GRRR People taking good swag leaving .

[kurtisweltikol]

Yesterday I had cacher visit one of my caches. They took some of the better swag and left some smaller items.

 

"Visited with 2 girl guides from Moose Jaw.

Really enjoyed the trip.

Took t-shirt, locking red carabiner and blue carabiner.

Left yellow snap, 2 McDaonalds toys and slinky.

TFTC"

 

I wouldn't have cared but he/she took 3 bigger items and the only left 1 sorta big item(the slinky)

 

Does this happen quite often?

 

It doesn't bother me a whole lot but just something I feel that was unnecessary.

 

edit: Next Weekend i'm going to go visit it and put in some more bigger and better swag.

Edited October 21, 2007 by kurtisweltikol

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Yesterday I had cacher visit one of my caches. They took some of the better swag and left some smaller items.

 

"Visited with 2 girl guides from Moose Jaw.

Really enjoyed the trip.

Took t-shirt, locking red carabiner and blue carabiner.

Left yellow snap, 2 McDaonalds toys and slinky.

TFTC"

 

I wouldn't have cared but he/she took 3 bigger items and the only left 1 sorta big item(the slinky)

 

Does this happen quite often?

 

It doesn't bother me a whole lot but just something I feel that was unnecessary.

 

edit: Next Weekend i'm going to go visit it and put in some more bigger and better swag.

This topic has been discussed many times in the past on the forums, and the general agreement seems to be that the largest group of culprits is (some, not all) families which visit caches with children. I have consistently noticed this "regression of swag to breadcrumbs" phenomenon on caches -- particularly urban caches and easily-accessible caches -- from the moment we entered this sport in early 2005. About the only caches where, in general, this does not seem to happen are Premium member only caches which are also rated at high Difficulty and high Terrain, particularly the latter, as families with children cannot and do not generally access such caches. I do not let this phenomenon bother me, and rather, I just accept it as a fact of life. The only way to manage it would be to ban from the sport parents and guardians who refuse to manage the behavior of their rugrats, and other types of idiots in general, and it is quite obvious that there is no sure-fire test for identifying either type of person, much less a means to keep them from caching, short of imprisoning them for life in a prison camp, and that seems a bit extreme in light of the nature of the offense.

[+briansnat]

I've seen some pretty uneven trades, but that one doesn't seem all that bad to me. Might be a tad uneven but what are we supposed to do, bring an appraiser along with us? I think as long as you are leaving the cache as well stocked as it was when you found it, you are doing just fine.

[+Art_Dodger]

I've noticed the same thing with my cache... I bite the bullet and "refresh" the swag myself when I notice it getting progressively crappier...

 

I can't help but wonder if it would be bad form to drop a note to the geocacher who did the totally uneven trade (if they note the trade on your log) & just prompt them with a friendly reminder that general geocaching etiquette promotes the exchange of items of a similar value or size... Won't help your cache immediately, but maybe if more people understood that people noticed these uneven exchanges...

 

On the other hand - I expect that my cache will get progressively more "meager" in its offerings over time - It's human nature - So I check mine every now & then & freshen it when it starts getting a little low on the good stuff...

 

I am also occasionally surprised at the cool stuff that is sometimes left in exchange for nothing at all... It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Those cachers are the ones who "get" this hobby...

 

Dodger

 

Yesterday I had cacher visit one of my caches. They took some of the better swag and left some smaller items.

 

"Visited with 2 girl guides from Moose Jaw.

Really enjoyed the trip.

Took t-shirt, locking red carabiner and blue carabiner.

Left yellow snap, 2 McDaonalds toys and slinky.

TFTC"

 

I wouldn't have cared but he/she took 3 bigger items and the only left 1 sorta big item(the slinky)

 

Does this happen quite often?

 

It doesn't bother me a whole lot but just something I feel that was unnecessary.

 

edit: Next Weekend i'm going to go visit it and put in some more bigger and better swag.

This topic has been discussed many times in the past on the forums, and the general agreement seems to be that the largest group of culprits is (some, not all) families which visit caches with children. I have consistently noticed this "regression of swag to breadcrumbs" phenomenon on caches -- particularly urban caches and easily-accessible caches -- from the moment we entered this sport in early 2005. About the only caches where, in general, this does not seem to happen are Premium member only caches which are also rated at high Difficulty and high Terrain, particularly the latter, as families with children cannot and do not generally access such caches. I do not let this phenomenon bother me, and rather, I just accept it as a fact of life. The only way to manage it would be to ban from the sport parents and guardians who refuse to manage the behavior of their rugrats, and other types of idiots in general, and it is quite obvious that there is no sure-fire test for identifying either type of person, much less a means to keep them from caching, short of imprisoning them for life in a prison camp, and that seems a bit extreme in light of the nature of the offense.

[+GreenMountainTreasureHunters]

Yesterday I had cacher visit one of my caches. They took some of the better swag and left some smaller items.

 

"Visited with 2 girl guides from Moose Jaw.

Really enjoyed the trip.

Took t-shirt, locking red carabiner and blue carabiner.

Left yellow snap, 2 McDaonalds toys and slinky.

TFTC"

 

 

I would consider sending them a polite note reminding them of the guideline to trade up/even. You might list approximate values for the items they took versus those they left.

 

edited to add:

 

I think many new cachers might not expect to find swag that good in a cache. A lot of "what swag do you carry" threads emphasize dollar store items. So if you've loaded your caching kit with $1 or so trading items, and come to a cache with nice stuff in it, the cacher is in a bind, because they don't have anything good with them to trade back.

 

Now, ideally, they should just not trade if the stuff in the cache is much better than what they brought. But I can understand why a new cacher, for whom the trading is still new and interesting, might trade badly in a situation like this. Also in some cases, people may not realize what something is worth. I had no idea carabiners were worth more than a buck or two until I looked it up just now...

Edited October 21, 2007 by GreenMountainTreasureHunters

[uperdooper]

get used to it!

[kurtisweltikol]

I would consider sending them a polite note reminding them of the guideline to trade up/even. You might list approximate values for the items they took versus those they left.

 

edited to add:

 

I think many new cachers might not expect to find swag that good in a cache. A lot of "what swag do you carry" threads emphasize dollar store items. So if you've loaded your caching kit with $1 or so trading items, and come to a cache with nice stuff in it, the cacher is in a bind, because they don't have anything good with them to trade back.

 

Now, ideally, they should just not trade if the stuff in the cache is much better than what they brought. But I can understand why a new cacher, for whom the trading is still new and interesting, might trade badly in a situation like this. Also in some cases, people may not realize what something is worth. I had no idea carabiners were worth more than a buck or two until I looked it up just now...

 

Agreed I try to carry items in all ranges cheap-spendy. I try to trade items for what their worth and a couple of times i've replaced mcDonalds wipes with something better. I think i'm going to bite the bullet on this one and put in some better swag.

[AZcachemeister]

Just something to keep in mind:

The cost/price of an item may not reflect it's subjective value/worth to the trader.

 

For young children (2-4 YO), getting them to give up ANYTHING is a MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT.

Of course, parents can and should 'make up' for really lopsided trades their children make.

 

Although my trade items are nothing spectacular, I usually T/N, L/ something (often several somethings if the cache has room).

[+Hose502]

If you are concerned about uneven trades, then don't leave anything of value. When I started caching, I assumed it was always trading useless trinkets for useless trinkets and I was surprised when I found items that actually had some value. I don't really don't trade much anymore because I don't really get this whole "trade even or don't trade" thing.

 

I put six decks of unopened cards in my first cache and I want them to go. I don't want them to sit there due to people feeling that they can't trade fairly at $2.16. I'd rather have someone take them and actually play cards instead of passing and letting them sit in the cache to rot. If young children really want the deck of cards, I want them to take it. That is what it is there for. Trade it for a $0.05 plastic ring because that is tradition. I realize nobody else feels this way, but I don't really understand the emphasis on swag quality. I play skeeball because I like skeeball, not so that I can collect 4500 tickets for the stuffed panda. If I really want the stuffed panda, I'll go out and buy a stuffed panda.

 

Do other cachers actually carry around a swag bag in varying increments of value?

Edited October 22, 2007 by Hose502

[+Isonzo Karst]

I've been mostly over this for some time - but since you opened this thread, allow me to whine some.

A cacher left one of these in a large ammo can cache of mine. I don't think it's in his log, but I was along the trail and found it in the can. I fondled it, but had no swag, so left it there. Along comes a log,

Took Chicken, left Travel Bug

.

Meaning, took the best item in the cache, left nothing, as the TB isn't a trade item.

 

just a small whine....

[Neos2]

I nosed around in your cache list a bit and see that the cacher who wrote that log is very very new to the game. It might be a good idea to drop them a gentle note letting them know that the usual practice is to try to at least match the value of items traded.

 

It's hard to write a nice note that says something like that. Especially when you are feeling frustrated.

 

So I'd write it and then wait a day before giving it a final editing and sending it. Throw in lots of positive comments, too like "Welcome to the sport of geocaching. I see that you found my cache with no problem. Hope you enjoyed it. Did you know about such-and-such event that is coming up. Maybe we can meet there?" Make it seem as though you aren't in the least concerned about the 'slight loss' of value to your cache, but you really just want to see them get off on the right foot in the caching community

Edited October 22, 2007 by Neos2

[+BilLow]

I've had an experienced cacher take a nice item and leave nothing in trade. The fellow had over 5000 finds. He left a note about the hint not being useful for him...OK. Then notes that he took a baseball and left a travelbug. It would seem that such an experienced cacher would know better. But there are all different types. As someone said earlier - if we are going to do this - just get used to it.

[+StarBrand]

Most of my caches have generally gone downhill over time. But I have seen a few actually gain in number and value of items. Best thing to do is make certain you always trade up or even and to go out and re-stock your caches when you can. Set a good example for others to follow.

 

One of my 5+ year old caches still has 3 original items in it. A Coloring Book, A bag of marbles, Bookmark with a verse. They were all brand new and still look good but nobody ever takes them.......weird.

[+elmuyloco5]

If you are concerned about uneven trades, then don't leave anything of value. When I started caching, I assumed it was always trading useless trinkets for useless trinkets and I was surprised when I found items that actually had some value. I don't really don't trade much anymore because I don't really get this whole "trade even or don't trade" thing.

 

I put six decks of unopened cards in my first cache and I want them to go. I don't want them to sit there due to people feeling that they can't trade fairly at $2.16. I'd rather have someone take them and actually play cards instead of passing and letting them sit in the cache to rot. If young children really want the deck of cards, I want them to take it. That is what it is there for. Trade it for a $0.05 plastic ring because that is tradition. I realize nobody else feels this way, but I don't really understand the emphasis on swag quality. I play skeeball because I like skeeball, not so that I can collect 4500 tickets for the stuffed panda. If I really want the stuffed panda, I'll go out and buy a stuffed panda.

 

Do other cachers actually carry around a swag bag in varying increments of value?

 

Your post made me laugh. I'm the same way, and who doesn't love skeeball??

 

I've said it on the forums before.....if you found a $100 bill in a cache, would you leave it there because you don't have something of equal or greater value???? Ya right. I believe in leaving good swag, but I don't believe that even the "trade up, trade even, or don't trade at all" crew would do just that in every situation. I say, leave good swag. Don't worry about what others leave, just what you do. If everyone did that, we'd all have nice swag to pick from. If we find a cache filled with junk, we fill it up with nicer swag, if we have enough with us. But, I'm not about to section off our swag according to price. How do you know how much someone paid for something? All you can do is assume, and we all know what that does.

[+ArcherDragoon]

Hey,

 

It's tough, but it is one of those things one has to expect and shrug off as a geocacher (cache owner or otherwise). I agree with the whole TB's and Geocoins are not swag (afterall their whole mission is to travel and/or complete goals...more then just to be traded) and swag is meant to be traded...but it is not always going to happen.

 

To be honest...I am not a big swag person...I am more about the hunt. Most of the time (vast majority of the time) I don't bother to even look through swag...I just sign the log book and move on. I guess I go by the very basic rules of caching...(taken from GC.com)

 

-------

What are the rules in Geocaching?

 

Geocaching is a relatively new phenomenon. Therefore, the rules are very simple:

 

1. Take something from the cache

2. Leave something in the cache

3. Write about it in the logbook

-------

I am more the "Take only memories...Leave only footprints" type of cacher...and write about the find in your log (typically the electronic log for me more than the log book in the cache).

 

I guess, as a couple cachers have stated before me...as long as someone just goes with "Take something...Leave something" I am fine with that, but if that doesn't happen...I just shrug my shoulders and move on. I try to keep one of my caches stocked with good swag...but that is only because it is so close to home...I do notice the good stuff leaving more often then being traded...I guess I just sort of expected that to happen and take it with a grain of salt...

 

So, maybe my post to this thread isn't really that helpful...but I figured I would share my opinion.

 

Later,

ArcherDragoon

[+Thrak]

I've found swag I wanted but didn't trade for because I didn't have something even close to the value. I've also taken something reasonably good and left three moderate items in its place. Even though I took something worth more than any one of the items I left, I did leave items totalling more in value than that of the item I took. In that case, I don't see anything wrong. I've left decent swag and actually increased the number of items in the cache. I have been known to leave something without taking anything simply because I liked the cache and it seemed in need of a swag upgrade. I generally have stuff with me to trade even though I usually TNLN. (Let me find an Indian head penny though and it's MINE!)

[+DanOCan]

...the general agreement seems to be that the largest group of culprits is (some, not all) families which visit caches with children.

 

I'll agree with that. I can't remember if I told this story here or on my local forums, but...

 

Was out caching with my niece who is six years old. We open a cache and she sees a loonie (dollar for you non-Canucks! ) in the bottom. She says "I want that!"

 

I told her she needed to trade for it. She yelled back to her mother who was waiting on the path nearby: "Ma, I need a penny!"

 

I explained to her that what she wanted to do wasn't a fair trade. She nodded understandingly and then said "Ma, better make it a nickel instead!"

 

I once again explained we needed to trade fair or trade up. I explained that if we take more than we leave it isn't fair to the people who find the cache after us. She finally understood the idea and ended up trading $1.25 for $1.

 

If I was a harried parent and put up with this sort of thing all the time I can see why they would just sigh and not worry about it. Since it was a new experience for me I was willing to take the time and go through the process.

[+HB-vanislelady]

I try to put in good swag but do not always have good stuff that will fit....If the cache needs refreshing I will add stuff to it and may not even take anything...however I am not going to keep my swag bag full of expensive trade items....

Remember...one man's junk is another man's treasure....

Also I would not appreciate a note from the owner or anyone saying the swag I left wasn't good enough....sounds a bit snarly to me...I know ! .....I will trade wineglasses .....

 

The best way I think is to lead by example...........

Edited October 22, 2007 by hike n'bike

[+nicolo]

...

 

I think many new cachers might not expect to find swag that good in a cache. A lot of "what swag do you carry" threads emphasize dollar store items. So if you've loaded your caching kit with $1 or so trading items, and come to a cache with nice stuff in it, the cacher is in a bind, because they don't have anything good with them to trade back.

...

What "bind" are you talking about? If they don't have an equal or better trade item, then they don't trade.

 

In my caches, as well as on the cache page, I put the words "Please trade fair. Trade even, trade up, or don't trade".

 

Some of my cache names have the words "No lame trades" ... just as a little reminder,

Edited October 22, 2007 by nicolo

[+UncleJimbo]

...

 

I think many new cachers might not expect to find swag that good in a cache. A lot of "what swag do you carry" threads emphasize dollar store items. So if you've loaded your caching kit with $1 or so trading items, and come to a cache with nice stuff in it, the cacher is in a bind, because they don't have anything good with them to trade back.

...

What "bind" are you talking about? If they don't have an equal or better trade item, then they don't trade.

 

Exactly. Besides, you can always trade cash, or are people going to say they never carry money when they go caching?

[+elmuyloco5]

Exactly. Besides, you can always trade cash, or are people going to say they never carry money when they go caching?

 

I'm not saying cash is a bad trade item, but I NEVER have cash on me. I usually don't even carry a purse with me.....I know....a woman without a purse.....I must be crazy or something. I just hate carrying the thing around. I carry my driver's license, my keys and my cell phone. My husband never has cash either. We use our debit card when we shop, and that's it. Lots of people don't carry cash on them anymore with all the technology out there, some people just don't have a day to day need for it.

[continental drifter]

A question I have is what is the "value" of the items placed in the cache? Is it what the person paid for it? Or is it the perceived value of the item? For example I get alot of my trade items from dollar stores.For awhile I was getting a great deal on digital watches at a buck a piece. If you were to open my cache and see a digital watch that you liked and all you had to trade was a Sacagewa dollar you might pass on the watch even though it would be an even trade money wise. Another example is some people through their line of work are able to leave rather nice samples or promotional items from their companies that cost them nothing. What is a fair trade then? Don't get me wrong,crap is crap.Noone should be leaving dirty golf balls,random rocks and pinecones or pieces of Mctoys. Edited October 23, 2007 by continental drifter

[+TKOFaith]

Just something to keep in mind:

The cost/price of an item may not reflect it's subjective value/worth to the trader.

 

For young children (2-4 YO), getting them to give up ANYTHING is a MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT.

Of course, parents can and should 'make up' for really lopsided trades their children make.

 

Although my trade items are nothing spectacular, I usually T/N, L/ something (often several somethings if the cache has room).

 

I agree with AZcachemeister on this. I got into caching mainly to have something fun to do with my kids. I went out and bought $25 worth of SWAG to put in my fanny pack. I know that when my kids "trade (read "take stuff from my bag and leave it in exchange)" those items which they take will probably never see the inside of a cache again. I monitor what they take and what they put in. Sometimes putting in two items for one coming out. Sometimes putting something in and taking nothing. There are times, to my surprise, when my children opt to TNLN. The parents really need to be on top of things.

 

TKOFaith

[Archangel_UK]

I have a lot(loads ) of European coins (french ,belgian ,german , dutch,) now defunct because of the Euro

which I leave (tnl coin ) which will possibly prompt cachers to find out where they are from (it`s abit of history)besides which if I do take anything it will be a TB to move it on.

 

if you`re worried about cost , dont put value items in the cache; when i started i was told the trend was to use trinkets or unusual items from your travels.

 

Don`t expect everyone else to "big spend" because you do ; thats petty

 

if you want "good " stuff for your items why don`t you go on a trading site and stop moaning!

Edited October 30, 2007 by Archangel_UK

[+Lotho]

Doesnt seem like too bad a trade..im sure there have been worse

[+Scare Force One]

I had a friend who once took a digital camera memory chip and left his geocoin. The cards value was about 80 dollars. His geocoin costs about $0.20 per coin. There are definatly worse trades than a t-shirt for a slinky. While it is not fair there are worse things that could have happened. The cache could have been muggled or trashed.

 

~.~ Scare Force One

[+new_dharma]

A question I have is what is the "value" of the items placed in the cache? Is it what the person paid for it? Or is it the perceived value of the item? For example I get alot of my trade items from dollar stores.For awhile I was getting a great deal on digital watches at a buck a piece. If you were to open my cache and see a digital watch that you liked and all you had to trade was a Sacagewa dollar you might pass on the watch even though it would be an even trade money wise. Another example is some people through their line of work are able to leave rather nice samples or promotional items from their companies that cost them nothing. What is a fair trade then? Don't get me wrong,crap is crap.Noone should be leaving dirty golf balls,random rocks and pinecones or pieces of Mctoys.

i found 3 rusted bolts in a cache...took them out...when I later read the logs the person who made the trade noted: "took book, left bolts."

 

i like leaving promo items from work...don't cost me a thing & some are pretty cool

 

I like the "took ___, left rock" log entries...

[+derrabe]

Being a fairly new cacher I would really like to know where these rules fro trading are posted on the main page. I have never found any item in a cache that i considered of a value over 5 bucks but also on the subject at hand trading is trading. I got into this sport hobby not for profit but because it was relatively free to play once you got the gps. I generally go to the local dollar stores and pick up this like party favors (multi pack things) as my trade items. Sorry but for those of us that enjoy the hunt and collecting the little knick knacks. I personally think you guys are being nit picky about trading. If you tell me where i can get a price guide for all the tradeable items out there and I will happily take it with me and make sure i trade for something that is less then my tradeable item is worth. Items are put in caches to trade in and out that is the whole idea. Why worry about such small things as who traded what and the value of the two objects. This is a game not a buisiness.

[anital76]

I would have to agree with Archangel, Derrabe, and the few others who posted regarding WHY they got into geocaching. There are lots of trading groups on Yahoo and elsewhere on the web if trading is your main concern. As a SAHM, and homeschooling part time, spending a small fortune on items to trade is not an option. Dont get me wrong, I would not take something that I could tell was high in value and not leave something decent in return, but I also was under the impression that small trinkets was the norm for trade items (and I got this thought from a combination of the geocaching.com site and log entries made by many cachers who have had over 500, some 1000 finds). Keeping in mind that ANY cache could be spotted and taken by someone not knowing anything about geocaching, why would anyone want to put in items of a larger value? Personnally I think if you are putting something "out there" (for lack of a better phrase), you kind of have to expect that it will go on to someone who will need/want it more than you. Regardless of what you get back.

[+Lotho]

I had a friend who once took a digital camera memory chip and left his geocoin. The cards value was about 80 dollars. His geocoin costs about $0.20 per coin. There are definatly worse trades than a t-shirt for a slinky. While it is not fair there are worse things that could have happened. The cache could have been muggled or trashed.

 

~.~ Scare Force One

Well, i would rather have the geocoin. Did someone expect your friend to take $80 worth of swag just incase he found something of high value?

[Ghengis Jon]

I leave fully attributed (and flipped) ancient Roman coins as my signature item, whether I take swag or not. How come no one complains when I leave good swag and remove the broken McToy? Or take nothing at all?

 

But I do understand the angst. I replenished one of my caches with about $60 worth of stuff only to have the entire cache disappear. Don't know if it was a geo-pirate or a muggle. But that was a worse feeling than simply being traded down.

 

Keep it in perspective and remember not all geocachers are created alike.

[+Kit Fox]

This topic has been discussed many times in the past on the forums, and the general agreement seems to be that the largest group of culprits is (some, not all) families which visit caches with children. I have consistently noticed this "regression of swag to breadcrumbs" phenomenon on caches -- particularly urban caches and easily-accessible caches -- from the moment we entered this sport in early 2005. About the only caches where, in general, this does not seem to happen are Premium member only caches which are also rated at high Difficulty and high Terrain, particularly the latter, as families with children cannot and do not generally access such caches. I do not let this phenomenon bother me, and rather, I just accept it as a fact of life. The only way to manage it would be to ban from the sport parents and guardians who refuse to manage the behavior of their rugrats, and other types of idiots in general, and it is quite obvious that there is no sure-fire test for identifying either type of person, much less a means to keep them from caching, short of imprisoning them for life in a prison camp, and that seems a bit extreme in light of the nature of the offense.

 

I have only one cache "loaded" with very nice swag. It fits Vinny's description perfectly. Most of my caches are filled with affordable items geared towards kids.

[+sataraid1]

Try not to take this the wrong way, but to my mind leaving $60-80 worth of stuff in a geocache is nothing short of lunacy. I mean, it's a tupperware box out in the woods, fer cryin' out loud.

 

This whole thread makes me all the more satisfied that I don't bother with trading at all. I really don't want to have to carry a book of itemized receipts, an assessment schedule, and a calculator just so I can pick up a plastic butterfly. FWIW.

[+Team GeoBlast]

Yesterday I had cacher visit one of my caches. They took some of the better swag and left some smaller items.

 

"Visited with 2 girl guides from Moose Jaw.

Really enjoyed the trip.

Took t-shirt, locking red carabiner and blue carabiner.

Left yellow snap, 2 McDaonalds toys and slinky.

TFTC"

 

I wouldn't have cared but he/she took 3 bigger items and the only left 1 sorta big item(the slinky)

 

Does this happen quite often?

 

It doesn't bother me a whole lot but just something I feel that was unnecessary.

 

edit: Next Weekend i'm going to go visit it and put in some more bigger and better swag.

This topic has been discussed many times in the past on the forums, and the general agreement seems to be that the largest group of culprits is (some, not all) families which visit caches with children. I have consistently noticed this "regression of swag to breadcrumbs" phenomenon on caches -- particularly urban caches and easily-accessible caches -- from the moment we entered this sport in early 2005. About the only caches where, in general, this does not seem to happen are Premium member only caches which are also rated at high Difficulty and high Terrain, particularly the latter, as families with children cannot and do not generally access such caches. I do not let this phenomenon bother me, and rather, I just accept it as a fact of life. The only way to manage it would be to ban from the sport parents and guardians who refuse to manage the behavior of their rugrats, and other types of idiots in general, and it is quite obvious that there is no sure-fire test for identifying either type of person, much less a means to keep them from caching, short of imprisoning them for life in a prison camp, and that seems a bit extreme in light of the nature of the offense.

 

This very well could be the original Geocache gripe but I'm pretty sure that it was the one of the first anyway.

 

As a parent who caches with a child and sometimes two, I carry "adult swag" that children are not really interested in. I also suggest that we do not leave the house without something of their own that they will trade for. I do my best to encourage even trading but I find children often have a very skewed idea of the value of things.

 

When my little ones get excited about what they find in a cache and after they put their own trade in, I add something like a laser pointer, nice key chain, deck of cards, or geo-pin. This saves you from the child seeing that you traded up for and wanting that. It also keeps the kiddie cacher patrol at bay.

[+Team GeoBlast]

Try not to take this the wrong way, but to my mind leaving $60-80 worth of stuff in a geocache is nothing short of lunacy. I mean, it's a tupperware box out in the woods, fer cryin' out loud.

 

This whole thread makes me all the more satisfied that I don't bother with trading at all. I really don't want to have to carry a book of itemized receipts, an assessment schedule, and a calculator just so I can pick up a plastic butterfly. FWIW.

 

That's cool if that is how you feel that way and it is better than trading down. However, it's certainly contrary to the spirit of the game that I play.

 

I find a little planning and thought goes a long way when it comes to swag. If you are constantly on the lookout you can find some really fun and useful stuff for not much money. (This is another thread that has been gone over pretty well in the past) I actually copied this trade idea from a local cacher and it is my default trade.I leave a gold one dollar coin in a mini-zip lock. It's something that everyone can use, it is compact to carry, and probably won't break the bank unless you are finding hundreds of caches a day.

 

I know this is just the boy scout that society has been unable to beat out of me but leaving a trade item sort of completes the find for me. I like the idea of the next person seeing what I left and thinking.. "wow..that's kinda neat."

[+Renegade Knight]

I quit worrying about it some time ago. For myself I know emply the idea of cosmic balance.

 

That means if a cache is overstuffed with things and I can't close it I can take some of those things and move them to another cache. The trade is uneven for each cache, but cosmic balance is still achieved.

 

Likewise. If I see a geocoin, I can take it (that's right take it) then when I'm traveling with a coin, I can leave one later at another cache. Cosmic balance. Yeah, it looks cheezy on any one cache but somewhere about 800 finds I quit worrying about a line item balance.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Renegade Knight

[+Team Teague]

We are fairly new (60 finds each or so) and usually have the kids with us. We used to let them switch off on taking swag and leaving a trade from our stash (or their stash). Now a lot of times they don't want to trade but when we do, it's a great lesson for them on "what is equal or better" then what they are taking. We always leave little dinosaurs (usually 2 or 3) in caches, and in micro's we always try to leave a quarter for the next person. When we cache by ourselves (ahhhh, it's so nice with out the minicachers sometimes) we take nothing and leave something. We just prefer it that way.....

[pokeylicious]

Here's my thoughts on trading...

 

I personally feel that the idea of putting REALLY expensive items in a cache is not smart. For the most part, people playing this game either have NO swag to trade, or have simple items. It's all about the hunt, right? Having said that, if you WANT to have really expensive stuff to trade, why not make your cache subscriber only, or state that you'd like EQUAL value items only in your cache?

 

I can't speak for other cachers, but one aspect of the sport I really enjoy is increasing the number of geocoins and trackables I find during my hunts. Because of this, finding Geocoins in a geocache for me is EXTREMELY valuable, and I'm willing to trade a good quality non-tracking item for it. Think of it as seeding a cache for the next person. Although I don't KEEP the geocoin (at least, not if I'm HONEST), my ability to add it to my list of coins found more than makes up (to me) the expense of leaving a good item in a cache.

 

As to quality of items, I feel that dollar store swag is just fine. You have to think of the numbers here; there's SO many people participating in this sport, that you have to appeal to the common denominator and get stuff that's not junky, but not expensive (unless you live in Beverly Hills I suppose). When I go shopping for swag, I avoid electronics (useless as soon as it rains and gets wet), really large items, and smelly stuff. I buy simple, small, useful items that people would feel comfortable taking out of a cache.

Edited November 2, 2007 by pokeylicious