'SWAP' stories

Hmmmm. I have done a few recently and some holiday ones on here a couple years ago. My partners always posted pics, which made me happy! I had the most fun when I made scale boxes of Valentine sweet hearts out of clay and cardboard, complete with the little clear window! That was fun. The early swaps I did seemed that less people flaked out. Those were in 2007 I believe the Christmas and Valentine.

For the swaps I have been in, I always think it is interesting how some people are always late when shipping out, though there is so much time. I try to make my stuff immediately - especially as I get really excited!

I love doing swaps and try to enter them when I can.

 

Thank you guys! Seeing your stories and how good swaps mostly turn out, you guys are giving me total hope and confidence to enter in another.

 

I find that i tend to have bad luck with swaps. I'll send out something that was really themed well, thought out, and was well made, only to have swap sent to me that doesn't even fit what i listed, or wasn't sent at all. I've pretty much given up on swaps.

 

i haven't been in a swap yet, but I like the idea of them, mostly I keep showing up to sign up a day late >.<

 

I've done one swap thing. It was more of a just between two of us. A girl really liked a type of dress I made so she asked if we could do a swap. She made me really cute bloomers and a skirt. I just mailed out the dress the other day... so I hope she likes the dress I made her when it gets to her. We sent each other pictures and we both liked what was made so far!

 

Hm...That's awesome that that worked out for you guys. C:
That seems to be more of a trade, however.

 

I've been in two so far, a Christmas card swap last year and an Alice in Wonderland swap. The card swap was a lot of fun to make cards for, and I got some cute things in return (including a tiiiiiiny paper crane, which Sage still has.) I had a blast with the Alice swap too, and was really proud of what I made. I got no response from its recipient, though, and didn't get an outfit back, either.

I love the idea of swaps, because having a theme to work with makes me come up with ideas I wouldn't normally come up with for my dolls. ^_^ Even though my first clothing swap was a bust, I definitely plan on participating in more.

 

I'm currently in two swaps right now. I'm having lots of fun seeing everyone's cute items! I sent out my gifts and I can't wait to get mine in return.

 

I would only participate in a swap again if it was separated by skill level >.<

 

I have been in six swaps I think, not all of them being here in DoA but also other doll forums. Only once I got nothing back, in Valentine swap this spring. I´ve taken the swaps in the thought that it´s volunteering and something you can make for fun, and you get what you get - this way it won´t be so disappointing if everything doesn´t go well. But I really enjoy to watch everyone else´s gift opening pics and discussions about the swap too!

Watching the swap gift photos people post I have also noticed that people´s vision on value varies a lot. If there´s a spending limit, some still add very much things, even deliberately put some extras, and some are very few. Also the currency changes the situation; at the moment value of USD is lower than Euro, for example.

There´s also the point, you don´t always know what to expect. In my first swap I had no experience of swap before, I thought afterwards maybe I should have added something more, as so many others had added much extras over the given $ limit. In the next time I took lots of effort and in that time my partner made it much more plain, and I felt maybe this time I did put too much in it (though that shouldn´t be bad). Also then another gift never arrived. Once I got a young child as a swap partner so the things I got were really something I wasn´t able to use, though I´m sure she did the best she could. Most of the swaps I´ve been with have been great really, so I´m not complaining. I think part of the surprise is always the fact you can´t choose what you´ll get.

One thing that would make the swap work even better, might be the skill level as said before. I think also the motivation level would be needed sometimes.

 

So far I've only joined a few swaps and overall it was a great experience. I absolutely loved all my gifts. All my partners were really nice and told me when they received my gifts too, but I know some people don't even post or say anything once they receive someone's package... which can be a bit disheartening to see. But I think swaps are fun, and are a great way to bring the community closer together. :B

I like joining mostly the handmade swaps, because I like making things. And I like seeing what other people come up with. I find with asking for things like toys and props, it's a bit of a risk since you could end up getting random things that your dolls can't use... but I haven't had a bad experience yet (only getting a little angry at how slow the postal service is here..) so time permitting, I will be joining more swaps in the future.

 

I'm in my third swap so far, and really looking forward to making something for my swapee. I've been lucky, because my first two swaps went quite well, but maybe this because I wasn't very specific about what I wanted. By not having any real expectations I was happily surprised by what I received.

For me, this swap thing is a lot like giving and getting holiday presents. IRL I used to get disappointed when someone didn't get me what I wanted for Christmas, my birthday, etc. Then I decided to focus on the giving aspect instead-- putting more effort into finding something unusual that would surprise and make them happy, with no expectations in return. As a result I've been lots happier.

I think the whole idea behind gift giving (and swaps) is the element of surprise. My in-laws are big fans of giving out gift cards, and although I see the practicality, it seems silly for us to give them a card and get the exact same thing back from them. In that case, why even exchange? And before the era of gift cards, my mother in law would give me a super specific list of what she and my father in law wanted (a baby blue sweater with cables and a zipper, in cotton, one year-- how many stores and catalogs did I search?) a list that could be really frustrating to fill and disappointing to give as a gift. Something is lost when the recipient knows exactly what he or she is getting.

So I've been entering swaps for the opportunity it gives me to get creative-- usually by making something I would never create for one of my own dolls.

I would feel the same way as the others in this thread, though if my gift wasn't even acknowledged, or if my swapee didn't bother to send her gift. But thankfully, we can leave feedback!

 

I'm glad there are swaps available. My mother died in July after a long, family-drama-filled decline (Alzheimer's), which has left most of my family not on speaking terms. Thanksgiving and Christmas were literally called off this year. I LIKE sending gifts to people. Getting them is nice, but giving them is almost more fun. Swaps give me a chance to not only find gifts, but also practice making scale-size-things, and then gift them to someone. It's helping make this $holiday_season less empty and depressing, by giving me something to focus on. I've had one neutral experience, a partner who received the gift but has had radio silence since, but I've also had people emailing me with progress reports and just chatting, and it's given me a chance to come out of my shell a little and make new friends. Haven't received anything yet, but it's not about the getting. It's about all the fun I get to have plotting, scheming, creating, packaging and sending

 

I had joined some art swaps- but I was disappointed. I got nothing or a piece of art, that had nothing to do with my wish.
But I decided to try it on DoA (and other boards) again.
I am now in a lot of swaps but it is really fun. The first is send out (I am still waiting) and some of my items will be finished in next week.
Getting some nice stuff is really cool- but I enjoy more writing with such nice swap partners. I ask them a lot because I really want, that they like it.

 

I hope you get some great things, Falcongirl, even though the giving is more important to you than the getting! When my grandfather died (years ago) my family went through the same not-talking-to-each-other thing, so I can relate.

EDIT:

A question to those who have been stiffed on the receiving end:

Were the swaps you participated in the type where you have a partner and are making stuff for each other, or more like a round robin, where you make something for person A, while person B makes something for you?

I am wondering if there is a difference in accountability between these two swap types.

 

I've had good luck and bad luck. My favorite one was a Goth-Loli swap, where my partner took pictures of what she got from me and was really thankful, and the outfit I receive from my other partner was amazing and exactly what I was hoping for. Everything was downhill from there. Swaps where people didn't put in the level of effort that the swap required, a swap where the person literally made me the one thing I asked them not to make, and the final straw was a fancy masquerade swap where my partner (the swap leader!) disappeared and never gave me anything. That one put me out a good $60, plus 15 hrs or so of my time. All done with swaps now. Can't take that anymore.

 

I've been in quite a few swaps in my time in the hobby, so I've had good and bad experiences.

The bad is usually that I receive something that either doesn't come close to fitting my doll at all, isn't the style I asked for, or is very poor quality and would not sell for even half the minimum limit, if I could sell it at all. Once, I sent out a lot of professional quality clothing and shoes and received what appeared to be toys from a bubblegum machine and candy worth maybe $3 max. Another time, my partner didn't send anything at all. I also sent something once that I felt was really not good quality, because the leader gave me a partner in the only size I said I could not sew for and in a style of which I had no knowledge or experience. I feel bad that I sent that thing out, but I didn't have time to order something better.

The good! I've had several good. One of the best was a holiday hat and scarf swap and I received some really high quality beautiful items that were perfectly suited for my dolls. I've also gotten a really cute hoodie and some nice pajamas. Most recently, I got a formal dress meant for MSD but it fit my super slim SD girl nicely. I also really love when my partner has a doll in a similar style and size to my own, so making things is really easy and fun.

 

I'm not good at sewing and most swaps are US only now... but I actually hosted a crochet swap some years ago, it wasn't very popular but I had fun.

I was actually a bit late on it, crochet can be very time consuming and my fingers were tired. I got some lovely things, my favourite is a rabbit plushie, and the other liked the dresses I made for her dolls.