How long is too long to hold onto a trackable?

[+duboisfamily]

My family and I recently hid our first cache, and placed our first few coins, and our first TB. The FTF not only took both FTF prizes, but took my Guitar Geocoin, and our first TB... Basically cleaned it out, leaving 2 items, not of equal trade!!! They logged the trackables over a month ago, and said they would move along soon, but I am still waiting??? What do you do in this case, msg them in a friendly way, asking them to drop them, or what???? I am very frustrated by this!!!

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the Travel Bug forum.

[+brainandbraun]

Well, just try to move along a.s.a.p. after all, this is a game.

[+Eartha]

Looks like they are new, and need some educating. First, you can send them a friendly email and ask if they have plans to drop the TBs soon. Also, ask them to please not post the tracking number for any TBs in public places. That is what the reference number on the TB page is for. I have edited their log to remove the tracking number, since it has been brought to people's attention here. Tracking numbers should be kept secret. Always keep your emails friendly, and few, you'll get more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. It looks like these cachers enjoy caching, but don't get out that often, as they have just 38 finds in nine months. Not everyone has the time to cache every day or every weekend, but does that mean they shouldn't enjoy moving TBs too? So, a friendly email is OK to send, just don't keep on sending messages so much so that they get perturbed by them. Wait for a reply. Patience is very important when it comes to having your trackables move. I've had some go missing for over a year, and still come back from the 'dead'. Anything can happen. We just have to remember that when it comes to cachers, we are dealing with humans, and no two humans are alike. We all have different lives, and those lives can get in the way of our geocaching sometimes.

Also, when it comes to trackable items, there is no need to trade anything for them, they are game pieces, not trade items.

Edited April 16, 2009 by Eartha

[+Max and 99]

I personally try to stick to the 2-week limit for keeping a TB UNLESS I have permission from the TB owner for a special trip I can take it on. If by chance I have the TB for longer than 2 weeks I always email the TB owner and apologize and let them know I will place the TB within a certain number of days. I try to be respectful of the 2 week guideline and move other cachers' TBs along quickly.

[+duboisfamily]

Looks like they are new, and need some educating. First, you can send them a friendly email and ask if they have plans to drop the TBs soon. Also, ask them to please not post the tracking number for any TBs in public places. That is what the reference number on the TB page is for. I have edited their log to remove the tracking number, since it has been brought to people's attention here. Tracking numbers should be kept secret. Always keep your emails friendly, and few, you'll get more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. It looks like these cachers enjoy caching, but don't get out that often, as they have just 38 finds in nine months. Not everyone has the time to cache every day or every weekend, but does that mean they shouldn't enjoy moving TBs too? So, a friendly email is OK to send, just don't keep on sending messages so much so that they get perturbed by them. Wait for a reply. Patience is very important when it comes to having your trackables move. I've had some go missing for over a year, and still come back from the 'dead'. Anything can happen. We just have to remember that when it comes to cachers, we are dealing with humans, and no two humans are alike. We all have different lives, and those lives can get in the way of our geocaching sometimes.

Also, when it comes to trackable items, there is no need to trade anything for them, they are game pieces, not trade items.

Thanks... I have yet to msg them, and am not worried too much, just annoyed that they cleaned me out in one swoop, as they also took the trackable from our second cache the next day. I do realize that they are game peices, and they don't require trade items, and only place trade items when I find one worth trading for... mostly just sign logbooks, and move trackables. Thanks for the response, I will just keep waiting for them to move along. Patience is a virtue

[+Pork King]

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and came across a TB that I had picked up over THREE YEARS prior. Boy, was my face red. I placed it in a cache as soon as I could. I'm sure the owner was as surprised to see it back in service

[+Eartha]

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and came across a TB that I had picked up over THREE YEARS prior. Boy, was my face red. I placed it in a cache as soon as I could. I'm sure the owner was as surprised to see it back in service

 

Sometimes the joy of a long lost TB coming back is even more fun than having one that moves 3 times in a week. I always enjoy a good log, but the surprise of getting that email that says your long lost trackable has moved, when you've given up on it... well, it's priceless! I'll bet they were stunned.

[+edscott]

I try to put them into the next suitable cache, so assuming that there is no special mission to fulfill it should be in a new cache within a couple weeks. My personal stat is 289 trackables found with a hold time average of 7.89 days.

[+BlueDeuce]

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and came across a TB that I had picked up over THREE YEARS prior. Boy, was my face red. I placed it in a cache as soon as I could. I'm sure the owner was as surprised to see it back in service

 

Sometimes the joy of a long lost TB coming back is even more fun than having one that moves 3 times in a week. I always enjoy a good log, but the surprise of getting that email that says your long lost trackable has moved, when you've given up on it... well, it's priceless! I'll bet they were stunned.

 

(Note to self. Hold Eartha's travel bugs for two years. She'll love it!)

 

[+Eartha]

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and came across a TB that I had picked up over THREE YEARS prior. Boy, was my face red. I placed it in a cache as soon as I could. I'm sure the owner was as surprised to see it back in service

 

Sometimes the joy of a long lost TB coming back is even more fun than having one that moves 3 times in a week. I always enjoy a good log, but the surprise of getting that email that says your long lost trackable has moved, when you've given up on it... well, it's priceless! I'll bet they were stunned.

 

(Note to self. Hold Eartha's travel bugs for two years. She'll love it!)

 

 

Hey, hey, hey!!!! Wait! That's not what I meant!!!

[+erik88l-r]

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and came across a TB that I had picked up over THREE YEARS prior. Boy, was my face red. I placed it in a cache as soon as I could. I'm sure the owner was as surprised to see it back in service

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that a similar thing happened to me. While cleaning out my backpack I found a TB that had fallen to the bottom under the space blanket, snake bite kit, and other stuff that's never used. It had been there for about 18 months. I sent an e-mail of apology to the owner and put it in a cache ASAP.

 

~erik~

[keldar]

similar question....

 

A cacher mentions in his/her log that they took "the geocoin", but then does not "retrieve" it from the cache page. Other cachers see the icon, but find no coin. Since I was the last to "place" the coin there, I feel like someone may question my claims of dropping it off. I've messaged the "taker" once, but that was several weeks ago. Still the coin shows in the cache inventory.

 

Any other suggestions?

[+Pork King]

similar question....

 

A cacher mentions in his/her log that they took "the geocoin", but then does not "retrieve" it from the cache page. Other cachers see the icon, but find no coin. Since I was the last to "place" the coin there, I feel like someone may question my claims of dropping it off. I've messaged the "taker" once, but that was several weeks ago. Still the coin shows in the cache inventory.

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Contact the CO of the cache it's marked as being in. If I'm not mistaken, They can click on the TB or Geocoin link on the cache page and "Mark the Bug Missing", so it won't appear in the cache anymore. When the taker (hopefully) drops it off, it will appear in the cache he/she dropped it in, providing they log it properly.

I'd wait a little while before doing this, though. It may be the cacher simply forgot to log the coin and will discover the error when he/she tries to log it a dropped somewhere.

[+Pork King]

Double Post... Darn button looked so good I pushed it twice.

Edited April 17, 2009 by Pork King

[+Mindless-Focus]

i try a stick to a 2 week policy when grabbing TB's. and if i cant get them out to a new cache in that time, then i will take it to a nearby TB hotel.

 

I do have a story about a long lost one tho. a few months ago i went to the site of my first ever find, which had been archived due to construction and theft, in hopes of doing a v2 of the cache. i went to the cache site and found everything intact minus the cache of course. it was previously tied to a tree and the rope was still there. so i was pulling up the rope that had been partially covered by dirt and found a familiar shape in the dirt. it was a somewhat mangled TB! i cleaned it up and hammered it straight and bought a new similar hitchhiker (original was missing) and let the owner know that i found it and then moved it along. that was a highlight of all my trackable experiences. just doing this felt like it was MY tb i was working on. it felt good. and if you are wondering, no, i wasnt able to put a v2 of the cache back in place. a new cache was just on the other side of the river and waaaay to close.

[keldar]

Contact the CO of the cache it's marked as being in. If I'm not mistaken, They can click on the TB or Geocoin link on the cache page and "Mark the Bug Missing", so it won't appear in the cache anymore. When the taker (hopefully) drops it off, it will appear in the cache he/she dropped it in, providing they log it properly.

I'd wait a little while before doing this, though. It may be the cacher simply forgot to log the coin and will discover the error when he/she tries to log it a dropped somewhere.

 

Good advice.

 

Thanks for the input.

[+PorscheSpyder]

I try to send the TB/geocoin on its way within the advised 2 week span. If you can't do that, you need to notify the owner that you intend to keep it longer than two weeks. Personally, I WOULD NOT recommend keeping it longer than 1 month. If you can't place it, pass it along to another geocacher who can .

[+ivanidea]

When I joined this site over 1 year ago, the profile page indicated if you were holding a GC / TB longer than 2 weeks.

 

That feature is no longer there, making it difficult to quickly identify which traveller needs moving on.

 

One of mine has been held by an active cacher for over six months, and he has not responded to a polite request by email.

[+ErikaJean]

My family and I recently hid our first cache, and placed our first few coins, and our first TB. The FTF not only took both FTF prizes, but took my Guitar Geocoin, and our first TB... Basically cleaned it out, leaving 2 items, not of equal trade!!! They logged the trackables over a month ago, and said they would move along soon, but I am still waiting??? What do you do in this case, msg them in a friendly way, asking them to drop them, or what???? I am very frustrated by this!!!

 

in this case, I rant on my blog....

 

"As you may know, I have recently started some trackable items. One item in particular has been in the hands of a cacher for over 30 days. I know life gets hectic, but I looked at this dudes profile and he HAS been caching since he picked it up. So I sent him a little reminder. I don't know how this e-mail comes off, and frankly, I don't care - but I want my coin to move ! Is there a "pre-made" letter anywhere to get this message across? I wish there was.. if there is, please tell me. I would also be interested to see how you would word "MOVE MY COIN YOU LAZY BUTT."

 

Well, Here is how I did it.

 

Hello,

 

I'm checking in on the status of my geocoin "Xxxxxx Xxx" (TBXXXXX). If you have forgotten to log a drop, please be sure to log it as soon as you can. If you still have it in possession, please be sure to place it in a cache soon. If for some reason you are unable to place this coin - pass it along to another cacher or please contact me so that we can figure out someway of getting it back out there :-)

 

This is my first geocoin and I'm excited to see where it ends up! Thank you for picking up my trackable coin to help it see the world.

 

Keep on Cachin',

ErikaJean

 

I totally stole that last line from podcacher ;-)

 

I think if someone has your trackable. You should be able to nudge them like you can on twitter - or poke them like on Facebook. The feature could be called a kick... you could kick a cacher ;-) "

[+The Blorenges]

 

I think if someone has your trackable. You should be able to nudge them like you can on twitter - or poke them like on Facebook. The feature could be called a kick... you could kick a cacher ;-) "

 

I think what you're waiting for is the Frogslap application...

 

 

MrsB

[+Trucker Lee]

I think what you're waiting for is the Frogslap application...

 

 

MrsB

I do believe we have added to the lexicon. In practice, it shall probably look like this.........

 

"Hey XXXXX. You have no been holding my Travel Bug for 2 years. How rude!! Get out and drop that little thing in a cache now. Consider yourself "FROGSLAPPED"