The easiest way post clues for a letterbox, and the best way to let
people know about your letterbox, is to first create an account on
eiather letterboxing.org, atlasquest.org, or both. They both then have
a method for posting clues. In AtlasQuest, pull-down the Letterboxes
menu and select "Add Planted Letterbox". On leterboxing.org (also
known as LBNA), click on the Add Letterbox link next to "For Members:".

As to store-bought stamps, most people don't have a problem with them.
I'd say a good 30% or more of the letterboxes I've found have store-
bought stamps. I've used them myself in about 1/2 my planted
letterboxes. Hand-carved stamps are nice (my wife carves ours), but
they do take some skill and patience.

BorisDM


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "mzzhawk" wrote:
>
> Newbie here....I am a bit confused after reading all the FAQ's about
> posting clues .I do not want to do anything that is not proper. Do I
> post it as a message here? or fill out the form on Letterboxing.org?
> Also..is it totally not cool to use store bought stamps ?
> Thank you very much for your time,
> Sera
>

If you do plant store-bought stamps, you will avoid many problems if
you state up front in your clues that you put a store-bought stamp in
the box. That way people know what to expect.

By all means, join the Newboxers list. You can get all your questions
answered there. :-)

Knit Wit

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "mzzhawk" wrote:
>
> Also..is it totally not cool to use store bought stamps ?
> Thank you very much for your time,
> Sera
>

Well people like self carved stamps. I just don't have the skill but I have
carved five stamps. It's not very hard. So try it . You can use store bought
stamps but it's not as thrilling to find.

STAR:W+S=DRR


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I'm not fussy about what type of stamp I find. I do admit to having
found the same 'Wal-mart' stamps in about a dozen boxes.
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com




Sent: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 16:56:34 -0000
Subject: [LbNA] Posting of clues

Newbie here....I am a bit confused after reading all the FAQ's
about
posting clues .I do not want to do anything that is not proper. Do I
post it as a message here? or fill out the form on Letterboxing.org?
Also..is it totally not cool to use store bought stamps ?
Thank you very much for your time,
Sera






________________________________________________________________________
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email
and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

>
> Well people like self carved stamps. ]
>

I have seen this statement over and over again in the newsgroups. My
personal experience is as follows:

They surveyed people & asked them how long they would wait after a red
light turned green before blowing their horn. They "all" said they
would wait patiently. Then they drove around in a car & did not move
when the light turned green. Almost everyone blew their horn at them
within 5 seconds. I kind of suspect the "hand-carved" stamp thing is
the same.

When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even know
what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving. Some
of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those boxes
like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe 30
times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0 visits in
3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I listed
above.

Comments?
Morgun

I personally don't care if the box contains a self carved stamp or a store bought one. The thrill of letterboxing for me is the getting out and actually finding the box. I do like the surprise of seeing exactly what kind of stamp and image the stamp is, but if all I ever found was store bought, it wouldn't bother me at all.

morgunjp wrote: >
> Well people like self carved stamps. ]
>

I have seen this statement over and over again in the newsgroups. My
personal experience is as follows:

They surveyed people & asked them how long they would wait after a red
light turned green before blowing their horn. They "all" said they
would wait patiently. Then they drove around in a car & did not move
when the light turned green. Almost everyone blew their horn at them
within 5 seconds. I kind of suspect the "hand-carved" stamp thing is
the same.

When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even know
what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving. Some
of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those boxes
like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe 30
times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0 visits in
3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I listed
above.

Comments?
Morgun






---------------------------------
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Are you really sure, however, that the difference is due to the quality of
your carved stamps? Could your box maybe be a longer hike? Could your
clues be more difficult? Perhaps your box is nearby but still not as
convenient as the others?

I can only speak for myself. I absolutely treasure the boxes that have
hand-carved stamps, even the most crude efforts of beginner carvers. I'm
also fine with commercially-made-but-unique stamps. If I find out that a
box has a store-bought stamp it doesn't necessarily mean that I won't go
search for the box, but it'll be after I've found every other box in the
area and there's nothing else to look for.

To each his/her own.

~~ Mosey ~~

-----Original Message-----
From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of morgunjp
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 6:10 PM
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [LbNA] Posting of clues


>
> Well people like self carved stamps. ]
>

I have seen this statement over and over again in the newsgroups. My
personal experience is as follows:

They surveyed people & asked them how long they would wait after a red
light turned green before blowing their horn. They "all" said they
would wait patiently. Then they drove around in a car & did not move
when the light turned green. Almost everyone blew their horn at them
within 5 seconds. I kind of suspect the "hand-carved" stamp thing is
the same.

When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even know
what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving. Some
of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those boxes
like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe 30
times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0 visits in
3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I listed
above.

Comments?
Morgun







Yahoo! Groups Links

I prefer a hand-carved stamp. I also think that's the default, at
least in this part of the country-Texas-(there are regional
differences in letterboxing, so I wouldn't know if that's necessarily
true everywhere). If I had only enough time to find one box, I'd pick
the one with the hand-carved stamp.

So, if you use a bought stamp, I think mentioning that fact in the
clues is a good idea. I also think that it's appreciated if you list
whether it's a fee area, mention any unexpected hazards (not your
usual run-of-the-mill-be-prepared hazards), give a general sense of
how long the hike is, and outline any other factors that will help the
finder make a good choice about whether that is an appropriate box to
look for. Not all boxes are right for every finder.

I have no idea why your box wasn't getting visited. How could one
know anything about the quality of the stamp carving before actually
finding it? But maybe there was something about the other location
that drew more people.

Dewberry

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "morgunjp" wrote:
>
> >
> > Well people like self carved stamps. ]
> >
>
> I have seen this statement over and over again in the newsgroups. My
> personal experience is as follows:
>
>
>
> When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even know
> what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving. Some
> of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those boxes
> like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe 30
> times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0 visits in
> 3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I listed
> above.
>
> Comments?
> Morgun
>

For the most part we love hand-carved stamps as well, regardless of
skill level. Some are truly works of art, while others (ours
included) are good tries -- though for the latter, we really enjoy
watching skills develop. But we *always* appreciate the effort and
uniqueness of an individual stamp, no matter what it looks like.
That's just us. Mind you, we are a kid-centric team so it is
interesting to me that the kids value the effort over the image
quality.

HOWEVER, we also enjoy letterboxing for the places it takes us. If a
store-bought stamp is in a great place, then it doesn't matter at
all.

I don't know why people aren't seeking out your box, Morgun. I
doubt it has to do with your stamp-carving abilities, however. If
we were in your neighborhood, I can guarantee you that we would seek
your box out first if we knew a hand-carved stamp was inside,
provide that it was a kid-suitable location.

Please, no flames. Morgun asked, we answered.

-- the B's

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "morgunjp"
wrote:
>
> >
> > Well people like self carved stamps. ]

>
> When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even
know
> what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving.
Some
> of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those
boxes
> like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe
30
> times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0
visits in
> 3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I
listed
> above.
>
> Comments?
> Morgun
>

> They "all" said they would wait patiently. Then they drove around
> in a car & did not move when the light turned green. Almost
> everyone blew their horn at them within 5 seconds.

I wonder if they surveyed people asking what other people would do in
such an instance, and I bet they'd tell you that most people would
honk their horns within 5 seconds. Kind of like asking people if they
think they're smarter than "average", then 70% of the people fess up.
Frankly, you'd be more likely to get an honest response when asking
about someone else than you are when asking about themselves.

It's an interesting concept, though.

> Some of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those
> boxes like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get
> maybe 30 times more visits

I'd want a lot more information before concluding that people prefered
store-bought stamps to your cruddy hand-carved ones. I hate
store-bought stamps. Honestly, you won't find me going out of the way
for a stamp I suspect is an eyesore, but I don't go out of my way to
avoid them either. I will go out of my way to avoid a store-bought
stamp. If I want that image in my logbook, I'd go to a stamp store and
stamp away!

I have been known to go out of my way for stamps by people known for
their amazing carving abilities. And, oh, how crushed I was when I
found my first Drew stamp and the thing was, well, less than stellar.
I can say that now because I've since from Drew stamps that really do
live up to the reputation, and now it's something to brag about that I
have a crappy Jay Drew stamp. Very rare, indeed! ;o)

So, yes, an exquistly carved stamp will draw more people in than a
lousy carving, but there are so many other factors that go into the
choice of a box. Mystery boxes get much less activity than
non-mysteries. Drive-bys get far more activities than those that
require even short hikes. Those in the city get far more activity than
those just 15 miles outside of town. Those planted by well-known
people are more likely to get visits than boxes by a relative
unknown--we like to find boxes planted by friends before strangers,
all else being equal.

Without knowing more about the boxes, it's impossible to give a good
reason for why one box gets so much more activity than a second box,
but I'd be truely shocked if that many people prefered a store-bought
stamp to the most terrible of hand-carved stamps. I could imagine that
people might prefer a creative and interesting custom-made stamp to a
lousy hand-carved one, but custom-made stamps are so few in this
country, it's hard to make any judgements on those. After seeing some
of the custom-made stamps on Dartmoor, I rather liked quite a few of
them and would have chosen some of them over certain hand-carved
stamps. But there's never been a store-bought stamp I'd choose over a
hand-carved one. Never. *nodding*

-- Ryan

-I'm an avid rubber stamper and have hundreds of commercial stamps. But all the boxes I
place have hand carved stamps. I also like the surprise of the image and if I've seen the
image before in a stamp store, or at a convention or my own collection, it's a bit of a let
down. I think there are regional differences, in my area a commercial stamp in a box is
rare.
-- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "the B's" wrote:
>
> For the most part we love hand-carved stamps as well, regardless of
> skill level. Some are truly works of art, while others (ours
> included) are good tries -- though for the latter, we really enjoy
> watching skills develop. But we *always* appreciate the effort and
> uniqueness of an individual stamp, no matter what it looks like.
> That's just us. Mind you, we are a kid-centric team so it is
> interesting to me that the kids value the effort over the image
> quality.
>
> HOWEVER, we also enjoy letterboxing for the places it takes us. If a
> store-bought stamp is in a great place, then it doesn't matter at
> all.
>
> I don't know why people aren't seeking out your box, Morgun. I
> doubt it has to do with your stamp-carving abilities, however. If
> we were in your neighborhood, I can guarantee you that we would seek
> your box out first if we knew a hand-carved stamp was inside,
> provide that it was a kid-suitable location.
>
> Please, no flames. Morgun asked, we answered.
>
> -- the B's
>
> --- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "morgunjp"
> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Well people like self carved stamps. ]
>
> >
> > When I started carving, I had just an exacto knife & did not even
> know
> > what kind of medium to use. Plus I am a total klutz at carving.
> Some
> > of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those
> boxes
> > like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get maybe
> 30
> > times more visits (one was getting 8 visits/month, mine got 0
> visits in
> > 3 months). I suspect it is like the blow-your-horn survey I
> listed
> > above.
> >
> > Comments?
> > Morgun
> >
>

Oh, give me a 'crummy' hand-carved stamp over a store-bought one any
day! Yes, I appreciate the hike and a nice place, but I will admit
that it's a little bit of a let-down to find a store-bought stamp I
could have bought myself at the local Michaels..... I would much
rather see new placers jump in and carve something, anything - it
adds a lot to the box and the feeling that *you* placed a box.

I will say that I am not a very prolific placer. Yet. :-) I will
also readily admit that I have little to no artistic ability.
However, I found that just picking up the carving tools and medium
and giving it a go was FUN! It doesn't take much practice at all to
be able to make a decent stamp - try a line-drawing in negative to
start. It adds something to the placing experience when you're
placing a stamp you made and it sure adds to the finding experience
for a lot of us. I know I'd choose a LB hunt with a hand-carved
stamp any day of the week - if I know it's store-bought, it goes to
the end of the priority list unless there is something super-special
drawing me to that LB.

I realize that not everyone cares. I don't care in the sense that my
life is over if I find a store-bought stamp. However, there is enough
of a difference in both ends of the experience that I'd encourage
everyone who can physically carve to give it a go. Forget being self-
conscious over your first effort and just enjoy the attempt. We
will. :-)

-pezpam


On Jul 11, 2006, at 2:58 AM, rscarpen wrote:


>
>> Some of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid those
>> boxes like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get
>> maybe 30 times more visits
>
> I'd want a lot more information before concluding that people prefered
> store-bought stamps to your cruddy hand-carved ones. I hate
> store-bought stamps. Honestly, you won't find me going out of the way
> for a stamp I suspect is an eyesore, but I don't go out of my way to
> avoid them either. I will go out of my way to avoid a store-bought
> stamp. If I want that image in my logbook, I'd go to a stamp store and
> stamp away!

In a message dated 7/10/06 6:08:28 PM, PonyExpressMail@comcast.net writes:


> If I find out that a
> box has a store-bought stamp it doesn't necessarily mean that I won't go
> search for the box, but it'll be after I've found every other box in the
> area and there's nothing else to look for.
>

I agree!
Mooch


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I've gotta agree with Ryan. I'd rather find hand carved too.
Location of your boxes may be more of a factor in determining the
number of finds. (BTW, what name do you plant under?)

Some of my boxes have been through three logbooks already while
others, just as old, are on their first. Longer hikes, more secluded
park areas, who knows why people don't look for them.

I missed out on some boxes that were on half-mile hikes this weekend
because I was travelling with extremely grumpy kids who didn't want
to do anything. the only boxes I got were virtual drive-bys.

Knit Wit

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "rscarpen"
wrote:
>
>
> > Some of my early stamps are as lame as they get. People avoid
those
> > boxes like the plague. Nearby boxes with store-bought stamps get
> > maybe 30 times more visits
>
> I'd want a lot more information before concluding that people
prefered
> store-bought stamps to your cruddy hand-carved ones. I hate
> store-bought stamps. Honestly, you won't find me going out of the
way
> for a stamp I suspect is an eyesore, but I don't go out of my way
to
> avoid them either. I will go out of my way to avoid a store-bought
> stamp. If I want that image in my logbook, I'd go to a stamp store
and
> stamp away!
there's never been a store-bought stamp I'd choose over a
> hand-carved one. Never. *nodding*
>
> -- Ryan
>

One of the cuuuutest stamps I've seen is a simple stamp that's a line
drawing in negative by Howling Coyote. Anyone in the Cook County, IL area
should check out the Shake! Shake! Shake! box. I think that's just the
cutest stamp! I loved it.

~~ Mosey ~~

-----Original Message-----
From: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Pamela Smith
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 8:13 AM
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [LbNA] Posting of clues


........... - try a line-drawing in negative to start. ............