beatrixkiddo Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I am wanting to place travel bugs in some of my caches. I am wanting to use my own items and just attatch a travel bug number to it. I know that I can buy travel bugs, but where can I purchase just the number because I dont want to have to pay for the actual item if i'm not going to use it anyway. Also, I don't want to pay for a "LOT" of numbers. I just want to purchase them individually. 1 Quote
jholly Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I am wanting to place travel bugs in some of my caches. I am wanting to use my own items and just attatch a travel bug number to it. I know that I can buy travel bugs, but where can I purchase just the number because I dont want to have to pay for the actual item if i'm not going to use it anyway. Also, I don't want to pay for a "LOT" of numbers. I just want to purchase them individually. From Groundspeak. You might find it cheaper to just buy the tags and use those numbers instead of getting the numbers only. 1 Quote
+t4e Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 (edited) you're not getting any item, you getting the dog tags with the tracking number and GC logo on them and you attach it to any item of your choice i doubt it you can just purchase number, but i may be wrong, the TB is a registered trademark of Groundspeak Edited May 14, 2010 by t4e Quote
+BlueDeuce Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I am wanting to place travel bugs in some of my caches. I am wanting to use my own items and just attach a travel bug number to it. I know that I can buy travel bugs, but where can I purchase just the number because I dont want to have to pay for the actual item if i'm not going to use it anyway. Also, I don't want to pay for a "LOT" of numbers. I just want to purchase them individually. I am not aware of any place to purchase just the number at a discount. Although I'd be happy to discuss the best ways to release a bug without an attached dogtag. I'll start by saying there is a risk in releasing a traveler that doesn't conform to what people expect to be a bug. Clear travel bug identification is important to keeping your TB in circulation. Quote
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Truth be known, you aren't purchasing dogtags. You are purchasing the number and the use of the facilities with which to track it by. The tags are merely what the number is recorded upon in order to deliver it to you (two of them, so that you have a copy should you need it). Nobody says that you have to use the tag(s) themselves. ...just a different perspective on TB numbers. Quote
BCProspectors Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I think you're a little confused here. My understanding is that you think a Travel Bug is a trinket purchased with a tracking number attached. That's incorrect. When you buy a Travel Bug it is merely a dog tag with a tracking number. You will be able to attach this tag to a trinket, which sounds like what you're trying to do. So you're not buying an item, you're buying something to attach to your own item. Quote
+BlueDeuce Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Truth be known, you aren't purchasing dogtags. You are purchasing the number and the use of the facilities with which to track it by. The tags are merely what the number is recorded upon in order to deliver it to you (two of them, so that you have a copy should you need it). Nobody says that you have to use the tag(s) themselves. ...just a different perspective on TB numbers. Well yeah...but getting away from a standard release sets up a whole new logistic and issues. People really need to give their bug the best chance to stay in circulation. Quote
beatrixkiddo Posted May 14, 2010 Author Posted May 14, 2010 I think you're a little confused here. My understanding is that you think a Travel Bug is a trinket purchased with a tracking number attached. That's incorrect. When you buy a Travel Bug it is merely a dog tag with a tracking number. You will be able to attach this tag to a trinket, which sounds like what you're trying to do. So you're not buying an item, you're buying something to attach to your own item. Right. I was just wondering if there was somewhere that you can just buy the number. Then they could just email it to you, instead of having to buy an actual item. Quote
+t4e Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Right. I was just wondering if there was somewhere that you can just buy the number. Then they could just email it to you, instead of having to buy an actual item. do you understand what a "trademark" is? than of course you can send an email to Groundspeak and ask them Quote
BCProspectors Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Right. I was just wondering if there was somewhere that you can just buy the number. Then they could just email it to you, instead of having to buy an actual item. There's no way to do that. Part of what makes a Travel Bug a Travel Bug is the Travel Bug logo. Without the logo, your item wouldn't be recognized as easily as a Travel Bug. Quote
+Eartha Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 This is Groundspeak's Coin Tracking Policy. You would have to buy a "lot" of numbers, and then you have to have design approval on each item you make, in order to use those numbers. You are better off buying just the tags, which is what people buy to attach to the hitchhikers they send out. Quote
+Team S and M Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I just saw a TB recently that was a scan or photocopy of the actual, metal TB, and then this was laminated with instructions on the back. I assume the actual TB just sits at home with all his friends. (This is the travel bug, if you're curious.) Quote
+Telecacher Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Is it ok to buy a TB, for the number, then just engrave the number on your item and send it on without the tag? Quote
+BlueDeuce Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 Is it ok to buy a TB, for the number, then just engrave the number on your item and send it on without the tag? Yes, that's fine. The main thing is you cannot release multiple bugs using the same tracking number. Only one at a time please. Quote
+Eartha Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 I just saw a TB recently that was a scan or photocopy of the actual, metal TB, and then this was laminated with instructions on the back. I assume the actual TB just sits at home with all his friends. (This is the travel bug, if you're curious.) That was probably one that was sent out, lost, the copy sent out, it got lost, so they made one. Many geocoin owners send out "proxy" coins, because they can't bear to part with the real thing, or the original went missing, and they made a copy, and then many cachers are disappointed not to see the real thing. Some go so far as to throw them out and this is just wrong. It's still a traveler. Others will make a very nice hard copy, not just a laminated tag, and people don't mind them AS much. The OP wants to just purchase a number, well, they'll still need to buy the tag, unless they want to buy a block of tracking numbers and go through design approval. People won't recognize their item as a TB without the tag, and it will probably go missing faster than a TB with a tag would. Especially if the item is kid friendly. Kids can grab things pretty quickly when Mom and Dad are distracted by a log book. Quote
+BlueDeuce Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 It's still a traveler. Others will make a very nice hard copy, not just a laminated tag, and people don't mind them AS much. I find people don't mind it at all. Bugs aren't about the tag or the traveler itself for that matter. Goal, Mission, fun is why bugs never have to die. Lose a coin and you've lost a pretty shiny cool looking thing. Ugly bugs live longer. Quote
+captnkirk17 Posted November 17, 2019 Posted November 17, 2019 (edited) You may not be able to buy the numbers, but we were able to win them back in 2017. The prize for the Mary Hyde contest a while back, was a tracking number that was emailed to you that you could use to turn anything into a trackable. The tracking codes had the prefix AR and the Mary Hyde logo and here is what I made: https://coord.info/TB8NG40 Edited November 17, 2019 by captnkirk17 Quote
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