Sig Items?

[+TeamTotoro]

Curious about sig items... What are some examples-- Is there a great deal of appeal to them-- Are they popular or desireable items to place in Caches? Also is it annoying to place small/paper items in "sign only" micro-caches?

 

TIA

[+reveritt]

Signature items are any item that has been personalized. Common examples are business cards or wooden nickels with the geocacher's ID on them, and maybe a logo that they designed. Sometimes they are handcrafted items. I know of one geocacher (Venbead) who leaves homemade beads. I know of a librarian (Cool Librarian) who leaves handmade bookmarks.

 

During election year, I was leaving copies of a booklet about the U.S. Constitution that had been personalized with a label. That became expensive, so I switched to wooden nickels. I have seen original design geocoins, refrigerator magnets, even poker chips.

 

In most cases, sig items are of low intrinsic value, and cachers leave them in every cache--even if they do not take anything in return. You may take other people's sig items out of a cache if you wish. I have a bit of a collection of the ones I have found.

 

As for the micro caches, if you can fit something in, feel free!

[+briansnat]

The most popular sig items I see are custom made "business" cards. I've also seen crayons (geocachers Orange and Jungle Green use orange and jungle green Crayolas), geo-coins, Wheresgeorge bills, hand made totem pouches (Ttepee's totem pouches are in great demand), pencils and dog tags engraved with the geocacher's name, custom buttons, polished stones, CDs of various personal content including the music of one person's band, personalized refrigerator magnets, Roman coins, GOOHF cards, wooden nickels, CITO bags in a film canister and smashed pennies.

 

Here are some photos of sig items. Here is another web page that shows a lot of sig items. As you can see some are really cool and probably in great demand. Others obviously less so except for maybe serious sig item collectors.

Edited June 21, 2005 by briansnat

[+AuntieWeasel]

As for your last question, it depends on the container and the stiffness of the paper item. I once had a wrestling match trying to get somebody else's business card jammed back into a micro container. I found that one annoying, you betcha.

 

Oh, and THANKS. I now have "TOtoro, toTOro..." running through my head. I needed that this morning!

[+Another Mr Lizard]

I now have "TOtoro, toTOro..." running through my head. I needed that this morning! 

Me too I love that film.

 

Most people around my area make their own laminated business cards. Leaving a full-size card in a microcache is not a great idea in my experience, it takes up too much room. Some people like to make micro-cards!

Edited June 21, 2005 by Another Mr Lizard

[+Ice_man]

I've been reading the forums for a while to figure out what would make a "useful" geocaching trade item and on the cheap. Of all the signature items I think a writing instrument is the best. I read several cache logs about people forgetting to take a pen or pencil to write with, which is what lead to my decision.

 

I found a place that customizes pens and it was only $.39 a pen in a lot of 100. The text was free, but if you want to use a logo there is a one time fee. I just did the text.

 

Here is what I put on mine:

Geocaching

Trade Item

From

Ice_man

 

Now of course this isn't great for micro's, but oh well. I did search for a small pen that might fit in a 35mm canister, but I couldn't find anything that small. So far I've only placed one pen, but thats because I haven't been out caching as much as I'd like to lately. I did hand out a couple of pens at our latest group meeting though.

[+globalgirl]

Here is what I put on mine:

Geocaching

Trade Item

    From

  Ice_man

Sounds like a fine idea WM, but just a stray comment on the "Trade Item". Please do correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought the general consensus was that sig items are NOT necessarily trade items. i.e. you don't need to trade to take one. Yes? No?

 

For my own sig item, I too pondered what to create that was A. suitable for my globalgirl moniker, B. reasonably high on the "kewl" scale, and C. halfway affordable to drop in quantity. Thus my trackable bitty passports w/ marble globes:

 

globalgirl sig tokens

 

I don't drop them in every blessed cache - just the ones that I particularly favor. I normally drop at least the passport, but for special caches I plunk one with a blue glass marble (with green continents). And for milestones, etc. - I have some that have 22k gold continents!

[+BubbleDragon]

Globalgirl, I love your items! So cool!

 

We've got stamps that we use to stamp the log books, but we've been thinking of other things to use. I picked up some ink-jet shrinky dinks the other day and I think we'll make some zipper pulls or key tags with a logo or picture on it. I think that'd be nice.

 

Aside from that, I may just start dropping some crafty things that I make into caches - flower hair clips, magnets or knitted mini socks. I definately think that's cooler swag than what I find around here. I love hand made stuff. )

[+Ladybug Kids]

This weekend we'll start releasing glass ladybugs into the wild. We got a diamond tipped engraving tool and will engrave our team name, the year, and sig. item number on the bottom of each ladybug. The cost of each ladybug is about 40 cents which is more affordable than a personal geocoin.

Edited June 21, 2005 by Ladybug Kids

[+MrCOgeo]

... Please do correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought the general consensus was that sig items are NOT necessarily trade items.  i.e. you don't need to trade to take one.  Yes?  No?

Don't have any sort of correction but for my personal Signature items and my personal opinion only for my MrCOgeo GeoTokens (2004) goes like this:

 

I have fallen for my own name,

You can just enjoy the game!

Trade, move, take or ignore,

or any combination of the four!

 

(Now I have my personal preferences for Trade and Move...but I have no control when released into the "wild" )

 

If in any sort of doubt best to contact the "owner" with your questions.

 

[+denali7]

keychains are always good items. they're cheap, small enough to fit in practically any cache container, and kids love to put neat or unique ones on their bookbags or use as zipper pulls (heck, i like to do that too!). there are endless possibilities to express yourself and sort of celebrate the things you're interested in, and they're easy to find. this year i'm using the iditarod '05 keychain, then i'll always know how they move around as i use a new edition each year.

-denali

 

i NEED a glass ladybug!! cool idea!

[+glowstick]

My username is Glowstick so I use a glowstick as my signature item.

[+beopots]

Here's an idea for a sig-item: Custom printed guitar picks!! How cool would that be? BONUS: they would probably fit in most micros also. Mine would say BEO in bright orange letters on a lime green pick. Plus you can get alot printed at once, you could afford to leave a few in each cache. Alot of places can even print logos or pictures too!

[+AuntieWeasel]

Here's an idea for a sig-item: Custom printed guitar picks!! How cool would that be? BONUS: they would probably fit in most micros also. Mine would say BEO in bright orange letters on a lime green pick. Plus you can get alot printed at once, you could afford to leave a few in each cache. Alot of places can even print logos or pictures too!

I've seen that as a sig item. Which is absolutely NO reason not to use it...it's a neat idea!

[+beopots]

I've seen that as a sig item. Which is absolutely NO reason not to use it...it's a neat idea!

Really, I thought I was being original. But the only sig items I ever see are 90% business cards, and those aren't really too much fun to trade... especially when that's the only thing left in the cache.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Really, I thought I was being original. But the only sig items I ever see are 90% business cards, and those aren't really too much fun to trade... especially when that's the only thing left in the cache.

Oh, I haven't seen one in the wild. It was on somebody's web page collection of sig item photos. Team Fisur's, in fact. I remembered it because I thought it was neat and clever. I really think you should go for it.

 

Of course, one reason you see mostly business cards in actual caches is that other sorts of sig items are snapped up quickly.

[+Sonoran Privateers]

We drop replica shipwreck Spanish 'Pieces of Eight' as pirate coins. They're great for us, as they reflect our team motife, they are different, and they are cheap.

[+half-a-dozen]

What a timely topic! As you can see, we're new at this activity, and I've been lurking the forums getting ideas about items for caches, etc. Kids thought the whoopee cushion I traded was a fab idea, but later I read someone didn't really care for these ... so, time to come up with something else.

As an extension of my business I've done geocaching logo'd lunch bags, water bottle holders, and pouches. I'm hoping these items will be small enough to fit in most caches, appeal to a broad range of cache-hunters, and survive the rigours of cache life. But, I didn't include our name on anything, and therefore created anonymous sig items Thanks to the earlier posts here, I figure I'll just print up some kind of card to accompany the items, and ta-da, a signed sig item!

Thanks always for the tips and advice.

L.

[+glowstick]

What a timely topic! As you can see, we're new at this activity, and I've been lurking the forums getting ideas about items for caches, etc. Kids thought the whoopee cushion I traded was a fab idea, but later I read someone didn't really care for these ... so, time to come up with something else.

As an extension of my business I've done geocaching logo'd lunch bags, water bottle holders, and pouches. I'm hoping these items will be small enough to fit in most caches, appeal to a broad range of cache-hunters, and survive the rigours of cache life. But, I didn't include our name on anything, and therefore created anonymous sig items Thanks to the earlier posts here, I figure I'll just print up some kind of card to accompany the items, and ta-da, a signed sig item!

Thanks always for the tips and advice.

L.

thats a very good idea.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Kids thought the whoopee cushion I traded was a fab idea, but later I read someone didn't really care for these ... so, time to come up with something else.

Nonsense! Down with prudes!

 

I haven't gotten around to mass-producing these yet, but only because I need to order a new stamp and research a stamp pad that sticks more permanently to rubber. They're dead cheap in bulk:

 

 

I'm gonna call it "Auntie Weasel's Toot of Approval." For the very bestest of the bestest.

[+reveritt]

Auntie, you slay me! But they seem very small--do they work?

 

I am used to baritone whoopee cushions--these must be alto.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Auntie, you slay me!  But they seem very small--do they work?

 

I am used to baritone whoopee cushions--these must be alto.

I expected that, too. In fact, though, they sound exactly the same, but they have a greatly reduced sustain. They do work, but I managed to blow out the side seam on the one I'm holding, because the temptation is to deflate them by squeezing them in your fist. I got these two at some store that was giving them out free as a promotion, but there are lots of sources online.

[+BubbleDragon]

AuntieWeasel - Try "StazOn" ink pads. I've got a black one, and it even sticks to glass and the shiny side of shrinky dinks. I bet it'd stick to rubber pretty well. Your idea cracks me up, too! So cool. *grin*

 

What's the word on putting magnets into a cache? Like... I know some people leave compasses, so I'm guessing that it's ok, unless you see something that might be damaged by a magnet.

[+reveritt]

...

 

What's the word on putting magnets into a cache? Like... I know some people leave compasses, so I'm guessing that it's ok, unless you see something that might be damaged by a magnet.

I have found many magnets in caches--go for it.

[+fly46]

Quite a few people (including me) do magnetic business cards, so regular magnets aren't much of a stretch off of that.

 

As for sig items:

my first sig item was a very small quantity of miniature car.

after that I got glow in the dark flies.

Now I have a sig business card and a sig magnet that is almost like the business card, but slightly different.

[JohnX]

I am used to baritone whoopee cushions--these must be alto.

Who needs a whoopie cushion? I do just fine without one.

 

I used to leave some really pretty nickle plated shell casings in each cache I found, until I found out that in Massachusetts, it's a really bad idea.

 

I used to make cache magnets and leave them in caches I placed. They were very well received and I think I left about 45 of them before I ran out of magnets. I designed business cards, printed them on card stock, sprayed them with acrylic to make them smudge proof and stuck them on the magnets.

 

Hey, here is a picture! (check out www.photobucket.com for free image hosting.)

 

 

Would I take "signature item magnet"? Absolutely not. A cache magnet? Most likely not, unless it was way cooler than the ones I made.

[+TotemLake]

Here are my signature items. The business cards I make are clear-coated on both sides which makes them somewhat water resisitant. My keytags are shrinky dinks and I just made a TB out of shrinky dink which I have yet to release. Sorry, I don't have a pic of that yet.

[+The NEOGeodogs]

We love finding sig items, we also leave a variety of them ourselves including trackable ones, in addition to regular swag. We have a nice collection of sig items on our web site. We have found a nice selection of small sig items in micro caches and it makes them that much more enjoyable for us.

[+geodarts]

I think sig items are fine if that is what people want to do, but one should keep them in perspective. I always wonder when someone takes the nicest item in one of my caches and trades it for a sig button.