What's more fun then getting a package in the mail? Use this community to find someone to swap goodies with!
Guidelines and tips for how to carry out a successful swap.
How to post a good swap request:
- Make a post with a descriptive but brief heading (Ex: "Anyone want to swap nail polish?" or "Looking for Mexican candy, can send Finnish candy").
- Tag your post appropriately. If the category of thing you want to swap doesn't have a tag, chose the "misc" tag (and maybe tell a Leader you'd like the tag added).
- In the post, describe the sort of post you're looking for. This may include the country or countries you want to swap with, the content you want to swap as well as estimations of rough budget and time-frame (ex. "around $20", "as soon as possible", "in two weeks"). Also include what you can send in return, and any items you cannot recieve (food products you are allergic to, for example).
- Don't be too vague. If you really want to swap anything with anywhere, then you're better off responding to swap requests than making one of your own.
- If you don't get any replied to your swap request, wait a week or two before making a new one.
How to answer a swap request:
- Find a swap request that looks interesting.
- Make sure you at least mostly fulfill the requirements listed in the post. If they're looking for decorative plates from France, don't offer to send them Texan candy, ok?
- Comment on it and ask if the person wants to swap with you.
- If they say no, be graceful about it.
- If they say yes, yay!
How do I know who is safe to swap with?
The sad truth is, we can never be sure about these things. Sharing personal information with others on the internet is always a leap of faith to a certain extent. Choose your swap partner carefully, as once you've sent your box there is no legal protection for you if the other person doesn't reciprocate as agreed. Community Leaders cannot do anything to retrieve your package, they can only ban the offending user after the fact. However, there are certain things you can do to increase the chances of finding a good swap partner:
- Check the list of successful swappers. If the person is on this list, it means they've completed a successful swap, which has been verified (with pictures) to the Leaders by the person they swapped with.
- Check the user's post history. An account with a lot of activity on various part of Imzy is much less likely to be a scammer than an account that was just made with no posts.
- Trust your instinct. If something feels off, just politely decline the swap. You don't need a "good" reason not to swap with someone.
What's next?
Once you've found a person to swap with, discuss the details of the swap (when, what, how much etc) either in the thread or via private messages. Remember not to post any personal information, especially postal addresses in the comments. That sort of information has to be exchanged in private.
Things to keep in mind when swapping:
- Shipping can be expensive. For that reason, it can be good to factor in shipping when you decide how much money you want to spend on your swap.
- If you swap internationally, keep in mind that exchange rates vary and so do prices. $20 in one country might buy a lot more or a lot less than $20 in another country. If this bothers you, either come to some agreement with your swap partner or only swap with countries with similar prices on things.
- Be carefull when packaging your swap. The postal system can be a rough ride so use plenty of padding material and close the package up properly.
- If for some reason you have to cancel your swap or if you won't be able to send until later than planned, let your swap partner know as soon as possible! Give them a chance to delay or cancel their own package so there's no hard feelings anywhere.
- If it makes you both feel more comfortable, exchange pictures of postmarked boxes before sending them off.
- Fill out any customs forms very carefully! Customs do not generally like sloppy forms.
- Remember that it can take a while for a package to arrive, especially if shipping internationally. Don't start worrying about your package too early, and if you want to swap for a particular holiday make sure to send the package in good time.
What about after?
Once you've successfully finished a swap (sent a package and recieved a package), please report this to a Leader so the person can be added to the list of successful swappers. If you feel up for it, make a post in the community showing off the lovely things you've recieved.
If you did not recieve your package, contact your swap partner. Ask them if something happened, if they posted it late, if the postal service in their region is known for being particularly slow. If they respond and their response sounds reasonable, wait a while and hopefully it'll turn up. If they do not answer you, if they give a roundabout answer or otherwise give you reason to believe they're scamming you, contact a community Leader. Hopefully this won't happen to anyone, but you never know.



