Placing Advertisements in Caches

[Guest Fahrblundjet]

There's an active cacher in our area who owns a small business. At every cache he finds he leaves as his "signature item" a brochure advertising his business.

 

It should be apparent I have a concern about this, or I wouldn't be bringing it up here, but am I being overly sensitive? I'd like to have your thoughts on this. If you also find it troublesome, what suggestions might you offer on how it might be addressed, if at all?

 

I might also mention that I saw one log entry in a cache in our area where someone complained about finding a business card for an "escort service" in the cache. This is not the business I described above, but it is an example of what I fear could be the "worst-case scenario" if this practice becomes more common.

 

I searched the old threads, and while I saw some posts related to this type of concern, I didn't see this issue addressed directly. If I missed it, please point me to the thread, I apologize for raising the issue again, and I'll go away.

 

[This message has been edited by Fahrblundjet (edited 17 February 2002).]

[Guest sbukosky]

time, if people dislike a person's caches, either the logs will show it or lack of activity will. I think "evolution" will weed out the stinkers from the direction the majority want geocaching to go.

 

------------------

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[Guest sbukosky]

With time, if people dislike a person's caches, either the logs will show it or lack of activity will. I think "evolution" will weed out the stinkers from the direction the majority want geocaching to go.

 

------------------

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[Guest Robereno]

I suppose a brochure might be a little over the top. Have you ever gone to a party and started talking to someone only to end up having them try to sell you insurance?

 

I often see business cards and coupons for local businesses in caches. I?m even guilty of leaving one of those promotional give away gadgets with my businesses name on it. (At least it?s a pocket knife.)

Anyway, I haven?t found this practice intrusive yet. I guess if people start spamming caches on an massive scale I?d have a problem.

[Guest JamieZ]

Although maybe not completely within Geocaching etiquette.. but leaving business cards, business pamphlets, or religious material isn't such a big deal.

 

The "offender" gets to leave his stuff, no harm done.. and you can ignore what they left. Maybe you might need their services. Or if you are the cache owner... take it out.

 

Jamie

[Guest exConn]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fahrblundjet:

... am I being overly sensitive? ...

---

 

I have to agree that an advertising brochure would definately bug me. But people have different value systems. So, what might bother you and me may be harmless to someone else. That said, I don't think Geocaching should be used as a commercial endeavor in any way.

 

A useful cache item with a business imprinted on it I probably wouldn't have a problem with, but a brochure is pretty lame in my opinion.

 

If I see something like a brochure in a cache, I just shake my head and ignore it. I'm not sure how you can address it and get everyone to agree...

 

-exConn

 

 

------------------

What is Project Virginia?

[Guest MissJenn]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fahrblundjet:

There's an active cacher in our area who owns a small business. At every cache he finds he leaves as his "signature item" a brochure advertising his business.

---

Personally, I think that's a cheesy sig item. Also, FWIW, this is what I found at the Hide a Cache page:

 

This is a free service. Only caches of a non-commercial nature can be posted through this site. If you wish to create a commercial cache or promotion, please contact us first. Caches perceived of a commercial nature will not be approved.

 

------------------

All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power. - Ashleigh Brilliant ©

 

[This message has been edited by MissJenn (edited 18 February 2002).]

[Guest VentureForth]

Nah, personally I don't think that it is a big deal for someone to leave tracts, business cards, coupons, etc. But I would like to recommend the following guidelines (read, "not a rule"): 1) Owner can take it out if he wants to; 2) Don't make it look trashy - leave a nice one, not a crappy one that's been hiding in your front pocket since its last wash cycle; 3) For coupons, PLEASE don't leave anything that expires in less than six months; 4) If you find an expired coupon, remove it! 5) Paper items (this is my OPINION) should definitely never should be TRADED. Don't take the digital camera and leave a business card for exorsisms.

 

Just my $.02 worth

 

------------------

VentureForth out to the wild, wet forest...

[Guest Ramness570]

There is one around here that leaves religious leaflets no big deal I just don?t read them. I used to leave my Xterra club card as a signature item till I made up some geocaching cards.

 

------------------

Team Ramness570 Brian, Christine & TabascoX

Senior Member Southeast Xterra Club

Geocaching since October 2000.

[Guest madphatboy2]

I don't think that it is appropriate to leave pamphlets or business cards. I think that this just leaves a mess in a cache. I once visited a cache that was full off paper towels. I consider that littering, in the cache as it may be, paper material that has no use what so ever is not a good idea. Now if the promotional item was a pen, or knife, or whatever, something that WOULD be traded is ok. Just my opinion.

 

------------------

MPB2

 

I wander from here to there looking for. . .my mind? And then I find it in the cache.

[Guest Lazyboy]

I have a friend that's cacher and owns a general store. I've encouraged him to put out a cache with some coupons for free fountain drinks or something like that. He plans to do it. I honestl don't see a problem with that sort of thing.

[Guest mrcpu]

g like that. He plans to do it. I honestl don't see a problem with that sort of thing.

---

 

This is a cooler idea: Water Spout

 

They guy had his cache placed inside a store. You walk in and ask for the geocache and they get it from behind the counter!

 

I thought of putting a geocache in a local Bank. You then go up to a teller and ask her to hand over the cache. (Difficulty is 5/5 as an overnight stay and special equipment would most definetly be required!!!! )

 

------------------

MrCpu

mrcpu@myrealbox.com

Finds

Hides

[Guest mrcpu]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lazyboy:

I have a friend that's cacher and owns a general store. I've encouraged him to put out a cache with some coupons for free fountain drinks or something like that. He plans to do it. I honestl don't see a problem with that sort of thing.

---

 

This is a cooler idea: Water Spout

 

They guy had his cache placed inside a store. You walk in and ask for the geocache and they get it from behind the counter!

 

I thought of putting a geocache in a local Bank. You then go up to a teller and ask her to hand over the cache. (Difficulty is 5/5 as an overnight stay and special equipment would most definetly be required!!!! )

 

------------------

MrCpu

mrcpu@myrealbox.com

Finds

Hides

[Guest mrcpu]

g like that. He plans to do it. I honestl don't see a problem with that sort of thing.

---

 

This is a cooler idea: Water Spout

 

They guy had his cache placed inside a store. You walk in and ask for the geocache and they get it from behind the counter!

 

I thought of putting a geocache in a local Bank. You then go up to a teller and ask her to hand over the cache. (Difficulty is 5/5 as an overnight stay and special equipment would most definetly be required!!!! )

 

------------------

MrCpu

mrcpu@myrealbox.com

Finds

Hides

[Guest mrcpu]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lazyboy:

I have a friend that's cacher and owns a general store. I've encouraged him to put out a cache with some coupons for free fountain drinks or something like that. He plans to do it. I honestl don't see a problem with that sort of thing.

---

 

This is a cooler idea: Water Spout

 

They guy had his cache placed inside a store. You walk in and ask for the geocache and they get it from behind the counter!

 

I thought of putting a geocache in a local Bank. You then go up to a teller and ask her to hand over the cache. (Difficulty is 5/5 as an overnight stay and special equipment would most definetly be required!!!! )

 

------------------

MrCpu

mrcpu@myrealbox.com

Finds

Hides

[Guest sbukosky]

I don't know anything commercial about this one other than you felt obligated to buy a coffee, which my wife and I wanted anyway. It was a convetional cache that was behind the counter but to be considered a find, you had to assemble a jigsaw puzzle to create a Geocache logo with a number imbedded. Once you did the work and got the number, it could be verfied by the owner and logged as a find. Some logs didn't seem to like it but my wife and I had a good time. So did the customers wondering what the heck we were doing!

 

------------------

Steve Bukosky N9BGH

Waukesha Wisconsin

[Guest Alan2]

Actually, a catchy ad for a local sweet shop after a long, hot and thirsty hike would be a better find than some of the junk that I've run into! A 10% off coupon would even be better! Yum!

 

Alan

[Guest Alan2]

Actually, a catchy ad for a local sweet shop after a long, hot and thirsty hike would be a better find than some of the junk that I've run into! A 10% off coupon would even be better! Yum!

 

Alan

[Guest Geo Quest]

I have no problem with a little promotional brochure or somefink. Just as long as the brochure isn't your trade item. Throw it in as an extra.

 

------------------

"What's the point of going out, we're just going to end up back here anyway"? --Homer Simpson

[Guest Fahrblundjet]

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and comments. They've been quite helpful.

[Guest RedwoodRed]

I am a small business owner, and I carry my business cards with me everywhere, but I could never see a purpose for placing one in a geocache. I suppose if I owned a more service-oriented business that a large variety of folks use on a daily basis it might be more appropriate.

 

And please note, the original poster to this thread (sorry, I'm having problems getting my brain around your nick!) stated that the brochures had been placed in caches visited, NOT a geocache full of brochures and promotional materials - that would be a commercial cache and therefor blatantly against the policies of Geocaching.com.

 

I suppose it is a matter of degrees, and again, some folks might appreciate that type of information if they came across it. If I were cache-hunting in an unfamiliar area and found a cache with brochures for places to visit, restaurant coupons or something similar, I may be very grateful.

 

If it is, however, a blatant attempt by a Real Estate agent, Chiropractor, carpet cleaner... I may not be so amenable to those. Not that those are BAD professions, though. Probably for the same reason no one would expect a Web Designer to advertise in a geocache - it would be tacky.

 

If someone wants a business card to advertise their geocaching hobby, they can visit Vista Print and get their first order of 250 business cards for FREE (only pay a small shipping fee). We did it and I laminate them and put them in geocaches.

 

 

They look better in real life... sorry. I can't imagine that we will hit more than 250 caches within a year's time, and by then I won't mind paying the $19.99 to have more printed up.

----------

Lori aka: RedwoodRed

KF6VFI

"I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations."

GeoGadgets Team Website

Comics, Video Games and Movie Fansite

[Guest Misguided One]

I'm a part time portrait and nature photographer, I've considered making up some gift certificates (something of value) to place in my caches or even as a trade item. WOuld this be out of line?

 

------------------

Lost? I'm not lost, it's just creative navigation,..........yeah, that's it. Mg1

[Guest Misguided One]

f line?

 

------------------

Lost? I'm not lost, it's just creative navigation,..........yeah, that's it. Mg1

[Guest TresOkies]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Misguided One:

I'm a part time portrait and nature photographer, I've considered making up some gift certificates (something of value) to place in my caches or even as a trade item. Would this be out of line?

---

 

I wouldn't have a problem with it, but others will. You can't please everyone. Go with your conscience. If you made the world a better place on your way in and out (i.e. "step lightly", "cache in, trash out") then you deserve to leave a token of your choice. If others don't like your token, they are free to ignore it.

 

I often find items in caches that I disagree with, whether political, religious, or philosophical. I ignore them, sign the log book, and go on about my business. If I find something that is unsafe or objectionable (food items, pornography, condoms, etc), I'll remove them and not feel a bit of remorse.

 

Do as you see fit. It's your life.

 

-E

 

------------------

N35°32.981 W98°34.631

[Guest mac]

I think promotion of a comercial business in a geocache is inappropriate, however, my primary concern would be if Grocaching.com makes a percentage of profit from the sales made as a result of advertising placed in caches. As you might imagine, it may be quite difficult to determine an accurate value for a sales figure that is a function of exposure through geocaching. Thus, compensation paid to Geocaching.com would be loosely based on averages, leaving too much room for dishonest reporting, in my opinion. Besides this point, I really hate the idea that my beloved pastime could be turned into some commercial mess. Think about it...comercially sponsored caches...I spend usually $20-$30 in placing a cache....ammo can, stuff to put in it, gas and travel to find a good spot, etc. What happens when some company decides to throw a few thousand at the idea? You get some overdone, gratuitously commercial cache, that I feel brings an all time low to our game. I have to believe that there are too many of us that do this for the fun, for the walks in nature, for the love of the outdoors....and not enough to do it for the fabulous prizes and what's behind door number three. If a comercial entity is looking for exposure within our audience, they ought to explore possibilities in conjunction with the owners of this website, and not feel that they can take it on their own to shamelessly self promote their interests in a cache.

[Guest Fahrblundjet]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RedwoodRed:

(sorry, I'm having problems getting my brain around your nick!)

---

 

This may not help, but the emphasis is on the second syllable. It's a Yiddish word meaning "lost".

 

73/88

[Guest RedwoodRed]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TresOkies:

I wouldn't have a problem with it, but others will. You can't please everyone

---

 

Darned tootin'!

I personally take issue with any cache items related to Barney, The Purple Dinosaur. He is, after all, the Anti-Christ and is in direct collusion with Chuck E. Cheese and that rat's evil empire.

 

Do I complain in cache logs when I find Barney items? No, I just instruct the children not to touch it, lest the evil, as in the Lyle Lovett song, "get on their hands and the crawl right up their sleeves".

 

Some folks consider McD's Happy Meal toys as trash, while others consider it the gold at the end of the geocaching rainbow. I personally consider Star Wars action figures worth attempting a 5-rated terrain cache for.

 

To each their own.

 

The medication is kicking in now. Go back to your lives, citizens.

----------

Lori aka: RedwoodRed

KF6VFI

"I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations."

GeoGadgets Team Website

Comics, Video Games and Movie Fansite

[Guest TresOkies]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RedwoodRed:

I personally take issue with any cache items related to Barney, The Purple Dinosaur. He is, after all, the Anti-Christ and is in direct collusion with Chuck E. Cheese and that rat's evil empire.

---

 

LOL! As the father of a 4 1/2 year old, I've shielded my precious from the Purple One. Funny this is, my original post to this question alluded to McToys as well and then I erased it. I'd rather find a coupon for a free latte in a cache than a McToy. Even my son passes by the McToys in a cache. Some people feel the same way about golf balls.

 

The great thing about this activity is it is open to each and every one of us to interpret it as we see fit. The things people trade gives some insight into their way of thinking...

quote:

---

"Took leatherman multi-tool and tickets to World Series. Left a Happy Meal toy and a tract from my church that I suggest everyone read and follow."

---

 

 

-E

 

------------------

N35°32.981 W98°34.631

[Guest TresOkies]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RedwoodRed:

I personally take issue with any cache items related to Barney, The Purple Dinosaur. He is, after all, the Anti-Christ and is in direct collusion with Chuck E. Cheese and that rat's evil empire.

---

 

LOL! As the father of a 4 1/2 year old, I've shielded my precious from the Purple One. Funny this is, my original post to this question alluded to McToys as well and then I erased it. I'd rather find a coupon for a free latte in a cache than a McToy. Even my son passes by the McToys in a cache. Some people feel the same way about golf balls.

 

The great thing about this activity is it is open to each and every one of us to interpret it as we see fit. The things people trade gives some insight into their way of thinking...

quote:

---

"Took leatherman multi-tool and tickets to World Series. Left a Happy Meal toy and a tract from my church that I suggest everyone read and follow."

---

 

 

-E

 

------------------

N35°32.981 W98°34.631

[Guest VentureForth]

MiniV almost ALWAYS chooses to remove the golfballs from caches. He's D/FW's official golf ball-in-the-cache remover.

 

Now, what to do with all those balls. None of us play golf, and he's only just fixin' to be two...

 

------------------

VentureForth out to the wild, wet forest...

[Guest Misguided One]

quote:

---

Originally posted by RedwoodRed:

Darned tootin'!

I personally take issue with any cache items related to Barney, The Purple Dinosaur. He is, after all, the Anti-Christ and is in direct collusion with Chuck E. Cheese and that rat's evil empire.

---

 

AACK!!! Barney, he IS the EVIL one. The first things I taught my son to say were "Barney...NO,NO,NO" and "Barney's evil", got alot of laughs at the toy stores.

 

About my gift certificate idea, after reading all the comments so far, I think I'll let that idea fade away.

 

 

[This message has been edited by Misguided One (edited 21 February 2002).]

[Guest weezer]

Is it really about what is in the cache?

I see alot of finds where nobody takes anything, they just sign the log book. I am prefectly happy just finding the cache. I dont get distressed over what is in the cache. If there is nothing that catches my eye I wont take anything, but I still leave an item.