Dont' mean to complain........

[Tracey]

     Sorry  I know its been mentioned before........

  But PLEASE! Post when you get your gift!!!!!  On three different occasions my swapees never posted if they received my gift!    It is just nice to have hard work acknowledged!!! (I hope this doesnt' sound stuck up! )

  And if you don't get your swap item out, or have to drop out, Let Someone Know!!!    Things happen beyond our control, so sometimes it can't be avoided until the last minute.  I know of numerous people not getting items!  Granted things get lost....... But if you drop out, please fess up, so your swap buddy isn't anxiously waiting for the daily mail.

  These things should just be common curtousy...........

Sorry I don't mean to bitch, but it is just frustrating when people who aren't serious about swaps don't follow through!  Alot of craftsters have been having to make EXTRA gifts to pick up the Slack! 

[Lia]

I completely agree, thankyou for posting this!!

Its a lot of work not just for the swap participants, but even more so for the organizer. If you post that you get your gift, we don't have to follow up and spend time PMing each person who hasn't said they got something to find out if they got it!!

If you can't send something, Like Second Star to the Right says, please just tell the organizer! Its not a huge problem if you can't send it on time or at all! Other arrangements can easily be made and its a lot less hassle to do this for us!

If you put the commitment into a swap, please be responsible enough to start and finish it!!!!

[the lorax]

I concur wholeheartedly!  I've signed up for 3 swaps and was prompt in getting my stuff into the mail, but have only received from one person.  It's very disappointing to put in the effort (and postal cost) and not be reciprocated; one would think that the people who voluntarily and willingly signed up for these swaps would follow through . . .

[melmelon]

...what y'all said...and as a relatively new swapper, here and on a bunch of other boards....I think I've been flaked on 4 times in the last 2 months or so...its very disheartening to say the least....but it would be nice to just know what's going on...if something can't be sent...that's fine...sh*t happens....and if you hate what I sent...I'm also fine with that (well, not really)...but please let me know either way.

Thanks for bringing up this subject.

p.s.  don't even get me started on the issue of postal cost....I'm sending from Canada....and its a b*tch to say the least.....but still, swapping is almost an addiction.

[Lia]

When I organize swaps, I try to keep Canadians with Canadians, and Americans to american's, and then anyone overseas together! Sometimes it doesn't always work out, but for the most part the numbers are ok! This is something for future swappers to keep in mind!

[Goddess]

I totally agree with everything!
As one of those folks who has been making extra gifts, I think it totally stinks when people don't just fess up that they can't or won't really participate. I got flaked on in the swap that I organized! phhhbhbhbbbttt!

[iqjones]

I think if you can't find the time to reply, maybe you should consider that BEFORE you get into swaps. I have seen on the boards that the people who don't post are often the late shippers. I understand that EVERYONE is busy these days, but, again, maybe that's something to be considered BEFORE signing up. I think everyone's going to be late every now & then, no big, but I'm talking the people who are consistantly late & no-posters. It really irks me.

[Goddess]

rest assured that we are working on a way to fix this issue. there are some rules being devised and some guidelines being modified

[leah]

And if you don't get your swap item out, or have to drop out, Let Someone Know!!!    Things happen beyond our control, so sometimes it can't be avoided until the last minute.  I know of numerous people not getting items!  Granted things get lost....... But if you drop out, please fess up, so your swap buddy isn't anxiously waiting for the daily mail.

This totally sucks that some people just don't send out their swap item!  Half the fun is making your item to send to someone else and then RECEIVING something in return is the other half!

I've only been able to participate in one swap 'cause I'm so darn busy  but it was really fun and I looooooved what I got.   I will admit that I was a couple of days late sending my item out and I was a little panicked about whether I would have time to make something great but you really MUST follow through.

From now on we're requiring two things to happen with swaps:

1. When you send your package out you must track it with delivery confirmation.  The swap organizer will keep track of exactly who is sending to who and the delivery confirmation info.

2. Swap organizers must now report any members who don't follow through with their end of the bargain.  I'll be keeping a list and those members won't be able to participate in future swaps unless they resolve the situation.

I don't know why some people flake out like this.  But whatever your reason is, people are understanding here.  So if you need more time or just can't come through at all, please just let the swap organizer know!

And it's never too late to resolve any unfulfilled trades and get your name off the "suspended traders" list.

Thanks!

Leah

[melidomi]

Can I make another wee suggestion?  If  a swapper (let's call her alice) does let you know that they won't be able to send anything (before the send deadline), look up who was supposed to send to her (let's call her betty) and who she was supposed to send to (carol) (yeah, there are some guys on here, but let's face it, we're mostly female).
Contact betty and see if she's already sent her package.  If she hasn't, have her send to carol instead of alice.  That way alice doesn't get something she isn't entitled to, and no one has to make an extra item. 
So in summary, it was originally b->a and a->c, but a dropped out so now it's b->c
obviously this won't work perfectly if betty has been doing something extremely personalized, but it might be better than the alternative.