Cache Contents

May 7, 2003

Can i have your opinion on the contents of caches you have found.Are they interesting, of value , worthy of collecting,funny or just complete rubbish?

I may be missing the plot somewhere but I think the excitement of finding a cache would be enhanced by finding something you would like to keep as a reminder of that days search.We don,t have to spend fortunes but surely we can stretch to more than Postcards of Blackpool, Key rings and RUSTY SPOONS?

1.4k · May 7, 2003

RUSTY SPOONS Dang!! I've been lookin' for some of those!!

Yeah some people just take things out that are sort of nice and replace with junk and feel they made a good trade. This is where the concept of "Trade up" comes into play. I am sure when a cache starts up new the cacher generally puts in moderatly valued items, but thru geocaching time, it degrades.

One cache that I found recently had paper currency from Malasia. That was kinda cool I don't think I'll be going to Malasia any time soon so that was nice to see and I'll hang on to that. Just so you know on the trade for that I put in new AA batteries (2) and a threaded link. The later can be used for fastening items to backpacks, fannypacks(bumbags), camera cases... Not an expensive item but functional.

1.6k · May 7, 2003

This is a recurring thread.

To be frank, I think we need to solve it once and for all by creating a new game (because to suggest adding a new rule to this game results in spasms of flames). The new game would be just like geocaching except that the idea would be to place a signature item (your pick, your name/handle, and the cache you put it in written on the label of the item.) Then you could trade signature items and move them around if you were interested. This gets away from the geotrash that normally fills the containers because no one will leave trash if they have to put their name on it.

Let's see, I have my fire-retardant keyboard and monitor, therefore I am ready to read the flames, I mean messages in the forum.

May 7, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by bigredmed:
This is a recurring thread.

To be frank, I think we need to solve it once and for all by creating a _new_ game (because to suggest adding a new rule to this game results in spasms of flames). The new game would be just like geocaching except that the idea would be to place a signature item (your pick, your name/handle, and the cache you put it in written on the label of the item.) Then you could trade signature items and move them around if you were interested. This gets away from the geotrash that normally fills the containers because no one will leave trash if they have to put their name on it.

Let's see, I have my fire-retardant keyboard and monitor, therefore I am ready to read the flames, I mean messages in the forum.

I can see both sides of that idea. For one I don't think that a whole NEW game needs to be created. You could just put out a cache that is for sig. items only.....if someone DOES drop off trash, then remove it from the cache....and if you want to get really nasty about it you could delete their find. If you created a new game, or only allowed sig items, then it might not be very newbie friendly, or you might end up with someone new who doesn't really understand the concept of a sig item and puts trash in there, because THEY think it's something cool. I dunno, I guess what I'm saying is that it's a decent idea, however I don't think there's ever going to be an end to degrading caches.

Mr. 0

"Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend or your enemy - they are actually disinterested."

Department of the Army Field Manual FM 21-76 "Survival" Oct. 1970

20.7k · May 7, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Mr. 0:...
you might end up with someone new who doesn't really understand the concept of a sig item and puts trash in there, because THEY think it's something cool...

I think you've hit on the true issue. IMO, cachers make the attempt to trade fairly. The worth that each individual cacher places on a specific item varies, however.

Of course, you will always have those who trade dirty golf balls found enroute. We'll just have to flog them.

8.4k · May 7, 2003

I could care less what's in a cache. I have 60 finds, as of today, and only a few items that I will never put back into another cache, because they have some meaning, or value to me. It's not about the stuff for me. The hunt and the location, and Travel Bugs, are what lure me to a cache.

If they followed the rules; the fact that someone cared enough to put it out there for you to find should be enough. (Only my opinion) I have been to completely ruined caches several times and still had something nice to say in the log about the location. I improved my stats and got some much needed exercise and usually discovered some neat out of the way location. (Hmmm, I think I'll put a cache out in a cool spot filled with old mismatched utensils just as an experiment to see who will squawk about it. If they can't understand the beauty of the place that they are in, I think I might avoid them at any event caches.) Most cache locations that I have been to had at least some aesthetic value far above and beyond what was actually in the cache.

The whole trade-even trade-up or down argument is moot to me. I have spent several hundred dollars on upcoming cache projects. Again, as long as people follow the take something leave something rule; I could care less what items are being transacted.

Sngans

The greatest labor saving invention of today is tomorrow....

8.4k · May 7, 2003

"We never seek things for themselves -- what we seek is the very seeking of things."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

I just had to throw that one in there. SkyDiver used it in one of his posts that I just read. It really fits on this thread....

The greatest labor saving invention of today is tomorrow....

May 7, 2003

Okay lets face it... The things in a cache seem to be geared for a 6 year old. (This observation given after a whopping two caches found.) But the fact remains that what gives something value ISN'T monetary worth but rather significance.

This whole idea of 'trading up' or 'trading down' really means that some item has more significance to someone than someone else. I propose a solution.

I propose that we leave something more personal such as poetry or mix cd's or the like. (A blank CD costs all of 33 cents -it's what you put on it that adds significance.)

Anyways that's my idea.

2.7k · May 7, 2003

Oh NO!

Here goes the 'pirating' discussion again!

Hold on to your hats!

Caint never did nothing.

GDAE, Dave

38.2k · May 7, 2003

There are so many decent, but inexpenesive items out there, that I fail to see why people insist on placing broken McToys in caches. I was in WalMart yesterday and they were selling plastic "emergency rain ponchos" for 87 cents. OK they're not exactly a Gore-Tex rain jacket, but they can be useful in a pinch. I bought 50.

I found sets of mini screwdrivers for two bucks and bought 20. Kept one for myself and have been putting the others in caches.

Clip on reflector/safety strobes. A useful item for joggers, roadside dogwalkers and bikers. $1.99 at Home Depot. I bought 10 and have been placing them in caches.

Eyeglass repair kits. 99 cents at a local supermarket. I've purchased dozens of these to use as trade items.

Matchbox cars (or Hot Wheels, I forget), on sale at 2 for $3. I bought 10 and they have been finding their way into local caches.

Plastic toy soldiers. A bag of 50 for $1.49.

The point is that if you keep your eyes open, you can find somewhat decent trade items and not spend a bankroll. No need to search the bottom of your kids toy chest for broken garbage.

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

May 7, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by DudeZilla:
Okay lets face it... The things in a cache seem to be geared for a 6 year old. (This observation given after a whopping two caches found.) But the fact remains that what gives something value ISN'T monetary worth but rather _significance_.

That might just have been the luck of the draw. We carry a variety of items, geared towards both adults and children. When we trade, we try and decide what the cache is light on, and beef it up accordingly.

Ron/yumitori

May 7, 2003

I have found all sorts of things from McToys up to some expensive things. Mostly I go and find something that is a little unique that I can buy 10-20 of at a time that don't cost a whole lot of money. The first item that I was trading was some dollar store stuff, but I wanted something a little more interesing. While on the coast, I found a resteraunt that sold sharks teeth with a magnet on the back that were about 1.25" tall. They were about $4.00 each and after placing about 25 or so, it got to be a little expensive. Since then I've found other sharks teeth online, but they were smaller and no magnet. Since then, I've found several other things that are a little different at flea markets, garage sales and other places. I'm hoping to find something else soon, as I'm almost out of the iron pyrites and magnetite rings that I have been placing lately. After about 325 caches, which I have traded on most of them that are physical caches, I really don't want to spend a huge amount of money, but I am not going to resort to really useless junk that some caches seem to end up with.

May 7, 2003

I'm definitely showing my age here, but I feel that cache items are for the kids as well as the young at heart...Items should include toys kids will love, as well as things that remind us of our past, such as wooden tops, baseball cards,anything off e-bay that reminds us of innocent times gone by. This may leave out the 20 somethings out there, but these items would do my heart the most good, without turning cache items into objects of greed which would destroy the whole premise of why we search in the first place...IMHO.

May 7, 2003

The only thing about sharks teeth is don't go to the coast & leave them in caches there. I've noticed a lot of folks visiting our area & leaving sharks teeth for their trade items. When you are at the beach leaving a shark tooth is like saying I picked up a rock & put it in the cache. The sharks teeth are everywhere. You can just pick them up off the ground.

--------------------------------

Magellan Meridian GPS / 128MB

Handspring Visor Deluxe

L.O.S.T. - http://www.kjjeep.com

http://www.darkglobe.com/geocache

May 7, 2003

It would be kewl to find a cache with a pack of fizzies in it!! Especially Root Beer

SeventhSon

== If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you. ==

May 7, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by L.O.S.T.hoomdorm:
The only thing about sharks teeth is don't go to the coast & leave them in caches there. I've noticed a lot of folks visiting our area & leaving sharks teeth for their trade items. When you are at the beach leaving a shark tooth is like saying I picked up a rock & put it in the cache. The sharks teeth are everywhere. You can just pick them up off the ground.

--------------------------------

Magellan Meridian GPS / 128MB

Handspring Visor Deluxe

L.O.S.T. - http://www.kjjeep.com

http://www.darkglobe.com/geocache

I've never seen any shark teeth on the Oregon coast beaches, only in the stores.

I would love to have been able to place one of these though:

This one is 6.06" tall. I would have only been able to afford something around 2-3" and fairly low quality. This one is $1736.00

1.6k · May 8, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Mr. 0:

I can see both sides of that idea. For one I don't think that a whole NEW game needs to be created. You could just put out a cache that is for sig. items only.....

If you created a new game, or only allowed sig items, then it might not be very newbie friendly, or you might end up with someone new who doesn't really understand the concept of a sig item and puts trash in there, because THEY think it's something cool.

Way ahead of you, already have a cache for signature items (reference: Signature Cache).

Have labels in the cache so people without a signature item can label something they leave as their item. Thus, a continual exchange of signature items. Works well. We need more of them (IMHO, enough more to start a new game.)

Let's see, I have my fire-retardant keyboard and monitor, therefore I am ready to read the flames, I mean messages in the forum.

May 8, 2003

I put put a cache a little less than a year ago, the theme of which was foreign currency. I had some coins and a few bills from various countries -none of it worth much monetarily. What I found was that folks would drop by and leave Canadian coins. Now, I realize that Canada is a foreign country and all, but there's nothing really interesting about it- we've all seen it! All the cool coins, and the paper money from Korea and Papua New Guinea were gone in a flash. And after a while of downtrading, someone came by and looted the whole thing. Cripes, man... maybe it was poorly hidden (my fault, if true), or maybe it was just a bad location altogether (also my fault, if true). Anyway, after this experience, I was determined to try to find items that would be of interest, but not especially of real objective value.

As for items in caches being geared towards the 6-year old, I'd say I have to agree... geo-trashing might be a better, more descriptive term for some of these. But hey: I ain't in this looking for gold dubloons or anything. I'm pleased to get out in the woods and have a nice walk and a bit of a challenge. If someone leaves a Rolex for me to find, all the better (but not expected).

2.3k · May 8, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by smithdw:
I've never seen any shark teeth on the Oregon coast beaches, only in the stores.

I would love to have been able to place one of these though:

http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/27079_200.jpg

This one is 6.06" tall. I would have only been able to afford something around 2-3" and fairly low quality. This one is $1736.00

If you can scuba dive or have a desire to learn, you CAN find those yourself. They're found in places like the Cooper River in SC, and a few river spots in south Florida. I've dove many times for Civil War artifacts in the Alabama River near Selma, AL, but have never thought of leaving any of it! Good idea.

Joel (joefrog)

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for ye are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!"

May 31, 2003

Originally posted by Eltex:
Can i have your opinion on the contents of caches you have found.Are they interesting, of value , worthy of collecting,funny or just complete rubbish?I may be missing the plot somewhere but I think the excitement of finding a cache would be enhanced by finding something you would like to keep as a reminder of that days search.We don,t have to spend fortunes but surely we can stretch to more than Postcards of Blackpool, Key rings and RUSTY SPOONS

38.2k · May 31, 2003

quote:

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on May 31, 2003 at 03:21 AM.]

May 31, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by bigredmed:
Way ahead of you, already have a cache for signature items (reference: Signature Cache).

Have labels in the cache so people without a signature item can label something they leave as their item. Thus, a continual exchange of signature items. Works well. We need more of them (IMHO, enough more to start a new game.)

Great idea! I'm going to be planting a cache next weekend, and I think I'll make it a signature cache. I've been working on preparing my signature items...

May 31, 2003

Wow. Another thread on the quality of cache items/trades. THis has been a hot topic for as nearly as long as I've been caching. (20 months or so)

I usually leave pretty kewl items in the caches I log. But I gotta be honest.

I really don't care what I find. My big thrill is catching a glimpse of that cache container and signing the log book.

On my first 100 caches I took an item from each cache and saved them. Then I put ALL of them into one cache and placed it to celebtrate my 100th cache. You know I was kinda into the cache-items thing until I did that. I used to pull out my shoe box and show everyone what I'd found caching. But since I returned all of them to the wild I find I'm not really interested in collecting cache items anymore.

Maybe I have Chronic Cache Fatigue Syndrome. (CCFS). ;D

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

May 31, 2003

This is a topic I have been thinking about a lot lately. I haven't found a lot of caches but the one's I have found (excluding a couple) have nothing but junk in them or kid's toys. I have been looking at a lot of cache boxes just to see their contents and what people take and what they leave. People need to ask themselves "would I trade what I have in my hand for what's in this box?"

So yeah, I look forward to what I might find. It doesn't have to be something expensive but maybe unique or hard to find.

quote:
Originally posted by Jolly B Good:
Wow. Another thread on the quality of cache items/trades. THis has been a hot topic for as nearly as long as I've been caching. (20 months or so)

I usually leave pretty kewl items in the caches I log. But I gotta be honest.

I really don't care what I find. My big thrill is catching a glimpse of that cache container and signing the log book.

On my first 100 caches I took an item from each cache and saved them. Then I put ALL of them into one cache and placed it to celebtrate my 100th cache. You know I was kinda into the cache-items thing until I did that. I used to pull out my shoe box and show everyone what I'd found caching. But since I returned all of them to the wild I find I'm not really interested in collecting cache items anymore.

Maybe I have Chronic Cache Fatigue Syndrome. (CCFS). ;D

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

3.8k · May 31, 2003

My ONLY rule of thumb is to leave someting I would like to take.

May 31, 2003

We enjoy finding unusual things but have found that the things we enjoy collecting the most of are pins and keyrings. It's fun keeping a collection of finds. It is disappointing to find junk in a cache, but when we do, we try to leave something nice for the next person. We leave things for adults and children alike, as we realize there are children that go along with their parents. Happy Hunting!

May 31, 2003

Seems like all "value" is relative. There are some items that some people have called "worthless" that I thought would be pretty cool, and I'm sure there are things that Iwould consider "junk" that other people would like. The 'ol "One man's treasure.." thing. Anyway, what do yall think about my leaving something like printed recipes of my fave foods?

Also, given my title of "Lefty Writer," yes, I love to write short fiction. Would it be arrogant of me to leave a print-out of a short story as something to trade?

Being a newbie, I'd hate to get off on the wrong foot, but after reading lots of posts, I haven't seen anything like this mentioned.

Patrick

carpe cerevisi

Remove the NOSPAM from my e-mail to contact me.

1.6k · May 31, 2003

I've never been disappointed by the contents of a cache. I don't expect to find anything 'valuable' and I don't feel that the point of caching is to find anything valuable. As others have said, value is in the eye of the cacher. I sometimes take something just to move it to another cache. Sometimes I leave better than I take, sometimes not. About the only things I've found that I've kept are a few of them small car keychains that light up and a small multitool. I try to leave a TB if I take one, but sometimes it's not possible. I'm just happy to find 'something' even if it's a McToy

1.6k · May 31, 2003

The thing is to follow the golden rule when leaving items in a cache. If they aren't useful to you, they aren't going to be to anyone else either. If you wouldn't want to take an item out of a cache, then don't leave it.

I like the idea of eliminating trading random items and replacing it with trading only signature items. The items don't have to be expensive, they don't have to be unique (because adding your handle to it makes it unique), they can be made from any item with the use of a mailing label with your handle printed on it with space to write the cache name on the label. That way the next finder could collect your item and move it to a new cache and it would function like a mini travel bug.

The thing about signature items is that people tend to try to make them interesting or useful when they have to put their name on it.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nebraskache/

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