Cache Trades Or Not.....

[+Ladyhawke91]

A quick question....I've been to 5 caches in our area, and they all seem kid-oriented as to their "prizes". Since I'm not interested in these items, I have either not taken anything, or I have left one-dollar coins, or two quarters. Is this appropriate? Would it be better to not take anything rather than leave money? TIA for any advice.

[Black Mage]

Of course it's okay to leave money with out taking something, it's just another way to leave a cache better than you found it.

[+OzGuff]

The only time I take anything now is if the kids are with me, there is something cool in the cache that I am able to trade up/even for, or travel bugs. However, I almost always leave an item or two or three. If at all possible I try to leave the cache in better shape than when I found it. (And that may take the form of leaving a new logbook, pen or pencil, replacing a Ziploc bag, or even a new container.)

[+Torry]

Don't be afraid to take nothing and leave something.

 

Don't worry about doing ANY trading whatsoever. If you enjoyed the hunt and that was enough, fine.

 

I like finding swag and like to take something as a reminder of the cache.

 

Cash is nice, bu maybe you could think a tad deeper about what you leave behind ... perhaps an item that evokes your caching name, locality or lifestyle.?

[+Bugmeister]

I'm still new at this, but I think finding the little trinkets a bit more interesting than money. Finding a silly little toy (or whatever) makes the finder want to look harder at the cache. I know I like to take a gander at what people are leaving. Sometimes if you look at the logs you'll find the previous cachers leave items that represent their Geocache names.

[+cottonmouth]

When I don´t find items that I´m interested in, I just leave it at TNLNSL. I don´t see a need for trading something out that someone else may actually enjoy. I started leaving my sig-card though.

After all it´s about the hunt.

[+Thot]

I have never traded -- not once. I've read in these forums that some owners interpret a failure to trade as an insult. That it suggests the cache is so poor it doesn’t rate a trade. I hope most don’t feel that way because I only go to find the cache and see the place it took me.

 

Like OzGuff I often repair something at the cache. I make it a point to try to do this. Most often it’s to replace a ziplock with a better quality one, particularly for the log book, and/or add a pencil/pen. I’ve never replaced a cache container, but I’ve removed the contents, dried them off and repackaged them in ziplocks – particularly if it’s obvious the cache leaks.

 

I prefer this method of leaving the cache better off than leaving money or trinkets.

 

I am thinking about coming up with a signature item.

[+LthrWrk]

This brings a thought.. dangerous I know..

 

I wonder if muggles realize that they can find $$$ in caches.. That they may become pirates just to get the possibilitiy of something valuable?

 

If there is room I leave a sig item.. if there is something of interest I will trade.. Yet for me it is as much the journey as the possibility of something really interesting in the cache.

 

After awhile though I can recognize some of those that have come before me without reading the logbook.

 

Whether trade or not.. there are many different ways to play the game and enjoy it.

Edited December 26, 2004 by LthrWrk

[+BlueSkyMI]

The only times we've left money in a cache is when we've forgotten our SWAG bag, and there's something like a TB or GC that we wanna grab. Usually only trade trinkets when the kids are along.....for us it's the hunt, and finding cool new places to visit that counts.

[+fly46]

I'm still new at this, but I think finding the little trinkets a bit more interesting than money. Finding a silly little toy (or whatever) makes the finder want to look harder at the cache. I know I like to take a gander at what people are leaving. Sometimes if you look at the logs you'll find the previous cachers leave items that represent their Geocache names.

Actually, I kinda agree with the silly little toy philosophy.

I have a deck of cards keychain that I carry around with me all the time- it's hooked to my car/house/mailbox keys- that I got from a cache. Not sure why it caught my eye, but I've been carrying it around for six months now.

[+fly46]

The only times we've left money in a cache is when we've forgotten our SWAG bag, and there's something like a TB or GC that we wanna grab.

You don't need to trade for a tb or a gc... Well, unless the cache asks that you swap tb/coins for tb/coins, although most of us frown on that.

 

TBs/coins aren't trade items (Well, unless they're unactivated and then they're intended as trade items).... they're a category unto themselves.

[+Ladyhawke91]

In the few I have done, I have very much enjoyed the hunt. I guess I feel obligated to trade or at least leave something behind and money is easier than trinkets for me. Thanks for the replies and advice.

[[MTB]_Intrepid]

I always have something to put in the cache. It doesn't have to be anything of great value; we all have things around the house we no longer use or obtained for free. Obsolete electronics or film cameras, a radio that came free from the bank or a magazine subscription, a silly toy - they all add to the fun of finding a cache for the next person to come along. It's like a treasure hunt at a flea market. TNLNSL makes the game seem like filling out a tax return...just so much effort to complete a form. But for some the numbers are all that matters, and that's ok too.

[+tirediron]

I trade maybe 1/3 of the time... I've no children, so McToys don't do it for me.... if I see something I like, I trade for it, if the 'cache is really bare, I'll leave a few things, if not... TNLN!