Geocaching For Cash

[magellan315]

Check this out; Geocaching for Cache.

 

I want to stress that they are not using caches posted on GC.com and I'd be curious if they need to get approval to hide caches of a commercial nature on public land.

 

At a cost $19.95 a month I'm not sure I would do it.

[+New England n00b]

I definitely would NOT do it. $20 a month, to maybe win $100? Even if it weren't for the FTF hounds around here (good people, all), well... frankly, I can't see it. I want caches that are placed in interesting places, be they in the woods or in the city. I'm not interested in caches placed for prizing purposes alone.

[+Team Tired Boy]

No way would I do it. This isn't what geocaching is about in my opinion.

[+The Leprechauns]

Hmmmmm $20 a month for the possibility of being FTF on a log-only micro with a gift certificate. I think I'd rather join the dozens of people who hunted for "Shelter II" for no reward other than bragging rights. For me, it's all about the hunt, the places to see, and the people I meet along the way. That is reward enough; the trinkets are secondary.

 

So, who all's been around long enough to remember Geogamer.com?

[Utsman]

$20 and there is only 10 caches placed per month. So if a cache isn't placed near you you have to drive to it which costs money is gas and someone can still beat you there. Seems like a waste of money.

Edited November 2, 2005 by Utsman

[+Snoogans]

Oh brother. Another pay to play game that will die hard and fast.

[+carleenp]

I'll pass. Not that they would be in Nebraska anyway!

[+tozainamboku]

Congratulations to Ranboze and bthomas for finding GCB416 even though the $1000 for FTF had already been claimed almost two years before. Real geocachers don't do it for the money

[+humanloofa]

I can see that one dying quick. Now if I could stay on the clock at work and cache I would not turn that down.

[+geognerd]

I can see that one dying quick. Now if I could stay on the clock at work and cache I would not turn that down.

Some people do cache while on the clock. I've done it a few times. See this topic.

[+Pablo Mac]

Looks like their site admin found the first GPSCacheQuest cache, in a phone booth, even. How exciting. Such a nice site, too.

 

I live in the same town as at least one of the founders of this site, and have already gotten 3 emails and phone calls from cache friends asking if I am one of the unnamed people starting this thing who are mentioned in the newspaper article. My answer for all to see is NO.

 

(EDIT - My mistake - I guess the admin just posted a notice about someone else making the first find.)

 

Moderator note: deleted links to site.

Edited November 3, 2005 by Quiggle

[+Odder]

I wonder what the gambeling laws would think about this? My own personal opinion is its a big fat scammin load of somthin' smelly that comes from cattle.

 

Naughty naughty capitolists, think of your karma... *tsk tsk* --Odder

[+Quiggle]

From the Forum Guidelines:

Commercial Postings/Solicitations are not allowed. Commercial content as a direct or indirect (either intentional or non-intentional) attempt to solicit customers through a forum post will be edited or deleted. Notwithstanding the above, Groundspeak reserves the right to include limited commercial content in this Forum, in its sole discretion.

 

Please do not post links to the website.

 

Thank you.

[CoyoteRed]

Please do not post links to the website.

Why?

 

Yes, I read the quoted section, but I don't understand why you can't post such a link. There is obviously no direct competition given the responses. I don't see any attempt, intentional or not, to solicit customers. We've only been discussing it. Actually, it looks like most are panning it.

 

Appears someone is a little quick with the Forum-Guidelines Thumping.

[+Glenn]

Edit: wrong assumption

Edited November 4, 2005 by Glenn

[Trinity's Crew]

I wonder how long it will be before a fight breaks out when a few people converge on the cache spot simultaneously.

 

Not as big a problem when only bragging rights are at stake. Cash on the other hand...

[magellan315]

However if it turns out that magellan315 works for or is getting some kind of kick back from this cache quest game then that different.

Sorry folks, no kick backs or connection to these people. Personally I just don't see this company staying in business for to long.

Edited November 3, 2005 by magellan315

[+RoWaWe]

I read in the paper that some guy in Oregon is starting up a commercial version of Geocaching. I forget what he calls it, but it works like this:

Subscribers pay a monthly fee of $19.95, and for this fee they are sent coordinates of private caches. The first finder gets $100. The rest must get squat.

So, what do you think of this?

[+RoWaWe]

Well, I HOPE this company doesn't stay in business for long. This thing would really taint the sport and would certainly not be in the spirit of the sport. Sounds like some opportunist who saw a way of cashing in gullible people. I hope he gets NO takers!

[+Ambrosia]

Well, this site's free.....and there's tons of caches to choose from....

 

Hmmmmm........

[Keystone]

RoWaWe, I noticed where you started a separate thread about this, then you found this one. So, I merged yours plus one response over here, so we are all talking about it at the same place.

[+sTeamTraen]

This operation is so amateurish that it's almost funny.

 

I note that their site has a link to "the official Geocaching site" (gc.com). Aside from whether Groundspeak would consider themselves to be "the official site", this also raises the question of whether gc.com should carry a disclaimer about the commercial site.

 

Also, they can't seem to decide if it's $19.95 a month (front page of the site) or $19.99 (the amount on the online shop). The shop is clearly just rented space on a generic e-commerce site - all the pop-up windows are very noncommittal about what you're buying and who you might be dealing with.

 

By clicking on "Sign Up" we "agree to their terms and conditions". And these are stated... where ???

 

And... to unsubscribe, you send them an e-mail, to the same general info address as all their other contacts. Very reassuring.

 

In fact, can anyone tell me the difference between this and a Ponzi scheme ?

[+Hynr]

If I were totally obsessed and had found all the caches within a 50 mile radius, I could see forking over $20/month to feed my habit. Fortunately I've got plenty of geocaching friends around me to keep that from happening (thanks folks). Also, at $20/month, I would have some pretty high expectations for quality of the caches both with regard to the hide and the content.

[+budd-rdc]

I wonder how long it will be before a fight breaks out when a few people converge on the cache spot simultaneously.

 

Not as big a problem when only bragging rights are at stake. Cash on the other hand...

I hope the Geocaching community takes the "defensive measure" of dissociating with this enterprise as quickly as possible, as much as possible.

 

$100 is a significant amount, and people have done ridiculous things for much less. $19.95 per month is almost $240 a year, so members are going to be quite demanding in their attempts to get their ROI. (Return On Investment) With the potential hostility, I wouldn't be surprised if local parks and government end up regulating them, possibly giving the sport of Geocaching a bad name.

 

I won't comment further, lest I be called unpatriotic or worse for saying negative things about a "free enterprise"

 

[Edit] Here's what's on their main page, lower left corner. Is this a good idea?

 

Visit the official Geocaching site at

www.geocaching.com

Edited November 4, 2005 by budd-rdc

[+Snoogans]

However if it turns out that magellan315 works for or is getting some kind of kick back from this cache quest game then that different.

Sorry folks, no kick backs or connection to these people. Personally I just don't see this company staying in business for to long.

Company?

 

Probably just SOME GUY.

 

Either a NOOB lookin' to cash in, or maybe even someone we know, or at least have heard of.

 

Not very bright either. Look how PO'd everyone is over Jeep TBs. Imagine the disputes over REAL money. I predict the whole thing will go down in flames if it even gets off the ground which isn't likely.

 

Someone in the DFW area tried the same thing a few months back. That project went *poof* real quick too.

[CoyoteRed]

Wasn't there a big brouhaha over the caches some radio station was putting out with a grand's worth of FTF prizes? They were pretty hard and I didn't pay attention much but it seemed some folks got POed about something they were doing.

 

I also remember Magellan's attempt and the complaints folks had about screwed up coords and whatnot.

 

It seems any time you up the ante on geocaching something ugly comes out.

[+geognerd]

I see parallels between these new geocaching companies and the dot-com bust of a few years ago. Ten years ago the Internet was getting hot. Everyone wanted a piece of it, starting questionable e-businesses getting lots of money from venture capitalists and IPOs. Then all these e-businesses with faulty or non-existant business plans went belly-up. Geocaching is hot right now. Some people are trying to latch onto geocaching's coat tails and make a quick buck. Not as much money is involved as in the dot-coms though. I see these new paid-membership-only geocaching sites going the way of pets.com and the original eToys.

[+oldnavy59]

i DONT THINK IT WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF A COMPANY PUT WORTHWHILE PRIZES IN CACHES BUT TO PAY TO PLAY THATS A LITTLE DIFFERENT

[+New England n00b]

Wasn't there a big brouhaha over the caches some radio station was putting out with a grand's worth of FTF prizes? They were pretty hard and I didn't pay attention much but it seemed some folks got POed about something they were doing.

 

I also remember Magellan's attempt and the complaints folks had about screwed up coords and whatnot.

 

It seems any time you up the ante on geocaching something ugly comes out.

Not GEOcaches per se, but caches with radio'd clues - kinda like letterboxing I guess, over the air. the problem was people were trashing real geocaches, public statues/parks, etc. in their blind rush to find teh prizes before anyone - things like climbing statues, pulling out stones, etc. Where they found geocaches, they were stolen.

 

That's what I remember anyway.

[+Pablo Mac]

I hope the Geocaching community takes the "defensive measure" of dissociating with this enterprise as quickly as possible, as much as possible.

See my previous post where I said:

I live in the same town as at least one of the founders of this site, and have already gotten 3 emails and phone calls from cache friends asking if I am one of the unnamed people starting this thing who are mentioned in the newspaper article. My answer for all to see is NO.

I share most of the feelings and opinions posted in this thread, but I dare not express them here in detail myself. I live in the same area as these guys and would hate to see my caches gettting worked over in retaliation. If I do see that, though, I know right where to turn.

 

That said, I share their entrepreneurial spirit, and when I was a newbie I thought I could make a killing on promotional products related to our beloved sport. I woke up earlier than they did, though, and realized how little caching I would really get to do for a little bit of $. Too bad they didn't wake up sooner and just enjoy it the way it was designed: for fun.

 

Here's my math on this issue: FUN + PROFIT MOTIVE = (-fun) X (-$).

[+Pablo Mac]

Judging from their forums, they seem to be having an ok time with it so far.

 

All six of them.

[+cudlecub]

Money talks in my book. A potential return of monthly investment of 5 times the would perk my interest in it. I'd do it if it seemed there would be some in my area.

[4wheelin_fool]

Who is to say there is actually something hidden? or that the "finder" is not connected to the creators of the contest? Actually, I would do it, but I'm waiting on a large wire tranfer into my bank account from Nigeria right now, which seems a little more legitimate....

[+dw]

Finding stickers for cash: www.upyourbudget.com. It's a contest run by Budget rentacar, apparently you have to find a hidden sticker with a phone number, based on video clues. First one to find it wins $10000. Seems like a cacher would be good at this game, but then again I don't feel like going out to search for it....

[+Patternfall]

After reading the entirety of this thread, I felt like I needed to comment on a few things. Coming from one of the individuals who is involved in this new off-shoot of caching, I can attest that the game is legitimate, as are the three $100 checks I've received so far as a first finder...and no I'm not affilitiated in any way with the game founders. Whether or not you want to believe that, is up to you. I just thought it was disappointing that the comments here have been so venomous and spiteful toward this new game and its participants. If you don't agree with it fine, but villifying other people's concept of fun seems rather obtuse. I've been an avid cacher since 2001 and I love everything about the sport. The hikes, the new locales, and the leisurely fun that accompanies a hunt. I'm also a paying premium member of geocaching.com...something that I have no intention of dropping in favor of this new sport. The reason being this is a completely different activity with different sources of enjoyment. Its about the excitement of the race...knowing that there are others out there closing in on the location at the same time; and its about the honest-to-goodness treasure hunt. Whether or not you agree with this concept, it IS fun to other people. And isn't that the point of caching...to have fun? Maybe this new game won't last long...maybe it'll catch fire. Who knows? Either way, I and the others involved are having a great time doing it, and the administrators of the game have been nothing but professional and attentive. Oh, and no....there haven't been any fights that have broken out and there aren't any plots to "work over in retaliation" the local caches because believe it or not, we're fun loving normal cachers just like you.

[+Pablo Mac]

They seem to have lost one of their six members.

 

Also, they have six found caches (five by the person above this post), and are committed to pay out $600 for roughly $100 taken in. Either they have some kind of creative financing, or, well...I better shut up here.

 

No, wait...I should also call in my bets I made on them.

 

Ok, now I'll shut up.

[magellan315]

I just thought it was disappointing that the comments here have been so venomous and spiteful toward this new game and its participants.  If you don't agree with it fine, but villifying other people's concept of fun seems rather obtuse.

Venomous, spiteful, villifying????? I went back and reread the thread, I've seen some very reasonable posts about whether this will remain commercially viable. No name calling, some comments about why people would not participate. Nothing even close to what happens in many other threads. Nothing even comes close to "oh my god, the people running this company are going to give geocaching a bad name. We should hand out pitchforks and torches with the GC.com logo on them and form an anrgy mob, storm their offices as if they were Dr. Frankenstien harboring his monstous creation."

 

I'm glad that you enjoy this, to each his own. Personally I just don't see this lasting very long. Only time will tell.

Edited November 24, 2005 by magellan315

[+New England n00b]

If it helps, I can make some hurtful and villifying remarks for you.

[magellan315]

If it helps, I can make some hurtful and villifying remarks for you.

LOL, ROLF, I almost sprayed coke all over my monitor from laughing

[+Pablo Mac]

Not that anybody is interested, but they have had 8 caches found by 3 of their 5 members. They seem to be taking the month of December off, too.