How to keep our trackables from getting muggled and together once they meet.

[+TohiHarmonics]

I searched for answers to my question but didn't see anything yet so I'll just ask it in this post.

 

My girlfriend and I are about to release these two trackables.

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=9247545

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=8594957

What would be the best way to keep them from getting damaged or muggled and just make it more fun for someone to help them achieve their mission? Once they unite we hope someone will put them together and secure them with one of the attached key rings. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[+kunarion]

8 hours ago, TohiHarmonics said:

I searched for answers to my question but didn't see anything yet so I'll just ask it in this post.

 

My girlfriend and I are about to release these two trackables.

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=9247545

https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=8594957

What would be the best way to keep them from getting damaged or muggled and just make it more fun for someone to help them achieve their mission? Once they unite we hope someone will put them together and secure them with one of the attached key rings. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Those are set up nicely for travel.  Place them each into a cache that is dry inside, secure, full of nice stuff (hasn't historically been muggled), doesn't have an Inventory full of missing TBs, and that's a good start.  Attach a clear and concise Mission statement on the most bulletproof card you can make.

 

If you wish to keep them safe and unmuggled, the best plan is to keep them yourself.  I've tried everything.  And one of the worst situations is when some enthusiastic Geocacher grabs it and carries it around forever ("to keep it safe"), and cannot be convinced to return it to play.  If that's gonna happen, might as well be the Trackable Owner who's holding it.

 

You can release them with the understanding that they are now in the wind.

 

Edited April 7 by kunarion

[+TohiHarmonics]

Thanks for the advice. We'll try making a card or something to them maybe a etched dog tag or something. I've had trackables go missing so I know what it's like. I also had trackables that go missing and turn up 3 years later, so anything is possible. Again thanks for the advice.

[+MNTA]

My experience is they will always eventually disappear. But it is still fun to watch where they go. 

 

If you truely want to keep them going make them as uninteresting as possible. My suggestion is to send out a laminated copy of the trackable so when it does go missing you send out a new copy.  

 

The more the attached items are cute, interesting, toyish, and the like the greater the possibility for someone to keep the treasure or toy. Start off in premium only cache and definitely not one in a park with little muggles then you have a chance for at least some movement of the trackable.

 

[+TohiHarmonics]

Ok, thanks for the advice. We may have to do that in the future.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

On 4/8/2024 at 4:16 AM, TohiHarmonics said:

Ok, thanks for the advice. We may have to do that in the future.

 

Take a look at these pics of some of the TB's on my account. Theyhave a large laminated two-sided card explaining what they are and what the mission is, and admonitions to not just take or keep them.

 

I realized long ago that the early-adopted standard practice of attaching cute 'companions' to the travel tags was self-defeating; the 'Beany Baby' would be taken and the dogtag thrown away. The point is to get the TAG to travel, so why wrap it in a shiny dollar bill, so to speak.

 

Funny thing - a few years ago a cacher contacted me - he was walking across a college campus, nowhere NEAR where my TB was supposed to be and he found, laying on the ground, one of my laminated cards!!!   Bug was in the wind, never to resurface. He mailed me the card

 

.

 

 

 

A little off-topic, but here's an interesting one that I thought wouldn't be kept: the 'game' on this was to identify exactly what this 'companion' is!

 

Nice plan, but it disappeared from its second cache.   <sigh>

 

[+TohiHarmonics]

On 4/10/2024 at 9:27 AM, TeamRabbitRun said:

 

Take a look at these pics of some of the TB's on my account. Theyhave a large laminated two-sided card explaining what they are and what the mission is, and admonitions to not just take or keep them.

 

I realized long ago that the early-adopted standard practice of attaching cute 'companions' to the travel tags was self-defeating; the 'Beany Baby' would be taken and the dogtag thrown away. The point is to get the TAG to travel, so why wrap it in a shiny dollar bill, so to speak.

 

Funny thing - a few years ago a cacher contacted me - he was walking across a college campus, nowhere NEAR where my TB was supposed to be and he found, laying on the ground, one of my laminated cards!!!   Bug was in the wind, never to resurface. He mailed me the card

 

.

 

 

 

A little off-topic, but here's an interesting one that I thought wouldn't be kept: the 'game' on this was to identify exactly what this 'companion' is!

 

Nice plan, but it disappeared from its second cache.   <sigh>

 

 

Thanks for the info. I'm going to send them out with a card stating the mission and all that, but we'll see how far they make it. Thanks for the advice.

[+NanCycle]

1 hour ago, TohiHarmonics said:

 

Thanks for the info. I'm going to send them out with a card stating the mission and all that, but we'll see how far they make it. Thanks for the advice.

One of mine has a card saying "Please keep it in the USA."  It has been roaming around Europe for a year and a half.

[+niraD]

On 4/10/2024 at 12:27 PM, TeamRabbitRun said:

I realized long ago that the early-adopted standard practice of attaching cute 'companions' to the travel tags was self-defeating; the 'Beany Baby' would be taken and the dogtag thrown away. The point is to get the TAG to travel, so why wrap it in a shiny dollar bill, so to speak.

The advice I heard early in my geocaching career was to attach the tag to something that is interesting enough that finders might be interested in taking and uploading photos of the item's travels,  but not SO interesting (or valuable) that finders (or their children) might want to keep it. So something worthless, but something others might want to take and upload a photo of.

 

Yeah, it's a fine balancing act.

[+TohiHarmonics]

8 hours ago, niraD said:

The advice I heard early in my geocaching career was to attach the tag to something that is interesting enough that finders might be interested in taking and uploading photos of the item's travels,  but not SO interesting (or valuable) that finders (or their children) might want to keep it. So something worthless, but something others might want to take and upload a photo of.

 

Yeah, it's a fine balancing act.

Thanks for the advice.