I read on these board often about stamps that go missing as they are mistakenly taken as trade items by geocachers. We can do what we can to prevent this in the first place, but as the hobbies are so similar, and we often hunt in the same spots, overlap is still likely to happen, no matter how careful we are. So, I thought I'd share some insight, as a boxer, a cacher and as someone who recently helped in recovering a stamp.

What can you do if you receive notice that your stamp is taken or you find a lb where the stamp is missing?

The issue here is often time. Time can be the enemy, as many cachers move items from cache to cache. So, your stamp may get picked up, and moved to a new cache. This makes hunting more difficult (but not impossible).

So, when this is known, there are some things you need: 1) the train name of the person who took the stamp as a trade item. Cachers have trail names as we do, and log in logbooks with this. They also make notes of what they took and what they leave, so it helps to identify who/what/when. 2) The date they logged the cache. This is important information, since it will be needed to track the cacher and the cache down on geocaching.com.

Get the information of your letterbox, the cacher, and the intended cache (if you know it), to someone here on AQ who caches, if you don't. There are several of us who have accounts on both sites, and are willing to track down cachers for you. Or, you're welcome to do it yourself.

You can send an email, through geocaching.com, to the cacher. As angry or upset as you might be, most of the time, the cacher is clueless that they've found something other than what they were looking for...even when there's a huge "NOT A GEOCACHE" written on the lid (as was with this particular box). So, be kind. More flys with honey than vinegar and all that. Here is a copy of the email I sent to the cacher who took a stamp from a local box. Feel free to cut/paste, steal, paraphrase, etc...

Hi there. You recently found a cache at XYZ.
As a trade item you left a abcde and took a stamp. You probably didn't realize
this, but the box was actually a letterbox, not a geocache. Part of the 'game'
in letterboxing is the trading of stamp images, so the stamp should have stayed
with the box. I completely understand how this might have happened, as the two
hobbies are very similar. I took the abcde and will place it in a cache very close
to my home. I would also like to see about the possibility of getting the stamp
retuned to the letterbox, if you still have it.

I also encourage you to check out boxing...you might enjoy it as a "same, but
different" hobby to caching (I do both).

www.letterboxing.org

www.atlasquest.com

Thanks!

Within 12 hours, I had a very apologetic reply from the cachers, who replaced the stamp within the next few days. I assured them that no harm, no foul, and we were happy to have the stamp back.

I also contacted to cache owner to alert him that there was a letterbox receiving his cache traffic. The letter to him was similar to the above letter, and he, too, was very understanding, thankful for the communication, and has since logged on to AQ to check out letterboxing. :-)

So, I wanted to offer some constructive advice about how to go retrieving your stamp should something like this happen. There are times when the stamp may be long gone by the time you get notification, but still try communication. There may still be something that can be done.

I truly believe positive communication is the key to keeping 'happy and healthy' boxes.

Jenni P McD

I'd like to suggest we include this under tutorials or something. There has been a lot of angry posts about cachers stealing stamps, I'm reminded of one where a girl left her treasured stuffed animal and took the stamp. A lot of hateful emails ensued, people were quick to judge, etc.

This would be a faster, easier, and more understanding way of getting the thing done. Thanks Jenni.

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I'd like to suggest we include this under tutorials or something.

I agree. I made that point during that flareup and I think it got lost in a lot of chest beating. "Make THEM do it!" You know, that sort of thing. Of course, both groups can do a better job of educating the newbies, but shouldn't letterboxers focus on getting their own house in order since that's something within our control? (And this isn't just directed at AQ or any particular site, but all places where first-time letterboxers are likely to get started.)

http://www.atlasquest.com/boards/message.html?gMsgId=72357;gThreadId=11772

I often forget to use the bookmark feature, and later regret it when I can't find the information that I need.

I'd encourage everyone to bookmark this Jenni P McD's post. It's well said, and I love her note about "positive communication."

MC