Trade-Ups????

[+Freelens&Mosie]

Have you ever had anyone take junk and replace it with something better? This is in response to all the threads about the reverse. Just curious.

 

You can't be lost if you don't care where you are.

[+briansnat]

I often do it. I usually carry a bag of tradeables. If I find a cache where the contents have degraded over time, I usually leave several nice things. That's unless it's a Gladware container. I hesitate to leave anything decent in one of those because it will only get ruined.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[+Kodak's4]

quote:

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Originally posted by Freelens & Mosie:

Have you ever had anyone take junk and replace it with something better? This is in response to all the threads about the reverse. Just curious.

 

---

 

Sure. I see quite a few logs in the Seattle area that read "Took nothing, left "

 

[umc]

I trade up from time to time. I think its the community that has to take care of the community because a lot of the time the cache owner does not care too much about maintaining his or her cache.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Coming Around, New Owner Of a Garmin GPS V Received on 10-03-02

[+RB_Nielsen]

GMC's observation above - ".........the community has to take care of the community" is soo on target. My belief is that growth of geocaching is based a lot on this principle, but more importantly he captures in essence that which is genuinely going on - the community is of an ilk that it is truly taking care of itself. The good intentions of the individual geocachers, their respect for one another, and the overall goodwill (geocache in - trash out) is what is making this work so well. I only hope it lasts.

[+The Leprechauns]

I'm with BrianSnat. I enjoy trading up, or leaving something and taking nothing, but I won't do it in Gladware.

 

When my daughter is with me, I'm more likely to do the trading up, since she likes to take stuff. When I'm by myself, I am more likely to take nothing and leave a pocket calculator/ flashlight/ art supplies/ etc. Also, trading up helps to teach my daughter about feeling good when giving more than you receive. Later, we enjoy reading the logs when someone takes one of the halfway decent items we leave.

 

I also have a rule of thumb about "rewarding" a particularly good cache. If it's an ammo box or other secure container, hidden creatively, and I got a nice hike in the woods rather than a walk past the city dump, I'm likely to drop off a $5 trade item just to signify that "I liked this cache." If it's a cache rated 3 or higher for terrain, I'll try to leave something extra nice because I'd hope that these caches are less likely to be plundered, and I want to reward the next group for working so hard to get there.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about?

[Us 5 Camp]

If it's all crap, I'll still leave something, but take nothing.

 

Perhaps the next log should read:

 

"Left $2 bill, removed crap."

 

"Never have a philosophy which supports a lack of courage..."

[+eroyd]

I went to a beautiful remote cache that originally had contained some pretty nice trade items but it like so many had been reduced to crap. I felt the cache deserved some good stuff so I dug out what good stuff I had on me and placed it in there. Funny, but if you go by the log's posted you'd assume most of the original contents were still there.

[+brdad]

I try and trade up one way or another, but similar to what Leprechaun said the better the location, hide and container are, the more apt I am to trade up. I always post my "tooks and lefts", so I sometimes worry if someone watches the cache and figures I took it because I liked it, they might put more in other caches. guess I'd be better off to forget to mention what I took in the log when it comes to that..

 

We all have mental problems, it's just that some of us choose to show them.

[Jeremy]

The only time I trade at all, I trade out. Basically that means I clean out the garbage and replace it with more appealing items.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location

[+LongDogs]

I know McToys seem to be the bane of most geocachers, but to my youngest son and his friends, they are the greatest treasure they could find. They get real bummed if the cache has "only grown-up stuff" in it.

 

I'll never forget the one where my older son took a pocket knife and left a leatherman type tool, and I took a kindness coin and left a little first-aid kit. My younger son said it was a dud cache cause all we got was a dumb coin and a knife he couldn't have anyway, and "there wasn't anything else but camping and grownup stuff". Likewise, he chose not to leave one of his McToys. To him, though, TNLN was a major disappointment.

 

In my opinion, we are adults and we are in it for the hunt. It is the kiddies that get the thrill out of the "treasure", and they LIKE McToys.

 

That said, my favorites are coins and signature items.

[Us 5 Camp]

quote:

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Originally posted by LongDogs:

I know McToys seem to be the bane of most geocachers, but to my youngest son and his friends, they are the greatest treasure they could find. They get real bummed if the cache has "only grown-up stuff" in it.

....

In my opinion, we are adults and we are in it for the hunt. It is the kiddies that get the thrill out of the "treasure", and they LIKE McToys.

 

That said, my favorites are coins and signature items.

---

 

I agree on kids being in it for the treasure, because mine are. However, the McToys should be New, Mint, or at least not broken, chewed, damaged, etc. Some people just leave SCAT.

 

"Never have a philosophy which supports a lack of courage..."

[+Squirrel Nut & Beersnob]

I usually remove junk or inappropriate stuff from a cache, and leave some good stuff. Even in my less generous moods when I take nothing I'll alwyas leave *something* that *someone* might like, even if it's cheap/cheasy (but always in good condition). Sometimes I find myself unloading several goodies to better a cache. I can't help it, for some reason. And I always put the stuff in mini ziptop bags (that I got a while back at a craft store, about 100 for $2.), unless it's already waterproof on it's own.

 

This might slow down a bit when I run out of teeny beanies/other interesting stuff around the house I don't want/need anymore. But for now, I enjoy leaving nice little booty nuggets, and am interested to see who picks up what that I left.

 

 

I walk the Maze of Moments, but everywhere I turn to, begins a new beginning, but never finds a finish..

[+Kouros]

Most of the time, I take nothing, and leave nothing... I usually notice that a lot of the items are nothing special (if not awful). But after reading this thread, my thoughts are changing.

 

I'm starting to think about taking along some inexpensive kids toys (magnetic games, miniature slinky's and the like) that could easily replace damaged or tat items.

 

Thank you!

 

------

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

 

Hamlet, II.2 252-253

[+briansnat]

quote:

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In my opinion, we are adults and we are in it for the hunt. It is the kiddies that get the thrill out of the "treasure", and they LIKE McToys.

---

 

A new McToy in its wrapper is fine. I don't think anybody would disagree with that. What people object to are the obviously used, broken, or dirty McToys, or those who take the Mini Mag light and leave a McToy. It's easy to have a kid friendly cache and still leave nice stuff. Among the kid friendly things that I place in caches include small watercolor sets, boxes of crayons, or colored chalk, Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars, small puzzles and games. I make sure however that they are new, or in near new condition.

 

I don't even think a kid wants a toy soldier with a missing head (well if they do, you might want to consider therapy for him/her).

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on October 18, 2002 at 05:59 AM.]

[ikayak]

Forget the Matchbox and HOt WHeels. I personally like the Johnny Lightning British Classics cars. So if anyone likes to trash their cache with those, let me be the first in line to try to find them!!!

 

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Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted.

[+Nurse Dave]

I tend to trade item for item unless I really like the layout of a multicache or the location. Then I tend to leave more than I take as a thank-you.

 

---Real men cache in shorts.