Jump to content

What to bring to trade?


softball29

Recommended Posts

To be honest, I'm going to start this more for the hunt, the exercise and the photo opportunities.

 

That being said, if I can find some tracking devices, or some cool trinkets, I'd obviously want to do more than just sign the logbook.

 

So, as I start planning to visit these things... can some of you tell me what types of things I should start gathering to bring with me? Trinkets? Some coins? What other things do people like and what kind of things should I start looking to pile up?

 

Thanks for the help!

Link to comment

Judging from most caches after a few months in the wild, all you need to do is fish around the bottom of your trash can, grab the first thing you touch and use that.

 

Seriously, just leave something that might be useful to someone else. It doesn't need to be expensive. You can find good stuff for under a dollar.

 

Some things that I leave that can cost less than a dollar:

 

waterproof match contaners (87 cents at Walmart)

emergency rain ponchos (97 cents at Walmart)

insect repellent wipes (box of 12 is $3.99 on sale, leave one or two)

Hot Wheels cars (99 cents on sale)

packages of Post It notes

packages of colored paper clips

 

For a tad over a dollar:

mylar emergency blankets (1.59 at Walmart)

4 packs of AA batteries (off brands like Panasonic and Toshiba are $1.50 on sale)

collapsible drinking cups (1.99 at Target)

eyeglass repair kits (1.59 in the local supermarket)

 

Some other things...

 

foreign money or collectible coins

hand warmers

travel sewing kits

watercolors

boxes of colored chalk or crayons

fishing lures or tackle (in the package of course)

small, magnetic photo frames

Link to comment

The single most useful thing to place into a cache that doesn't already have one: A first aid kit. I had a big disagreement with a loose rock once and really cut up my hand during a cache hunt. I was very happy to find alcohol pads to prevent infection, and a few bandages in the cache that we ultimately found.

Link to comment

I've had great luck going to our local craft store (A.C.Moore) and staying around the $1. amount. They frequently have 4x6 photo albums on sale for a buck! Since I have a son, we leave kid-friendly items such as mini-lego kits or paper airplane kits. We've also left calculators, photo key chains and fridge frames. We always try to leave something we'd like to find ourselves, although not everyone follows that rule. You can also adopt the take nothing, leave nothing approach.

Link to comment

Most of our local craft stores have nice dollar bins. Target also has good stuff in the dollar section. I try to find things that will hold up to the weather changes and if it gets wet is still salvageable. If it the item doesn't come wrapped I put the items into little ziplock baggies for extra protection.

Link to comment

I cache with my twin girls so love to find things that they enjoy. They collect their treasures so it's most beneficial to find things worth keeping. Their favorite is a small Tinkerbelle statue.

 

We try and leave quality swag. A few of the things we’ve left include;

 

Windup flashlights

Tape Measure

Tool Kit

Drill Bits

Hot Wheels

Gift Certificates

Silver Dollars

Key Chain Digital Cameras

Memory Cards

Link to comment

Go to your local Dollar Store, or .99 Cent Store and look around. You can find all kinds of things there that someone may like. I cache with my kids a lot, so I try to leave things other kids would like (cars, plastic snakes/lizards, flashlights, balls). Try to avoid things like knives because kids love them but can't have them. Food is a bad idea too.

 

But above all, dont trash a cache with rocks you found on the trail, or the arm of your broken dark glasses. I hate finding garbage inside a cache.

Link to comment

Lots of people like to leave signature items: Geocoins, Wooden Nickels, Pathtags. But those require a bit of an investment of money.

 

You can just as easily make something unique with your name on it that other people may like to see for very cheap.

 

I'd like to put foreign coins in caches if I can find some more to give. :)

Link to comment

In my country (South Africa) Lottery Tickets cost way less than a dollar. I think its worth the excitement value even if the ticket doesn't win. You also give the chance of letting someone find some life changing treasure. Tickets can be folded up in will fit into most caches, even film canister micros. I choose tickets randomly, don't write the numbers down or ever look to see if they win. I write a note on them asking the finder to let me know if they win, which is fun, as it starts communication with other cachers. In our country tickets are valid for a year after the draw, so they can sit in caches for a long time and still be valid. I have started a couple of travel bugs that carry lottery tickets too. No wins yet, but it is early days!

:laughing:

Edited by cdlh
Link to comment

To be honest, I'm going to start this more for the hunt, the exercise and the photo opportunities.

 

That being said, if I can find some tracking devices, or some cool trinkets, I'd obviously want to do more than just sign the logbook.

 

So, as I start planning to visit these things... can some of you tell me what types of things I should start gathering to bring with me? Trinkets? Some coins? What other things do people like and what kind of things should I start looking to pile up?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

All of the posters gave ideas of stuff that I thought would be really neat to find in a cache, and I'm a grown-up. Heh. One thing they didn't mention is that while geocoins can be pretty expensive, wooden nickels, if you buy them in bulk, can be custom designed for about $62 for a lot of 150. At $.42 for a unique collector's item, you really can't go wrong there. I found one of AtlantaGal's and it made my day. I plan to buy some of my own when I get a chance, or maybe make some with a do-it-yourself rubber stamp.

Edited by miles_vagar
Link to comment

Lots of people like to leave signature items: Geocoins, Wooden Nickels, Pathtags. But those require a bit of an investment of money.

 

You can just as easily make something unique with your name on it that other people may like to see for very cheap.

 

I'd like to put foreign coins in caches if I can find some more to give. :anitongue:

 

Most banks will exchange your cash into whatever currency and denomination you like. If it's a strange foreign one, then it could take a few days. Make sure they know you're not doing it to try to fool vending machines, though. Heh.

Link to comment

Oddly enough, another great source of swag is the toy section of World Market if you have one of those around you. I've gotten some stuff in the $2 range like these cool little pocket kites (about the size of a hacky sack) that fold out and fly. I also recently picked up some $2 puzzles and chalk.

 

Like many others here, I tend to cache with my daughter a lot, so we try to do a lot of kid's stuff, but what some of the others mentioned here is great like emergency kits, hand warmers, etc. I recently saw a nylon bag like you would put a sleeping bag in. I have several so I didn't take it, but thought it was a great idea.

 

Just use your imagination - you'll be surprised what kinds of things people will appreciate.

Link to comment

Personally, I think the signature wooden nickels are a waste of money (sorry people!) We never take them, and of the cachers we personally know, there is not a single one who collects them. The ones that collect in our own caches are never retrieved unless we finally take them when we're cleaning up and restocking the cache. Since we don't collect them, they go in the trash (sorry again!)

 

Swag items are for kids as far as we're concerned. We rarely take anything from a cache, and by rarely I mean darned near never! However, we ALWAYS leave something unless the cache is leaky or damaged. We stock up on new swag items that children will like such as hot wheels, magic towels, silly putty, glo-sticks, squirt guns, hair clips, light up super balls, etc. We'll even leave two or three items if the cache is in desperate need of swag. We do this because we want little cachers to find something decent when they open the container. It's sad how many people take the good stuff out and leave rocks, shells and leaves in trade. How UNCOOL is that?

 

In any case, a trip to the Dollar Store or the Novelty section of Walmart will stock up your swag bag without emptying your wallet -- and you'll be leaving something new and fun for a little cacher to discover! Happy Hunting!!

Link to comment

I have appreciated when I found a pack of tissues! Can be quite useful when you nose is running on a chilly day.

 

Generally we too leave items that the little cachers would enjoy finding. And sometimes we trade something out and then leave that item at the next cache.

Link to comment

I don't cache with kids, so I usually don't leave things kids would want (unless I happen to have it somehow).

 

I like to leave things adults might use (and worth more than 99 cents):

 

Small flashlights (regular and disposable).

Full size tape measures

Pens or pencils

Small packets of sunblock

Coins (foreign or US)

Compass

Eyeglass bungies

Keyrings

Geocaching swag: patches, wristbands, pins, etc.

 

I have left Where's George dollars until I found out that being placed in a cache disqualifies them from WG statistics. ;)

 

The first aid items are a good idea, and I will add a few things to my swag bag. ;)

Edited by UncleJimbo
Link to comment

Actually, I don't cache with kids either, I just consider swag more of a "kid thing". Around here it seems like most adults don't even swap, it's always TNLN. It's cool that some people leave adult stuff, but even then I probably wouldn't take it -- as I have plenty of little flashlights, tape measures, etc. floating around drawers in my house...LOL! I do leave those packs of tissues and little first aid kits every so often, but mostly I go for something that would make a kid smile...that's just my thing...

Link to comment

If you're looking for little toys and don't want to buy them by the gross or half gross like you usually have to at places like Oriental Trading you can go to Chuck E Cheese and buy any of their prize items for $.01 per ticket (i.e. a 50 ticket item would be priced at $.50) plus any applicable sales tax. You'll pay a bit more for each piece than at the bulk places, but you won't be stuck placing the same trinket in 144 different caches!

 

Some of the prizes are junk, but there's usually a few good things in the 50-100 ticket range and lots more in the 150-300 ticket range and $.99 or $1.99 sections. Other arcade type places near you might do this as well, but since I've been to lots that won't I'd call before going.

Link to comment

I'm still new to this (only been tagging along with my girlfreind on her caching trips the past few weeks) but I recently had the idea of bringing one of my hobbies into it. I collect glass insulators, and have a bunch of double and triples I've been looking to get rid of, but I didnt want to throw them away. So I typed up a little card telling what it was and a link to a website with more information on the hobby, and tied it to it, I put one in the last two caches I've been to. I might do some more in the future. What do you guys think of this idea???

Link to comment

I'm still new to this (only been tagging along with my girlfreind on her caching trips the past few weeks) but I recently had the idea of bringing one of my hobbies into it. I collect glass insulators, and have a bunch of double and triples I've been looking to get rid of, but I didnt want to throw them away. So I typed up a little card telling what it was and a link to a website with more information on the hobby, and tied it to it, I put one in the last two caches I've been to. I might do some more in the future. What do you guys think of this idea???

 

I think that is a great idea. On a recent cache our son, Zolgar, grabbed a chunk of antique barbed wire with an attatched info card. Pretty cool find in our book.

 

We haven't hit on a "signature" swag item yet, still pretty new at this.

Link to comment

I'm still new to this (only been tagging along with my girlfreind on her caching trips the past few weeks) but I recently had the idea of bringing one of my hobbies into it. I collect glass insulators, and have a bunch of double and triples I've been looking to get rid of, but I didnt want to throw them away. So I typed up a little card telling what it was and a link to a website with more information on the hobby, and tied it to it, I put one in the last two caches I've been to. I might do some more in the future. What do you guys think of this idea???

What is a "glass insulator"? :)

Link to comment
What is a "glass insulator"? :unsure:

 

Insulators are the glass (and porcelain) things on telephone, telegraph and power line poles, that the wires are attached to. See www.insulators.com for more info on the hobby of collecting them.

Edited by DLWJohn
Link to comment

Lately, I've been leaving stuff for adults: car air fresheners, geo pins and geoswag, premade cache containers, aspirin packets, sani wipes, bug repellent. Things that are useful and fun for adults. I just ran out of my origami dollars. My sister had folded fresh one dollar bills into t-shirts and placed each one in a plastic baggy. Those were fun and a lot of people got a kick out of the originality. Cash of any amount is always fun to find :anibad:

Link to comment

I'm still new to this (only been tagging along with my girlfreind on her caching trips the past few weeks) but I recently had the idea of bringing one of my hobbies into it. I collect glass insulators, and have a bunch of double and triples I've been looking to get rid of, but I didnt want to throw them away. So I typed up a little card telling what it was and a link to a website with more information on the hobby, and tied it to it, I put one in the last two caches I've been to. I might do some more in the future. What do you guys think of this idea???

 

Cool, I'd love to find one of those in a cache - I have 3 or 4 of them back down in Windsor

 

As for the thread topic - If I leave anything, it's usually a foreign coin and to be perfectly honest, I can't recall finding anything worth taking (other than TBs obviously) since my first day of Caching when I took a couple of things purely for the novelty of having something to commemorate my first few caches

Link to comment

Lately, I've been leaving stuff for adults: car air fresheners, geo pins and geoswag, premade cache containers, aspirin packets, sani wipes, bug repellent. Things that are useful and fun for adults. I just ran out of my origami dollars. My sister had folded fresh one dollar bills into t-shirts and placed each one in a plastic baggy. Those were fun and a lot of people got a kick out of the originality. Cash of any amount is always fun to find :)

:(

 

:ph34r:

 

There for a second I thought this was getting interesting. :anibad::grin:

Link to comment

I'm a fan of signature swag, like Pathtags. They can be a tiny investment, but certainly not as expensive as Geocoins are.

Other than those, all the above mentioned trade items are pretty nifty. Especially the CITO containers that Tagleberry is planning. Those are crafty, and really smart.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...