OOPS! I didn't trade up!

[+michigansnorkelers]

Has this ever happened to you?

 

I always try to trade up or even.

 

I usually "regift" the swag I find, but there are some keepers I have stored in my "memories box".

 

One item was a first aid kit, in a nylon Geocaching container. Out of curiosity, I looked it up today at the Groundspeak store, and found it priced at $8.99! I am in shock! I know I didn't leave $8.99 in exchange swag, and I can't for the life of me remember where I found it!

 

I feel really bad about this, and am in shock that someone would leave such an expensive item as swag.

 

So, has this ever happened to you? And, any suggestions on how to attone for my (inadvertant) crime?

[+The Leprechauns]

At the next really good cache you find... the one with the nice view at the end of a long but enjoyable hike... leave a trade item worth $10 and write in the logbook that it is a gift for the next finder, and doesn't require a trade.

 

You'll know which cache when you get there.

[+Renegade Knight]

At the next really good cache you find... the one with the nice view at the end of a long but enjoyable hike... leave a trade item worth $10 and write in the logbook that it is a gift for the next finder, and doesn't require a trade.

 

You'll know which cache when you get there.

 

Exactly.

 

Sometimes you have to go with cosmic balance because you are out of whack at a single cache.

[+minxyy]

Try making your own multicache with a combination code at the end and stuffing it full of $ or £ notes ..........you could use a safe as the cache box! LOL

 

On a more serious note I have done the same .....found a first to find all nicely enveloped up to "open in the car later" and taken/swapped a geopin out of the cache! I'm currently looking at purchasing a mixed bag of geopins to swap/drop. We think our swag will be going this way in future as I'm begining to have concerns about buying "geotat" made from non-replenishable resources (plastic toys, tokens etc) although the children enjoy finding them it's expensive and an environmental concern! Would rather they found something they could "use" forever or would prove to be a usable swap after they've "treasured" it for a while!

 

Have fun folks

minxyy

[+Cpt.Blackbeard]

I love leaving first aid kits as SWAG in remote caches, just buy a nice one like the one you found and leave it in another cache, as RK said, cosmic balance.

[+srt4guy]

At the next really good cache you find... the one with the nice view at the end of a long but enjoyable hike... leave a trade item worth $10 and write in the logbook that it is a gift for the next finder, and doesn't require a trade.

 

You'll know which cache when you get there.

 

Exactly.

 

Sometimes you have to go with cosmic balance because you are out of whack at a single cache.

 

I agree.

Tim

[+Hotlanta]

The swag is not why I geocache, but the few times I do trade I all ways try to trade up or even. But sometime you do come across a cache that has some really nice items and it seems those times are when you don’t have an even trade item with you. So I just trade the best I can and as others have said, I’ll leave something nice in an appropriate cache at a later date. Don’t sweat the small stuff, just go out there and have fun!

[+Brayden's Brigade]

That is nice swag, and honestly, I doubt the person who left it expected that the person trading for it would put something in equally as expensive. Sometimes, Geocachers are just generous people.

[+4leafclover]

At the next really good cache you find... the one with the nice view at the end of a long but enjoyable hike... leave a trade item worth $10 and write in the logbook that it is a gift for the next finder, and doesn't require a trade.

 

You'll know which cache when you get there.

 

I positively LOVE the "pay it forward" philosophy.

 

I kind of like the guy who suggested it here, as well...

[nonaeroterraqueous]

That's what happens when you leave a swag item worth more than a buck or two in a cache. No one...and I mean no one...brings swag with them to a cache worth much more than that. That means that no one can trade fairly for it. It either doesn't get traded or it gets traded down. Don't sweat it. You only hastened the inevitable

[+Aiden's Cachers]

No one...and I mean no one...brings swag with them to a cache worth much more than that. That means that no one can trade fairly for it.

 

I carry serveral 10-20$ items with me in my bag just incase.

[Trinity's Crew]

No one...and I mean no one...brings swag with them to a cache worth much more than that. That means that no one can trade fairly for it.

 

I carry serveral 10-20$ items with me in my bag just incase.

 

Me too. In fact if I find a 20 dollar item marked down 75% (a routine occurrence at a certain store that begins and ends with "t") I'll grab it for the specific purpose of putting it in my geocaching swag.

[+rdaines]

I don't leave McToys but instead items purchased from Groundspeak and others, pins, magnets, stickers etc. Don I leave these items in every cache I visit? Nope but as a previous poster said, you'll know the right cache when you see it. No slight against other caches but some are more deserving then other, mine included. I'd rather leave something of more practical use, a "rite in the rain" log book, pencil, maybe clean up a cache and remove banned, rusted, or molded items. Do I always trade up or even? Nope but it all works out in the end.

[+geomann1]

I don't leave McToys but instead items purchased from Groundspeak and others, pins, magnets, stickers etc. Don I leave these items in every cache I visit? Nope but as a previous poster said, you'll know the right cache when you see it. No slight against other caches but some are more deserving then other, mine included. I'd rather leave something of more practical use, a "rite in the rain" log book, pencil, maybe clean up a cache and remove banned, rusted, or molded items. Do I always trade up or even? Nope but it all works out in the end.

 

I totally agree, one should just try over the long term to net trade up or at least even. No harm in occasionally trading down, if you trade up on other caches

 

It all comes down to personal integrity. The test of a person's morals is what they do when no one is watching, which is the case for most geocaches.

[nonaeroterraqueous]

[i carry serveral 10-20$ items with me in my bag just incase.

 

Really? Wow. Ahem...I guess I need to rephrase that.

 

Someone..and I mean someone never carries swag worth more than that.

 

It just doesn't have quite the same effect, though.

[+michigansnorkelers]

At the next really good cache you find... the one with the nice view at the end of a long but enjoyable hike... leave a trade item worth $10 and write in the logbook that it is a gift for the next finder, and doesn't require a trade.

 

You'll know which cache when you get there.

 

Great Idea ... And That's Just What I Did!

 

There was this really tricky 4/4 multi cache that I'd put off too long. So, today I did it. It took about 4 1/2 hours to do the four stages, including wading through freezing swamp water!

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...6c-313b4734ca97

 

Whoever finds this, deserves it now!

[+TrailGators]

As long as you give what you take over the long run everything should be OK!

[+big rick]

I also like the "pay it forward idea". It is rare these days that I even take anything out of a cache and love to add things to worthy caches that have little in them. As long as you try your best to leave a couple of caches better than you found them with things you have purchased you will be OK.

[+Thrak]

Sometimes folks don't really expect you to trade up or even. I've left items a few times that I **knew** most cachers wouldn't be carrying equal value swag to trade for. No big deal. I've stocked a couple of caches the same way - I just wanted some good stuff for folks to find. Hopefully leaving a few good items here and there won't cause such angst for others!

 

I don't usually trade for swag anymore but I still carry some with me in my bag. I sometimes find caches that are pretty depleted of swag and I just leave a little of mine and don't take anything. Of course, if I'm FTF and there is a specific FTF prize I usually snag that although I did leave a nice FTF prize flashlight for another finder because I already had a nice one.

 

It's all about the caching - the swag is just an extra thing for me.

[+Nurse Nanna]

I have to laugh when I saw what cache you left the great swag in today!

I know that cache well, it took me many more hours than it took you and I didn't have nearly the courage that you did in going into the swamp (I have learned now, but was too chicken back then).

 

You did the right thing! I have done the same thing. I recently found a swag item in my bag when I got home after a long day of caching some distance from home. It was too far to go back and put the item in the cache. I really thought I had left it behind. Just simple human error.

 

Pay it forward is about the best way to handle it in my opinion.

 

And the next person to finish Soy Based Biodegradable Pixie Dust deserves that great swag!

 

anne