Tips on organizing a swap

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Please note that this wiki article is still under major construction.

Please be patient, it will be fixed!

In the meanwhile, please go to this thread for the full article and discussion.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?487396-IMPORTANT-How-to-host-and-organise-a-swap




Hello there, my BJD friends!

I believe this article is necessary to make sure that everyone has the best experience when a swap is happening! I have never seen a thread like this despite the fact that swap failures happen very frequently!

Unfortunately there are times where hosts get confused on how to continue a swap, and this causes mess and delay, and people may not receive their items.

This tutorial is about how to organise a swap where the participants do not know who they are receiving from, like a Secret Santa.

It is a lot simpler than you think, and it is the hosts that complicate things that usually end up with a muddled up list, and a fail-swap.

I will be making up a fictitious swap for the purpose of this tutorial.

Let's start!


Are you an appropriate host?

Ask yourself:

  • Do I really have time to organise this?
  • Do I understand EXACTLY how the swap is going to work? (reading this tutorial should help)
  • Are you dedicated to deal with the issues that may arise from a swap?
  • Do you have marketplace access, and 100% positive feedback? Try not to get your self MP suspended/banned during the swap!
  • Do I really have time to organise this?!

If you answered yes to all of these, congratulations! You are an appropriate host!


Opening the swap

First, you need to decide what your swap is about. You also need to set a time frame on when your swap objects need to be sent out.

Now, you need to set a limit on how many participants there are. For the purpose of this tutorial, the limit is 10. (don't forget to include yourself!)

You need to EMPHASISE on your thread that members who join MUST continue with the swap and be ON TIME, and they must not flake. If members are busy they should NOT participate!

An excellent recommendation to keep in mind when writing out your rules:

[QUOTE] Maybe including 2 or 3 pass phrases throughout the initial outline of the swap and having participants include all pass phrases in their "intent to join" PM would be a good idea. For example, after outlining the theme of the swap, have a line that reads as such: "Include the word "candy" in your PM to signify that you have read and understood the theme of this swap". Then, when deadlines and expectations are discussed, include another pass phrase or word. Folks who read the rules thoroughly will be able to do this without a problem. Sure, it doesn't completely eliminate flaky people, but at least it somewhat ensures that the person wanting to join has read everything posted.[/QUOTE]

Members who join should also have a feedback thread with 100% positive feedback.

You need to be checking their feedback! Warn members that if they flake, they will receive negative feedback.

Label the prefix of the thread as [Open] like in the picture below.

[File:http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h412/TheUkelele/Web%20Related/DoA%20tutorials/open.jpg]

Swap threads are usually first in, first served, so for this swap the first ten people who comment that they want to participate are in.

Remember to update your thread as the positions get filled.

Also, if your swap asks for certain things (eg if it is an art swap thread, how does the doll look like?) make sure that your participants write this in their post on the thread.

So let's assume that we now have our 10 participants: (sorry if I have used your username!)

[COLOR="#0000CD"]Make sure to keep the members in order of who said 'I wanna join!' on the thread. [/COLOR]

1. Pikelets 2. Duskkodesh 3. Kielin 4. Wovenwuff 5. Silver Identity 6. vefalasiel 7. patchworkpunk 8. strow 9. PunkyPhresh 10. Eldurwen

Now, [COLOR="#0000CD"]change the prefix[/COLOR] of your thread on the forums as [Full].


Again, make sure all your participants have positive feedback!



[B][U][COLOR="#FF0000"]ASSIGNING THE PARTNERS/SETTING THE DEADLINE![/COLOR][/U][/B]

Now YOU, the host, need to assign partners!

This is probably the most difficult part when hosting a swap.

Remember, the members will know who they are sending to but not who they are receiving from.

Now, we will make use of a number sequence randomiser. We will use [url]http://www.random.org/sequences/[/url].

For your smallest value, put in 1, and for your largest value, put in 10. Format in 1 column.

[IMG]http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h412/TheUkelele/Web%20Related/DoA%20tutorials/randomiser2.jpg[/IMG]

Now press 'Get Sequence'!


and here is the sequence I got:

[IMG]http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h412/TheUkelele/Web%20Related/DoA%20tutorials/randomiser.jpg[/IMG]

So what does that all mean?

Well, remember how we kept the list of members who joined in order? (look back at the participants list up there ^^^^)

We're going to [COLOR="#0000CD"]put each member to their number in this sequence[/COLOR] that you just made.

9. PunkyPhresh 1. Pikelets 3. Kielin 8. strow 10. Eldurwen 5. Silver Identity 4. Wovenwuff 7. patchworkpunk 2. Duskkodesh 6. vefalasiel

So now our members are in random order!

(PLEASE keep this list in a safe place so you don't lose it! You may need it later when people get all flakey and stuff.)

Now, to find out who sends to who, we go down the list.

So:

[B]PunkyPhresh sends to Pikelets

Pikelets sends to Kielin

Kielin sends to strow[/B]

etc etc,

and when you get to the very last participant:

[B]vefalasiel sends to PunkyPhresh.[/B]

So basically it goes in a loop! This ensures that everyone will receive a swap item! (assuming that nobody flakes!)

[COLOR="#0000CD"]You don't need to do any more partner matching than that[/COLOR]! That's it, everyone should get an item, and send one.


Now, [COLOR="#0000CD"]you need to ask each member for their address.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0000CD"]Make a folder in your Private Messages called Swap Messages[/COLOR]. Make sure your inbox is free for plenty of messages!

[IMG]http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h412/TheUkelele/Web%20Related/DoA%20tutorials/swapfolder.jpg[/IMG] You'll see why we did this next.


Go ahead send a PM to all of our participants at once. This is what your PM should look like:

[IMG]http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h412/TheUkelele/Web%20Related/DoA%20tutorials/pmlookslikethis.jpg[/IMG]

Now send it off and wait for the replies. As you get the replies,[COLOR="#0000CD"] move them into the 'Swap Messages'[/COLOR] folder you made. Just for easy organising and so they don't get lost in your PMs.

Once you've got everybody's address, you [COLOR="#0000CD"]need to send the right address to the right person.[/COLOR]

As we said above:

[B]PunkyPhresh sends to Pikelets[/B]

So you need to [U]give Pikelets' address to PunkyPhresh[/U].


[B]Pikelets sends to Kielin[/B]

So you need to [U]give Kielin's address to Pikelets[/U].

etc etc.

And in those PMs, [COLOR="#0000CD"]remember to include the deadline for sending the item.[/COLOR] Make sure you have an appropriate deadline - not too short or too long. [COLOR="#0000CD"]A month is appropriate.[/COLOR]


Now go back to your thread and edit the first post. [COLOR="#0000CD"]Write the deadline in big letters on your thread[/COLOR], so everyone can see it.

Label the prefix your thread on the forums as [COLOR="#808080"][Shipping][/COLOR].


[B][U][COLOR="#FF0000"]WAITING![/COLOR][/U][/B]

All you have to do now is [COLOR="#0000CD"]wait[/COLOR]! (and cross your fingers hoping that nobody flakes)

In the meanwhile, [COLOR="#0000CD"]make a picture thread[/COLOR] dedicated to your swap and link it to the swap thread.

Also, [COLOR="#0000CD"]post friendly reminders[/COLOR] about the deadline on the swap thread as the deadline gets closer.


[COLOR="#0000CD"]Allow for parcels to be received for 2 weeks after the deadline[/COLOR]. Most swap participants leave their posting till the very last minute (sad but true) so allowing 2 weeks for postage is alright.

2 weeks after the deadline, we will assume everyone has received their item (NOTE: THIS NEVER HAPPENS. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AT LEAST ONE FLAKER... GUARANTEED!)

You need to PM all the members asking if they all received their items. If you're lucky and everyone has received their item [STRIKE][SUB]then I hate you[/SUB][/STRIKE] then you don't need to do anything else! :)

[QUOTE=Muisje;8529510]One other rule that I find very pleasant for swaps is that swap participants have to inform their swap partner and the swap host when they have received their swap items (with a thank you for the person who sent the swap items). A picture of the doll with the swap items is a nice addition so other people can see what kind of things were made/bought.[/QUOTE]AGREE AGREE AGREE - It is quite upsetting to have to actually tell people this. You HAVE TO say thank you to the person who sent you the item, AND the host! Without either of them you would not have this item. Even if you don't like the item, you mustn't be rude.

Another splendid idea form [B]Muisje[/B]: [QUOTE]I purposefully hosted a non-secret swap partner swap (everybody knew who was making something for whom) and nobody flaked. There may be less secrecy fun, but peer pressure helps keeping people from flaking, since it would be obvious right away who did not ship their package if someone did not receive anything.[/QUOTE]

This should help prevent what is discussed next...


[B][U][COLOR="#FF0000"]WHEN FAILWHALE PEOPLE FAIL EPICALLY (FLAKEY BUMS)[/COLOR][/U][/B]

If a member has not received their item:

Let's say [COLOR="#0000CD"]Kielin tells you she did not receive her item.[/COLOR] The partner that was supposed to send to her was the naughty Pikelets, as we figured out before. (I promise to never do this in real life! xD)

You need to [COLOR="#0000CD"]warn Pikelets[/COLOR] that their partner has not received their item. [COLOR="#0000CD"]PM them, and threaten them (nicely!) with flakey feedback.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0000CD"]If they do not respond in 3 days, post that flakey feedback![/COLOR]

If [COLOR="#0000CD"]they make up excuses[/COLOR] (I was busy/dying/post office fail/bla) give them [COLOR="#0000CD"]3 days[/COLOR] to send the item!

If Kielin has not received her item after 2 weeks from then, post flakey feedback!


Unfortunately there's really nothing more you can do if things like this happen. Sometimes stuff [I]does[/I] get lost in the mail...

So when you type feedback, be appropriate. The response you leave will also depend on whether the member was [I]trying[/I] or not. Like, if they weren't responding to any PMs for days and [I]you know[/I] they were online and posting in other threads, you gotta throw a shitstorm at them! No excuses!!

But if they had an issue that they discussed with you already, be nice.

Here are some examples of feedback you can leave. Pick the appropriate one for whatever issue. ...

[INDENT][B]member's name[/B] participated in (so and so swap) but their partner did not receive their item. [B]member's name[/B] was online when a warning PM was sent, but did not respond. Plenty of time was given for the item to be made and shipped. Members who participated were warned of flaking.[/INDENT]

OR

[INDENT][B]member's name[/B] participated in (so and so swap) but their partner received their item extremely late. [B]member's name[/B] did send the item, but it was much past the deadline . Plenty of time was given for the item to be made and shipped.[/INDENT]


Use your imagination, be nice, bla bla... But don't be too nice. You have to write bad feedback for those who are naughty!



[B][U][COLOR="#FF0000"]OTHER ISSUES[/COLOR][/U][/B]

During the last swap I was participating in, the host got MP suspended. In that case, the host was not able to see the swap thread or write in it. Things like this happen all the time! Accidentally advertising your MP thread, etc, can cause this to happen. Try not to have the same thing happen to you, but if it does happen, don’t fear!

The host PM’d me and passed on responsibility of the swap to me, to make things easier for all of us. Is there a participating member that you know/trust, that is willing to handle the swap for you? PM them and tell them. Make sure they are dedicated to continuing the swap.


[B][U][COLOR="#FF0000"]IN CLOSING[/COLOR][/U][/B]

I sincerely hope this helps you all. It was sad to see a swap that I participated in have issues like these by the dozen, and I really want to prevent this happening in the future.

If you are not the host kind and prefer to just participate, please make sure you are a good little kitten and you don’t flake on your partner.




Thank you for reading! I hope you are feeling more edjamacated after reading this!