8. Do I have to trade when I take a Trackable?
No, no, no, a thousand times no. Travel bugs and trackable geocoins, that have been set out to travel, are not trade items, you do not have to put something in the cache to take a Trackable item, and you should not take something from a cache in trade for a Trackable item. If you should take something from a cache, you should make a trade, and you can place/take the Trackable item.
I am new to this, so bear with me. I purchased 2 travel bugs and want to release them. Since I'm just starting out, I don't want to create my own cache just yet and thought I'd place my bug in someone else's cache. . . . But what you're saying seems to contradict itself. (1) You said trackables aren't trade items, so don't take something in place of leaving one. But (2) You said if you do take something, you can place a trackable item. Did you mean if you take something from a cache you should make a trade, and then place/take the trackable item? I just want to follow etiquette. Please clarify.