Missing trackables

[+Valeites]

Have visited several caches over the weekend; a number had trackables listed in the inventory.

 

BUt, in every case they were no longer there. What is the protocol for reporting / handling this?

[BOBBLES WORLD TOUR]

I would leave it for a week or two before you even think about the next step.

But if you are really keen then I would follow this protocol.

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=152

[+The Blorenges]

I would leave it for a week or two before you even think about the next step.

But if you are really keen then I would follow this protocol.

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=152

 

From that link above...

 

"If you are not the Trackable owner or cache owner and notice that a Trackable is not in a cache, you can use the Trackable's reference number to log a note to the Trackable listing telling the owner that the Trackable is not there. Or you can email the cache owner or the Trackable owner and point them to this Knowledge Book page. As a courtesy, it is nice to email the Trackable owner first. If neither player is responsive, notify contact@geocaching.com and we can usually remove it from the cache."

 

Just thought I'd mention that you don't need the trackable's reference number to put a note on the trackable's page to let the owner know that it's not in the cache.

 

As the owner of quite a few trackables, I really appreciate it when a cacher leaves a note to say "it's not in there" - the sooner I know that something has disappeared from somewhere then the sooner I can start investigating and sending out politely enquiring emails.

 

MrsB

[+Bear and Ragged]

On the basis it's been a nice weekend, cachers could be away for the weekend, and may not log their finds for a day or three...

 

Give it a while before you say the TB's are missing.

[+Shiggaddi]

The best idea is to look at when the trackables were placed in the cache. If it was only a few days ago, then it's not unreasonable to wait a few days for people to log their finds, especially if they're on holiday and with limited or no internet.

 

I was on holiday to London at the weekend, and bought a trackable to place into any decent sized caches (there are some around in amongst the nanos), and when I got back home the next day to log my finds, I found that the trackable had been grabbed from me before I could drop it off. It hadn't even been 24 hours.

[+MartyBartfast]

I found that the trackable had been grabbed from me before I could drop it off. It hadn't even been 24 hours.

 

Same thing happened to me, so I grabbed it back and logged it into the cache where I left it, then sent a mail to the rogue 'grabber' politely pointing out their mistake, informed them that they will have to 'retrieve' it from the cache and suggesting that they should wait a few days before grabbing a TB. They were relative newbies and thanked me for the advice.

[+Bear and Ragged]

I found that the trackable had been grabbed from me before I could drop it off. It hadn't even been 24 hours.

 

Same thing happened to me, so I grabbed it back and logged it into the cache where I left it, then sent a mail to the rogue 'grabber' politely pointing out their mistake, informed them that they will have to 'retrieve' it from the cache and suggesting that they should wait a few days before grabbing a TB. They were relative newbies and thanked me for the advice.

Some mobile phone apps will only 'Grab' a TB, there is no option to 'Retrieve'

Poor design/programming!

[+Original A1]

 

As the owner of quite a few trackables, I really appreciate it when a cacher leaves a note to say "it's not in there" - the sooner I know that something has disappeared from somewhere then the sooner I can start investigating and sending out politely enquiring emails.

 

MrsB

Me too. Alas, all too many prove not to have any trackables in them nowadays, so I tend to mention it, but it's still a bit annoying as I like to move them on.

[jri]

Bizarrely, over the last couple of days I've had one Portuguese geocacher discover THREE of my trackables. I say bizarrely, because they had all been missing, for several years, in different countries... Methinks someone is entering consecutive tracking codes into the system - needless to say I've deleted the logs...

[+PeakFault]

On a closely related note:

 

There is nothing more annoying than people 'grabbing' a TB before a cacher has had chance to log it properly.

 

Although I have always been able to log my finds instantly 'in the field' using a smartphone I am aware that there are many cachers who do not and have to wait until they are back at a computer in order to log everything.

 

Now as someone mentioned above people often cache on holiday, I live in a town that is a heavy tourist resort and so it's good to give people the opportunity to return home and log everything (could be a week or two)

 

For example just this week I found 2 caches in close proximity in an area popular with tourists. The TB I picked up in the 2nd cache was actually still showing in the 1st cache. So I just made a note in my log that said I have picked up the TB but will wait a while before "grabbing" it as potentially it could be a case of someone needing to get home to be able to log it properly.

 

There is no point being hasty in grabbing a TB. If you have it in your possesion you can afford to wait a short while to see if it is logged by someone else in the proper order first.

Edited April 14, 2012 by TheGoodNorth