Signature Items

[+Us 4 and Jess]

Following on from yesterdays thread about TB's / geocoins / swaps...

 

What about signature items? How do you view those?

 

I collect the little wooden personalised coins lots of you have had made, I have about a dozen or so of them I have colected from caches and some I have had sent to me, and I know 1 or 2 folks who collect the laminated calling cards.

 

So when you leave your signature items in a cache are they?

 

1) A gift for the cache owner (so I am stealing the owners gift )

 

2) Something you leave just to say you have been there (so I could take them and not have to leave something in exchange for them)

 

3) Do you use them as swaps? So you put in your signature item and remove a swap (so I would have to put in a swap to take out your signature item)

 

If I took a wooden personalised coin I would always leave something in it's place just to keep the cache topped up.

 

So how do you view signature items in caches? and what would you do about taking a signature item out of a cache?

 

Let me know

 

Mandy

Edited May 3, 2007 by Us 4 and Jess

[+Donmoore]

I see signature items as something you use as your swap item. so in a way yes you have swapped this for the cache owner and its up to them if they want said item to go and swap it out themselves.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

Sorry I only asked the questions, and I never gave my opinion

 

Now not meaning to cause offence or any arguments (this is just my point of view) I totally disagree with what Donmoore has said...

 

We leave calling cards and laminated coasters we have made and we are on making our own wooden coins, if I left them in a cache I would leave them there just to say we had been there, if the owner wanted what we had left they would have to go and remove it, we would leave it so that anyone who wanted the item could take it.

 

We don't use our signature items as swaps, and if there was something in the cache our kids wanted we would leave other items as the swaps for what they wanted to take, but it would still be nice to think if someone took our signature items that they might leave a little bit of something in its place even though this would not be neccessary, as we had taken nothing to leave them.

 

Just my way of thinking

 

Mandy

[+jerryo]

I used to use sig coins to say I'd been there: that's what a signature is, a bit like sophisticated graffiti. I stopped doing it when someone started nicking them from caches. Now I know who it is, Mandy.

 

I’m with Mandy on this one except I can’t imagine anything I’d want less than someone else’s sig token (earplugs, perhaps) so I certainly don’t think leaving one in exchange for more normal goodies is anywhere near an even trade. Imagine the delight of a cacher’s kids finding a “jerryo” token instead of the usual golf ball, dead batteries or a pirated CD.

 

And I don't care if I cause an argument

[+Donmoore]

i feel slightly different about calling cards. i don't consider sig items to be calling cards. opening up a whole new world of sig items.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

I used to use sig coins to say I'd been there: that's what a signature is, a bit like sophisticated graffiti. I stopped doing it when someone started nicking them from caches. Now I know who it is, Mandy.

 

I’m with Mandy on this one except I can’t imagine anything I’d want less than someone else’s sig token (earplugs, perhaps) so I certainly don’t think leaving one in exchange for more normal goodies is anywhere near an even trade. Imagine the delight of a cacher’s kids finding a “jerryo” token instead of the usual golf ball, dead batteries or a pirated CD.

 

And I don't care if I cause an argument

 

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh don't mention the ear plugs

 

Yes we have a local cacher who leaves ear plugs in each cache (we won't mention any names ) I must admit I won't be collecting those

I only have one of your wooden geocoins J so we must have a wooden geocoin theif in the North East, they will take owt if it not tied down up here

 

M

[+jerryo]

I just don't think you can put in a personal item and assume that others will value it in the same way as a traditional swap. Depends what you make them out of I suppose.

[+Us 4 and Jess]

I just don't think you can put in a personal item and assume that others will value it in the same way as a traditional swap. Depends what you make them out of I suppose.

 

But if you are putting in an item and not taking anything out of the cache that does not really matter does it you are adding more to the cache and not taking anything away, and what you may think is rubbish I might really like, one man's meat is another man's poison and all that.

 

Everyone laughed at me because I used to always leave a small packet of tissues in caches but they always got took, even if only for drying caches out

 

M

[+Skadhi]

Signature Items are like any other item you put into the box, once you shut the lid they take on a life of their own.

I like to think the cache owner might get it, but they are for anyone really. (Not that I have produced many!)

To me they are gifts not trades, mine are designed to jazz up geocaching gear. That may not appeal to many people, but if one person gets some pleasure out of it that's great!

My personal favourites are the T & J Bears... (Although I think I shall now start a serious hunt for the Earplugs!! )

[+Alibags]

Actually, cool or unusual sig items is one thing that I DO tend to want to take from a cache. Yes, I even have a pair of Bones1 gloves (handy for those caches in slimey plastic bags).

 

I dropped a load of sig fridge magnets over a period because I kept seeing cache boxes that were depleted, so I reasoned that I would leave something, whilst not neccesarily taking anothing out. When I get round to making some more, I will do so again.

[+Team S-J]

Another two pennyworth. Our signature item is a little wooden ladybird. I see them as additional items that can be swapped etc. i.e. If we swap a couple of items we will also add the sig item. Personally I see calling cards as litter. Assuming everyone leaves a calling card then what happens when the cache is full? (no answers required)

[markandlynn]

We have a scrap book we are filling up with them and a nice collection of other ones a swell like dignuts toothbrush timer huga's rare monkey, those pretty coins we keep finding in caches, jeeps they are nice to have in the trophy cabinet as well.

[+Pharisee]

We have a scrap book we are filling up with them and a nice collection of other ones a swell like dignuts toothbrush timer huga's rare monkey, those pretty coins we keep finding in caches, jeeps they are nice to have in the trophy cabinet as well.

 

I rarely take anything from caches these days but like you, I have a couple of huga's wooden monkeys and I also have quite a collection of Tim & June's little bears

[+Bambography]

Until reading this i'd never thought of taking someone elses sig item, be it card, token etc, from a cache. I enjoy looking through all the sigs left in a cache and have been burning my own wooden tokens as my own item recently. I'd like them to stay in caches for others to see, however as Skadhi says they are on their own once I replace the cache. If someone chooses to take it then I guess that is some kind of compliment.

As a swap item though.... no. Although I value the coins as I have invested time and money to make them I would not place vaule on them to ensure the 'Trade Up' ethos. If people take them and leave a swap in its place then they have placed thier own value on the coin so thats fair enough.

[+gazooks]

I don't have a sig item but tend to leave laminated calling cards instead. These are records of my visit (other than the log) and as far as I am concerned belong to the cache owner - mainly because no one swaps calling cards.

 

I had read once that there are some cache owners who like to collect the calling cards left in their caches, which is why I decided to leave them. I suppose it might be the same with sig items.

 

I once took a sig item from a cache (the cache owners) as there was a bag full of them. It is in my swaps bag but I have never felt it 'fair' to place it in another cache as a swap (IMHO).

 

[Jantaculum]

Until recently, I've been leaving geotags in caches that I really like - unfortunately I've run out, I can't remember the contact details of the cacher who supplied them, and can't contact him through his website

 

I leave them in addition to swap items and would be delighted if they were collected by other cachers. Or taken by the cache owner. Don't mind really.

 

I do have a small collection of really lovely sig items - geotags, fimo models and so on. Most of which I've picked up while caching in Staffordshire/Derbyshire - creative lot! ( I particularly like Tizzie's fridge magnets and NickiesHill's plastic coin, I'd love to know how that was made) They're valuable to me so I try to leave a good swap or a geotag for them.

[+Munkeh]

Actually, cool or unusual sig items is one thing that I DO tend to want to take from a cache. Yes, I even have a pair of Bones1 gloves (handy for those caches in slimey plastic bags).

 

I dropped a load of sig fridge magnets over a period because I kept seeing cache boxes that were depleted, so I reasoned that I would leave something, whilst not neccesarily taking anothing out. When I get round to making some more, I will do so again.

 

oh so you aint got a latex alergy then?

[The Red Kite]

How can you tell what is a sig item and what is a normal swap anyway? Unless of course it has a label on it! I sometimes leave a laminated card - I don't care what happens to it, as long as it doesnt become geolitter. I like to see the different cards cachers have left, some of them are very creative, and can see the attraction of collecting them.

 

If I leave a card it is never treated as a swap, and I don't take stuff out of my own caches. Should they become too full of cards and little else, the cards would then be removed. I have found caches which have been virtually empty except for cards, which is really mean in my opinion; in that case I leave a few swaps for the kids.

 

Like everything else in caching, each to their own I guess.