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Where have all the TBs gone?


ArpendenOrn

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When I first started caching a couple of years ago, (mainly in the south east of England,) it seemed as if every other cache had a TB in. However it seems like ages since I last saw one. Is it me or have all the TBs gone missing? :(

It's hard to say. I think that there is, in fact, less interest in TBs these days. But there are also lots more caches than there used to be, it could be just that the odds of finding a TB in any given cache are much lower even though there are as many or more TBs in circulation.

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Are the Intro App users creating havoc with TB's? :unsure:

 

Or is that a topic for another thread? :huh:

 

I'm a newbie and use my cellphone with the c.geo app. It's gotten me very interested in Geocaching to say the least! I'm also really interested in TB's and dropped one off that I found a week ago in another cache today. I took care in finding a cache that I felt was safe and dry to give the TB a shot at being moved on again by the next person that finds it. I'll be buying some of my own before too long and trying my luck with them. So not ALL newbies with a free app are disrespectful of the game/sport/hobby - whatever you choose to call it. I also plan on becoming a premium member to support this site!

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When I first started caching a couple of years ago, (mainly in the south east of England,) it seemed as if every other cache had a TB in. However it seems like ages since I last saw one. Is it me or have all the TBs gone missing? :(

 

Arpendenorn

 

From my experience in the Seattle/Olympia area I seem to be finding about as many trackables as I have throughout our 12 years of caching.

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Depends on where you cache. If it is mainly in urban areas, where the cache containers are small, micro, and nano, the containers are simply too small to place a travel bug in. I find travel bugs more in rural areas, where the containers tend to be larger. Also, I find more travel bugs in popular tourist areas, where people will drop them off while on vacation. You can also look for 'travel bug hotels' where many travel bugs can be found. Usually the 'hotels' are large enough, and well hidden enough, to hold multiple bugs.

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Today I was handed two large zip sealed plastic bags containing 50 TB's a piece (give or take). Apparently 9 large boxes (used to hold reams of letter sized copy paper) were dropped off at Groundspeak (Geocaching HQ) awhile back. It was decided by others to distribute these in bags to geocachers who can move these out of the area. This will prevent them from disappearing again locally.

 

From what I have been told there are hundreds and hundreds of Travel Bugs, geocoins and whatever else kind of trackable there is out there.

 

So you may get an email indicating a long lost trackable has reappeared.

 

From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

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From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

 

Why? I still purchase and release TBs and geocoins.

 

That was my personal opinion.

Those boxes have thousands of dollars in them, essentially stolen.

I used to buy, create and move them all the time, I am no longer inclined to do so because episodes like this.

I created them to move along not be part of someone psychosis or collection.

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Today I was handed two large zip sealed plastic bags containing 50 TB's a piece (give or take). Apparently 9 large boxes (used to hold reams of letter sized copy paper) were dropped off at Groundspeak (Geocaching HQ) awhile back. It was decided by others to distribute these in bags to geocachers who can move these out of the area. This will prevent them from disappearing again locally.

 

From what I have been told there are hundreds and hundreds of Travel Bugs, geocoins and whatever else kind of trackable there is out there.

 

So you may get an email indicating a long lost trackable has reappeared.

 

From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

 

Where did they come from in the first place? If they were stolen - how did they wind up back at Groundspeak? I'm new here, interested in TB's and just trying to understand...

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Today I was handed two large zip sealed plastic bags containing 50 TB's a piece (give or take). Apparently 9 large boxes (used to hold reams of letter sized copy paper) were dropped off at Groundspeak (Geocaching HQ) awhile back. It was decided by others to distribute these in bags to geocachers who can move these out of the area. This will prevent them from disappearing again locally.

 

From what I have been told there are hundreds and hundreds of Travel Bugs, geocoins and whatever else kind of trackable there is out there.

 

So you may get an email indicating a long lost trackable has reappeared.

 

From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

 

Where did they come from in the first place? If they were stolen - how did they wind up back at Groundspeak? I'm new here, interested in TB's and just trying to understand...

There are some people who scoop up all TBs within striking distance - to the point where they have thousands of them and it takes them years to log them all. When they finally get a bunch logged, they tend to then release them en masse - perhaps that's where these nine boxes came from. Disappointing that someone would do this in the first place, but it's great to hear that a big bunch has been set free!

 

To the OP: It seems like I don't see as many TBs as I used to. I know the caches that I frequent now tend to be more remote than the caches I hit at the beginning, and that may well account for the difference.

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To the OP: It seems like I don't see as many TBs as I used to. I know the caches that I frequent now tend to be more remote than the caches I hit at the beginning, and that may well account for the difference.

Agreed.

I've also noticed that the few remote caches that list a trackable tend to actually have it inside.

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Today I was handed two large zip sealed plastic bags containing 50 TB's a piece (give or take). Apparently 9 large boxes (used to hold reams of letter sized copy paper) were dropped off at Groundspeak (Geocaching HQ) awhile back. It was decided by others to distribute these in bags to geocachers who can move these out of the area. This will prevent them from disappearing again locally.

 

From what I have been told there are hundreds and hundreds of Travel Bugs, geocoins and whatever else kind of trackable there is out there.

 

So you may get an email indicating a long lost trackable has reappeared.

 

From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

 

Where did they come from in the first place? If they were stolen - how did they wind up back at Groundspeak? I'm new here, interested in TB's and just trying to understand...

There was a thread on this, but most was deleted (vaporized really) as a feel-good-about-the-whole-thing that we just got 'em back.

Somewhere here in the forums is a thread asking if anyone else is a Furry, another a Bronie.

Given this is a world-wide hobby/game, it's probably not a stretch that hoarding hello kitty trackables may be more common than we'd like to believe.

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I'm not sure if anyone from HQ is reading this post but I think a TB circulation day is needed. On this day, Groundspeak offers a souvenir to people who place a TB in a cache. Perhaps not a new TB but one that has been sitting around for a while. I think that sometimes people who are new to caching pick up a TB and then never move it along because they haven't gone caching again. Also, some TB's are too big to fit in just any cache and require an ammo can or other big container. Finally, it seems that people forget to log so the TB's look like they are missing. If there was an incentive to get that TB and drop it off, I am wondering if that would answer the question of where have all the TB's gone.

 

BTW - I have 40 or more in circulation and another 10 tags ready to go. I've noticed that the ones circulating in Europe move a lot faster than the ones in the U.S. The two week suggested holding period is rarely observed. I prefer to think that people are not holding on to TB's as a "prize" but fail to move due to forgetfulness or neglect or apathy.

 

That's my 2 cents on TB's,

cmerun

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I'm not sure if anyone from HQ is reading this post but I think a TB circulation day is needed. On this day, Groundspeak offers a souvenir to people who place a TB in a cache. Perhaps not a new TB but one that has been sitting around for a while. I think that sometimes people who are new to caching pick up a TB and then never move it along because they haven't gone caching again. Also, some TB's are too big to fit in just any cache and require an ammo can or other big container. Finally, it seems that people forget to log so the TB's look like they are missing. If there was an incentive to get that TB and drop it off, I am wondering if that would answer the question of where have all the TB's gone.

Moun10Bike was listening on this thread over in the Geocaching.com Website forum.

 

I just suggested in that thread some way to motivate folks to move TBs and geocoins that isn't apart from what you mention here.

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From an activity stance, Groundspeak should stop making TB's but from a business stance, that's money in their pocket.

 

Why? I still purchase and release TBs and geocoins.

 

That was my personal opinion.

Those boxes have thousands of dollars in them, essentially stolen.

I used to buy, create and move them all the time, I am no longer inclined to do so because episodes like this.

I created them to move along not be part of someone psychosis or collection.

 

You did not explain why I should no longer be able to purchase TBs just because you have lost interest in purchasing and releasing them. At least one of mine was among the TBs released in recent months at Groundspeak HQ. I am thrilled with the travels of many of my trackables. While I wish they did not go missing, that is little reason to ask them to not be sold anymore.

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I don't think I have one in that 'lot' at HQ, but I am glad to hear that a bunch of them are getting back in circulation.

 

I still release/move/discover trackables, just as I have all along and I love them.

 

I also sweep through my numbers periodically (about once a year) and re-release anything that is a goner. Reminds me it is time to do that again.

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The missing TB's are driving me crazy. I'm looking to pick up any TB I can for a trip to Mexico so I can put some miles on them. I have only found 1 TB in 15 caches that have TB's in them. There was even one that wanted to visit a Mexican beach, too bad I can't take it with me.

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We love moving TB's. We grab all we can before our many caching trips and drop them all while travelling and we also pick up all we can during our trips and bring them back home to drop in local caches. We have received thank you emails from TB owners. We have also received nasty emails from TB Hotel owners when we emptied their caches.

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When I first started caching a couple of years ago, (mainly in the south east of England,) it seemed as if every other cache had a TB in. However it seems like ages since I last saw one. Is it me or have all the TBs gone missing? :(

 

Arpendenorn

 

TBs used to be fun, things to pick up and move around and then track if you were so inclined.

 

Now so many caches are too small to take a TB so if you pick one up there's a good chance you'll be hanging onto it for ages. Then there's the way the web site has no way of tagging a TB as missing unless you're the owner, so you end up with bugs listed in caches only to find they aren't actually there. Unless the bug owner or the cache owner does something that situation can persist for years before it gets resolved.

 

Also, TBs just go missing. I think I've released six of them and only one or two made a journey worthy of the name before disappearing. One made one move before it disappeared, one made two or three moves and vanished. I'm very open about my viewpoint that unless you're willing to regard releasing a TB in the same sense of folding a £10 note into a paper plane and launching it from a tall building just to see where it ends up you shouldn't release it at all, but frankly these days I'm just not interested in doing that any more.

 

If I had to pick the major reasons I'd say it's the way so many caches are micros, which shuts out the TB game since they don't fit into film pots and keysafes.

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I would say that I find one TB for every 5 I go after. I’m sure that some end up in someone’s desk covered in junk; but the rest are put in our Cache bags and sit until we can go home and log them on our computers. I find it incredibly frustrating trying to find how to log a pick up or drop off of a TB when out in the field. I think more would be logged if the option was right next to the "found it" Button on our apps. but instead I have to bring them home and most times my fun is over for the day and the real world is in full force... So there they sit inside my bag for days before I can take a moment to sit down at my computer and log them properly.

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So there they sit inside my bag for days before I can take a moment to sit down at my computer and log them properly.

Sorry, but the above quote just beckons a response...

 

I don't use a phone for caching, so the "instant gratification" aspect of not being able to log a trackable in the field has no bearing to me or on me. But to a "T", I don't wait for days to log a trackable. If I pick it up (or drop it off), it gets logged as soon as I can either get home or get my laptop into WiFi range if traveling. Waiting days to log can only assist in getting one or more lost, either by forgetting to log it altogether or forgetting that you have it -- or how many you actually have stuffed into your bag.

 

True, I don't screech the tires to get home, but once I am at one of my computers the logging is done... no matter how tired I am.

 

I feel that "waiting to log" a trackable may well be one of the primary reasons this thread was even started.

Days = good chance of forgetting.

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Every trip I have been on, I have gathered up several TB to take with me to drop there only to have every regular or small cache I find within range of where I am staying is actually a small or a micro.

 

I scramble before my flight out to fine ONE TB hotel that can take these TB.. only to have them idle there or go missing totally.

 

That is really the problem.. too many micros!

 

Add to tha, TB hotels are thief targets.

 

We try, but I do feel bad if I cause someone to lose their TB because of where I placed it.

 

I have a couple of my TB in Europe. They sure do move a lot more over there.. damned if I can understand the logs though! :)

 

Shaun

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Is there still a great number of trackables at Headquarters? Is it worth making a trip to Seattle to pick up a few dozen?

 

Ditto - I'm in Florida and would love to farm out some here. :anicute: I found a beautiful Blue Crab Geocoin in a geocache at Neptune Beach, Florida recently. I have about 50 hitchhikers (fun items,etc.)that would be so fun to send out. But first I have to purchase the TBs... LOL :laughing:

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Is there still a great number of trackables at Headquarters? Is it worth making a trip to Seattle to pick up a few dozen?

 

Ditto - I'm in Florida and would love to farm out some here. :anicute: I found a beautiful Blue Crab Geocoin in a geocache at Neptune Beach, Florida recently. I have about 50 hitchhikers (fun items,etc.)that would be so fun to send out. But first I have to purchase the TBs... LOL :laughing:

 

I would love to have a bunch of them. I would pay for postage to get them here

 

PAul

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I sent an email to Groundspeak, asking how cachers could help get these TBs circulating. In the meantime, I'm going to guess that doing so would be somewhat like doing the cache at HQ, which requires 48 hour notice. I'll let you know what they say.

Don't mail, or attach anything to, a TB without asking the owner first and if they don't reply, leave it as is, do not alter or mail.

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A traveler-loving cacher from Texas who would love to help out with the HQ bugs here! I, too, would be happy to pay the postage to get a small box of them down here to distribute. :)

 

Yes, there are some frustrating aspects to travlers: going to a cache where one is supposed to be to find that it's long gone (mitigate this by reading the last few logs); putting out travelers that soon disappear; having travelers in hand only to encounter micro after micro, or, worse yet, caches listed as "small" (a size which should be able to hold a small bug) only to find a tiny key hider or a soda tube (which can't even accomodate a signature coin). But, I still think it's worth it. I love to move them around and I love to put out my own. I put out Cachekins, coins, and engraved proxies for fancier coins. Put out enough, don't get emotionally attached to them, and it can be fun to follow the journeys of those that travel for a while.

 

--Q

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As the original poster on this thread, we went out yesterday and our score was 16 caches found , 0 TBs.

Almost all of these were large enough to take a TB.

 

Anyway the good news was it was a great walk with beautiful weather (for the UK in January)

Sure they were large enough to take a TB, but of the sixteen, were any listed as having TBs in them in the first place?

Your caching style with a great walk may have something to do with it and those are often the ones with containers that'd fit trackables.

I prefer longer walks myself and see few if any trackables in remote containers.

- On the upside, if a trackable's listed for it, those usually have 'em in in them.

I always thought others realized that they may not move as quickly, often stranded in Winter, when they're out there a bit and don't drop them.

We're not seeing many folks walk more than two hundred feet from parking these days.

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I sent an email to Groundspeak, asking how cachers could help get these TBs circulating. In the meantime, I'm going to guess that doing so would be somewhat like doing the cache at HQ, which requires 48 hour notice. I'll let you know what they say.

Don't mail, or attach anything to, a TB without asking the owner first and if they don't reply, leave it as is, do not alter or mail.

 

Thank you, Eartha! We're up in Vancouver, BC and would happily make a day trip to Seattle if we could help out some trackables.

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I've definitely noticed fewer TB's out there since I started in 2008. I also wondered if it was related to the iPhone apps etc. I think there are some O/C cachers out there who are hoarding them. Just check out this mega event GC4MEGA and see all the Jeep trackables listed as attending...over 40. They are all in the hands of the same guy who just keeps moving them from event to event and never releases them.

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I released several of them along with a few geocoins between 2007 and 2009. The last one disappeared in 2011. None of the others ever saw 2010. Don't know why people can't either log them properly or leave them in the cache for someone who can, but it happens. I don't see very many in this area (Southeastern PA) anymore.

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