What do you leave

[+LDB415]

What does one leave when they find a cache and where does one obtain the items to leave?

[+Sol seaker]

People trade items when they find small to large caches.

The saying is, "Trade even or trade up" in value.

 

It is generally considered poor trading to leave Mc-toys or similar things.

 

There have been a lot of threads that discuss what people like to leave. Many leave small toys, but frankly, I think there are more adult cachers than children and adults like to trade stuff too.

 

Waterproof stuff is best because it's going to be left outdoors. If what you're leaving isn't waterproof, then put it in a baggie and leave it in a cache that gets a lot of visitors. (even in a baggie I've found moldy stuff in caches that haven't been found in a while).

 

Foreign coins are common around here.

I've gotten nice stuff from the dollar store, such as screwdrivers or such.

I've left semi-precious stones or crystals.

I also look around my house for nice small things that I don't want or need anymore. I've left a book light, a book (in plastic), tools, ceramic figures, etc.

I've gotten a stereo am/fm headset, a cable for my GPS, stuffed animals etc.

 

I get stuff from around my house, garage sales, dollar store etc. I have a friend who is decluttering her house and she brings me stuff that she doesn't need anymore.

 

You don't have to trade.

If you do trade, try to leave what you would like to find.

[+StarBrand]

Currently I have:

• matchbox cars
  
• deck of cards
  
• small calculators
  
• screwdrivers
  
• rubber ducks
  
• foriegn coins
  
• toothpick holders
  
• mini games
  
• fancy pencils
  

 

Try dollar stores or OrientalTrading.com

[+jmw61]

Signature items, such as wooden nickels, engraved poker chips, ceramic items.....

[+skullsoup432]

Signature items, such as wooden nickels, engraved poker chips, ceramic items.....

 

 

I like getting other cachers signature items, especially the wooden nickels (well, I have only found 1), woodworking biscuits that have been personalized, and such. Hope to get some poker chips, etc.

 

I would rather take a lowly (to some) stamped, signed, printed or what ever chip of wood than a shiny piece of bling.

 

I have got 1 pathtag, but don't consider that bling. The coin, to me, is extra special.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

A U.S. Double-Eagle would be nice.

[+BuckeyeClan]

We leave our signature item in any cache that we find that is large enough to hold it. We also trade items usually if our kids are with us. I try to always carry a variety of items of different size and value, and trade similar items. There's nothing wrong with "McToys", as long as they are clean, intact, and in good working order. But I'd only trade those for other toy items.

[+StarBrand]

We leave our signature item in any cache that we find that is large enough to hold it. We also trade items usually if our kids are with us. I try to always carry a variety of items of different size and value, and trade similar items. There's nothing wrong with "McToys", as long as they are clean, intact, and in good working order. But I'd only trade those for other toy items.

One of my most popular caches encourages McToys only..... http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=f06df61f-390c-4ee6-b765-b0b41c839831

Edited March 5, 2011 by StarBrand

[+BigAl437]

I usually hit the dollar stores and garage sales. If I do the garage sales I make sure the toys or whatever it is I'll be leaving is really clean. Our dollar store went out of business and they sold a lot of things for 2, 3, 4, for $1.00. I got some really nice glass sculptures and sometimes I leave those in nice caches. I also leave nice things for the adults, and even pet toys for those who bring their dogs along. Hey, they need to get some SWAG too. I try to carry enough that if I find an empty cache I'll usually leave a couple of things in it for the next person. I was given a container of magnets at work one day so now I am leaving them too.

[+simpjkee]

I usually just leave my signature in the logbook, but when I place caches I make sure they are full of swag. I usually get swag from Goodwill, Wal-Mart, and my drawer that has used items in it that I'm eventually gunna trade in to a second hand store.

[+DonB]

Depending on the size of the cache: pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, foreign coins, key chains, crayons, and music CDs.

[+DanOCan]

Now I often leave nothing more than a signature. Back when I used to trade my swag consisted mainly of anything I could buy in a dollar store.

[+Wylymama24]

Can you specify the type of items you would like to leave in your cache? For examples "geocoins only" as long as i was to leave coins in the cache for the exchange?

[+BuckeyeClan]

Can you specify the type of items you would like to leave in your cache? For examples "geocoins only" as long as i was to leave coins in the cache for the exchange?

 

You can, but there's no way to enforce it. I doubt a geocoin only cache would go very well, as lots of cachers don't have geocoins, and geocoins tend to disappear quickly. There would probably also be confusion of which ones are travellers, and which are meant to be traded and kept. I've seen other "theme" caches though--like books, CD's, school supplies, etc.

[+Wylymama24]

We have been logging what we take and trade. Maybe by doing that we can see if the cache had a muggle and the owner can check it or move it? Just trying to make it fun for all.

[+shadowmib]

I just started and so far all the caches I have found have been micros (except one broken muggled one) so the only thing I have exchanged was taking a decoder wheel and left a elastic hair tie since it was the only thing I had on me at the time that would fit.

I left the decoder wheel in the cache that I put to replace the muggled one.

 

What I put in the cache I placed:

"Offical" geocaching Decoder wheel

Some mardi gras beads.

Golf ball I found near cache site.

A TINY troll doll small enough to fit inside a micro cache.

 

Things I have waiting to place when I find larger caches:

A wind-up walking frankenstein doll.

Little plastic Spiderman

More mardi gras beads

Several sets of cheap ear rings

 

Things I plan to aquire that I didn't have already.

Leather medalions with my geocache name on them (I do leather work)

McToys and some other doodads from the dollar store.

Interesting trinkets from the asian and middle eastern markets here in town.

 

If I get fancy:

 

Waterproof tubes with my original artwork in them (I'm an artist too)

Audio or video tapes (finder will have to hunt up a player for them and find out what is on it)

[ao318]

Personally, I take nothing except a cool coin or TB to take home and show my kids and then move on. If I am with my kids, we have a Ziploc bag filled with small items like, hot wheels, rubber balls, glow sticks, etc. We try to trade up if we can.

 

I remember once, we found a large cache that was filled with brand new smaller stuffed animals that were each put in their own Ziploc bag for protection. Well, I have daughters and at the time they were 10 and 12 years old and each of them wanted one. I had to come back a couple of days later to replace what we took so the cache would not go empty because we did not have anything of equal or greater value with us at the time.

[Techen]

I'm moving soon, so I've been cleaning out a lot of my stuff. Lately I've been putting them into large zip-lock depending on size or cost from my own opinion. For example, I found a small stack of pogs. To some younger cachers they are just a bunch of colorful images on cardboard. So I stuffed them into a tiny zip-lock bag in hopes they don't get wet, and put them in a tiny otherwise empty cache that was just able to fit them. Sure, somebody may find it and think it's trash, or somebody might find it and say, "Hey, I remember these!"

 

I do plan on making some. I have been coming up with designs and hope to get quite a few pathtags made.

 

I do feel really awkward when you find something like...a macaroni art project (yes really) in a cache. Hey, that's cool that your kid made it and all...but that's kind of something that should be special to you. Nobody else knows your kid, and your macaroni art project is making the cache get all gunky, along with the noodles getting wet and moldy. It won't be special to anybody else that finds it, and they're more likely to toss it. I also hope people keep in mind that paper + moisture = possibility for mold. I've found a lot of "what are these?" wet things in caches so far...which is saying something, since I've only found a couple, ahaha.

[+cerberus1]

Can you specify the type of items you would like to leave in your cache? For examples "geocoins only" as long as i was to leave coins in the cache for the exchange?

 

We have been logging what we take and trade. Maybe by doing that we can see if the cache had a muggle and the owner can check it or move it? Just trying to make it fun for all.

 

When we first started there were many caches that had a "theme" and many asked that you stick with it. Most don't stay that way for long anymore and "maybe" it's due to folks no longer reading cache pages. Too much in a hurry I guess.

One was a 50cal can loaded to-the-top with movies. We remembered to bring a disk with us just for it and traded for another. That was a fun hide !

Passed by it a year ago and it had none of the disks left. Loaded with McToys and pretty-much trash now.

 

We still list what we left, whether we trade of not. We leave more than take today.

If you decide to keep track, it'll upset you terribly. The first trail pebble swapped for a good item will fix it for ya. Figure you played fun and forget it.

I really appreciate the fact you're caching "old school" and hope you stay that way.

Looking inside of some empty hides (and the lack of any logs online, other than "TFTC") it's become apparent that few are actually "trading" today. Some must feel they've "earned" an item by just attempting the cache. Trading up/even is beyond those people.

[+cerberus1]

We work at Crayola, so kids in our area are spolied rotten

- when/if we ever find caches larger than my thumb.

 

Many folks like to stop at dollar stores. I guess it's alright if the item actually looks to be worth a dollar. Few trade today, but might be tempted if there was something in the cache to trade.

We have many options and leave swag according to what most appears to be worth inside.

Good stuff gets the same. Junk, we leave something (of much lesser value) and forget it, figuring what route the swag is heading already.

We have from 4ct crayon packs, to flashlights, to unactivated geocoins... all depends on the contents already inside.

We rarely trade today.

[+rav_bunneh]

I'm new to geocaching and didn't even know about the sport before last wednesday. I have a whopping 2 finds under my belt. LOL! But I've been leaving World of Warcraft trading cards in the two geocaches that I've found. I've not had a chance to go swag shopping so I have only used what I had around the house. I'd like to come up with a signature item at some point; maybe something with a white rabbit on it. :3

[MuddyMama]

Nice question, I've been wondering that myself. We're new to geocaching and just now I'm scouting out caches to find with my kid over spring break. I've been making various sized origami cranes, just to leave. I've been using proper quality origami paper, and modge-podging them to make them waterproof, but reading this, I think I'll get some mini ziplocs for them as well.

 

For trading we have some small bottles of bubbles, fancy pencils and mini gel pens until we get a feeling for what people usually leave. I like ao318's idea to come back if you don't have anything good enough to trade too, so I'll be adding that to my list of tips. I'd prefer to leave nothing and take nothing than leave junk.

[+mpilchfamily]

I use to have a bunch of multi color pens and some super bouncing balls. Then i found some deals on 20mm round Compasses. I got a pack of 24 for about $9 after shipping. Here is a pack of 48 for about $17.

[normastitz]

I'm new to caching and live in Birmingham (UK) so I mainly find urban caches which are nanos or micros. Me and my geokids were over the moon when we found our first cache large enough for swag the other day. The cache owner had left postcards of the oldest canal bridge that the cache was nearby and my daughter was over the moon with it. My eldest daughter picked a badge and wears it everyday to school so that people can ask her about it and she can tell them about geocaching.

I want people to continue to trade as I think its nice. I have some really nice tiny cars and bouncey balls and some pretty pin badges as swag.

I also have some Geocaching wrist bands as swag cos they are fab.