Inventories vs Reality

[hoosier guy]

I found a TB hotel while on vacation that had 27 trackables listed in the inventory and there were two TBs in the cache. Even allowing that people may be on vacation and not be near a computer that seems a big difference.

[+ngrrfan]

I found a TB hotel while on vacation that had 27 trackables listed in the inventory and there were two TBs in the cache. Even allowing that people may be on vacation and not be near a computer that seems a big difference.

So???

[+BlueDeuce]

So? That's a terrible thing to say. Bugs are just as much a part of our community as caches.

 

Let me go through the listing and see what I can figure out.

[+Eartha]

This can be a problem with some Bug Hotels. What happens when it's a well visited TB hotel, is that no one can keep track of what's what. As evidenced by just this one log alone on that cache from November of 2009:

After spending several days exploring the Grand Canyon, we stopped by this travel bug cache before heading back to Phoenix. Unfortunately, despite the lengthy inventory of travelers, most were missing and unaccounted for. I settled for a 2-for-1 exchange of geocoins. Thanks for the well hidden cache in a convenient location with endless tourists.

The cache owner doesn't mark them missing, the TB owner doesn't mark them missing, everyone keeps hoping that it will be logged, and they wait, and then.................they forget. Or, someone new who doesn't know how or what a TB is doesn't log it. Then nothing happens and the Trackables continue to pile up in a cache, enticing people to think it's stocked full, and yet, there are only two, or three, that are actually in the cache.

It's called maintenance, and education. Both have to happen. The game has gotten huge, and there is no control, it's not possible. Not without maintenance, and education. Teach your newbies well. Take care of your caches. One can't be a proper TB Hotel owner if one can't maintain one's own cache. Sell the hotel, get out of the business. Hospitality is not your vocation, if you can't keep on top of it.

Sometimes the cache was full of Trackables, and gets stolen, and then replaced, but the missing trackables never get marked missing. The cache owner, the Trackable owner, a local reviewer, Groundspeak, or myself can mark them missing, as long as it's verified that they are missing. Someone who's been to the cache should report them missing.

 

Tell your friends.

[hoosier guy]

This can be a problem with some Bug Hotels. What happens when it's a well visited TB hotel, is that no one can keep track of what's what. As evidenced by just this one log alone on that cache from November of 2009:

After spending several days exploring the Grand Canyon, we stopped by this travel bug cache before heading back to Phoenix. Unfortunately, despite the lengthy inventory of travelers, most were missing and unaccounted for. I settled for a 2-for-1 exchange of geocoins. Thanks for the well hidden cache in a convenient location with endless tourists.

 

Sounds like the cache I was just at. When I see a TB is not in a cache as listed I try to let the TB owner know so they have that much info anyway.

[hoosier guy]

I found a TB hotel while on vacation that had 27 trackables listed in the inventory and there were two TBs in the cache. Even allowing that people may be on vacation and not be near a computer that seems a big difference.

So???

 

Not much of a conversationist, eh?

[+Eartha]

This can be a problem with some Bug Hotels. What happens when it's a well visited TB hotel, is that no one can keep track of what's what. As evidenced by just this one log alone on that cache from November of 2009:

After spending several days exploring the Grand Canyon, we stopped by this travel bug cache before heading back to Phoenix. Unfortunately, despite the lengthy inventory of travelers, most were missing and unaccounted for. I settled for a 2-for-1 exchange of geocoins. Thanks for the well hidden cache in a convenient location with endless tourists.

 

Sounds like the cache I was just at. When I see a TB is not in a cache as listed I try to let the TB owner know so they have that much info anyway.

 

That post IS from the cache you were just at. I was answering your question, based on that cache.

[hoosier guy]

This can be a problem with some Bug Hotels. What happens when it's a well visited TB hotel, is that no one can keep track of what's what. As evidenced by just this one log alone on that cache from November of 2009:

After spending several days exploring the Grand Canyon, we stopped by this travel bug cache before heading back to Phoenix. Unfortunately, despite the lengthy inventory of travelers, most were missing and unaccounted for. I settled for a 2-for-1 exchange of geocoins. Thanks for the well hidden cache in a convenient location with endless tourists.

 

Sounds like the cache I was just at. When I see a TB is not in a cache as listed I try to let the TB owner know so they have that much info anyway.

 

That post IS from the cache you were just at. I was answering your question, based on that cache.

 

Ahh didn't reed your post close enough there LOL

[+ngrrfan]

My response was based on the assumption that the previous cacher(s) picked up the TBs and haven't had time to log them, AND how old your PQ is.

 

For example, this past Monday my partner and I went on a 600 mile road trip and got 25 caches out of a possible 107. Obviously it takes some time to plan a trip like this so the PQ was 2 days old. We didn't expect the inventories to match up, we weren't "treasure" hunting for TBs, we were out for the fun of the trip and the hunt. Anything over that is bonus.

 

That's why I said "So".

[+Mike & Jess]

As a cache owner, is there a way to correct the inventory of your cache?

One of my caches (since archived) had a TB that was not there (personally checked). It was showing in the inventory for a couple months.

[+BlueDeuce]

As a cache owner, is there a way to correct the inventory of your cache?

One of my caches (since archived) had a TB that was not there (personally checked). It was showing in the inventory for a couple months.

 

If the bug is in your cache access the bug page and over on the right is the mark as missing option. It will add a note for you.

 

[+Mike & Jess]

As a cache owner, is there a way to correct the inventory of your cache?

One of my caches (since archived) had a TB that was not there (personally checked). It was showing in the inventory for a couple months.

 

If the bug is in your cache access the bug page and over on the right is the mark as missing option. It will add a note for you.

 

 

Was this feature added within the last year (forgive my poor memory)?

I don't think that was available about this time last year when I had gone up to check on the cache.

I ultimately archived the cache last fall (many months after discovering the TB was not in my cache).

[hoosier guy]

My response was based on the assumption that the previous cacher(s) picked up the TBs and haven't had time to log them, AND how old your PQ is.

 

For example, this past Monday my partner and I went on a 600 mile road trip and got 25 caches out of a possible 107. Obviously it takes some time to plan a trip like this so the PQ was 2 days old. We didn't expect the inventories to match up, we weren't "treasure" hunting for TBs, we were out for the fun of the trip and the hunt. Anything over that is bonus.

 

That's why I said "So".

 

Wow that does sound like a fun trip. Take care.

[+BlueDeuce]

As a cache owner, is there a way to correct the inventory of your cache?

One of my caches (since archived) had a TB that was not there (personally checked). It was showing in the inventory for a couple months.

 

If the bug is in your cache access the bug page and over on the right is the mark as missing option. It will add a note for you.

 

 

Was this feature added within the last year (forgive my poor memory)?

I don't think that was available about this time last year when I had gone up to check on the cache.

I ultimately archived the cache last fall (many months after discovering the TB was not in my cache).

 

Been there for a couple years now.

[+Mike & Jess]

 

Been there for a couple years now.

 

Didn't notice it.

Amazing I can find a cache without an issue, but don't notice something like this.

[+Harry Dolphin]

While it would certainly be nice if cache owners and trackable owners would keep up with such maintenance, there is no requirement that they do so. Some of them have not been on line in years! (And thus, seem to have lost interest.) I find this especially disturbing with caches that have been muggled and replaced, but the trackables not moved to 'unknown location.' This leaves poor Eartha stuck with the task. Poor Eartha!

For example, Andy Bear, my sister and I recently took a geocaching/benchmarking trip from Charleston SC to Ft Augustine Fla, and back. I will admit that we should have paid more attention to the history of trackables in the cache before we left any... For that I am sorry.

Wesley's Walk has three missing TBs.

Johnson Rocks II has one missing one.

Massengale Park Boardwalk St. Simons Island has one missing one.

Growing Gators has four missing (and perhaps the one I dropped there!)

Star Struck Again has one.

FLORIDA GEOCAC BENCHMARK PROJECT appears to have seven missing.

GTM Reserve Cache has one missing

Highway 17 Travel Bug Hotel Disturbingly, this is a TB Hotel and has eight missing trackables!

Micro Park Micro has one missing

Not to mention the virtual cache with the virtual TB,

That's a lot of missing trackables! Cahe owners don't care (not even the TB Hotel owner), and the trackable onwers don't seem to care either.

[+power69]

That's a lot of missing trackables! Cahe owners don't care (not even the TB Hotel owner), and the trackable onwers don't seem to care either.

some of us care. none of my caches have travelers that have been languishing missing for months.

however there are a lot of caches in my area that have coins/bugs that have long been missing.

[+MorrisonHiker]

I went to Hawaii in May and took a list of over 50 caches that all should've had TBs or geocoins in them. After three days of caching, only ONE of the caches had a geocoin in it...and it was about the 16th or 17th cache we found. It's very disappointing when you're trying to do a bug trade and can't find any bugs to swap with. I left several geocoins without swapping...and many of those coins have since disappeared.