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Spoil Us, (Local) Goodies Swap #3 - Updated

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Spoil Us, (Local) Goodies Swap #3 - Updated
Swap Homepage:http://spoiluslocalgoodies.blogspot.com
Swap Coordinator:Pouffia (contact)
Swap categories: Random Items  Food  Accessories 
Number of people in swap:40
Location:International
Type:Type 3: Package or craft
Rating requirement:5.00
Last day to signup/drop:August 15, 2013
Date items must be sent by:October 15, 2013
Number of swap partners:1
Description:

Hillo, and welcome to the third (local) goodies swap! Each of these swaps will have a varying list of things to send. This swap I'll make the list a little shorter, as some swappers here and there have indicated they'd like to join but that the previous swaps were a bit too big. The swap will still be big, though - that's basically the point of it - but it will be less big.

Before I get to the list, let me give you the rules:

Swappers with a rating of 5 can join. No unrated swappers and no swappers with a rating below 5. With all the time and money involved, the risk of flakers should be minimal.

I can't angel this swap but I keep an eye on the participants list. I will send out reminders when the send deadline is nearing, and I will give swappers unofficially 1 more week to send the package if they haven't already. If they don't meet the unofficial deadline, and no explanation is given and his/her swap partner is not informed of this, the swapper in question will be put on my ban list and will not be able to participate in any swaps I host and will host in the future. I really don't mean to be a nag or anything, but I want to make as certain as possible that your time and money won't go in vain.

UPDATE August 21, 2013:

If I get the idea you're going to flake after I've assigned swap partners, I will do what I can to remove you from the chain and have the parcel that was meant for you sent to the person you're flaking on. That way you won't receive anything, so there would be no point in flaking. Therefore, swappers, if you get the idea someone is going to flake, please send me a message (well before the deadline. It's not much use when almost everyone have already sent their parcels out). This isn't a watertight anti-flake procedure, but I do what I can.

MOVING ON...

I also have a request. Of course it isn't mandatory to comply, but I would love for you to send photos of the swap you receive, accompanied with a short or long note. You can send this to [email protected]. (You can also tag me on Flickr.) I'd like to put the photos and your thoughts on a blog, because I think it'd be a fun idea to have it all together, so we can see each other's swaps and read what our partner had to say about them. You can also send pics of the swap you send (which will be published after you receive a rating). Please include your username, country, swap partner's username and country, and the swap title if you do. (Photos can be made with a camera, phone, webcam - anything. Doesn't have to be high quality.)

Link of SULG blog: http://spoiluslocalgoodies.blogspot.nl/

If your swap partner happens to be someone from your town or country, try to make the swap as local or as personal as possible. You'll see what I mean.

Now, the list:

PAPER:

  • 3 photos of your town, street, house, neighbors, favorite place to hang out, favorite pet, anything having to do with you and your surroundings. Don't write on the photos (front or back) but include a note about what the photos depict. (You can take the photos with a camera, your phone, anything really, as long as you took it yourself.)

  • 5 pieces of local ephemera (flyers, folders, coupons, forms, etc.)

  • 2 local recipes. Does not have to be traditional, can be modernized or influenced by other countries. Just make sure to add a picture. The recipes can be clipped from a magazine, or a family recipe, or a local restaurant. Doesn't matter, but your swap partner should be able to see what it looks like.

GOODIES:

  • 3 local food products. Can be anything. Just make sure it's properly wrapped, packaged, and unopened. It can't break or go bad in the mail. (For example: single cookies crumble in the mail, and cheese in an opened pack will go bad. Make sure this doesn't happen.) Also, if you send small, single wrapped items - like a candy bar or a sour ball - send at least 3, and that will count as 1 product. If you send 1 candy bar, you have not met the requirements of this swap. A chocolate bar counts as 1 item if it's 15 cm / 5.9 inch in length, give or take. All items have to be store bought.

  • 1 local souvenir, store bought and sender's choice.

  • 1 book in your language. If your partner is from the same country, send a book about the history of your town, or about a certain aspect of your town, or a book you loved as a child, or a book that's changed your life - anything. Also, include a note about why you picked this book. This does not have to be store bought. It can be second-hand, from a thrift shop, your grandmother's bookcase, or... well, anywhere. The book can be paperback, hardback, thick, thin, big, or small.

  • 3 bags of tea/hot cocoa/coffee.

  • 1 Bath & Body product, store bought. Has to be completely new, and packaging/wrapping must not have been opened. If the packaging is not sealed but it's completely new nonetheless, include the receipt.

  • 1 Wishlist gift, store bought.

  • 1 accessory, like sunglasses, a scarf, a chihuahua (kidding), a bracelet, etc.

  • 3 random items. Entirely sender's choice. Does not have to be store bought.

Nothing you buy can be under 1 euro, 1.32 USD, or 0.84 GBP. Nothing you buy can be over 10 euro, 13.12 USD, or 8.49 GBP. Currency calculator: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator/?from=EUR&to=USD&amount=1.00

DON'T MAKE THE PACKAGE TOO EXPENSIVE. Please keep in mind that the receiver has to pay a tax if the value of the package exceeds a certain limit. Ask your local post office or call the Ministry of Finance or google it!

Everything you send has to be clean, unused (or if used, in a good state) and unopened. Hats, scarves, gloves, jewelry, clothes, that sort of thing, leave the price tag on. (You can use a pen or black marker to cover the price if you like.) If it comes without a price tag, include the receipt.

If you send stickers, you have to send at least 5. That counts as 1 item.

If you send notepad paper, letter paper, etc., you have to send at least 5 sheets. That counts as 1 item.

A used notepad only counts as 1 item if it has at least 5 sheets in it.

However, if you send a used notepad AND notepad sheets, they count as 1 item. If you send notepad sheets AND stickers, they count as 1 item. If you send a used notepad AND stickers, they count as 2 items.

Before sending, please check if the country you're sending to allows the goods to be imported. You can check this at your local post office, and otherwise, Google is your friend.

Remember you have some control over the shipping costs and the overall value of the parcel. The goodies do not have to be expensive, and they do not have to be heavy (shipping costs). Of course there is a minimum spending limit, but you do not have to spend more than that.

To prevent getting surprised by the shipping costs, please ask at your local post office or search Google before you sign up or before you start gathering the goodies. Here in the Netherlands it costs about 18 euros to ship overseas, and that's for parcels with a weight below 2 kg. If the parcel weighs more, we pay more. I assume it works the same way in other countries.

In other words, shipping costs will be much higher than postcards, letters, or your average swap. However, the weight of the parcel determines whether you pay minimum shipping costs or more. Please, keep this in mind.

If you have any questions, leave a comment. If it's urgent, PM me. :) If you have suggestions for the next swap, I'd love to know as well! What would you love to get from another country/town/swapper? (Though if it's a request to make the swap a little less big, there is no point. This is a big swap, it was intended this way.)

Discussion

snailmailer1 06/ 7/2013 #

I'd love to join this swap, but I can't take photos. I watched the last one. Both look really good. Enjoy :)

Pouffia 06/ 7/2013 #

@snailmailer1 I'll consider replacing them with something else the next round :)

Bluegirl 06/18/2013 #

I have just received the previous swap that this one and I loved it!!!!! I cannot wait to do another one!

Bluegirl 06/18/2013 #

Do you want us to send pictures of the stuff we received for swap n°2 or do you want us to take the pictures starting with this one?

Pouffia 06/18/2013 #

I'd love to get pictures of the swaps you received. I will make a blog for it tonight. You can send it to sabrinavz at gmail dot com.

Pouffia 06/18/2013 #

The Spoil Us, Local Goodies Blog is up! Link: http://spoiluslocalgoodies.blogspot.nl/

mara76 06/19/2013 #

I haven't sent out my package for swap #2 and here I am, joining in again. LOL. This swap is highly addicitive. I love challenges!

Pouffia 06/20/2013 #

@mara76 I'm really glad you like it this much! :)

Lizard 06/23/2013 #

LOVE the blog! Gives me inspiration of the kind of things to send. I am really looking forward to sharing my little corner of the world with my partner - wherever he or she may live in our world. ♥

Didi 07/ 4/2013 #

would love to join but will never make the grade.

ichigolollipop 07/ 8/2013 #

i'm so excited about this! :) will definetly put my heart into it ^^

transplanted1 07/26/2013 #

Do local made chocolate bars that cost $5 each count as 1 item or do I need to buy 3 of them to be 1 item?

leilx 07/27/2013 #

I wish a 3 from 2011 did not prevent me from joining this swap...it sounds wonderful!

Pouffia 07/27/2013 #

@transplanted1 A chocolate bar counts as 1 item if it's 15 cm / 5.9 inch in length, give or take. I'll add that to the swap description.

FunnerKimberley 07/28/2013 #

I'm so glad the send isn't until October. That gives more chance of getting chocolate! hehe

user2637 08/ 1/2013 #

Wow, 2 months is a looong time to send. Many a swapper has gone from great to flaker in 2 months. :/

ichigolollipop 08/ 1/2013 #

i hope not! i just participated on a swap where the time to send was way smaller and still some people didnt send yet =/....so i guess that's relative! For me, it'll give me more time to put my heart into the swap since i only have time during the weekends ^^"

Pouffia 08/ 2/2013 #

@user2637 The first SULG swap came and went without problems. Two months is fine, I'd almost say necessary, because this is a big swap and it gives people plenty of time to put the package together. Not to mention the money to send it out. There's no guarantee no one will flake, there never is. I don't believe those two months increases the chance on flakers. A swapper can become a flaker overnight.

Also, I do check profiles before assigning swap partners, so chances of flakers are minimal.

scrapkween 08/ 3/2013 #

If anyone is interested in doing a similar private goody exchange with me, please contact me =) I would very much lie to do one.

ladydy5 08/ 3/2013 #

WOW!

libertylithium 08/ 6/2013 #

I wish there was a USA only version :( there's no way a poor college kid could afford international postage on this. Haha

libertylithium 08/ 6/2013 #

@scrapkween you have flaked 4 times. You should try to make it up to the people you flaked on before trying to do a swap like this.

libertylithium 08/ 6/2013 #

@scrapkween :) I'm sure if you fixed that you'd have no problem finding a partner :) people are just weary on giant swaps like this because they cost a lot of money to prepare and send :)

kiki95816 08/ 6/2013 #

I would love to join this swap but am a newbie. I have just sent off my last swap of pic 3 and last week was blind swap that I mailed off last week. I just received my first envelope of goodies that were so cool. This is fun. How can I join?

jacquierae 08/ 6/2013 #

would love to do this but im a newbie :( have fun y'all :)

Pouffia 08/ 7/2013 #

@kiki95816 and @jacquierae There are two more coming up: SULG - Downsized Edition for which the signup deadline is September 27, or the SULG #4, for which the signup deadline is October 22.

Lizard 08/ 8/2013 #

I just posted my swap for the last one and it cost $36 to send! I will be devastated if it doesn't reach its' destination.

Pouffia 08/ 9/2013 #

I'll put in an extra word about the shipping costs so they won't come as a surprise to people. But @Lizard if it's any reassurance, so far all the parcels I've sent out since I actively started penpalling (which is about 18 months now) have reached their destination. And I sent out quite a few. Postcards got lost, letters got lost, but parcels never. Also, here in the Netherlands we have the option to put "track & trace" on it, which means the parcel can be retraced. Of course it costs a little extra.

meshimotakame 08/10/2013 #

I got a question :) Does the bath&body product have to be a shower gel/soap/body lotion or something like that? Or can it be an eyeshadow/lipstick/eyeliner (makeup product)?

+my little suggestion: a book is unnecessary in this swap, I think. It's nice to have it, but you will not read it since you probably don't speak the language it's written in and it only makes the parcel much more heavier :)

meshimotakame 08/10/2013 #

PS. I've already collected a half of products for this swap! Yayyy! Now I have to take some photos of food and print them :) Cheers!

nyanSan 08/10/2013 #

@meshimotakame well, there you speak for yourself :). I would learn the language and read it. Being interested in other cultures and countries is like that -- you're interested in everything and not just getting local items. Well, I'm speaking for myself here.

meshimotakame 08/11/2013 #

@nyanSan good luck with learning Polish LOL :D btw, I think that sending a magazine (something like Hello! or OK) would be more interesting. If someone wants to receive a book, I'm okay with that; I only say what I'd like to get :)

Pouffia 08/11/2013 #

@meshimotakame The B&B product can be any of the products you mentioned. Make up, shower gel, anything you use for your body, basically. Also, I personally think it's fun to get a book from another country because I don't often get to see a book with pages filled with a foreign language. Plus I think it's a cool idea to use as an art journal or for crafts. I also have a thing for languages, so although I most likely will not be able to decipher it, it's still cool to see what I can make of it. But I will keep your suggestion for a magazine instead a book in mind for future swaps. I think magazines are a cool idea as well.

nyanSan 08/12/2013 #

@meshimotakame haha I happen to know a little Polish (family is partially Polish so I'm a cheater XD lol.) but I don't think it's a hard language to learn.

As for magazines -- I think it's a good idea for people who do scrapbooking. I'm not really interested in it though... so I still prefer things I can actually practice languages with ;), be it Polish or Thai (<3). Or whatever.

Lizard 08/13/2013 #

@meshimotakame If I got a foreign language book, I would LOVE it to be a children's book! Pictures give clues to words and still enjoyable. Well, I am a big child at heart. :)

@pouffia My partner in the previous one hasn't sent yet. :\

Pouffia 08/13/2013 #

@Lizard I'll contact her.

Pouffia 08/13/2013 #

I just went through the participants list and I just wanted to say how awesome it is that you all joined the swap. We have people from the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, UK, Lithuania, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Philippines, and more. It's a very international group. So much fun!

deathpony 08/13/2013 #

I just wanted to agree with @Lizard - I would love to get a children's book too!!

kiwicsi 08/13/2013 #

What a wonderful idea for a swap! Easy enough to build up the pile of goodies without a huge impact on the wallet in one go. :o) Really looking forward to participating in this one!

Pouffia 08/13/2013 #

@Lizard she's sent the parcel. She forgot to hit the Sent button.

Peachapatchi 08/13/2013 #

I'm very much looking forward to this! Swaps like this are why I joined this site and I love putting packages together. I think the book/magazine can be a good idea because if media mail applies to overseas then it can lower the costs.. I'm not sure if it does though.

Nightenbelle 09/ 2/2013 #

I'm almost ready to send this one!! Just waiting on the wishlist item to arrive. They don't actually have a wishlist- so I went pinterest stalking and found something very similar to some things they've pinned. I almost want to keep it myself its pretty dang cool. Other than that- just need photos and a local souvenir. Those are hard to find for some reason. Its football season. . . so everything touristy is American Football themed. Hope my partner likes American Football!

inkyaddict 09/30/2013 #

I can not wait for the next swap!!! :)

misscorina 10/ 8/2013 #

My swap went out yesterday! Hopefully it will be there by the end of the week. I hope my partner will enjoy my package.

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