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What are typical FTF items?


ClayC

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I probalby wont be having any FTFs in the near future, but what are typically used for FTF prizes?

 

also, when you are the FTF, is it customary to trade for the FTF prize, or is it automatically given to the person who is FTF w/ no trade required?

 

thanks,

clay

How about CASH!!! And no, no trade is usually REQUIRED for FTF prizes, however, always nice to leave a little something behind.

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We have only placed one cache. Since we have an embroidery business we left a cap with the Geocache Logo on the front, and FTF GCWVM8 arced across the back. The finder indicated that he was pleased with it.

 

Okay, I have to admit that I'd love to find a hat like this. I would actually start WEARING hats if I found a hat like this. :ph34r:

 

We just listed our very first cache today (it hasn't been published yet, tho'). The FTF prize is a $25 gift card to our favorite Seattle videogame arcade. I sort of figured that if the idea of geocaching was to introduce people to the places you enjoy visiting, then it would be twice as fun to make the prize lead the FTF cacher to another favorite place. :o

 

(The hat is still WAY cooler, though.)

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I probalby wont be having any FTFs in the near future, but what are typically used for FTF prizes?

 

also, when you are the FTF, is it customary to trade for the FTF prize, or is it automatically given to the person who is FTF w/ no trade required?

 

thanks,

clay

 

Typically there aren't FTF prizes. I've only seen them in a small percentage of caches. I've left FTF prizes in a handful of my caches. They included:

 

binoculars

Geocaching.com hats

Petzel headlamp

a new pair of hiking pants (for the FTF with a 34" waist)

 

Most of the time however I don't bother putting FTF prizes in my caches.

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I may or may not place an FTF prize.

If I do I almost always try to use geocaching stuff (patches, TB tags, unactivated geocoins)

I have left an activated geocoin then adopted out the coin to the First to Find and I did this as someone else noted to get the coin icon on the cache page.

 

I always leave a blank logbook and a card that says "Congratulations First to Find". :o

I make finders cards for all my caches and a single FTF card, they are the real FTF prize in my mind, the other 5 cards say "Congratulations You have Found".

 

Most new geocachers go overboard with the FTF on the first cache they place. I would rather see those $10.00 & $20.00 bills spent on better containers, paint for container camouflage or other items that contribute to cache longevity and the geocaching experience generally for all finders. Here are some examples of money I consider well spent; laminating for cache notes, printed labels on the logbook, extra pencils, a good sharpener, sound swag items, nice logbooks.

 

Everyone's first cache should be fun to place and seeing the logs roll in is great but save some money by not worrying to much about the FTF prize, try to spend it on making the cache a little better for every finder.

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Here are some examples of money I consider well spent; laminating for cache notes, printed labels on the logbook, extra pencils, a good sharpener, sound swag items, nice logbooks.

 

Everyone's first cache should be fun to place and seeing the logs roll in is great but save some money by not worrying to much about the FTF prize, try to spend it on making the cache a little better for every finder.

 

If the cache isn't sound, it shouldn't be placed at all. That's a seperate issue from FTF prezzies. Even in my short time caching, I've seen a couple of really questionable caches: soggy, poorly hidden, or full of stuff that even a 4-year-old would pass up. And frankly, it doesn't cost much to go the extra mile when hiding a cache. A couple of layers of clear packing tape can substitute for lamination sheets on your notes, a Zip-Lock bag (changed out every couple of months) can provide an extra layer of water resistance for the cache contents, and you can use all sorts of stuff from around the house to camouflage the container. Can't afford fancy spray paints? I saw a great cache disguised with Elmer's Glue and a whole bunch of old leaves.

 

I like the cache-goodies guideline from the official tutorial page here, "It's up to you what you want to put in your cache, budget permitting." My own budget won't be impacted by a nice gift card, so that's what I chose to put in. I'm sure if Bill Gates gets into geocaching, he'll place a five-gallon bucket with an Xbox system in it. :o And I'm equally sure that if one of my best friends from back East, who works as a public school teacher and is paid accordingly (read: shamefully low), decides to place a cache, she will include a FTF prize that somebody will really want to find, and it will probably not cost her much at all.

 

It's not how much you PAY for a FTF prize, it's the creativity you put into selecting something, and the fact that you're offering a little treasure to commemorate the first-finder's achievement that is so cool.

 

So I accept your scorn... :ph34r: ...and will continue to place FTF prizes in any future caches as I just did in my first. Long live generosity!

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Depends on two things:

 

1. the size of the cache (micros don't get a FTF prize)

 

I've found and placed micros with a FTF prize. Some examples: unactivated TB tags, collectible coins (walking liberty halves, mercury dimes, Indian head pennies, Kennedy halves, buffalo nickels, etc...), silver certificates and folded $10 bills.

 

Most new geocachers go overboard with the FTF on the first cache they place. I would rather see those $10.00 & $20.00 bills spent on better containers, paint for container camouflage or other items that contribute to cache longevity and the geocaching experience generally for all finders. Here are some examples of money I consider well spent; laminating for cache notes, printed labels on the logbook, extra pencils, a good sharpener, sound swag items, nice logbooks.

 

Very good advice if you have limited money to spend on a cache.

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:) Now those are cool, but wow - HEAVY! I hope you don't put them in a cache that has a 5 mile walk in and out! :)

 

I have found that some of the FTF people or those right after tend to "clean out" my caches with the good stuff I leave in the beginning - anybody else notice this too? :D

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We have only placed one cache. Since we have an embroidery business we left a cap with the Geocache Logo on the front, and FTF GCWVM8 arced across the back. The finder indicated that he was pleased with it.

 

That is an excellent prize.

Something special you make yourself (unique) is probably the best FTF prize you can place.

 

FTF is special to those of us who like them, with or without a special prize.

 

Thanks!

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I like the idea of making your own stuff...I try to leave something...the last one I had a MustangJoni pin, still in a wrapper, and a "cent" pin. I have some wooden nickels that I got off of Ebay that are FTF nickels. You write the info in the little spaces. I really like the painted rock idea. I have seen them in the stores and they sell for a couple dollars. You can get them at the beach or a river bank, and decorate them any way you want.

Edited by nikki9093
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We often do not leave any kind of special FTF prizes in our caches at all. But, once in a while, either when Sue has created a new puzzle cache which she thinks is unique or special,or when I have created a new extreme cache that I think is really fun, we will offer one or more fun FTF prizes. For one of my river kayak caches, I left a $10 bill and an unregistered geocoin as FTF and 2TF prizes. In such cases as these, Sue contributes the geocoins to the effort, because I know nothing at all about geocoins and TBs (except that they taste VERY good when eaten with pasta under a nice thick layer of tomato sauce and olive oil!)

 

And then, for our most recent extreme cache, the rather infamous Psycho Urban Cache #13, we decided to offer an FTF prize which consisted of an unregistered geocoin, an imprinted Psyscho Urban Cache T-shirt, and $160 in cash (the amount drops to $100 eleven days after the cache's publication date.) So far, no one has claimed the FTF prize and I am not sure that anyone ever will -- the cache is very tough, in terms of terrain, and rather dangerous to access.

 

For me, at those times when I offer an FTF prize, I do it just for the fun of it, as one way of offering a gift fom my heart back to the geo community, and to increase the level of fun for seekers. Personally, I am not at all into FTFs, and I would certainly never seek a cache based on the swag in it nor on the FTF prize offered. And, I assume that much the same is true of most geocachers. For example, I do not expect anyone to seek our new PUC 13 cache (mentioned above as the one with the $160 FTF prize) because of the prize money, but rather, I offered the FTF prize as a way of heightening the fun for everyone!

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I make a little keychain with a small round laminated card. On one side it has the skateboarder and on the other it has the name and date of the cache. On my Lincoln street caches, I couldn't resist putting a five dollar bill in too! I also use the skateboarder as a name badge for geocache events. I get the business card lamination sheets that don't require a machine.

 

FTF1.JPGFTF2.JPG

Edited by Kacky
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I have 6 FTF's and not one had a FTF prize in it (was not the reason we went for them anyways). But when we placed our cache we made sure to leave a FTF prize.....we left a Misty Mate personal misting machine. We use ours when out caching, at the beach, at Disney, pretty much anywhere we are outside and it is hot (which is alot down here). They run about $15 at Wal-Mart.

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We have hidden 38 caches to date, most of the caches we have left $5.00ish coffee cards. The last series of caches that I hid which consisted of 22 physical caches, I hid an additional fully stocked ammo can cache for the first to find the whole series. GCVFYY Buy In or Sucked In... "The Pyramid Scheme" I have also created a spawner cache of small cache containers that had a fully stocked cache as the first to find. Lil' Mama Cache, GCT436. These first to finds insure that more caches get hidden out there.

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I used to leave a $5.00 Tim Horton's Coffee Shope coupon but After hiding more that 20 caches, I feel it's a little expensive. I'd rather hide new caches than spend $5.00 on a FTF prize. I did reach a compromise and decided to make refrigerator magnets as FTF prizes because I can make them cheaply and they are usefull to the finder. The bonus is I can make them for about 25 cents.

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I haven't left any FTF prizes in any of my caches. I don't keep a list of my FTFs, so I'm not sure how many I have. Probably between ten and thirty? I can only remember claiming two FTF prizes. One was a GC.com keychain. The other was a very nice FTF certificate, and a $20 bill. It was supposed to be a gift certificate to WaWa, but we don't have any WaWas in my part of the state. That can be a problem with gift certificates. Not everyone has that store nearby, or would want to go to a Blimpie's, or a Starbuck's (for example). But, we went for the FTF and 2dTF for the challenge. "Find a suitable cache in each of New Jersey's twenty one counties." It only took us a week, and 875 miles on the car. :) Who'd have thought you could drive 875 miles without leaving New Jersey?!? For us, the challenge, and the tour of New Jersey was the great reward.

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On my micros I didn't leave a FTF prize. On my regular hides I left Silver Rounds & unactivated TB tags. On my cache that required the most work, I left a Palm & folding keyboard. This was MY choice to do these, I didn't leave the prizes because it was expected. I don't expect to get a FTF prize when I look for a new cache...I think the best FTF "gift" is running into the local geocachers at the cache site as we all scramble to be FTF on the new ones. That's always a great time.

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I think the best FTF "gift" is running into the local geocachers at the cache site as we all scramble to be FTF on the new ones. That's always a great time.

 

I learned that this past weekend. I actually DID get a FTF at a great cache. It was hidden on the owners property, and I got to meet him while looking. That in itself was a better experience than the FTF (which was great for me!). I did get a pretty cool FTF prize to boot. It was a 1992 1oz silver Canadian maple leaf coin.

 

thanks everyone for the great dialog thus far!! keep it going!

 

clay

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FTF prizes? Uh, I'm new to geocaching and have not had an FTF, so did not know there were often prizes.

 

I put out two microcaches today that had no prize in them (due to their size). I hope no one is offended.

 

I guess I thought being FTF was a prize in itself. I DO plan to put out some larger caches with an interesting array of items in them soon though, even though my budget is limited.

 

I have found some of the ideas here interesting -- I did plan on putting in some homemade items as well as some "useful" items in the larger caches. I also plan on putting in items children would like, cuz I often geocache with my preschooler, who thinks those things are "cool."

 

I do have to say that some of the obviously very dirty and used items left in caches by previous finders are NOT that "cool." I don't let my daughter choose those items (or even touch them).

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Don't worry, FTF prizes are not the norm or expected by any means. It's just a nice bonus.

 

Even in caches without specifc FTF prizes, the first finders will generally take the nicest swag you put in, and unfortunately often don't trade up, so it's kind of self-serving in that way anyway.

 

I never go with any expectation of finding cool prizes, but if I happen to get one, I'm happy :mad:

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