will change the trackable type to a trackable tattoo.

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8 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

Maybe you can ask HQ to change your trackable's type, I don't know though.  I've heard that if you buy a plain ol' travel bug dog tag and use that code as a tattoo, HQ will change the trackable type to a trackable tattoo.

 

Great thanks for the precision! Much appreciated. 

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2 hours ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

Maybe you can ask HQ to change your trackable's type, I don't know though.  I've heard that if you buy a plain ol' travel bug dog tag and use that code as a tattoo, HQ will change the trackable type to a trackable tattoo.

 

I don't believe you can.

I feel the only reason they'll change the "tattoo"  icon is someone's marking their body permanently for this hobby.

 - Probably good advertising too.      :)

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1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

You have to buy TB codes in bulk, and I'm guessing that was their way to encourage more revenue, instead of a massive trickle (how's that for an oxymoron) of individual TB code purchases. :)  

 

The company must have done calculations on profitability, because they in fact sell Tracking Codes.  I'd bet this was all discussed and decided a long time ago.  Someone decided on a minimum number.  Remember that Code is only one step in a process that includes designing a Geocoin that will pass an approval process, and lots of people making Geocoins may also enjoy getting in on buying codes with no such restriction, without the "approval".  AND there's an additional purchase of the vanity icon, possibly a special code prefix, and then there's the serious expense of getting the coins designed and minted.  The relatively inexpensive Tracking Code likely takes into account how much the whole deal will cost someone to produce.  It may even be part of the reason there's a vast selection of Trackable Geocoins... people decided the cost of "Tracking Numbers" was cheap enough to add them to a coin that otherwise didn't necessarily need to be "Trackable" to be desirable.  

 

If a one-off item were to be sold pre-approved with a name and an icon, it makes sense that it would be sold with the TB icon as a TB Code.  If you're buying a "The Travel Bug" without the tag, that still surely would be a higher premium than just the unassigned Geocoin code itself without an icon.  If the one-off Tracking Code has the same process as a Geocoin (and why not), so it's costing more to start with, it might as well include its sturdy inscribed TB tag, because you still have the additional cost of making the traveling tag.  "TBs" that people find in a cache that don't include an Official The Travel Bug Tag confuse people.  They tend to come to the Forums asking if the tag was lost, or how to tell if it's even a Trackable item.

 

Anyway, you get a pretty good deal on "50 or more Tracking Codes", plus other fees.  The deal for ONE "Travel Bug without a tag" would be somewhat different.

 

Edited by kunarion
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I've read the Help Center article on bulk TB codes but I still have questions. Is Geocaching accepting bulk code purchases for shiny tags? How does that work? I buy them, but have to engrave them myself? Or is the only way to do that to use a TB code from a purchased tag onto a shiny tag I have made? In the second way, there's no personalized icon.

What is currently allowed? How does one go about this?

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On 6/9/2020 at 5:07 AM, Jane Storm said:

In fact, pricing isn't my issue at the moment, but the shipping time-frame is. I've been leaving in a very remote place and I will be relocating in a very near future. My objective was to let a trinket here with the objective of reaching my new location.

 

This is probably too late to help you specifically, but it may help someone in the future who is in a similar situation:

 

If I wanted just a code quickly, the "best" way that I can think of is to be friendly with your preferred supplier / re-seller and ask them if you can buy a regular TB, paid by credit card and posted BUT get them to open it up and email you the TB code and activation code. That way, you'd have the code "instantly" (maybe within a day or three, depending on how long it takes you to find a reseller willing to do it), and the physical TB can be snail-mailed to either your old address and forwarded or to your new address (or to a friend's place to hold until you get settled).

 

Then you have your code you can put on your proxy, and if that proxy goes missing you'll still have the original and can send it out again later on.

 

The other option I can think of is to find a local geocaching group near a reseller and see if someone is willing to go in to the shop and buy a TB over the counter, and as before - email you the codes and then snail-mail the physical TB.

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12 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I've read the Help Center article on bulk TB codes but I still have questions. Is Geocaching accepting bulk code purchases for shiny tags?

How does that work? I buy them, but have to engrave them myself? Or is the only way to do that to use a TB code from a purchased tag onto a shiny tag I have made? In the second way, there's no personalized icon.

What is currently allowed? How does one go about this?

 

As far as I'm aware, once you buy the codes,  they can be placed on tags, and they'd have to conform to the same terms as any other trackable.

Notice that the order form calls them "game pieces", not coins, tags, or anything

The default icon is the scarab seen on Travel Bugs, a custom icon is 150 bucks.

You're correct, if you're using a trackable code from a trackable, you're newly crafted one will only have that trackable's icon.

We found that with a custom design,  custom icon, dies, and the unfamiliar "approval" process, it was much easier and cheaper to have a manufacturer do it for us.

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I'm trying to figure out how we're not allowed to promote the shiny tag companies but yet one of the authorized manufacturers has hired one of the shiny tag companies to make their trackables (a shiny tag) that are trackable on geocaching.com. I didn't think we were allowed to do that, but they are, so I'm apparently wrong and trying to figure it out.

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27 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I'm trying to figure out how we're not allowed to promote the shiny tag companies but yet one of the authorized manufacturers has hired one of the shiny tag companies to make their trackables (a shiny tag) that are trackable on geocaching.com. I didn't think we were allowed to do that, but they are, so I'm apparently wrong and trying to figure it out.

 

The emphasis on "tags" is lost on me I guess...  Sounds like you're being evasive...

You own tags, along with other trackable types, so I'm simply not getting what they have to do with your manufacturing question

Isn't it possible that like us, they also found they can have their own trackables made through another manufacturer, cheaper ?

If they're paying for the codes and abiding by terms...

If you're talking about a coin-like object with a hole in it, and "tag" in it's name, then I'd think if it doesn't have that "other" name of what it is, who cares.   :)

Edited by cerberus1
havehavehave
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10 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

 

The emphasis on "tags" is lost on me I guess...  Sounds like you're being evasive...

You own tags, along with other trackable types, so I'm simply not getting what they have to do with your manufacturing question

Isn't it possible that like us, they also found they can have their own trackables made through another manufacturer, cheaper ?

If they're paying for the codes and abiding by terms...

If you're talking about a coin-like object with a hole in it, and "tag" in it's name, then I'd think if it doesn't have that "other" name of what it is, who cares.   :)

Then what's the purpose of an approved manufacturer list if we can use someone else?

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10 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

Then what's the purpose of an approved manufacturer list if we can use someone else?

 

All of our cars are "made in America".   Most of their parts are now made in other countries...

I'd think if an "approved manufacturer" can gain access to new, updated equipment, or process orders through another in less time, or cheaper than they can do it themselves, I don't see a problem as long as that other company's name isn't on the item.

We have three sets of signature coins trackable on this site, and our manufacturer's name is nowhere on them.   :)

 

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3 hours ago, Unit473L said:

At the moment, the cheapest way to get TB codes is buying one of the multi-code sets. For example, the Modern Wonders and Ancient Wonders seven tag sets are on special (clearance?) at USD$24.45 so that works out at USD$3.49 per code. (Their normal price is USD$34.93 which divided by 7 is USD$4.99 which is the base price of a standard TB.) 

I often purchase them on clearance, usually for about $2.50 each. 

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44 minutes ago, Unit473L said:

How often do they come up? Admittedly, as I'm in Australia I normally only look in the local reseller stores rather than the GC store, but it's good to know when the sales are on. :)

 

You won't get a good deal on shipping from the US store.  But after a promotion is over, look at the clearance tags and coins.  I bought a few Cancer tags (zodiac Cancer), and before that, some leftover Travel Crew tags.  There was a 3rd party site selling those adorable little "Halloween Pumpkin Is So Drunk, He's Throwing Up His Inards!" coins for $2.30 each, of which I bought zero.  You can edit the title, but the icon and the design "Puking Because Drunk!" are in full display in many lists, unchangeable.  Did I mention there's a valid reason there are so many of a given coin on clearance?  :rolleyes:

 

Think of stores and sites where you might have shopped, and check on them at times.  You might get lucky.  Most any event has door prizes where you might be handed unactivated coins for free.  Go to Mega Events. Bring Geocaching stuff that's a little more desirable than the usual Swag.  I bring handmade, numbered special edition sig items, and when someone drops by my table, I'll trade a nice sig item for a puzzle card or two that I don't have that completes my Event Coin puzzle, and now I get a Geocoin prize.  Then hang onto various tags until you really need one, and of course you can use just a code if you have another way to inscribe your Trackable Item.

 

But waiting til the last possible moment when you need it right now, nope.  That's when you pay top dollar, not when you get a bargain.

 

 

Edited by kunarion
I needed to get dressed because someone was approaching down the trail.
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1 minute ago, kunarion said:

...after a promotion is over, look at the clearance tags and coins. 

 I bought a few Cancer tags (zodiac Cancer), and before that, some leftover Travel Crew tags.  There was a 3rd party site selling those adorable little "Halloween Pumpkin Is So Drunk, He's Throwing Up!" coins for $2.30 each, of which I bought zero.   

:)Yep.   

The couple other sites ("approved" vendors) also want to get long-discontinued promotional items off their shelves too, so it's always a good idea to look once in a while.

Even ebay has some super cheap off n on.  Maybe some outta the handful aren't already activated.     :D

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Remember if you buy a branded item for its code, you'll also get the branded icon and a part of the TB name will be unchangeable.  Buying TB codes in bulk gets the "Travel Bug Dog Tag" static title (appears in the browser page title) and a basic icon.

 

When I got my code to follow my GPS/phone, I picked up a geocoin that was made to be an old iphone - so the code came with the smartphone icon and a title that was relevant. :P  In looking for codes I can use for a new personal item, I try to find a relevant geocoin or travelbug first, so that those static items at least make sense attached to the object that's traveling. If not then I'll go with a generic TB code (bulk, or an individual dog tag TB).

 

I have a few old/lost/unused items for which I could reuse their codes on some things, but I'd want the object to be related because of the static icon/title thing.

Edited by thebruce0
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On 5/6/2020 at 4:41 AM, MindlessEngine said:

Does anyone know of a website or something like that to get them cheaper?

 

I think I found something that may be what you are after, perhaps.

 

I was looking through all the links for bulk codes and GeoCoin manufacturers and I found this page at gc4all.com - if I'm reading it right (which I might not be), the deal seems to be that if you order a custom design GeoCoin and let them keep ownership of the die / mold then they'll give you some for free.

 

I couldn't find the fine print (I'm sure it's there somewhere), but my assumption is that they'll do this deal if you order a design that they like which they think they can sell lots of. So if you wanted a personal signature-item type GeoCoin then they probably wouldn't go for it. But if you design and order some type of generic coin that they think they can sell lots of, they'll give you a couple for free - pretty much a designers payment type deal.

 

If you are just after a bunch of codes and aren't too fussed about the name / icon for it, then this might be an option. I think you'll need to contact them directly with any questions, I couldn't find the fine print for this offer on their website. I might have a go at this, if I can think of a generic design that they might be able to sell... 

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On 10/18/2020 at 5:00 AM, Unit473L said:

 

the deal seems to be that if you order [and pay for] a custom design GeoCoin and let them keep ownership of the die / mold then they'll give you some for free [ie you don't have to also pay for the coins]

 

I'm guessing that this will end up not being very cheap.

 

 

 

Edited by NanCycle
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I have bought codes in lots of 50 in order to make custom trackables. There were some hoops to jump through for the first purchase, made more difficult because I didn't understand the terminology or the process, and because I didn't carefully proof the text to be included on the back of the trackable.  For one thing, only Groundspeak can label an item as a Travel Bug.  The person I dealt with was very patient with me.  In addition, my trackables aren't coins but are unique laminated images, each one of which had to be approved by Groundspeak.  

 

Considering only the cost of the numbers, it is a pretty good deal if you intend to make as many 50 trackables.  I am a tool/gear junkie so already had a paper cutter, and a color photo printer.  I had to purchase laminating pockets and photo paper, but the unit cost is still less than a travel bug tag.  Having my own laminating film, FedEx Office let me use their laminator at no cost.  However, if I was to assign a value to my time, the unit cost would probably end up being a wash.  Making the bugs is fun for me, so I don't consider my time. 

 

As others have mentioned, if you have the patience to wait until the first of December, make all your geocaching purchases then.  You can get a free holiday promotional trackable for every $25 spent.  That is when I buy the TB dog tags I will use during the year, as well as replacement log books and log strips for my caches.  As of this moment the sale is ongoing.

 

 

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