Personalized trading items?

[SwanFire]

My husband and I have been caching for about 5 months now, and last weekend we actually met another cacher for the first time at a cache. We happen to live in the same area even though we met at a cache in another state! Anyway, he gave us a "wooden nickel" and a path tag with his family's cache name on them. We were very happy to get these items and felt bad that we didn't have anything to trade.

 

Is this a common thing? Do a lot of cachers carry personalized swag to trade such as wooden nickels or similar? Are they usually manufactured items, or would handcrafted items be acceptable? What do you trade?

 

I think it would be fun to have our own item to trade or hand out or even leave in a cache. Thanks for any advice....

[+T.D.M.22]

Only recently had Pathtags taken off around here. A couple people have their own. Some people also do personal geocoins, but those can get expensive, especially when you give them away. I've seen business cards with the persons geoname and city on them, and one person here had some plastic discs with their geoname on them.

 

I would be more likely to keep a handcrafted item, but there are any number of things from homemade wooden coins, to pretty much anything you can get with a company name on them. Pens, keychains, lights, bottle openers. I actually like the idea of ordering a bunch of pens and giving them to fellow cachers-a geocacher could always use another pen, but I keep not doing it. It's really up to your imagination what to do.

[+kunarion]

I think it would be fun to have our own item to trade or hand out or even leave in a cache. Thanks for any advice....

Hand-printed wooden nickels are pretty cool. You can get a whole bag of them (they come in various sizes) in a craft store, then paint or draw as you like.

 

One thing to consider is numbering a design or series. I had a bunch of old suitcase zippers, which I thought were cool due to most of them having "adventure" sounding themed logos. When I offered one of these signature items to a cacher, she frowned and asked "what is this for?"

 

I replied "It's serialized". She then said "Ooooh! Gimme!"

Edited October 16, 2013 by kunarion

[+J Grouchy]

Only recently had Pathtags taken off around here. A couple people have their own. Some people also do personal geocoins, but those can get expensive, especially when you give them away.

 

I do really like the pathtags, but I could never justify spending that kind of money on them ($110 for a pack of 50). Heck, I'm even waffling about spending that kind of money on a GPSr.

 

Around here, lots of folks have these "Going Caching" trading cards that are related to a Mega-Event held every year (I don't really know much about it).

[+redwoodkestrel]

I enjoy finding pathtags in caches and trading mine with cachers I meet at events. I keep all the ones I've found or have been given on a chain and take them to events - people love looking through all of them.

 

The $110 for 50 is just for the very first time you design your pathtag - after that, if you want to keep making the same one, it's about $1 per tag.

 

When I first started caching I was leaving hand-painted sand dollar tests in caches as my signature item. But I got disheartened at nobody mentioning in subsequent logs about seeing them or taking them or even liking them. So I moved on to pathtags so that people could log when they found one of mine and I could track who was finding them and where.

 

Honestly, I like most original sig items that cachers come up with and am always happy to find one, I've just found that the pathtags are just easiest to keep all together in one place and to keep track of!

[+L0ne.R]

I think it would be fun to have our own item to trade or hand out or even leave in a cache. Thanks for any advice....

Hand-printed wooden nickels are pretty cool. You can get a whole bag of them (they come in various sizes) in a craft store, then paint or draw as you like.

 

One thing to consider is numbering a design or series. I had a bunch of old suitcase zippers, which I thought were cool due to most of them having "adventure" sounding themed logos. When I offered one of these signature items to a cacher, she frowned and asked "what is this for?"

 

I replied "It's serialized". She then said "Ooooh! Gimme!"

 

Do you mean put a travelbug number on it?

[+markcase]

Moving to the appropriate forum. Keep the discussion going!!!!

[+kunarion]

I think it would be fun to have our own item to trade or hand out or even leave in a cache. Thanks for any advice....

Hand-printed wooden nickels are pretty cool. You can get a whole bag of them (they come in various sizes) in a craft store, then paint or draw as you like.

 

One thing to consider is numbering a design or series. I had a bunch of old suitcase zippers, which I thought were cool due to most of them having "adventure" sounding themed logos. When I offered one of these signature items to a cacher, she frowned and asked "what is this for?"

 

I replied "It's serialized". She then said "Ooooh! Gimme!"

 

Do you mean put a travelbug number on it?

No, just numbering them from 1 to whatever. However, I designed my "Cache Zippers" (with the idea that I'd place many of them) to be listed on a "free tracking" website, with a serialized numbering system, and it turns out, the site accepts no new submissions.

 

I'm sure people would go crazy for unactivated Trackable sig items. I'm too cheap to do that with a couple hundred items.

Edited October 16, 2013 by kunarion

[SwanFire]

Moving to the appropriate forum. Keep the discussion going!!!!

 

I'm very confused...I thought this was the forum where I started the topic? Where did you move it from? Or are you saying I started it in the wrong forum and you've moved it?

 

Sorry about that!

[SwanFire]

I would be more likely to keep a handcrafted item, but there are any number of things from homemade wooden coins, to pretty much anything you can get with a company name on them. Pens, keychains, lights, bottle openers. I actually like the idea of ordering a bunch of pens and giving them to fellow cachers-a geocacher could always use another pen, but I keep not doing it. It's really up to your imagination what to do.

 

I love the pen idea! Or a little flashlight...we are always forgetting that even in daylight many cache hidey holes are dark.

[SwanFire]

I think it would be fun to have our own item to trade or hand out or even leave in a cache. Thanks for any advice....

Hand-printed wooden nickels are pretty cool. You can get a whole bag of them (they come in various sizes) in a craft store, then paint or draw as you like.

 

One thing to consider is numbering a design or series. I had a bunch of old suitcase zippers, which I thought were cool due to most of them having "adventure" sounding themed logos. When I offered one of these signature items to a cacher, she frowned and asked "what is this for?"

 

I replied "It's serialized". She then said "Ooooh! Gimme!"

 

The zippers sound very cool! And what a great idea about the "serialized" numbers. I bet "It's a limited edition" would work, too.

 

Only recently had Pathtags taken off around here. A couple people have their own. Some people also do personal geocoins, but those can get expensive, especially when you give them away.

 

I do really like the pathtags, but I could never justify spending that kind of money on them ($110 for a pack of 50). Heck, I'm even waffling about spending that kind of money on a GPSr.

 

Around here, lots of folks have these "Going Caching" trading cards that are related to a Mega-Event held every year (I don't really know much about it).

 

I looked up the trading cards...it looks like they are printed by the event organizers and for sale in their event shop. Neat idea. I've seen something similar called Artist's Trading Cards which are basically blank cardstock or watercolor paper for artists to design using mixed media, watercolors, etc. They usually are given in a handcrafted item exchange. That appeals to me, but I'm not sure how practical it would be to hand out a paper item in the field (if I received one I'd be afraid of damaging it while caching).

 

I enjoy finding pathtags in caches and trading mine with cachers I meet at events. I keep all the ones I've found or have been given on a chain and take them to events - people love looking through all of them.

 

The $110 for 50 is just for the very first time you design your pathtag - after that, if you want to keep making the same one, it's about $1 per tag.

 

When I first started caching I was leaving hand-painted sand dollar tests in caches as my signature item. But I got disheartened at nobody mentioning in subsequent logs about seeing them or taking them or even liking them. So I moved on to pathtags so that people could log when they found one of mine and I could track who was finding them and where.

 

Honestly, I like most original sig items that cachers come up with and am always happy to find one, I've just found that the pathtags are just easiest to keep all together in one place and to keep track of!

 

I love handcrafted items, so I definitely would have grabbed your painted sand dollar! I know there are people who, for whatever reason, just hate handmade things...it would hurt if I decided to make something like that and people weren't interested. And like you said, pathtags are made for collecting (easy to display, numbered so you can log them, durable).

 

Thanks.

[+kunarion]

The zippers sound very cool! And what a great idea about the "serialized" numbers. I bet "It's a limited edition" would work, too.

I'm going to the mentioned Mega Event, where some of my Sig Items will be a limited edition!

 

If you make a "serialized" item (just numbered, not Official Trackable Geocaching Game Pieces), you might store some low numbers (#1 and other single-digit ones) in case they're popular. For prizes later, or for trading or whatever.

[+kunarion]

I've seen something similar called Artist's Trading Cards which are basically blank cardstock or watercolor paper for artists to design using mixed media, watercolors, etc.

That would be very cool!

 

I'm not sure how practical it would be to hand out a paper item in the field (if I received one I'd be afraid of damaging it while caching).

I've seen the cards in caches, and placed a few of mine in ziplock bags in my own caches or in caches where maybe they won't get bent. But I also figured that if it gets kinda beat-up in a container and if people need a pristine version, they can trade for a perfect one (with some item to sweeten the deal, of course). I haven't had my own cards made in the last couple of years, due to the fact that they're paper (thus not truly "cache items") and the fact that I can't think of anything I'd put on one. Text nor photo. Mine would end up blank.

 

But usually if these cards are traded, it's at an Event (even indoors). If I bring a variety of cards this year to an Event, I'll keep them safe in a binder or box, and give people only a list, so they can decide what trades to make.

 

For a previous Event, I serialized my trading cards . Silver metallic numbers, "x of 50", and still have a couple of low numbers to trade.

Edited October 16, 2013 by kunarion

[+astrowolf67]

We enjoy collecting personalized swag items from others. In exchange, we leave our own personalized wooden nickel. I buy the blanks at area craft stores, had some stamps custom made with my own designs for front and back, and can make a few dozen in very short time. I don't know that anyone has ever collected one of our nickels, however, I'd like to believe there are others out caching, who are like us, and like to collect personalized items.

 

David

[+u1bd2005]

I just found a piece of Shale rock all the way from Scotland.

 

Seemed a very cool signature item as it was from the guys home town.

 

[+webscouter.]

Back in the day it was pretty common to have a signature item. I have prayer flags, globe marbles, painted ladybug rocks, coins both wooden and hand poured metal coins, shrinky-dink pictures, antique fire cracker label reproductions and many more.

 

I don't see as much any more but it still fun to come across an item from time to time.

 

Make sure you put your caching nick-name on it somewhere and perhaps tell why you selected the item to represent you.