Swag, Treasure, Booty, Goods, Et Al...

[Prairie Jeepin]

Being new and in the process of planning my first "hide", I have come to the concern of being "lame" as some have mentioned in other posts, as well as "tacky" in the swag department.

 

Now I think I have the lame thing covered. I have located what I consider a good site with historical and scenic attributes. It is off the beaten path but not too far off. It is accessable generally to all types of folks no matter their physical setbacks, though perhaps not so much for wheelchairs. I am thinking perhaps it will be a 3 stage multi cache, (or maybe it's an offset?) but this is not yet decided, it will be a 2 stage for sure.

 

Anyway, the point to my post is thus...

 

I want to place some nice items in the cache and not just a bunch of cheap useless tacky stuff. I also want to place a special item for the FTF (insulated Thermos water bottle carrier or something) as a sort of prize. What I'm thinking is camping, hiking or outdoorsey things for swag. Unless of course it ends up being a themed cache where the items would reflect the theme. Not overly expensive, but not cheap crap either. Useful things for fellow cachers and their kids -- yes I will throw in some toys since I am just a big kid anyway Is this advised?

 

More to the point -- what, as a cacher, would you like to find in a cache? what would be worth trading for? Useful items in your opinion. I'm just looking for some ideas to think on.

 

The idea is to get to the coordinates @ a parking area, then find a location that will direct you to the final location of the cache via a bearing and counted steps or something. Along the idea of a pirate map where you have to locate certain physical landmarks that lead you along a path to the X - so to speak

 

I just dont want to devalue the experience by placing lousy booty. Of course, I can't control what gets traded into the cache, so maybe the whole worry doesent even matter if cheap crap gets traded in.

 

Any thoughts?

[Black Mage]

One item that I've been thinking of using for a FTF "gift" is a new copy of the Amry Survival Manual. You can get them at Barnes & Noble for $10 (I think) and I'm sure it would be a welcome addition to any cacher's library.

 

As for item that I like to find...foreign currancy and other interesting coinage is a favorite of mine. Camping related items (ponchos, thermal blankets, those hand warmer thingys especially in winter, as well as batteries, etc) are also popular. Oh, and don't forget gold bars, and diamonds are also good choices.

[+YuccaPatrol]

I can't think of a cacher who would not be excited to find a gift certificate for a local outdoor recreation/sports store.

 

Yesterday we found a really fantastic and quite heavy sterling silver bracelet/anklet with tiny bells. So that is the first "treasure" we have seen in a cache. But we did not have anything as nice to trade for it, so we left it there. Although we took nothing, we did leave a 100 million year old fish fossil that is pretty darn cool. I like to leave interesting fossils in caches and geocachers tend to like them.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Coins and fossils are very cool. Polished rocks. Sea shells. Iridescent squishy plastic frogs. Cloth patches of various kinds (though these get nasty in damp caches). Souvenir spoons. Knives (which you aren't supposed to leave, so I get a neat knife AND feel like I'm doing something goody two-shoes by taking it). Small, non-perishable, neat and a bit weird sums it up.

[+tirediron]

Something to remember is that cool does not have to equal pricey! You can get (as has been mentioned) some very cool swag for very little money. Your FTF prize sounds excellent BTW.

 

Small, non-perishable, neat and a bit weird sums it up [/quotes] Perfectly put AW!

[+SixDogTeam]

WE like the cheep tacky stuff, also sig items and cards. cash is nice.

[Agent N.]

WE like the cheep tacky stuff

you like the tacky stuff? ...why?

[+fly46]

WE like the cheap tacky stuff

you like the tacky stuff? ...why?

Actually, I do too sometimes.

The last time I actually traded for an item it was a cheap fifty cent keychain with a deck of playing cards attatched. Not that I wouldn't want to see something cool.

 

For some reason, it just depends on the person finding the cache. The first cache I hid I left an EMERALD in it. If someone would polish it, they'd probably have 1/2 a karat stone, but there have been three dozen finders to my cache and that is still there. Ironically, the Bazooka Joe comic and the Tolepuddle Martyrs sticker were both taken.

 

I think what it comes down to for trade items are just things in good condition. Don't leave broken things. Don't leave anything unsafe. I just went out today and for $7 I managed to get everything I needed for two large caches. Each of them has about a dozen items.

 

Go to a dollar store or WalMart or somewhere and get a bunch of inexpensive but nice items and you'll be fine.

[Prairie Jeepin]

Go to a dollar store or WalMart or somewhere and get a bunch of inexpensive but nice items and you'll be fine.

Actually that is exactly what I was thinking of doing but wanted some sort of idea as to what folks desired so-to-speak.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. It is interesting to hear about what each of us like or dislike. I guess I shouldn't worry so much as there is quite the variety of interests out there to cover many differing items of various quaility.

 

Keep posting, more ideas are very welcome.

 

PJ

[+Shoknaw]

My wife and I make US flags out of safety pins and beads.

 

Seems to be popular enough.

 

We go for the homemade items.

 

Shoknaw & little Logger

[+Torry]

I've been hitting a local auction house here in Indy and finding all sorts of goodies in the $1 miscellaneous buys. Jewelry, knick-knacks, coins, all kinds of souvenirs from places and days past.

 

I'll also hit the summer close-outs at the various stores and set them aside for spring. I've picked up cans of Off and a lot of camping goods at 75-90% off.

 

My local thrift shop Is a handy source for a variety of items. There's one nearby that's run by the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) that is a fantastic source for crafting and miscellaneous.

 

Your own personal, handmadw, homemade stuff is welcome and adds a nice touch. Friendship bracelets in a ziploc with your cache name. "Jingle bell" crafts and the like.

 

For some fun swag hunts check out your local paper for business liquidations. You might be amazed at what you can pick up in quantity for just a few bucks.

[+briansnat]

What I'm thinking is camping, hiking or outdoorsey things for swag

 

That is always appreciated. I leave stuff like compasses (the pin on ones with a ball floating inside), survival whistles, mylar emergency blankets, fire starters (sorry Bobthefireman), water purification tablets, insect repellent, waterproof match containers, emergency ponchos and the like.

[Phoenix2001]

You might consider how easy it is to break the item. Something

that's easily broken might go into the cache in one piece

but not stay that way.

[+Square Bear]

One of the things I've seen go over big is the Lance Armstrong wrist bands. I put them in my cache and have put a few out in caches I've found they usually don't last long in the cache and only cost a buck apiece. I also got a box of small flash lights off Ebay and they also seem to get grabbed up quickly and were about 50 cents a piece. I've also left ponchos and flag pins some times they get picked up by the next person some times not.

[+fly46]

Go to a dollar store or WalMart or somewhere and get a bunch of inexpensive but nice items and you'll be fine.

Actually that is exactly what I was thinking of doing but wanted some sort of idea as to what folks desired so-to-speak.

Well, since that's what you had planned, then it looks like you were already on the right track.

 

I'm going out tomorrow to replace one cache that went missing and to hide two new ones.

 

None of them have camping themes, but here are their contents, just so you can get an idea:

 

(re-hide) "The Bell Jar" - 3 sheets stickers, children's book, toy car, two sets of jacks, a shower cap (don't ask), travel chinese checkers, a water squirter and a Lego basketball man, along with the log book and pen.

 

(new hide) "The Working Man" (theme cache) - toy check book/wallet set, shovel, sports stickers, toy delivery van, Lego basketball man, antiqute printer's block, CITO container, travel sewing kit, fake foreign currency, musician postcard, address book, thing from the TN wildlife agency, fake money in plastic money clip, waterproof matches, Willie Nelson pressed penny, and a set of jacks (to remind people not to work too hard)

 

(new hide) "Papa's Got Balls" - bouncy balls.

 

 

I also have a series of micros planned that will be full of stickers.

 

 

 

 

In the past, all the stickers I put out were the first item that went. I think it depends on the area, though, because the stickers were placed in a rural area, and the ones I've placed in the city are still where I've placed them.

Books are another thing that's touch and go.

 

I'll let you know what's going on with the items in these caches after they've been out for a little while.

[+NightPilot]

It really doesn't matter to me. I'm not in it for the valuable treasure. Many times I take nothing, and what I do take I just recycle into other caches. I tend to leave more than I take, most of the time. My kids are gone, but they left hundreds of CDs at home, and I hate to throw them away. I WILL NOT listen to them, so I've been getting rid of them, one cache at a time, in the caches where they will fit. I don't know if anyone is taking them, but at least I'm going to get rid of all of them eventually.

[+Spiritnip]

I am about to place a cache and the FTF prize was going to be a Nikon Utility Knife and Nikon Keychain in a little gift box. Do ya'll think that is OK? I haven't been doing this long and I don't want a black eye on my virtual record.

 

Also would it be a no-no if I copied a DVD and put the copy in the cache. For instance I have 2 DVDs on the Art of Camflage and I thought it might be useful to other hiders.

Thanks

Spiritnip

Edited September 29, 2004 by Spiritnip

[teamh3]

The knife thing seem like it is touch and go in the threads and the guidlines also seem to frown on them. as to the DVD I have to say that while it is a good idea it is technically illegal to do that, Unlees it says on the DVD that you have the right to Copy the material (highly unlikely)

[+Torry]

The knife gift box sounds like fun. I usually avoid anything like copied CD's and especially software for obvious security reasons.

[+SixDogTeam]

WE used to put knives in our caches, but apparently it's not allowed, so we don't do it any more.

[maddog1404]

Whenever I place a Cache I try to remember that young kids might find the cache, So I tend to rule out anything that is Not appropriate

[+briansnat]

WE used to put knives in our caches, but apparently it's not allowed, so we don't do it any more.

I found some real Swiss army knives (Victoranox) for $5 each. It was a closeout sale. I ordered a bunch and received them the very week that GC.COM said knives were no longer welcome in caches .

 

They somehow found their way into caches anyway as "multi-tools". Then they banned multi tools .

Edited September 30, 2004 by briansnat