Mailing an active trackable

[+dorqie]

This is a hypothetical...

I know geocachers all over the world. If I find a tb that wants to go somewhere specific, and I know a cacher near that area, as a tb owner would you feel comfortable having someone mail your tb to another cacher?

Obviously the answers would be different depending on the owner, and if the situation where I might want to mail a tb ever arose I would contact the owner and ask for their blessing first.

Just curious how you would respond to such a proposal?

[+Bear and Ragged]

Depends...

[+Fianccetto]

It depends on which TB, where it was going to, which of us released it and when and how long it had been out in the wild. Also, how far it would still have to go when it arrived in its target country. The answer varies a lot and I have also changed my mind over time and these days am happier for that to happen, except if the coin is in a race of some sort.

[+Afterburned]

Now there is a good question...

Depends on what the TB is doing - if it is just a wanderer then yes, that would be good. If it had a specific mission then I would rather it travel a bit more naturally.

[+The Blorenges]

If it was my hypothetical TB and you contacted me to ask if you could post it, my answer would be, "No thanks very much. (But thanks for asking.)"

 

Why?

 

It's easy enough to find a cacher in another country, either through these forums, or through the World Release Register, so if I'd have wanted my TB to be mailed I could've done it myself. I prefer them to travel 'By Hand of Geocachers' only.

 

MrsB

[+Ambient_Skater]

Mailing is usually discouraged. I wouldn't mind it so much myself, if my TB completes its mission the first week it's out there, I can just go ahead and give it its new mission.

[+NeverSummer]

Mailing is usually discouraged. I wouldn't mind it so much myself, if my TB completes its mission the first week it's out there, I can just go ahead and give it its new mission.

I wouldn't say that at all. I'm not sure where you got this "usually discouraged" idea, but many cachers have done it. It's unfortunate that you base your opinion on a relatively short duration of geocaching, and few moves of trackables.

 

Really, it depends on the owner. I've had cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons. Others don't want you to. It's worth asking an owner of a TB if it is ok before doing so. The "popularity" of mailing TBs isn't really there. Most move naturally, others move hand-to-hand, and the post is one way for that to be an extension of someone's hand-to-hand exchange.

[+The Blorenges]

From the pinned topic above, written by this forum's Moderator, Eartha, "How to log a travel bug or geocoin".

 

"You cannot mail a TB without asking the owner first."

 

(Maybe "shouldn't" would be better than "cannot" )

 

MrsB

[+BlueDeuce]

Actually it should be never. Never snailmail a TB without owner permission.

[+NeverSummer]

Mailing is usually discouraged. I wouldn't mind it so much myself, if my TB completes its mission the first week it's out there, I can just go ahead and give it its new mission.

I wouldn't say that at all. I'm not sure where you got this "usually discouraged" idea, but many cachers have done it. It's unfortunate that you base your opinion on a relatively short duration of geocaching, and few moves of trackables.

 

Really, it depends on the owner. I've had cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons. Others don't want you to. It's worth asking an owner of a TB if it is ok before doing so. The "popularity" of mailing TBs isn't really there. Most move naturally, others move hand-to-hand, and the post is one way for that to be an extension of someone's hand-to-hand exchange.

To clarify, I mean, "I've had TB owner-cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons."

 

I have seen the guidelines and am very clear on TB travel. I would never sent via mail unless asked or if for some reason it is part of its mission.

[+Ambient_Skater]

...I'm not sure where you got this "usually discouraged" idea, but many cachers have done it. It's unfortunate that you base your opinion on a relatively short duration of geocaching, and few moves of trackables.

 

Really, it depends on the owner. I've had cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons. Others don't want you to. It's worth asking an owner of a TB if it is ok before doing so. The "popularity" of mailing TBs isn't really there. Most move naturally, others move hand-to-hand, and the post is one way for that to be an extension of someone's hand-to-hand exchange.

It's not "my opinion". Everyone knows there's nothing wrong with mailing a bug if the owner is OK with it, but most of the time the owner isn't. Of course, since I'm the one holding the bug, I can do pretty much anything with it and you can only hope in vain that the pitiful emails you dispatch to me will even remotely influence my decisions just a little bit. Just because I've only been geocaching for four years doesn't mean I don't know how things work.

[+NeverSummer]

...I'm not sure where you got this "usually discouraged" idea, but many cachers have done it. It's unfortunate that you base your opinion on a relatively short duration of geocaching, and few moves of trackables.

 

Really, it depends on the owner. I've had cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons. Others don't want you to. It's worth asking an owner of a TB if it is ok before doing so. The "popularity" of mailing TBs isn't really there. Most move naturally, others move hand-to-hand, and the post is one way for that to be an extension of someone's hand-to-hand exchange.

It's not "my opinion". Everyone knows there's nothing wrong with mailing a bug if the owner is OK with it, but most of the time the owner isn't. Of course, since I'm the one holding the bug, I can do pretty much anything with it and you can only hope in vain that the pitiful emails you dispatch to me will even remotely influence my decisions just a little bit. Just because I've only been geocaching for four years doesn't mean I don't know how things work.

So, I'm hoping that this doesn't mean that if you were holding one of my geocoins or TBs that you wouldn't honor my "pitiful" emails to return them to me via post?

 

Also, based on the OP, the idea here is that they want to see if the owner is ok with them mailing their TB to the location it "wants" to go to, with the TB owner's permission. In this case, it is hardly "usually discouraged". Owners of TBs can have an active TB mailed if they decide they want/need to. However, yes, in most cases outside of the OP scenario, we shouldn't be just mailing TBs all over the world. That's not the original intent of the TB, and defeats much of the purpose and fun of tracking their actual movement

 

Mostly, my response is about acting as a defacto expert in cases like this. Consider wording your responses in a constructive and kind way, instead of sarcasm, snark and the air of cockiness. There are many facets to geocaching--many nuances--that you (and I) may not grasp. Post in context of that truth.

[Munchi8175]

...I'm not sure where you got this "usually discouraged" idea, but many cachers have done it. It's unfortunate that you base your opinion on a relatively short duration of geocaching, and few moves of trackables.

 

Really, it depends on the owner. I've had cachers ask to have a TB mailed to another location for many reasons. Others don't want you to. It's worth asking an owner of a TB if it is ok before doing so. The "popularity" of mailing TBs isn't really there. Most move naturally, others move hand-to-hand, and the post is one way for that to be an extension of someone's hand-to-hand exchange.

It's not "my opinion". Everyone knows there's nothing wrong with mailing a bug if the owner is OK with it, but most of the time the owner isn't. Of course, since I'm the one holding the bug, I can do pretty much anything with it and you can only hope in vain that the pitiful emails you dispatch to me will even remotely influence my decisions just a little bit. Just because I've only been geocaching for four years doesn't mean I don't know how things work.

No offense, but if you think e-mails from the TB owner are "pitiful" I truly hope that none of my TBs lands in your possession. The fact that you are "holding the bug" does not make it yours nor give you the be-all-end-all authority to make decisions about its destiny. As the holder of the TB, you have been entrusted with a responsibility by the actual TB owner, and as such, you should respect the TB owner's wishes.

[+Ambient_Skater]

Everyone knows there's nothing wrong with mailing a bug if the owner is OK with it, but most of the time the owner isn't. Of course, since I'm the one holding the bug, I can do pretty much anything with it and you can only hope in vain that the pitiful emails you dispatch to me will even remotely influence my decisions just a little bit. Just because I've only been geocaching for four years doesn't mean I don't know how things work.

No offense, but if you think e-mails from the TB owner are "pitiful" I truly hope that none of my TBs lands in your possession. The fact that you are "holding the bug" does not make it yours nor give you the be-all-end-all authority to make decisions about its destiny. As the holder of the TB, you have been entrusted with a responsibility by the actual TB owner, and as such, you should respect the TB owner's wishes.

I didn't say emails from TB owners were automatically "pitiful". I was trying to emphasize that being the holder of a TB may not give me the authority to make decisions about its destiny, but I do get to choose which cache I put it in, and when I put it in it. That seems like a pretty important decision to me.