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Ring finders who blame others

Years ago I got a call from someone upstate... a woman lost a very valuable ring set on a private beach... I called a friend and we went up there... we were watched the entire time we hunted.. we found her rings in about 10 minutes... they wanted to take us out to lunch... We said no thank you...they then asked what we would like so I said a little gas money... they gave us each an envelope which we did not open until we left but we were well compensated... the ring set was worth around 35k... I'm not going to disclose what we were given... the woman who lost them was very grateful sending us both very nice letters after the fact... I will never turn down a reward.. my time, my gas...

That's an awesome way to handle it. You went out of your way to try and find them, and you should be compensated. You humbly let them decide the amount of compensation...and probably got more than you would have asked for.
 
That's an awesome way to handle it. You went out of your way to try and find them, and you should be compensated. You humbly let them decide the amount of compensation...and probably got more than you would have asked for.

That's why I do the reward basis. They pick the reward and only what they can afford. The good ones make up for the bad ones. Over the years time it all works out.
 
That's why I do the reward basis. They pick the reward and only what they can afford. The good ones make up for the bad ones. Over the years time it all works out.

Agreed. I've never have anyone offer a pittance for a tip.

And if it did lean on the low end, I will assume they're not affluent. And that that's what they can afford.
 
Forgot this story, My GF and Her family were at the ocean in Jersey a few years ago. They had left the beach and the granddaughter had lost her iPhone in the sand. They never found it.. a day later, some how a young boy had found the... thousand dollar Phone... got hold of the dad and wanted to drop it off..so he knocks on the door and hands it back to the 15 year old daughter.. she said thank you and before she could close the door he said he would at least like a 20 dollar reward. Which I think more should have been offered.

They get home and I'm told the story, the family was upset they had to give him 20.00...

I'm still shaking my head on that one..almost ashamed to share it.
 
11 years and with almost 9,000 documented returns worldwide, TheRingFinders must be doing something right. If you think we make a profit at the cost of someone's unfortunate situation ... go read the stories behind the returns on TheRingFinders.com.

Yes, some RingFinders do charge what they feel is appropriate for a given situation. I personally go anywhere within 50 miles of my home. I ask for nothing but a photo and a Thank You note. I am retired and at 75 any reward given to me would not change my lifestyle. I can afford the cost of gear and travel expenses to meet new people and see new places in the quest to make someone glad they called me. Other members are still working and do not have the resources offer a service as I do. Like it was said before the cost of a scuba call out is not cheap.

If for some reason I cannot go on a search I always another's name and contact. And if the call requires scuba, I mention there may be a fee for the service.

I do offer a suggestion of making a donation to a special local town project. In one case a $500 donation was made to the building fund for a K-9 Police dog kennel in name of a fallen police officer. Boy did that make me feel good!

One really needs to know all the pertinent facts before making a negative post.
 
[/QUOTE]
They get home and I'm told the story, the family was upset they had to give him 20.00...

I'm still shaking my head on that one..almost ashamed to share it.[/QUOTE]

When idiots like these tell me something like this I can't help but point out their stupidity. I like asking them, so this guy spent his time and went to the trouble of finding the owner, spent money on gas, saved you a lot of money replacing it, all this instead of selling it and you don't feel he deserves anything? Yes I point things like this out because stupid people get on my nerves and also they need to learn.
 
I went to pick up a carry-out order at Rib-City a few years ago. After I got home with the order, I get a call from them saying I left my wallet there. I rushed back and they handed it to me. I looked inside and the cash was still there. I pulled it all out and put it in their tips jar. It was like $75 worth of cash...money well spent because I got my licenses and credit cards back. They were happy and me too.

If you lose something, don't expect it back...be lucky to get it back.
 
.... After I got home with the order, I get a call from them saying I left my wallet there. I rushed back and they handed it to me......

11 years and with almost 9,000 documented returns worldwide, TheRingFinders must be doing something right. If you think we make a profit at the cost of someone's unfortunate situation ... go read the stories behind the returns on TheRingFinders.com......

^ ^ two great posts ^ ^
 
100' out from the shoreline , 1.5' deep in wet sand , a working iPhone. Get ahold of the owner and he is ready to call the cops for me stealing it. He gets his phone with barely a thanks.

A man , his mother , are using garden rakes to look for the daughters phone. He frantically runs up to me asking for help. Takes 5 minutes to find. He has no cash. Scratches through Mom's purse for $25 , she is complaining NO the entire time. She says it " only took him 5 minutes , don't give him anything ". I'm standing 10' from them watching this. I get the 25.

4 young adults ask me to look for a silver ring in a 20x20 area on a crowded beach. Not in that area. They say maybe "over here". 2 minutes in , I glance over and they are all laughing at me. The joke was on me. Total waste of time.

Many of you have heard some of these stories. You do this long enough , you may realize it's not worth it anymore. I have had some great returns & rewards. But far too many thankless ungrateful ones. I'm not a RFdr. But if you can turn a hobby into $ , I'm all for it. Growing up , everyone said do what you love and hopefully you can make a living at it. Then , its not like work. This includes hobbies.

Now , if anyone asks me , I say " what's it worth to you for me to find it ?" Always get the price up front. This way I know they are serious. If not found , I return the $. My time , experience , expenses are precious and for my enjoyment. Not their's , because they were careless enough to bring valuables on the beach. If I find a phone or wallet , I will make an effort to return because I know how I would feel. But only with a little effort now. I recently cut up 3 I'ds and a bunch of CC's sitting around for a year. This was AFTER contacting them through social media with NO response.

My buddy is a RFdr and usually does pretty good on returns and rewards during the summer. He enjoys it. To each there own.
 
100' out from the shoreline , 1.5' deep in wet sand , a working iPhone. Get ahold of the owner and he is ready to call the cops for me stealing it. He gets his phone with barely a thanks.

A man , his mother , are using garden rakes to look for the daughters phone. He frantically runs up to me asking for help. Takes 5 minutes to find. He has no cash. Scratches through Mom's purse for $25 , she is complaining NO the entire time. She says it " only took him 5 minutes , don't give him anything ". I'm standing 10' from them watching this. I get the 25.

4 young adults ask me to look for a silver ring in a 20x20 area on a crowded beach. Not in that area. They say maybe "over here". 2 minutes in , I glance over and they are all laughing at me. The joke was on me. Total waste of time.

Many of you have heard some of these stories. You do this long enough , you may realize it's not worth it anymore. I have had some great returns & rewards. But far too many thankless ungrateful ones. I'm not a RFdr. But if you can turn a hobby into $ , I'm all for it. Growing up , everyone said do what you love and hopefully you can make a living at it. Then , its not like work. This includes hobbies.

Now , if anyone asks me , I say " what's it worth to you for me to find it ?" Always get the price up front. This way I know they are serious. If not found , I return the $. My time , experience , expenses are precious and for my enjoyment. Not their's , because they were careless enough to bring valuables on the beach. If I find a phone or wallet , I will make an effort to return because I know how I would feel. But only with a little effort now. I recently cut up 3 I'ds and a bunch of CC's sitting around for a year. This was AFTER contacting them through social media with NO response.

My buddy is a RFdr and usually does pretty good on returns and rewards during the summer. He enjoys it. To each there own.


First story... you should have reburied it :lol:
 
.... and he is ready to call the cops for me stealing it. .....


A lot of persons who lose something, do not know the exact place/time that it went missing. Eg.: They look down, and their ring is gone ! They look down at their phone-belt-clip, and their phone is gone !

And they might think : "Stolen". When in fact, it was only fumble fingers.
 
That's why I do the reward basis. They pick the reward and only what they can afford. The good ones make up for the bad ones. Over the years time it all works out.

I often find that the rewards they give are much more than I actually would have charged on an "hourly" basis and if they are happy, I'm happy!
 
Lost item searches and reward fees

I've looked for a couple items for folks and I wouldn't think of asking for a fee but if they offer something a reasonable amount wouldn't be rejected. I'm glad to help when I can.

Cliff

I am absolutely of the same mindset. As long as it is within a reasonable distance to where I live, I never charge a fee. Now these days, it might nice to at least receive a little gas money, but I say up front that I charge no fee. It doesn't matter if it takes 30 minutes or 5 hours, if I have the block of time available, I will do everything to put in the effort to find the item. In almost every case that I find an item, they insist on giving me a reward. I tell them it is unnecessary, but sometimes that downright insist. lol

The funny thing is that over half the time, the item is never in the area where they thought they lost it in.
 
I dont think anyone should criticize anyone else for their choice on what to do on a return. We are all in different financial situations and shouldnt be applying our personal morality (right or wrong) to another detectorist.

Personally, i am well enough off that i wont ever accept an offered reward. Thats just me. I have found that the intensity of appreciation (including tears and hugging by both sexes) means more to me than any reward they could offer.
I did have one couple (my first return) who were so intense and insistent that i finally told them that i saw that they had a dog and that i loved dogs too- so if they just HAD to pay someone, donate to a dog-related charity of their choice. They were ok with that and let me leave.
 

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he said he would at least like a 20 dollar reward. They get home and I'm told the story, the family was upset they had to give him 20.00... I'm still shaking my head on that one..almost ashamed to share it.

I had the same experience. Drove a purse to a 20 yo's house and her dad answered. I explained I drove to ensure it was properly returned and asked if he would mind reimbursing a few bucks for gas as I left her money in it. He said, NO. But I'll let her know you came by and closed the door. I was like, how? I didn't leave a name/#. (angry emoji)

Over the years my kids and I found another purse and two wallets. I took a fair amount of funds to cover postage and mailed them back with a note saying I used their money to return their possession. I left my contact info and yet not one of them so much as called to say thank you.

And PHONES.... I've found several phones that were still powered on. I spent considerable time to call numbers in the call logs and/or answer the phone and share with callers that I needed to reach the owner to return the phone.
  • One owner said the 30 minute drive was too far for her and asked if I would drop it off. I asked if she would cover fuel and she got upset. I said no problem, I'll leave it with my local police (an even further drive for her) and said she can pick it up there if she changes her mind.
  • Another owner told me not to bother because the phone was older and they wanted to file a report to get a new replacement.
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