Ameliaonstage Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 why do people drop off bad swag? I put some really cool stuff in it, but I come back to plastic rings and rocks. Why do people trade bad items, and make it not fun for more people to come and open up the geocache, and see great stuff? You like opening up a geocache and seeing great stuff right? Should I put a note inside saying; if you don't have anything nice to put in, dont put anything at all! Whats your opinon? Cheers! Amelia Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Age old problem. Threads like this have been around as long as I have. Part of the problem is one man's treasure is another man's junk but also because some folks are just takers. Best we can all do is to set a good example for others to follow. Always trade up or trade even, add swag where it is lacking. Take the junk and leave nicer stuff. That is how I am teaching my boys to Geocache. No matter what others do to my caches - I will always restock them (when I can) with quality trades. Quote Link to comment
+Castle Mischief Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Just let it go. Be the change you want to see, and all that. Drop off better swag yourself, don't expect to see it in caches you find and be pleasantly surprised when you do. Quote Link to comment
+captnemo Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 It's is an age old problem and is one of the reasons I rarely trade anymore. Quote Link to comment
+DragonsWest Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I think there are also some people who are just unclear on the concept - if you are going out geocaching, and there's a chance, no matter how remote, you may find something you can't live without (still regretting missing out on that Mr. Sparkle Button in a decon *sigh*) it is essential to have some trade items in your pack (or pocket) to leave in exchange. The appropriateness or items, well, some people must think there's a drawing and the business card pulled will be rewarded with a $5 Starbucks card I've been picking up small lots of toys, like Hot Wheels or Crazy Bones, to leave in caches. While I figure them geared to kids, I'm aware adults may find a 57 Chevy matchbox makes them drool uncontrolably or the Moshi crazy bones character may ellicit squeals of 'How keeeewwwwwt!' from others. Everyone has their buttons, but at least keep in mind, if it is trash to you, it may well be trash to everyone. Quote Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 why do people drop off bad swag? I put some really cool stuff in it, but I come back to plastic rings and rocks. Why do people trade bad items, and make it not fun for more people to come and open up the geocache, and see great stuff? You like opening up a geocache and seeing great stuff right? Should I put a note inside saying; if you don't have anything nice to put in, dont put anything at all! Whats your opinon? Cheers! Amelia As a CO I accept that when I do maintenance there will be trash and dirt in the cache. Actually for the most part I'm pleasantly surprised with how little trash there is in our cache hides. We try to get out to them at least a couple of times per year and remove the junk. Wipe down the inside of the box of the dirt buildup. One of my theories is that a water tight clean cache attracts nicer swag. Quote Link to comment
+DragonsWest Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Restocking swag is something I realize I'll have to do. Another good reason to have some with me when I go out - my caches are very wide spread and I may be passing by one and will drop in to check on its welfare - I've upgraded a few caches this way, going from a micro to a small or regular if the location will work out. Only once reversing the trend to a smaller, because the cache keeps going missing. I'm not putting McToys in anymore, as they don't seem to be interesting to people and sit there until they are completely cruddy. Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) You like opening up a geocache and seeing great stuff right? No. Edited March 6, 2012 by cezanne Quote Link to comment
Pup Patrol Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Why are you assuming that it's cachers leaving "bad" stuff? Is it not possible that non-cachers have discovered the cache? Why are you assuming that what is "bad" stuff to you isn't "treasure" to others? If you think that you can control other people's actions, you're going to be severely disappointed. B. Quote Link to comment
+DragonsWest Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Why are you assuming that it's cachers leaving "bad" stuff? Is it not possible that non-cachers have discovered the cache? Why are you assuming that what is "bad" stuff to you isn't "treasure" to others? If you think that you can control other people's actions, you're going to be severely disappointed. Often can tell when non-cachers have left something -- it's unpleasant or their trash. It's nice some log a friendly note upon finding it by accident, but others, well .. >"HA HA! WE FOUND YOUR THING! ITS OURS NOW!" -- left on the log sheet in the tree >"WHAT IDIOT GAME IS THIS? AT LEAST LEAVE SOME WEED IN YOUR STASH" -- in cache logbook >"___ ___ ___ __!" (expletives deleted) Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 You like opening up a geocache and seeing great stuff right?Sure, if by "great stuff" you mean a dry log with space for me to sign, personal signature items (including personal cards) left by other geocachers, and trackables. I generally ignore trade items other than personal signature items. Quote Link to comment
+Mr.Benchmark Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 why do people drop off bad swag? I put some really cool stuff in it, but I come back to plastic rings and rocks. Here's a thought experiment. At work, they setup a small tray of cookies with a small jar with a sticker that says "cookies - 25 cents." No one watches the tray of cookies. Let's say that there are 40 cookies, so one would expect $10 in the jar, if everyone takes a cookie and contributes a quarter. At the end of the day, would you expect: (choose one) 1. No cookies and $10 in the jar 2. No cookies and $5 in the jar 3. No cookies and $0.85 in the jar 4. No cookies and nothing in the jar 5. No cookies, two pennies, and some paper clips in the jar. Most people don't carry around Santa's pack of toys for cache trades - that seems like one of the problems. It's kind of hard to haul around a pack of trade items I think. How much would you say is the cost of the average item you place in a cache? Do you tend to carry items around with you of that value that you'd part with? I've taken to leaving small LED light keychains that cost $1. I may leave some buffalo nickels that I bought at a coin show - but I'm worried that people won't recognize them and just assume they are crap. Maybe they are crap, but I thought they were kind of neat. Perhaps I should put the nickels in a bag that says "Genuine antique buffalo nickel - don't spend" Anyway, I can see how either of these would be perceived as junk. (The little LED lights are useful - until they sit in a cache for a couple of years and the battery self drains. Then they are junk until you put a new battery in them...) Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I have a butt-load of nice stuff, but no place to put it since almost all nearby caches are micro. When I do find a cache that is bigger than my little finger, I'm unprepared. "Whoa, this one's a small and actually has space for a couple of polished rocks." Quote Link to comment
Clan Riffster Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Whats your opinon? If you hide P&Gs, your swag will degrade. If you hide something requiring folks to actually burn a calorie or two, not so much. Quote Link to comment
+Mushroom finder Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) Why are you assuming that what is "bad" stuff to you isn't "treasure" to others? Nope, that's a cop out used by too many people to justify to themselves that it's OK to trade paper clips, rubber bands, sticky, spilled soda pop covered pennies dug out of their console, pop tabs, pieces of gravel picked up from the parking spot, broken bits of some random unidentifiable object, etc. for whatever struck their fancy in the cache. "Took the $5 FTF prize, stereo earphones and flashlight, left a soggy tattoo that I found in another cache 20 minutes ago. TFTC!!!". As a cache owner, I've come to expect that a well stocked cache with a dozen or more decent swag items will degenerate to 2-3 junk items and a few scraps of paper trash within 10 finds or less. Everyone talks the "trade even or up" philosophy on the boards, but I firmly believe that 1% or less actually practice it. It is what it is, and it's something you can't let bother you if you're gonna hide swag caches. As a finder, the swag is not what makes caching enjoyable to me, but I certainly do appreciate it when I find a well maintained cache with good swag. To me it says that the owner takes pride in his/her cache and cares about the finder's experience. As a cache owner, the enjoyment I get out of my hides is seeing the enjoyment that others got out of them. Keeping my caches stocked up with fun, interesting and clean swag is my way of showing my appreciation to the caching community for the caches that I've enjoyed finding. I think if more new CO's went into it with that attitude, you'd see a lot less people getting bent out of shape when their swag is all traded out for trash. The best you can hope for is that new cachers who find your cache will remember it as an example when they are ready to hide their first cache. Edited March 7, 2012 by Mushroom finder Quote Link to comment
+power69 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 why do people drop off bad swag? I put some really cool stuff in it, but I come back to plastic rings and rocks. Why do people trade bad items, and make it not fun for more people to come and open up the geocache, and see great stuff? You like opening up a geocache and seeing great stuff right? Should I put a note inside saying; if you don't have anything nice to put in, dont put anything at all! Whats your opinon? WHAT? you mean dollar store soap bubbles aren't good swag??????? how else to make logsheet goo? Quote Link to comment
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