If you have an idea for a swap:• First, post in the
"New Swap Theme Ideas” board. This is the best way to see if there’s enough interest in your idea to have a successful swap. This is the place to discuss with interested people a good time frame for signups and sendouts, how many items people are comfortable with sending, etc. Lots of potential issues can get resolved at this stage, which will, in turn, help your swap to run smoother.
Swap set up:• If you have additional requirements for your swap (age, check-in dates, etc.), be sure they are clearly outlined on the sign-up post so members know the obligations prior to joining your swap.
• Even if the number of participants in your swap doesn't exceed 25, you can always have a second organizer. Co-organizing is a great experience for a first-time organizer. A co-organizer also prevents the need for a Swap Moderator to take over in the event that the organizer has an emergency absence.
PartnersIf you have an odd number of partners, there are a few things you can do:
- 1. You, or someone in your swap who has swapped before, can take on two partners
- 2. You can partner a set of three people into a "Round Robin" swap. (i.e. A sends to B, B sends to C, and C sends to A)
Feedback:You can see a primer on how to enter feedback into the system
here.
Here are some general tips about entering feedback once packages have been received:
• Give your participants feedback in a timely manner.
• Leave honest and helpful comments for future swap organizers regarding the participant's performance in the swap, leaving comments for yourself as well. Do not make reference to quality of crafted items. Comments regarding shipping times, communication, etc. should be included in the comments section. If someone was a swap angel for your swap, that should also be noted. Here are some great examples:
Angeled for this swap
Sent on time
Sent early
Sent late with communication
Sent late
Good communication throughout
Did not use DC/required mail tracking
Fulfilled required parameters of the swap
Did not fulfill required parameters
Exceeded required parameters of the swap
Participated AND angeled in this swap
Organized and participated in this swap
Organized and participated, but sent late
Organized, but did not participate in this swap
• If you need feedback removed from someone's profile, please use the
Help Desk. Be sure to select the category SWAP-RELATED from the dropdown menu.
Dealing with a potential flakerIf you feel a participant in your swap may not send due to poor communication, please ask that person’s partner to hold off on shipping until their partner has sent and given you a valid DC number. If the partner does end up sending late while waiting to hear from a partner, they themselves should not be penalized. If someone ends up not sending, you can post for a replacement partner.
If you must get an angel:If you organize a swap and end up having to use a swap angel, after the angel's package is received, please put a note in the angel's feedback that they were a swap angel. If they were not in your original swap, create a new entry for them, give them positive feedback, and put a comment in that says something along the lines of, "Did not participate in swap, but was a wonderful swap angel. Thanks!"
If they did participate in your swap, just make sure you add something into their regular comments about the fact that they were an angel. Do not add a new entry.
THEN, make sure you open a
Help Desk ticket letting the swap mods know about your angel, even if they already have FOC status. We will update their profile so they are started on a fresh year’s subscription to the Friends of Craftster.
FOC status is not given to members that are angeling to reverse Negative feedback. If someone has volunteered to be a swap angel for your swap and they do not send, it is imperative you open a
Help Desk ticket and report this to the moderators. If someone flakes on angeling to redeem previous negative feedback, they will be permanently banned from swapping.
Anyone can be an angel, even if they are currently participating in 5 swaps or have not yet completed their first swap. Being a swap angel does not count as a first swap, however. A new swapper must still complete a regular swap in full before they may sign up for up to 5 swaps at a time.
If you are unable to complete the organization of your swap:Please let someone know you’re having trouble! Failure to do so causes all sorts of problems. If you just disappear in the middle of a swap, you will be banned from organizing in the future, either permanently or for a specified length of time, depending on the circumstances.
If for any reason you are unable to complete your swap and you have a co-organizer, let them know what’s going on and ask them to complete the swap for you. If you do not have a co-organizer, open a
Help Desk ticket and let a moderator know what’s going on. If you are good about communicating, it’s often no trouble for someone to come in and help finish out the swap.
As the organizer of a swap, it’s your responsibility to see the swap through to the very end. Before your swap is considered complete, all the following should be accomplished:
- Every swapper should have both sent and received.
- If someone did NOT send, they should have negative feedback, and their partner should have already received from an angel.
- All your swappers and any angels should have feedback and appropriate comments.
If you do not fully complete the swap and a swap mod has to come in and finish things up, you will not be allowed to organize for a while.
The "Talk About the Swap Process" boardThis board was specifically set up to talk about swapping in a general way. Topics may include shipping hints, general questions about participating in a swap, or questions you may have that you’d like opinions on. It is
NOT a place to publicly complain about another member that you may be having issues with in a swap situation. Please do not post things like, "I am involved in my first swap and my partner did the following awful things: ….", as anyone can check your profile and figure out exactly who you are talking about. If you have a
SPECIFIC swap issue about an individual, please open a
Help Desk ticket so a swap mod can assist you.
Tips for being an overall great organizer:• Communicate, communicate, communicate. Check in with your swappers on the swap thread and/or via PMs.
• When in doubt regarding anything swap-related, ask a Swap Moderator via the
Help Desk. Be sure to select the category SWAP-RELATED from the dropdown menu.
• Have fun!
