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What do you trade?

jeeptp75

By jeeptp75
in How do I...?

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Knight2000

+Knight2000

Posted
Posted

I always try to think "What would a kid like"? Havent really left anything for adults, although i do have a Ipod to FM adapter to listen to tunes in the car NIP that we are saving for the right time & size.

 

So far we have left things like:

 

Cool pencils

Bubbles (with a seal under the cap)

Lip Gloss

Whoopee Cushion

8 packs of crayons

Jigsaw puzzles

Erasers

Pencil grips

 

Of course we have only done 25 but more to come!

 

Is that stuff junky? The kids pick em out when we go shopping.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

Here is a partial list of things I've left in caches. Many are under a buck and most are under $3:

 

Small US flags

US flag pins

modeling clay

individual packs of insect repellent wipes

carabiners

Energizer squeeze lights

stickers

Ckip on ball and zipper pull compasses

bags of toy soldiers

water colors

mini screwdriver sets

allen wrench sets

gel pens

boxes of crayons or colored chalk

emergency rain ponchos

packs of AA batteries

collectable coins (buffalo nickels, indian head pennies, SBA or Sacagawea dollars)

music CDs

blank RW CDs

cassettes (blank and recorded)

calculators

clip on safety strobes

bungee cords

LED key lights

"euro" stickers & other decals

mini sewing kits

maps (hiking & road)

software

travel packs of Wet Ones or Baby Wipes

Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars

key rings

packs of Hefty Handi Sacks

bags of balloons

rolls of camo duct tape

velcro fasteners

interesting buttons

padlocks

foreign money

rolls of film

electrical tape

Slinky Jrs.

kazoos

movies on VHS & DVD

office supplies (packs of paper clips, thumb tacks, Post-Its, etc...)

Mylar emergency blankets

decks of cards

wallets

Pick Up Sticks

individual packs of Armor-All & Rain-X wipes

survival whistles

travel packs of facial tissue

Wheresgeorge bills and stamps

Geocaching.com hats, pins and patches

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

So after reading those two replies im assuming its safe to leave just about anything lol. :sad:

 

Try to leave things that are interesting or useful. They don't have to be expensive. One of my favorite trade items are packs of insect repellent wipes. I get a box of 10 for about $3 and leave 1 or 2 in a cache.

 

If its trash throw it away, not in a cache. Too many people seem to think caches are garbage cans.

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Roc34ky

+Roc34ky

Posted
Posted

I usually look into my kids over stock of un-wanted toys. They have several boxes that contain miscl. trinkets that they no longer play with. We take the small ones along to trade for "new to us" trinkets. I tell my kids, make sure that you leave something that you would be interested in, not stuff you consider junk.

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

Briansnat, thank you for that list. I've been doing this for about a month and have been having trouble thinking of things to leave in caches. You've given me some very good ideas. Now if just I can find more time to go get out and look!

 

-CJ

 

Just take a stroll through the toy aisle and camping ailsle of WalMart. You'll find plenty of possibilities.

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chuckr30

chuckr30

Posted
Posted

I have used the following:

- McDonalds gift card with $2 left

- Keychains

- McD toys (including video games)

 

I think it would be neat to find one of those deformed pennies from a tourist park. You know, like you put in the penny and your $1, and turn the crank, and the penny comes out oval with a picture on one side. Disneyland and Disneyworld has them (even though it's a federal offense to modify money), along with SeaWorld. My son also got some from several places in Guatamala.

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PlantAKiss

+PlantAKiss

Posted
Posted

I know I'm missing something here. I haven't been able to figure out the popularity of carabiners. What do you do with them other than a key ring or using them to hook to something?

 

Anyway, I like to leave useful things. I found some nice small Johnson & Johnson First Aid kits at the dollar store. Bought several of those. You know how you can get torn up bushwhacking...especially when someone hides a cache in a briar patch. :) I've bought rain ponchos, socks, flower seeds, puzzles, etc. I also drop mineral specimens to encourage an interest in rocks and minerals. I do keep kid items handy too but I see SO much stuff for kids in caches and sometimes not so much for adults that I try to leave items for older folks whenever possible. Although I don't cache for SWAG, I still think its fun to see what's in a cache if its not a micro. I only trade if there is something I really like. Like silly putty and magic towels. I just love those magic towels! :lostsignal:

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StarDoc

+StarDoc

Posted
Posted

I like to browse the clearence racks at Wal-Mart and Target. Also done the bug wipe thing mentioned above (got the idea from here).

 

I especially like the $1 bins right inside Target. I've found flashlights, batteries, first aid kits, bug bite kits, mini playing cards, carabiners, and other fun trinkets for only a buck. They tend to have seasonal items there, and at the end of the season they sell them for 3/$1. We also have a discount hardware store here, where they have various tools for a dollar or so.

 

If I'm heading to an out-of-the-way cache (i.e. several mile hike), I'll leave a pair of lithium AA batteries or something similar.

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Jedi Cacher

+Jedi Cacher

Posted
Posted

I was also kinda wondering about some cool things to leave. I think that briansnat has come up with a very interesting list. Thanks for that, you have given me some ideas. It seems like most of the stuff I have come across has been junk and it is hard to leave something of equal value. On occasion I have picked up a few really cool items. I try to leave something for kids and something for an adult. I collect coins and am a rockhound so I mostly leave polished agates and foreign coins.

When I hide my first cache I will leave a bunch of really cool items for the first cacher. I am also a woodcarver so I will leave a one of a kind carving, some CD's, coins, hotwheels, agates & fossils. :lostsignal:

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Lovey Pigs

+Lovey Pigs

Posted
Posted

I have found some cool cloth patches from different fire depts, military patches, etc... and this adds to something that you would not find everyday. pins, odd coins, and even mini-bungee cords are fun! Normally nothing paper that will get damp, tear, etc.... Oh yea, PEZ (without the candy)!

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avelina

avelina

Posted
Posted

What is a "magic towel"?

 

A 'magic towel' is a towel (usually washcloth size) that is compacted really small (about the size of a tic-tac container). Then when you add water it becomes a towel. I have seen them for sale with the various small toys at the Disney Store.

 

I read somewhere that "Handmade items" were good trade items. Anyone seen good handmade trade items?

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JockoPablo

+JockoPablo

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm totally new to this. Is it perfectly acceptable to leave nothing and take nothing? It's not the trinkets that interest me -- it's just the hunt. Will it offend cachers if I just sign the log and leave everything else as is?

 

Maybe eventually I'll come up with some sort of "calling card" to leave around, and if I'm still doing this when my daughter is old enough to participate with me I'll probably let her exchange trinkets.

Edited by RedZeppelin
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capn-jack

+capn-jack

Posted
Posted

It helped me to read through the logs for each cache...just to see what folks took, and what they left. My first find all I had was a dollar.....so I left it! Since then I found one cache with a five dollar bill in it. And of course, if you have nothing to leave you can TNLN (took nothing, left nothing) I'm thinking I should whip up something that reflects my alter ego. The geo coins and pins (click the ads in the left margin!) are fantastic.

 

After finding a nano smaller than the cap from a chapstick, I wrote "took lawn mower, left box of Cheerios" gosh I crack me up.

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goldcoin

+goldcoin

Posted
Posted

i have a signature item that nobody else can leave! *glares at anyone getting any ideas of stealing said item* it is...a plastic gold coin! or on *REALLY* good cashes an actual gold dollar! you know the new ones? but ya thats all we've left...well that and a handwarmer...but it was for a little eraser :P

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TeamBarstool

+TeamBarstool

Posted
Posted (edited)

I read somewhere that "Handmade items" were good trade items. Anyone seen good handmade trade items?

 

A friend of mine lets me use her studio to create these magnets.I stamp them out, She fires them for me , I glaze them, She fires again, then I glue a magnet to the back

teambarstoolmagnethj8.th.jpg

Edited by TeamBarstool
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michigansnorkelers

+michigansnorkelers

Posted
Posted

I read somewhere that "Handmade items" were good trade items. Anyone seen good handmade trade items?

 

A friend of mine lets me use her studio to create these magnets.I stamp them out, She fires them for me , I glaze them, She fires again, then I glue a magnet to the back

teambarstoolmagnethj8.th.jpg

 

That's fantastic!

 

I wish I was that talented and creative.

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KABarash

KABarash

Posted
Posted

 

Maybe eventually I'll come up with some sort of "calling card" to leave around, and if I'm still doing this when my daughter is old enough to participate with me I'll probably let her exchange trinkets.

 

I've had the same thought, maybe something that has to do with your profession, I'm a Land Surveyor and probably because I always have them in my pockets I've left behind a PK (Parker-Kalon) nail however, that is no real find. I've thought of small compasses, key ring carabiners, but seems like lots of people are doing that, and I've not been having much luck and been only findine micros and onlt 2 of them!

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JockoPablo

+JockoPablo

Posted
Posted

 

Maybe eventually I'll come up with some sort of "calling card" to leave around, and if I'm still doing this when my daughter is old enough to participate with me I'll probably let her exchange trinkets.

 

I've had the same thought, maybe something that has to do with your profession...

 

Well, I'm in the IT business so I guess I could leave old RAM chips or video cards. Hehe. I've actually considered leaving swag we've had made for trade shows, but I work for an insurance company and I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to sell them insurance.

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teribear68

+teribear68

Posted
Posted

I try to leave useful things:

 

Pencils w/sharpener (in case the finder forgot a writing instrument)

 

Small Carabiners (great for attaching water bottles to back packs and other tasks)

 

Cylume sticks (useful if it gets dark while caching but mostly because dd loves them)

 

I like the bug wipes and mini first aid kit ideas. I'll be on the lookout for those.

 

I'm also working on a design for an embroidered patch as a sig item that will be making its appearance sometime this spring.

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mstetz

+mstetz

Posted
Posted

We have a store in the Cleveland, Ohio area called Big Fun. They have all sorts of cool, inexpensive toys like the traditional wind-up clacking teeth and the Chinese Finger Traps. Stuff like that works well. We went through a fossil collecting phase a while back and we have more fossils than we know what to do with. They are interesting, so we decided to start leaving some of them in the caches we find.

Linda and Marty

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sylamore

+sylamore

Posted
Posted

How about something like a card from a CCG such as Magic The Gathering? I have a bunch of cards from the Harry Potter CCG. Would anyone still find those interesting?

 

What is a CCG???

I feel so dumb whenever I read these posts.......guess I've been to sheltered all my life

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sylamore

+sylamore

Posted
Posted
What is a CCG???

I feel so dumb whenever I read these posts.......guess I've been to sheltered all my life

 

Heh. Sorry. Collectible Card Game (e.g. Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-O).

 

OK..........Thanks...I've learned something today. Now I can take a nap :lol:

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