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Geocacher has my trackable for well over a month. What do i do?


The Perkins Family

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54 minutes ago, Hynz said:

While this is technically correct considering the actual flood of "took it" logs compared to those rare "Drop+Retrieve" combos back in the days it is a completely out of proportion statement that "Visits are just a replacement". They are a plague..

I applaud every trackable owner who insists that the trackable page gets not completely cluttered with meaningless "Visit/Took it" and "Discovery" logs.

 

+1

 

It is obnoxious to carry someone else's property without their express approval.  So I would absolutely never do that with other's property:

1) Visits that are robotic blank "Took It To"

AND

2) Carrying it to each cache (or more likely, not having the item on hand at all) for pages and pages of "Visit" logs, so it's more like a record of me than of the Trackable item. 

AND

3) Not releasing it ever.

AND

4) Requiring the Owner to ask what the deal is, since he is horrified and truly does not know my intentions. 

ALL of those together is what brings people into these Forums to ask what to do.  Important: it is not just the "Visit" log itself.  Everyone, please make a note of that distinction. If anyone comes here to complain that there were a couple of "Visits" with stories and photos, then it was dropped in a timely fashion, I would call them crazy.  A couple of "Visits" followed by prompt placement is fine. See 1 through 4, that is unacceptable.  You do not go onto other people's property, for the purpose of taking and keeping other people's property.  In full view, traceable to an owner, public info showing theft and even including sale of expensive collectible items for profit, thieves daring anyone do do something about it (because "they're worthless trinkets").  And passive aggressive weirdoes "Geocaching" for the purpose of messing with people, waiting till someone says anything, then "trashing it because you complain too much" or whatever. Dead wrong.  I will call them out every time.  Groundspeak should do the same, but they don't.  Go figure. :ph34r:

By default, all Geocachers shall properly log Retrieve and Drop, and place it in the next available cache, or back into the cache where it was found.  You know, a cache that's big enough. No excuses. Place it and log it.

Only if the TB page specifically allows deviations from that, can you do 1-4 above.  If someone "Loves it when that happens, it proves that the TB is alive" (or whatever), that info must be on that person's TB page. Again, "Visits" are allowed, see 1-4 above, which is not to be condoned.

Edited by kunarion
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1 hour ago, kunarion said:

 

+1

 

It is obnoxious to carry someone else's property without their express approval.  So I would absolutely never do that with other's property:

1) Visits that are robotic blank "Took It To"

AND

2) Carrying it to each cache (or more likely, not having the item on hand at all) for pages and pages of "Visit" logs, so it's more like a record of me than of the Trackable item. 

AND

3) Not releasing it ever.

AND

4) Requiring the Owner to ask what the deal is, since he is horrified and truly does not know my intentions. 

ALL of those together is what brings people into these Forums to ask what to do.  Important: it is not just the "Visit" log itself.  Everyone, please make a note of that distinction. If anyone comes here to complain that there were a couple of "Visits" with stories and photos, then it was dropped in a timely fashion, I would call them crazy.  A couple of "Visits" followed by prompt placement is fine. See 1 through 4, that is unacceptable.  You do not go onto other people's property, for the purpose of taking and keeping other people's property.  In full view, traceable to an owner, public info showing theft and even including sale of expensive collectible items for profit, thieves daring anyone do do something about it (because "they're worthless trinkets").  And passive aggressive weirdoes "Geocaching" for the purpose of messing with people, waiting till someone says anything, then "trashing it because you complain too much" or whatever. Dead wrong.  I will call them out every time.  Groundspeak should do the same, but they don't.  Go figure. :ph34r:

By default, all Geocachers shall properly log Retrieve and Drop, and place it in the next available cache, or back into the cache where it was found.  You know, a cache that's big enough. No excuses. Place it and log it.

Only if the TB page specifically allows deviations from that, can you do 1-4 above.  If someone "Loves it when that happens, it proves that the TB is alive" (or whatever), that info must be on that person's TB page. Again, "Visits" are allowed, see 1-4 above, which is not to be condoned.

To be fair, in this  one "issue" that reopened the thread...  The trackable sat from Oct to Feb, where it was picked up for it's first time. 

The person who retrieved it has been caching a while,  has trackables of their own, and doesn't appear to (really...) hold on to trackables for any great time. 

When they took it, they left a "Picked up on a lovely snowy day. We’ll move you on in a while." log with a picture.   

The cache area now has almost a quarter "Visited" with actions noted of maintenance issues.  Possible others don't have NM logs but still with issues.   I know someone would whine all day after finding that the trackable  was haphazardly placed in a piece of carp as well.

Pick one...

Edited by cerberus1
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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

To be fair, in this  one "issue" that reopened the thread...  The trackable sat from Oct to Feb, where it was picked up for it's first time. 

The person who retrieved it has been caching a while,  has trackables of their own, and doesn't appear to (really...) hold on to trackables for any great time. 

When they took it, they left a "Picked up on a lovely snowy day. We’ll move you on in a while." log with a picture.   

The cache area now has almost a quarter "Visited" with actions noted of maintenance issues.  Possible others don't have NM logs but still with issues.   I know someone would whine all day after finding that the trackable  was haphazardly placed in a piece of carp as well.

Pick one...

 

Great points! :)

Probably an important plan is to treat TBs with moderation.  Don't cause a bahzillion logs on others' TBs just to cause logs, and don't micromanage the handling of your own TBs.  There are a lot of things on the site that one can click.  Not everything needs to be clicked all the time. :cute:

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2 hours ago, kunarion said:

 

Great points! :)

Probably an important plan is t or a distance from the previous logo treat TBs with moderation.  Don't cause a bahzillion logs on others' TBs just to cause logs, and don't micromanage the handling of your own TBs.  There are a lot of things on the site that one can click.  Not everything needs to be clicked all the time. :cute:

I do "visit" trackables I am carrying with me, but not to EVERY cache, generally one if it's in a new location for me (new town, on a hike, etc) or a distance from the previous time I visited it someplace (to give it some mileage and show travel on the map).  If requested, I take pictures at the requested locations or situation (visiting landmarks, for example).  When I travel, I try to drop the trackables so they go to a brand new area.  And I generally don't have more than a half dozen or so of other's trackables to keep track of, I try to move them along in a timely manner.

I do have one I have kept for far too long, just waiting for an appropriate place to drop it. Soon....

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23 minutes ago, CAVinoGal said:

I do "visit" trackables I am carrying with me, but not to EVERY cache, generally one if it's in a new location for me (new town, on a hike, etc) or a distance from the previous time I visited it someplace (to give it some mileage and show travel on the map).  If requested, I take pictures at the requested locations or situation (visiting landmarks, for example).  When I travel, I try to drop the trackables so they go to a brand new area.  And I generally don't have more than a half dozen or so of other's trackables to keep track of, I try to move them along in a timely manner.

I do have one I have kept for far too long, just waiting for an appropriate place to drop it. Soon....

 

That's awesome! :D

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I have an "alternate" example.   

Last time I was faced with similar to the latest example that reopened this thread (holding on to a trackable),  a TO asked why I couldn't just place his in any cache, or "Visit" it to one of the other caches found so far, so it showed some movement.  A "race" of some sort IIRC .  It was one of three, found in a cache that sat, untouched for five months. If he won that race I'd be surprised.   Sheesh...   The "other caches" were all pill bottle hides (two in parking lots), and all had issues. CO was replacing or archiving them.  I placed it in a pos cache nearby at the TO's request,  and it went missing the next day (people looking for trackables...).  The other two at least moved to other states before they went missing.

I've only "visited" once because of an error I made, and never really thought that option was used often/popular (until reading the forums, and research).  Should've realized that the log wouldn't be created if it wasn't...     

   

 - I sorta recently completed a series with a bonus cache, and the bonus had two trackables in it.   The last to log it was last November, and I completed/found it the last day of February (lucked out with a two-day window in-between snow storms).  Snow storms every-other day since (three major already), and a good layer of ice thick enough that the handheld garret won't find a 30cal.  Decided it'll be a while before they're placed in an equal D/T hide (that are known to help a bit with longevity here).  Still holding it with no further logs, but emailed both TOs.   I'll probably be holding it, with no further logs, for over a month.  So far so good... 

 

Edited by cerberus1
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In early May my two daughters and I placed three similar trackables into a single geocache.  The idea was that we wanted them to "race" to see whose could travel the most miles, or the furthest, or to the most countries.  We were excited because these were the first trackables we had released.

 

They were picked up by somebody who seems like a very nice man - he is local and he's always popping up on the local logs and we've even found some caches he has hidden - and initially I was really pleased they were picked up by such an experienced cacher and he promised to take care of them etc.  He even posted some photos.  Hello to this fella if you are reading this *waves*.

 

However, he still has all three trackables in his possession.  He has visited all three to a few geocaches and I'm alright with that in general but we are DESPERATE to see the trackables move on and separate and start their individual journeys, because that was why we released them!  They are not going to split up and go their own ways while they remain in the hands of one geocacher.

 

I know it hasn't been very long at all so I will try to be patient a little longer but then I will drop him a friendly note.  And if he is reading this - I'm sorry I mean no offence.  We would just so much love to see our little racers get racing down their separate paths.

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I have four trackables. Two are travelling, albeit slowly. One has disappeared (not in the cache it is registered to) and one is in Texas. A lady there has it and has done for 10 months now. When I wrote and politely asked if she could move it on, she denied ever having seen it. I showed her a screenshot of her comment - "I have this bug". Then she said oh yes, her dad has it. 

Since then nothing. Now she doesn't answer any mails. So I have now sent the copy tag out and have "grabbed" it from her. 

I wish these people could play fair. It is stopping me from buying any really fancy bugs.

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Reading a lot of these, I think I must be a rare cacher who loves my travel bugs to visit caches. I don't mind if someone hangs on to it for a couple of months if my trackable is collecting kilometres all the while. I love to get photos too, but I don't expect anyone to drop it off in a couple of days. I love all the "visits".

When I travelled to England from Holland, I left early for the ferry so I could get a cache or two before leaving, so the bugs I had would get the 350km  which they wouldn't have got if I'd just waited till I got to my destination. 

Anyone who finds my bugs, please do a lot of visiting!!

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28 minutes ago, 10ccScout said:

 So I have now sent the copy tag out and have "grabbed" it from her. 

I wish these people could play fair. It is stopping me from buying any really fancy bugs.

14 minutes ago, 10ccScout said:

Reading a lot of these, I think I must be a rare cacher who loves my travel bugs to visit caches. I don't mind if someone hangs on to it for a couple of months if my trackable is collecting kilometres all the while. I love to get photos too, but I don't expect anyone to drop it off in a couple of days. I love all the "visits".

When I travelled to England from Holland, I left early for the ferry so I could get a cache or two before leaving, so the bugs I had would get the 350km  which they wouldn't have got if I'd just waited till I got to my destination. 

Anyone who finds my bugs, please do a lot of visiting!!

 

Logs show you grabbed it,  but someone's supposedly "visiting" it to caches immediately (then dropped it in a cache).

Guess you didn't drop it first, or have them grab it from you ?  Another is similar.     :)

What happens now that you didn't give it a timeframe to die off? 

 - Two trackables out with the same code, and we eventually see a "trackable cheaters are logging this TB" thread,  and probably won't remember you did it.  :D

 

The issue with "visits" many have is no one really knows (without pictures) if that person still has it maybe a year later.

Could be missing for months and no clue.  Fine if you don't mind, but many do.  Put it on your trackable's page that you like visits.  

Good luck.

 

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On 9/23/2017 at 3:01 AM, Dawdee said:

I am so upset !    I had four beautiful Trackables.  The last one, has just gone missing in France.   One, which went to Australia and (supposedly) travelled thousands of miles visiting many, many Caches, was out of circulation for about 12 months.  I politely contacted the Geocacher and asked her if she would place it in a Cache, as she appeared to visit many Caches.  She rudely replied with the message that she was moving and had other things to think about.  I accepted that, but months later found that she had been visiting many other Caches.  I contacted again - still very politely, and got no response.  I looked up her page and found that she had over 60 Trackables, but mine wasn't listed amongst them.  You can't tell me that she had taken all of those Trackables to every Cache she had found, and why was she hanging on to so many?  Where had mine disappeared to - during her move perhaps, but why had she hung on to if for so long?  I was extremely upset that a Geocacher could treat another one in that way.  I've had to console myself to the fact that this one is lost forever.  Also, my other two, have gone missing in England.  I'll never make another Trackable if Geocachers can't play the game properly.  Groundspeak needs to be able to contact the last person to have placed a Trackable, as so many seem to think they can COLLECT them !   Not only that, I'm constantly having my Caches stolen too - some have been unique and also expensive ones, hidden in places where no one else would look - what's with these Geocachers, that they can't play the game properly.  I no longer look for Caches, but I hide them for the benefit of others, especially for those with families (I enjoying making Caches too).  I'm a lover of the countryside, and if it encourages children to walk and enjoy nature I love to help them, but I'm gradually decreasing my Caches as they now go missing, sadly, as I'm finding it too expensive to replace them constantly.  Don't be downhearted over your Trackable not being placed yet - think, there may be a family problem, or weather conditions which has stopped the fellow Geocacher from placing the Trackable, but be aware that they may be keeping it, or have lost it. I even wondered if some people think that Trackables are something they can swop.   Contact the Geocacher concerned in a while, always be polite, and just hope for the best - many Geocachers are very helpful !   That's all the advice I can offer.   I do hope your Trackable appears again for you.   Dawdee

Some people are hoarders. I have a friend I sometimes cache with and if there's a TB in a cache I try to grab it, because if he takes it the TB could be in his possession for 'years'. I have at times (usually when I am about to go travelling) begged him to give me the TBs he is holding, so I can move them on and release them. He will often then hand over one or two, but I have NEVER been able to get him to hand them ALL to me, and some he has had in his possession for years. I am guessing he has some that I don't know about that he hasn't logged either.

 

Personally I have several TBs and a number of them are missing. But when I get a TB I take great care of it. I take photographs of where it's been, and several I have gone out of my way to deliver to the exact place the owner wants them to be delivered. Once I knocked on the door of a house and handed the TB to its owner who grabbed and hugged me she was so pleased to get her TB back, after completing its task. Her TB had been 'writing' home regularly on the logs with photographs about its travels. This means I often keep TBs for several months, to either move them away from the area (when I know a journey is coming up), or I believe I can complete the task set for the TB and get it back (or much closer) to its owner. Only once I have I had a rude email requesting I move a TB on, and I think I had only had the TB in my possession for a couple of days. I dumped that in the next cache it would fit in; I was so annoyed, ignoring my normal careful selection of cache. Whatever would do. That owner was lucky I didn't throw it in the bin after the demanding email. The norm is that I get thank you letters thanking me for the photographs, etc. No one seems to mind I keep it for months, when I am showing its journey. I would be thrilled if someone did this with one of my TBs instead of just blank logs.

This is my own TB; the one I never release, but I use it to show the photographs I take. Individual TBs get their photograph taken at times too.

https://www.geocaching.com/track/gallery.aspx?ID=5339812

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Sometimes life gets in the way of best intentions. I picked up anode TB in th beginning of November.  With weather and family matters,  I didn't find any caches until about Two weeks ago but forgot to take it with me.  On that caching trip, I hurt my knee,  then got the flu and and this week I am busy with my 92 year old mother in the hospital.

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