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How Long, is To Long, To Hold onto a TRACKABLE


little-leggs

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two of my trackables our still in the hands of the first two cachers to pick them out of a cache ... one was lifted on the 5th November (but not logged until two days later) ... the other lifted on the 4th November ...2010 .. no e-mail had been received off either cacher .. so as per GS rules ,I e-mailed them (after four weeks of no movement) e-mails returned saying .. trackables both safe ...? now its coming up to EIGHT weeks with out any movement ... WHAT NEXT ?

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I don't even begin to worry about contacting a cacher for a good 3 months. Then I'll send them a polite reminder. After another three months I'll send them another polite note offering assistance to get it back out, or pay for postage to send it back to me, or if they lost it that's okay just let me know so I can re-release it.

 

After a year I pull it back and re-release it as a new bug.

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just makes me sad .. we all love logging in to see if our bug / coin have moved ... but they can't if there in someones pocket ....I do now there safe as both holders have let me now they still have them .. but that was before christmas ... and they haven't clocked up and mileage . to talk of...one has 0 mileage ... and there missions ant hard ones either ..

 

one has a mission to be placed in the next nearest cache .. the other has requested it hoppes between two countys ..dorset and somerset ..only ..?

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just makes me sad .. we all love logging in to see if our bug / coin have moved ... but they can't if there in someones pocket ....I do now there safe as both holders have let me now they still have them .. but that was before christmas ... and they haven't clocked up and mileage . to talk of...one has 0 mileage ... and there missions ant hard ones either ..

 

one has a mission to be placed in the next nearest cache .. the other has requested it hoppes between two countys ..dorset and somerset ..only ..?

 

I had a look at your trackables...

 

All I can say is the cacher who retrieved the snail has been around for many years but their profile shows their location as Somerset and Cornwall so maybe they collected it then went back to Cornwall and realised that Slymon needs to be back near to where they found him. The cacher who picked up the Air Ambulance one hasn't been out caching again since 5th November soooo... Considering that we've had Snow and Christmas and New Year over the last few weeks I'd say you just need to be patient. Many cachers don't cache ever week, or even every month, and many don't realise that there's a vague suggestion on the Groundspeak site that says trackables should be moved along within a couple of weeks.

 

At least they both replied to your emails to say that your trackables are safe - I think that's a plus. :)

 

MrsB

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It sucks to put out trackables, and watch them be picked up and sat on by the first cacher that grabs them. I have had that happen a few times myself.

 

I am not sure about the area you are in, but here, November is generally when the snow starts here. Some cachers hibernate during this time of the year. If that is the case, they should have left them there and marked them as discovered.

Anything is possible when your trackables are out in the wild.

 

I know myself, I had picked up a number of trackables on a road trip one weekend, then had my GPS damaged. It took me almost a month to go out (by memory) and spread the trackables over my caches to get them back out.

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its all good its only a game ... each time i log in i check to see if they have moved ..and to see if the holders have been out caching ..?

 

and i am glad (well NOT ) that others have the same type of problems .. Groundspeak as given us all guild line..?

 

its just frustration to not see movement ... seems more so than the loss off our first trackable that vanished .. in Bangkok, Thailand ... cachers out there were very quick to tell me to mark it as missing to remove it from the inventory ..(it was worthless) so cant see that if would go in to a collection ...

 

this is far from all the inventory in the uk that show trackables .. that haven't been there for years

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It is very frustrating, I agree. Just to add, another reason why TB's don't get moved on is that they are too big to fit into many caches. Some fair-weather cachers I know held onto a TB for over a year, because while they did find the occasional cache, it was never big enough to fit the TB into. This leads onto another problem, that of cache sizing. One CO's "regular" is another CO's "small".

 

One of my jobs for the weekend is to politely email everyone who's holding one of my trackables.

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there is a simple answer to the problem of not being able to fit a trackable in a cache ... it called " visiting " do this when logging your entry and you can add would not fit ? ..this way the bug owner would see their bug move / clock up miles etc .. until such times as they find a cache big enough to fit it in ..or aid it on its mission ... ( the other way is to say , if your not prepared to log the movements of a trackable don't pick it up ) a nice help would also be for the cachers that aren't interested in trackables .. due to the logging etc .. would be to mention any resident trackables that they have seen in their (found log entry's) ..

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We had a travel bug disappear from April 2005 to May 2009. Now it's gone again, but if it showed up again last time after 4 years, we've still got a ways to go before this time it is really overdue. Relax, and as many have said, don't get emotionally invested. It's a GAME and it is supposed to be FUN!

 

That said, I think now that I have the iPhone and its increased capability, I'll probably make a note of all TBs in any cache I frequent, even if I don't take them myself. It only take a minute and then I can quickly reassure someone whose bug might just be languishing that it is still extant!

 

And those of you who "own" caches -- when you do maintenance, why not log any trackables that are in there? At least periodically, the bugs will show up on the radar here.

 

Simple courtesy.

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How Long, is To Long, To Hold onto a TRACKABLE?

I'm not sure... ask the guy who's been holding my 'Dunk' Bug since March........

 

You too? Mine was picked up from it's original cache in March, 2 ignored emails and 10 months later they finally placed it in a cache 2 days ago. Course the placed it in a TB jail after all that! Grrr

 

Guess I'm happy as 1 other TB just went missing from its first cache and I have had no word of it since!

Edited by KI4HLW
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I would like nothing more than to see my TB's being held for no more than two weeks. Unfortunately, this is not going to happen so checking the TB page looking for updates is just unreasonable and only going to lead to disappointment and frustration.

 

I tend to think that Trackables are a game for people with LOTS of patience. When I launch a TB it usually takes at least 6 months for the TB page to display anything of interest (if it even survives the first 6 months).

 

My advice would be to launch like 5 of them and then ignore them. After a number of months, check out the TB page and thats when you'll start to reap some reward from having them.

 

For example, I got this TB: Bent Nose Garden Valve. It's about 8 months old, but this is still infant stage. If the TB was a sea turtle, it would just now be taking it's first step towards the ocean. Assuming it survives (fingers crossed), in 2030, the TB page is going to be incredible. ;)

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caching in the UK with Little People ... it puts a different angle on things ... the hole point of putting trackables out is to watch their progress ... and to give the little one some thing to find .... they find them .. read out the numbers as I type them in just to see how far its been ..... this leads back to the beginning .. the question that was the start of this thread How Long, is To Long, To Hold onto a TRACKABLES ... if you aren't going to log and move OUR trackables ... leave them for some one that will ...

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its all good its only a game ... each time i log in i check to see if they have moved ..and to see if the holders have been out caching ..?

 

Ah. The problem is that your expectations are too high. Yes. I was that way when I started. Now my philosophy is: Oh, well.

They're definitely fun to watch. I get e-mail whenever they've moved. I don't need to sign on.

Of my 44, I've managed to lose 6. (Don't ask!) 18 are in 'unknown' location. 2 have been held since 2006. Not expecting to see them move again. 13 have moved since last July. Two are still in my caches where I put them. (Hmm... One of those was March of 2008!)

Got six new geocoins for Christmas. Two we are going to use for personal geocoins. (Will fit nicely on the keychain.) The rest, we'll see how far they get.

Don't set your expectations too high, but remember to have fun.

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I think you could be happy. At least you know where your TB's are. Some day they will travel further or otherwise you can ask them too.

We had TB's which should be still in the cache but aren't anymore. Gone...... Tja and then it will not move, but worse .....you don't know where they are.

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Okay...I'm finally gonna step out of 'lurking' mode and post on a topic. Found my 1st Travel Bug today (in my 3rd cache---yeah, I'm a rookie!) So, my question for those of you who are watching your bugs move about...I will be out finding caches this weekend (hopefully!) and could move this bug to one of those (in Washington state where this guy has been for awhile) or in 3 weeks, I will be on vacation in Utah, and looking for caches there I could place him in. If I owned this bug, I would want it moved out-of-state. Take the little fella on an adventure! What do you all think? Should I email the owner to hold for 3 weeks, place in state this weekend, or just hold on to it and move it in 3 weeks? I want to do the right thing!

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Okay...I'm finally gonna step out of 'lurking' mode and post on a topic. Found my 1st Travel Bug today (in my 3rd cache---yeah, I'm a rookie!) So, my question for those of you who are watching your bugs move about...I will be out finding caches this weekend (hopefully!) and could move this bug to one of those (in Washington state where this guy has been for awhile) or in 3 weeks, I will be on vacation in Utah, and looking for caches there I could place him in. If I owned this bug, I would want it moved out-of-state. Take the little fella on an adventure! What do you all think? Should I email the owner to hold for 3 weeks, place in state this weekend, or just hold on to it and move it in 3 weeks? I want to do the right thing!

 

You are doing just fine. Try to assist the bug towards its goal as best you can. If you want to hold on to it for longer than three weeks, like to take it on a trip, let the owner know. Most will be cool with it as long as they know their bug hasn't been forgotten.

 

Happy Caching!

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Okay...I'm finally gonna step out of 'lurking' mode and post on a topic. Found my 1st Travel Bug today (in my 3rd cache---yeah, I'm a rookie!) So, my question for those of you who are watching your bugs move about...I will be out finding caches this weekend (hopefully!) and could move this bug to one of those (in Washington state where this guy has been for awhile) or in 3 weeks, I will be on vacation in Utah, and looking for caches there I could place him in. If I owned this bug, I would want it moved out-of-state. Take the little fella on an adventure! What do you all think? Should I email the owner to hold for 3 weeks, place in state this weekend, or just hold on to it and move it in 3 weeks? I want to do the right thing!

 

Email and ask over 2 weeks is my rule, but most owners would be happy to just know it is safe and let you keep him a bit longer for a long trip.

 

I just picked up a very old (almost 10 years old) TB that was an astronaut figurine, even though his mission was just to move around I live close enough to Kennedy Space Center that it is an easy day trip, and I have an annual pass, so after realizing it has never been to KSC I emailed and asked if he minded if I waited a few weeks and brought him to dip in the only virtual on the grounds. He LOVED the idea and can't wait for me to send him pictures of his bug at NASA.

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Okay...I'm finally gonna step out of 'lurking' mode and post on a topic. Found my 1st Travel Bug today (in my 3rd cache---yeah, I'm a rookie!) So, my question for those of you who are watching your bugs move about...I will be out finding caches this weekend (hopefully!) and could move this bug to one of those (in Washington state where this guy has been for awhile) or in 3 weeks, I will be on vacation in Utah, and looking for caches there I could place him in. If I owned this bug, I would want it moved out-of-state. Take the little fella on an adventure! What do you all think? Should I email the owner to hold for 3 weeks, place in state this weekend, or just hold on to it and move it in 3 weeks? I want to do the right thing!

 

As a TB owner, personally, I would be fine with you holding my bug for 3 weeks without sending me any email about it. In fact, I'd be fine with you having it a month without emailing me. More than a month and it's nice to have a note posted on the TB's page to say what your intentions are for it: You could post a note to say that you're hoping to place it in Utah (with the approx date).

 

Different owners have different degrees of anxiety about their travellers. :)

 

Have a good trip.

 

MrsB

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