Dropping trackables at an event..before the event?

[+BeorntheViking]

Hello!

 

I am attending my first event this weekend "Berkshire GeoBash #2" (GC3G4AY) In looking at it I see a ton of trackables being dropped there already but the event is not until Saturday.

 

Can anyone explain the purpose of dropping a trackable at an event before you get there? Is this a virtual drop off until you get there so people know what will be there already? people sent the trackables in somehow ahead of time? Fun with Portals?

 

thank you!

[+dphickey]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

One reason may be to prevent "TB Grabbers" - people who can't wait for a person dropping off a trackble tolog the drop online before they "grab it" from the cacher's online inventory.

 

If it's dropped before hand, the person picking it up can immedaitely log it as retrieved.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

This ↑↑↑, mostly.

 

Dropping it (logging as such) also removes it from the current holder's inventory and places it into the Event Cache inventory.

 

But... trackables aren't for "trading". It is not good to use "trading" and "trackables" in the same thought train.

[+BeorntheViking]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

This ↑↑↑, mostly.

 

Dropping it (logging as such) also removes it from the current holder's inventory and places it into the Event Cache inventory.

 

But... trackables aren't for "trading". It is not good to use "trading" and "trackables" in the same thought train.

 

Ahh so it basically treats the event as a cache. You drop it off 'virtually' now and then find the person who wants it so they can take hold of it physically. Guess this way works for people who don't have the Geocache app or something and are unable to 'drop' it right at that moment.

 

I have three trackables I am taking to the event. One I picked up at another cache and two more I created specifically to take to the event.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Ahh so it basically treats the event as a cache. You drop it off 'virtually' now and then find the person who wants it so they can take hold of it physically. Guess this way works for people who don't have the Geocache app or something and are unable to 'drop' it right at that moment.

 

I have three trackables I am taking to the event. One I picked up at another cache and two more I created specifically to take to the event.

Well, I would never suggest that a person "Grab" or "Retrieve" it UNLESS they have physical control over it. Besides, they don't have the tracking number until they have it in-hand.

It does allow for logging it into the Event before the mad rush to do everything else (and forget to log it at all).

Edited July 18, 2013 by Gitchee-Gummee

[+CanadianRockies]

Another reason to drop a trackable early for an event is that allows other attendees to check out the missions of the trackables that will be there. If the mission matches up with someone's travel plans, then they might make a special effort to grab that particular trackable.

[+hydnsek]

Dropping trackables into events beforehand has been going on as long as I've been a cacher (10+ years). Lots of TBs get handed off at events, and dropping them into the event beforehand means you (I) don't forget to do it later and lets folks know there will be TBs available for pickup.

[+niraD]

When I drop trackables into events in advance, I do it so I can take my time posting my Attended log, without worrying that someone else is waiting for me to drop the trackable so they can grab it.

[Pup Patrol]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

This ↑↑↑, mostly.

 

Dropping it (logging as such) also removes it from the current holder's inventory and places it into the Event Cache inventory.

 

But... trackables aren't for "trading". It is not good to use "trading" and "trackables" in the same thought train.

 

Ahh so it basically treats the event as a cache. You drop it off 'virtually' now and then find the person who wants it so they can take hold of it physically. Guess this way works for people who don't have the Geocache app or something and are unable to 'drop' it right at that moment.

 

I have three trackables I am taking to the event. One I picked up at another cache and two more I created specifically to take to the event.

 

There is very often a "trackable table" where people can leave trackables to be picked up by others.

 

Very often events end up as blackholes for trackables, though. It's sad to see events that are long over, and archived, with a long list of trackables still sitting in the inventory.

 

 

B.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Pup Patrol

[team tisri]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

This ↑↑↑, mostly.

 

Dropping it (logging as such) also removes it from the current holder's inventory and places it into the Event Cache inventory.

 

But... trackables aren't for "trading". It is not good to use "trading" and "trackables" in the same thought train.

 

Not for trading, you're right. Perhaps it's better to think in terms of people going to an event thinking about which trackables they might be able to move nearer their goal. I remember going to a caching event shortly before a trip to the US and picking up a coin that wanted to get to Canada. Seeing it in advance gave me the chance to seek it out and get it 3500 miles nearer its goal. I picked up a trackable at another event that was in a bug race to a place I was driving right past two days later, so took the bug to its destination and it won the race (that bug only took something like three steps to get from Northern England to a specific cache on the south coast).

[+QClan]

I will be there too! I saw others logging in their TBs so I did as well.

 

I'm also looking for someone to take one memorial trackable to NV on the ET trail (or at least closer) and I figured advance notice might make that easier.

[+SwineFlew]

I could see this as a way to let other possible attendees know that trackables will be there for trading. Perhaps a way to get someone on the fence to decide to come or convince them to bring other trackables.... Just a guess though.

This ↑↑↑, mostly.

 

Dropping it (logging as such) also removes it from the current holder's inventory and places it into the Event Cache inventory.

 

But... trackables aren't for "trading". It is not good to use "trading" and "trackables" in the same thought train.

 

Ahh so it basically treats the event as a cache. You drop it off 'virtually' now and then find the person who wants it so they can take hold of it physically. Guess this way works for people who don't have the Geocache app or something and are unable to 'drop' it right at that moment.

 

I have three trackables I am taking to the event. One I picked up at another cache and two more I created specifically to take to the event.

 

There is very often a "trackable table" where people can leave trackables to be picked up by others.

 

Very often events end up as blackholes for trackables, though. It's sad to see events that are long over, and archived, with a long list of trackables still sitting in the inventory.

 

 

B.

Thats why I hand the trackables to people I know at events. It works well.

 

I like to move trackables that people dont want to move around. One time I was moving a bicycle horn from Oregon to SC. Fun fun fun.

[+wimseyguy]

One reason may be to prevent "TB Grabbers" - people who can't wait for a person dropping off a trackble tolog the drop online before they "grab it" from the cacher's online inventory.

 

If it's dropped before hand, the person picking it up can immedaitely log it as retrieved.

 

The other side of this coin is that not everyone logs their caches found or attended immediately. By dropping trackables into an event listing before attending, the person taking that trackable does not need to wait nor has to use the grabbed option.

 

This is more frequently seen at events that attract travelers from afar like megas than at local events but it happens there too, and has been happening as long as I can remember.

[+paisleykmt]

Hello, I am hosting an event tonight and I tried last night to advance drop trackables I want to move along at the event. I want to do this now so I am not flustered at the event and have time to enjoy it and I have 9 to move along. I have been searching on how to do this and have gotten no where and am a bit frustrated. When I go in to my inventory on the app or online and click on one of the trackables to drop the only way it will allow me is to search the area I am in for a cache. Since the event starts at 7 tonight it's not "near me" to drop. Yet others have done it. Please help!

[+Max and 99]

Can you log a note on the event page and at the same time choose which TBs to drop from your inventory at the bottom of the page?

[RuideAlmeida]

17 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

Can you log a note on the event page and at the same time choose which TBs to drop from your inventory at the bottom of the page?

Exactly!

[+paisleykmt]

Thanks to Maxx and 99 & RuideAlmeida. I tried from the app and it would not work but it did from the site. Thank you!

[+noncentric]

2 hours ago, paisleykmt said:

When I go in to my inventory on the app or online and click on one of the trackables to drop the only way it will allow me is to search the area I am in for a cache. Since the event starts at 7 tonight it's not "near me" to drop. Yet others have done it.

Glad you were able to accomplish the task via the website. I just wanted to mention that it should be possible to do what you wanted via the app though. Whether you're using iOS or Android, you would just move the map around and zoom in/out to the location of the Event cache icon into view. Then select that Event (red) icon and drop the trackable there. Maybe you did not move the map around when the app asked you to select a cache?

[+cerberus1]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2013 at 4:07 PM, CanadianRockies said:

Another reason to drop a trackable early for an event is that allows other attendees to check out the missions of the trackables that will be there. If the mission matches up with someone's travel plans, then they might make a special effort to grab that particular trackable.

Yep.  (To us) this is the only reason to drop a trackable early.  It allows others to see whether they should attempt to grab it (by it's mission).    I say attempt, as we've seen more than a few attend for a couple minutes, lift a handful of trackables, and leave.  No one else gets to Discover, nor know which was actually there.

Many times, we don't see some of those listed trackables even at the event, the trackable holder not showing like they thought as one reason. The Event gets archived, and that improperly logged trackable's still sitting there in inventory...

Edited March 27, 2018 by cerberus1

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

(To us) this is the only reason to drop a trackable early.

I drop trackables with my "Will Attend" log so the people who grab them at the event don't have to wait for me to post my "Attended" log before they can grab the trackables. I thought that was a good reason to drop them early.

[+The A-Team]

43 minutes ago, niraD said:

I drop trackables with my "Will Attend" log so the people who grab them at the event don't have to wait for me to post my "Attended" log before they can grab the trackables. I thought that was a good reason to drop them early.

Same here. I don't always log my attendance right away, so I've had some people grab the trackables directly from me rather than wait patiently until I drop them. If I know I'm going to be dropping trackables, I'll try to drop them in advance to avoid this.

[+Harry Dolphin]

1 hour ago, The A-Team said:

Same here. I don't always log my attendance right away, so I've had some people grab the trackables directly from me rather than wait patiently until I drop them. If I know I'm going to be dropping trackables, I'll try to drop them in advance to avoid this.

Ah,  Hmm...  Went to an event, and decided to drop a trackable whilst I was there.  Lady across the table grabbed it immediately.  Said we were stupid for not logging it in beforehand.  I grabbed (and told her so) to log it into the event.  (Its only visit to New York.)  Told her to grab it back, but she didn't.  So I had to follow her logs and log it into the cache she dropped it in, in Minneapolis.

[+The A-Team]

20 hours ago, Harry Dolphin said:

Said we were stupid for not logging it in beforehand.

There are some people who simply can't fathom that there are any alternatives to the way they personally do things. Even if you try to explain to them why you do it a different way, they'd probably respond, "...but why don't you do it my way? It would be so much better."

If someone doesn't have a chance to drop a trackable before an event, please exercise a small amount of patience and give the current holder a reasonable chance to log the drop. Trust me, you won't explode during that time.