SWAG 101
Sometimes you find really cool stuff or really stupid stuff placed in Geocaches. When you find a cache with items for trade, you can take something and leave something. Always try to leave something as good as or better than the item you take. You can leave something without taking but never take without leaving or soon the cache will be empty. There are some really good ideas for swag and some really bad ones. Let’s look at the bad ideas first.
Never place these items in a cache, EVER:
Food may seem like a good idea sometimes but the creatures and critters have better noses than we do. They will find it first and the cache can be destroyed or hauled off to an animal den.
Nothing dangerous like knives, guns, needles, etc. for obvious reasons.
No drugs of any kind. It just isn’t a good idea.
Nothing illegal of course!
Nothing that could be deemed for adults only.
You never know who or how old the next cacher will be.
Lighters, matches, or fuel. Again, do you want a 10-year-old with matches in the woods near your house?
These aren’t banned but not preferred either:
Junk that no one wants, like parts off of other things.
Broken toys.
Stuff picked up on the trail on the way to the cache, like rocks or rabbit poop.
Trash of any kind.
Dirty items because they get everything else in the cache dirty.
Flyers, business cards, religious material etc. It’s just not the place for it and it leaves a bad impression on those who find it.
Coupons are iffy… unless it is for a local business (not yours)
Some great ideas for swag:
Foreign Coins
Erasers
Matchbox Cars
Neat Cookie Cutters
New Pens or Pencils
Flashlights
Mini Tools
Small Camping Gear
Books
Novelty Items
Costume Jewelry
Ornaments
Office Supplies
Small or Miniature Decorations
Collectibles
Gift Certificates or Coupons for Local Businesses
Dog toys for those who bring their best friend with them!
The main thing is to think about is who will be the next cacher when you are picking out your swag to trade. The various dollar stores have some neat stuff and some junk so pick according to what you or your kids would want to find. Another great place to look is a goodwill or a thrift store. The hunt for great swag to trade can be just as much fun as the hunt for a swag-filled cache. Some people don’t include swag in their caches even when there is plenty of room, some reasons I heard for not adding swag is that it gets expensive, people don’t leave stuff when they take things, if it gets wet it could ruin the cache or it could become garbage if the cache gets broken or muggled. All valid reasons but the very first cache had swag and I feel every cache big enough for swag should have it, we all know the feeling we get when we find a cache with something cool in it and the kids love it!!
I always try to include even the smallest of items in my caches. I don’t typically do trades but if I see something cool in a cache, I trade. I do however drop my calling card chip in as a tradeable.
Another no no is scented candles or lotions – basically anything scented. Those pesky animals have a far better sense of smell than we do and will find that stuff.
We don’t trade much but always have a few goodies in our pockets or packs to leave, especially if a cache is depleted or empty.
My wife (Mrs D) and I try to think of the kids when we leave swag. For me the “thrill of the find” is usually enough, but to make it a family fun hobby the kids have to enjoy the find (otherwise they quickly loose interest). So dollar store items are a part of my cache bag. I trade pins when I can, so I like seeing pins – go to your town/city/business and they will usually give some to you for free. Just my addition to the post.
Pins are definitely great trade items. I’ve picked up a few here and there.
I’ve tried to do something different from the regular dollar store stuff. I had shipped to a relative in the U.S. vending machine trinkets-fortune fish and small (1.5 inch) wire puzzles-about 450 in all for less than 20 bucks. The fit in almost any size cache. You may have seen some in caches around Fredericton, or in my own personal caches I have placed.
Mr. CD collects lapel pins, so we always have a few traders of those in our pocket. We have our own “geocaching button” we often leave, and especially if we are out with our granddaughters we always carry a few things to trade. Other than that, we rarely trade anymore, but I do agree, it is nice to find a regular cache now and then, not always a micro. Plus, in a regular you don’t have to deal with fitting the log sheet into a tiny, tiny zip lock.
I do not do a lot of trading from caches that I find but I do carry some swag with me in case I find something I fancy. I normally carry a few dollar store trinkets and I have a pretty good supply of old collectible military buttons, badges and insignia as well as a small supply of lapel pins. For the caches I put out, I normally leave an ample supply of dolar store swag for the kids in the game and a couple of items that I think will interest the adults like lapel pins, coffee coins and CT money (everyone loves CT money right..!!).
I have seen some of forestfauna’s swag (the puzzles) and they are pretty cool.
I always carry a few really good items for when I take something. I also have a lot of smaller things to add if I feel like it or if some things are damaged or rusted/moldy. I haven’t done many caches but so far it seems like there are a lot of dollar store items floating around and I try to bring something different.
Looking forward to setting up my own cache.
If I can make one suggestion on that Jasper, it’s to hold off a bit before putting out your own caches. A lot of new cachers get excited about the sport and want to start hiding, but there’s something to be said about waiting until you’ve found a good chunk of caches.
For a good read about doing your first hide, check out our article on the topic.
https://www.cacheupnb.com/resources/test-2/your-very-first-hide
I also posted stuff about hiding techniques
https://www.cacheupnb.com/archives/614