Spring Swap test post
Welcome to the fourth annual PKMNCollectors Gift Exchange! Over the past three years we have Spring and Valentine's Day gift exchanges, so it is time for everyone's favorite event once again. This project has been approved by denkimouse and will be hosted by godudette, pokemontrader, moonlightpkmn, areica96, and pupstergirl.
I. The Exchange
-Why are we doing this? The big idea for Spring Swap is to spread some cheer throughout the community. We want to help you make some new friends and receive a special surprise in the mail from fellow collectors just like you!
-What is the process? This is a multi-step project that requires active community members. There are many individuals involved in this project and everyone must maintain communication to help make this work as perfectly as possible!
- In order to become a 2015 Swap Participant, you must first fill out a survey and contract to be reviewed and approved by a host.
- You will be assigned a host and will have to email your address to them within three days. You will receive a reply when your address has been received. If you fail to send your address to your host within three days, you will be dropped from the exchange.
- After sign-ups are closed, you will be contacted by your host again. You will be assigned one member and will be given their survey information and address.
- You can now shop for your Secret Someone! If you are buying from another community member, please make sure you allow enough time for the item to arrive to you.
- ALL Secret Swap gifts must be shipped out by Saturday, April 4, 2015. You must keep a copy of your shipping receipt. If you are in an international country that does not provide detailed shipping receipts, take a picture of your package before you send it so we all know that you did. Let your host know that your gift was sent out and send your proof of shipping picture to them as well.
-How do I choose a gift? You must spend at least $20 on a gift for your Secret Someone (this amount does not include any shipping costs associated with your gift). You should be able to find something for your Secret Someone using the information on their survey. Including a custom note, message and/or card letting your Secret Someone know who sent them the gift and ALWAYS send a thank you message on the community letting them know you received your gift. Please, do not send a bootleg or reject items.
II. The Rules
As much as we would like to have all members participate in the exchange, we unfortunately have to limit participation. In order to participate:
- You must have posted to the community at least twice.
- You must have been a member of the community for at least one month.
- You must have at least ten positive feedbacks from pkmncollectors members and one of these must have occurred within the November 2014 - January 2015. If you have an extensive amount of positive feedback but one has not occurred recently, you can still apply!
- The hosts also reserve the right to deny participation from any member for any reason.
- Members with neutral and/or negative feedback will be allowed to participate at the discretion of the hosts.
-Step One: Copy and paste the following survey into a new comment on this post. Read and follow ALL of the instructions below the survey or you may not be approved.
1. Username:
2. Link to feedback:
3. Methods of contact:
4. Country:
5. Favorite Pokemon or Merchandise:
6. Customs?
7. Sweets?
8. Allergies/Allergens:
9. Is there anything else your Gifter should know about you?
10. Special considerations:
- For question 3, please include an email address so we can contact you quickly and easily. If LJ PMs are unreliable for you, please mention this as well.
- For question 5, please list at least five of your favorite Pokemon and/or merchandise. The more you list, the easier it is to shop for a gift.
- For question 6, please indicate whether you are comfortable receiving customs as a gift. If you are a custom artist and may make a custom as your gift, please list that here.
- For question 7, write whether or not you would be comfortable receiving any food-related items as part of your gift and what types of foods you like. Many participants like to include candies and other sweets as part of the package.
- For question 8, please tell us if you are allergic to anything. For example, if you are allergic to certain animals or have food allergies, please put them here. If your home contains allergens (cats, dogs, etc.) please also list that here.
- For question 9, you are free to write anything about yourself and your collection that may help your gifter shop for you. This is the area to write out important things that your Gifter may need to know-- if you do not collect duplicate items, if you only want items in brand new condition, if you do not like specific types of merchandise, etc. You can even include a link to your wishlist (if you have one). Make sure your wishlist has items for less than $20 or it will not be helpful to your Secret Someone. If your survey is not descriptive enough, a host will ask you to revise it.
- For question 10, please include any special information that you would like to convey to the hosts. For example, you may wish to only ship within the US or Europe. Let us know any special requests that you have so we can try to give you an appropriate assignment. If you would also like to volunteer to be an emergency gifter (who would send a gift to a user whose gift is lost or never sent) you may indicate that here as well.
- Disclaimer: **** Please remember that your gifter will be shopping for a gift for you during the next three months. If you are not interested in receiving doubles, try not to purchase items off the community that you have asked for in your survey. ****
- I, _____________________, hereby certify that I will follow all terms of pkmncollectors 2015 Spring Secret Swap. By completing this survey, I acknowledge that I have read all of the rules for 2015 Secret Swap and agree to spend at least $20 on my Secret Someone. I must ship my gift out by April 4, 2015 and I must keep a copy of my proof of shipping for my host. If I do not follow these rules, I acknowledge that I will receive negative pkmncollectors community feedback for failing to complete a trade.
- Your 2015 hosts will review your application and will reply whether or not you have been accepted into the Secret Swap! If you are accepted, you will be given a host and must email your address to them. Your host will contact you after sign-ups are closed and will give you your assignment, their survey, and their address. You can begin to shop for a gift at any time but make sure you will have enough time to ship it if you are buying internationally.
- If you are denied, you will have to wait until next year to participate in pkmncollectors Spring Secret Swap exchange. Realize that these strict rules are in place to protect all of our members from being left out or forgotten! You may participate next time if you have all of the requirements fulfilled.
- Read your survey and look for the perfect gift! If you are having trouble locating a gift, please contact your host asap! We will try to help you find a gift or will ask your Secret Someone to supplement their survey if needed.
- Include a message in your package letting your Secret Someone know who sent the gift.
- After you send your gift, please keep a copy of your proof of shipping. Take a picture of the package or postal receipt or scan your postal receipt. Send the image to your host and let them know that your gift has been sent out.
- Send a thank you note to the person who sent you a gift.
- Let your host know if you haven't received your gift yet (about a week after the deadline) or if there were any issues with your package and we will sort it out asap.
-When can I sign-up?
- Sign-ups will be open until January 31, 2015. You must have your survey and contract filled out and posted as a comment to this post by then.
- You will be randomly assigned to a host and a Secret Someone using a spreadsheet and random number generator.
- godudette (myself), pokemontrader, moonlightpkmn, areica96, and pupstergirl. are your five hosts this year.
- Yes, as long as your Secret Someone is okay with that! Make sure you that you give yourself enough time to complete your custom gift- it must be sent out by April 4, 2015. Your custom item(s) must equal at least $20- not the cost of the materials, but the cost of what you would sell it at.
- Of course you can! There is no maximum purchase amount. Thank you for going above and beyond the requirements.
- Please remember, however, that $20 is the minimum. Don't be disappointed if you don't receive a gift over $20.
- Take a look at the completed surveys in the comments for some great tips and ideas!
- January 24 - January 31: Sign-Ups
- January 31 - February 4: Hosts will approve surveys and assign participants to a host.
- February 4 - February 7: Participants send addresses to assigned host.
- February 7 - February 14: Participants receive Secret Someone Assignment from host.
- February 15 - March 28: Shop or create a gift for your Secret Someone!
- April 4, 2015: All packages must be sent out by this date!
- *All projected dates are not final and may be changed at the discretion of the hosts.
- If anything comes up, contact your host immediately! We will try to help you out as much as possible. If we need to assign an emergency gifter, we need to know as soon as possible.
- If anything prevents you from sending out your gift, unfortunately you will still receive negative feedback. By completing the survey and contract, you agreed to send out your gift and follow all of the rules. This exchange counts as a transaction- it is a trade- and you will receive negative feedback from your host if you do not participate correctly.
- If you fail to complete your part of 2015 Spring Secret Swap, you will be banned from all future gift exchanges on the community.
Thanks for reading! All questions and comments are welcome, so tell us what you think! ♥