Meh, that's why it's a token of appreciation. If I were the guy, I'd be more offended by money than by some marketing trinket; sending me money implies they tho

Meh, that's why it's a token of appreciation. If I were the guy, I'd be more offended by money than by some marketing trinket; sending me money implies they thought my involvement was worth that amount of money, and it's unlikely they would send enough to correspond to a reasonable hourly rate. Sending a trinket with no monetary value makes no such implication; it's purely a social gesture, not an economic one. On the other hand, if some company wants to thank me for something in the future with something more than tradeshow swag, I would not turn down a nice bottle of whisk[e]y, just sayin'.