> I think that I am going to retire any box of mine that does not receive
> at least 3 visitors per year.

Its your box, and your prerogative, and I certainly respect
that, but I would ask you to reconsider. I think 3 visits/yr
is really high, and shows a high quality box, (without looking
at it, of course). My guess is those 3 people really enjoyed the
experience, and, projecting forward, the three that visit it
next year will also really enjoy it. Those three positive
experiences next year will disappear if you retire the box.

I have one box that has had 2 visits in 7 years, which works out
to, well, whatever it works out to per annum. I wouldn't retire
it for the world.

Cheers
Randy

Or on the other hand, a box that receives few visitors
is probably not in a place where its going to be
muggled any time, either. You could keep it there for
years and years and years without worrying about a
logbook filling up! And you probably wouldn't need to
do maintenance...ever!

Mommo


--- Baker wrote:

> The way I like to box is if I plant a letterbox and
> I maintain it by
> visiting it at least once a year. I have some real
> active boxes and
> some very slow boxes, one has only had one visitor
> in two years.
>
> I think that I am going to retire any box of mine
> that does not receive
> at least 3 visitors per year. That number is low,
> but if I can bring
> three people to some of these areas, that's worth it
> for me.
>
> Just a thought right now.
>
>



____________________________________________________________________________________
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I have two boxes planted on remote hikes, one planted last year and one
planted the year before. In that time, the older box has had two visitors
(that I know of) and the other has had none (it's deeper on a hike than the
first).

The first visitor to the older box emailed me a terrific story about finding
the box and the adventure they had getting to it. I loved reading his story
and how he lived the location as I envisioned someone would when I planted
the box. That one find is worth 50 on my other boxes. I don't think I
would ever retire that box in the hopes someone else will come along who
experiences it that way again.
Obviously you can do as you want to do, but please reconsider retiring low
traffic boxes. If you felt strongly enough about the location to plant a
box there, then there is where a box should be. And if the location strikes
you strongly, that feeling will come through to a finder, who will
appreciate the location similarly.

--
Barefoot Lucy
"It's not about footwear, it's about philosophy"


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

We have one that has never been visited in 6 years and several others
that wouldn't meet the 3 in one year criteria. Retire them, heck no,
they make for unusual rare finds.

Don
>
> I have one box that has had 2 visits in 7 years, which works out
> to, well, whatever it works out to per annum. I wouldn't retire
> it for the world.
>
> Cheers
> Randy
>

All of you made some good points and as I said this is not something
that I am definitly going to do. The problem though, for me is not so
much one of being "making sure" that the box was not muggled or even
that the log book may be full, it's the container holding up to the
elements that has me checking the boxes once or twice a year.

I want to make sure that on the really remote boxes especially, that
a boxer who takes the trouble to hike in finds the box, or at a
minimum have the box be their in good shape to find. I have been
having trouble with some of my boxes, especially the older rubbermaid
ones. I have since switched to lock-n-locks and after checking two
from this past winter I am very pleased with how they held up, but my
question is will they hold up for years and is that the container
that I want to use for a remote box that I may not visit for a couple
of years?

Ummm...I really am thinking now...Maybe the solution is a better box
box and placing it in a more secure area, one that would help the
box "winter" better...I think that I may use ammo cans for these
remote boxes. I have two really remote ones that I could set up with
ammo cans and a large notebook and forget about them (for a longer
period of time), that may be the solution for me. I know these
containers work as I also geocache and some are liierally left in the
elements and are perfectly dry inside.

Thanks letterboxers its always nice to have a conversation to help
think things through a bit.

I would whole-heartedly agree with what some of the others are saying. I have several boxes that don't see even 1 visitor per year, but the stories from those who finally figure them out and nab that elusive find are true treasures. I wouldn't dream of retiring them due to lack of activity -- it is as much of a thrill for me when somebody finds it as it is for them, and that wouldn't be the case if it was found 28 times a month. On the flip side, I enjoy finding boxes that have not been found in a while as I feel like I have found a treasure that few other people have enjoyed.

I know it can be hard deciding which boxes to keep and which to retire -- most all of them have something positive going for them, and we all plant boxes for different reasons. If your goal in planting a box is to provide easily accessible, high-traffic boxes, then your reasoning makes sense. On the other hand, if your goal is to provide something out of the ordinary, a challenging & rewarding experience for most seekers, volume of finders may not be the best gauge.

SpringChick


----- Original Message -----
From: Barefoot Lucy
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2008 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: [LbNA] 3 finds per year or be retired




Obviously you can do as you want to do, but please reconsider retiring low
traffic boxes. If you felt strongly enough about the location to plant a
box there, then there is where a box should be. And if the location strikes
you strongly, that feeling will come through to a finder, who will
appreciate the location similarly.
.


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

Hey, we could have an entire new category!

We already have P for placed, we already have F for found, we already have X
for exchanges.

We can add the number of people who have found our boxes. Don't have time
right now to think of what initials/letters/name we'd give it tho.

I love finding ones that either haven't been found in a long time or that
have maybe have been out in the wild a long time and yet have never been
found. I've accomplished the former, haven't accomplished the latter yet.

It adds a little extra "wow! I did it!" factor to the adventure. Kind of
like making it thru a bad stretch of rapids in one piece.

~~ Mosey ~~

"I have one box that has had 2 visits in 7 years, which works out
to, well, whatever it works out to per annum. I wouldn't retire
it for the world."

And I think I know which box it is......problem is...I haven't been
able to locate it to become the 3rd. :)



--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, Randy Hall wrote:
>
>
> > I think that I am going to retire any box of mine that does not
receive
> > at least 3 visitors per year.
>
> Its your box, and your prerogative, and I certainly respect
> that, but I would ask you to reconsider. I think 3 visits/yr
> is really high, and shows a high quality box, (without looking
> at it, of course). My guess is those 3 people really enjoyed the
> experience, and, projecting forward, the three that visit it
> next year will also really enjoy it. Those three positive
> experiences next year will disappear if you retire the box.
>
> I have one box that has had 2 visits in 7 years, which works out
> to, well, whatever it works out to per annum. I wouldn't retire
> it for the world.
>
> Cheers
> Randy
>