Possible Bead Swap Option

On another thread, it was being discussed what to do with beads that you don't need anymore. ( We don't dare say unwanted as all beads are wanted correct...)

Someone posted ( I apologize as I don't remember who ) that thought of swapping beads. Many of us loved that idea. One person's trash is another person's treasure idea.

Several options were tossed around about how it could be done. By weight, by size of standard baggie ( 2 inches by 2 inches example ), however.

So is it possible that we could get some kind of option or extra page where we could list this stuff so that others could get it? We are not talking about selling these, just an even trade. If we could have a page where I could list a posting for a 2X2 inch bag of various manmade hematite up for grabs. Maybe also have a "WANT" column. Then if I want some blue glass beads, someone can contact me that they have them. I know that this is not the best examples but Artfire has a page where people can list what they are wanting and what they are willing to pay or trade for it. Something like that idea.

Thanks!

Here is another idea. You could or someone could keep a list of all that want to join in the fun and just connect people to their trade partner. It would be like your Birthday or Christmas to open your package with the surprise beads. It wouldn't be hard just draw names and tell everyone who they are trading with and the rest will be up to them to exchange mailing addresses. And if they don't care for or can't use what they received they could forward them on in the next trade. And it would be nice if we could do it say monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly it just sounds like so much fun. Did a book trade like that awhile back and that was fun too.

Just another idea for what ever it is worth.

 Sue - That is another cool idea and probably less work for the people here on the site!

It does sound like a great idea!

 I vote for a Beading Daily trader post.

I'm not done organizing everything and I just keep finding more stuff I don't use.......

 Sue, this is a terrific idea.  We could also consider something like a round robin, where someone can start a package to send to the second person.  The second person takes whatever he/she likes and adds something to the package, then passes it on to the third person.  That person will take and add, then send it to person number 4, and so on until it eventually gets back to the first person and then we can start all over again.

 A follow up idea is that after we each finish the creation from the grab bag, we post pictures of it.    (there's no smiley-con for camera)

 Whoever likes this idea, I've got a grab bag ready to go to the post office, just email me your address and we can just get this party started.  [imagine a smiley-con of a BEAD here...LOL]

 Dawn,

I love your idea. How do you know how much to put in the package after taking stuff out? Is it like a equal trade? Or can you add more?

 Hi Christina,

 I can only tell you what I would personally do if the package came to me, I would try to add more than what I took out....kinda like "leave it in better condition than when you found it" syndrome.  However, I think that regardless of what we might add, we need to make sure that we take only what we will make for a specific project and try to stay away from the "maybe someday".

 I was just replying to another post and mentioned one of my LBS's, she's always got a $1 table that has always got some really great stuff on it....I LOVE that table and she knows it...LOL (last time I went in I dropped over $50, just on THAT table, but not for projects in process, only for "ooo, that's pretty, I will eventually use that" kinda stuff).  I think that I will go back and pick up a few things JUST for the package, what fun.  But that's me, I love to give to others.  (Ooops, now don't everyone send me your email at once!...LOL)  Hey, maybe we could get 2 or 3 packs into the mail, all going in different directions.

 I think the most important thing about this "swap it forward (SIF)" is that we ALL agree on how we want to do it.  My thought about this kind of idea was so that we can keep things interesting and moving around the world, ya know.  If we do an SIF, we do need to determine who's participating and the order of mailing so that the package would eventually get back to the first person.

My 2 cents worth:

Maybe we should make a seperate posty for Beaders Round Robin...maybe in Bead Chat so we can post pics and notes about where the box is and such...

Maybe set a deadline, beaders that are interested should email you by (insert date here) for round 1, when box arrives at destination the beader has (insert how many days here) to swap stuff out and re-mail the box to the next in line. When the box gets back to you, start round 2, set up a sign up date and start again.

Plan the order of mailings based on where people are, i.e if you have 2 beaders in Calif, one in Wash, 2 in Idaho...it would be Calif, Calif, Wash, Idaho, Idaho then back to Calif.

Include a note in the box with the order and addresses it needs to goto, example: Dawn in Cali, mail to Chris in Wash, Mail to Jane in Montana...you cross your name off the list after you get the box, the last person mails the box back to who started it.

 This is a perfect way of doing it! Instead of a chain letter, we have a bead chain...

We can still use a certain size of bag, something small. Whatever you take out, you need to "refill" the bag. So if there is only a couple of beads that you like, you put in 2 or 3. If you love half the bag, take half the bag, but you have to refill it. To me that sounds fair. Kind of like the need a penny take a penny things at the convenient stores.

Anyway, I would definately be in on this. And if we keep it small, the postage would be minimal and stay minimal.

I was thinking about this early this morning when I couldn't sleep anymore.  If we did it like a Christmas drawing where say, I got your name I would send you a 2x2 bag of beads and you may get Billy and Billy may get Stan and Stan may get Jeni and so on. You can see how this would go and you wouldn't necessarily need an even number of traders like you would if you did a trade like you and I would trade, Billy and Stan, because it wouldn't work with an odd number. I love it I am ready to start. It just sounds like so much fun. And like I said if I for say sent a 2x2 bag of delicas and receiver doesn't have a use for delicas they could send them on in the next exchange. So if you get the ugliest beads you have ever seen in your life   you can get rid of them by "pay if forward" I will even be willing to do the name exchages this first time and then someone else could do it next time and give everyone a chance to do it. What does everyone think can we get this set up so  we can do mthe first exchange by the end of the month? then we could do it again the end of March (bi-monthly) or May (quarterly).

Sheila H:

On another thread, it was being discussed what to do with beads that you don't need anymore. ( We don't dare say unwanted as all beads are wanted correct...)

Someone posted ( I apologize as I don't remember who ) that thought of swapping beads. Many of us loved that idea. One person's trash is another person's treasure idea.

Several options were tossed around about how it could be done. By weight, by size of standard baggie ( 2 inches by 2 inches example ), however.

So is it possible that we could get some kind of option or extra page where we could list this stuff so that others could get it? We are not talking about selling these, just an even trade. If we could have a page where I could list a posting for a 2X2 inch bag of various manmade hematite up for grabs. Maybe also have a "WANT" column. Then if I want some blue glass beads, someone can contact me that they have them. I know that this is not the best examples but Artfire has a page where people can list what they are wanting and what they are willing to pay or trade for it. Something like that idea.

Thanks!

I was gonna just quote the last paragraph, but I realized the rest was also pertinent.

I have some beads I bought because the looked so pretty in the tube; I made a pair of earrings otr of some. and put the tube away. [Ugly!]

For some reason I had them in my collecton of earrings I had with me -- a lady at church told me she wanted to see my earrings -- she gave me $10.00 for them, and I was going to throw those D****D things into the garbage

Well, I doubt I'll ever use the rest of them, so I'd be very happy to send them to some central site.  Caution, persons requesing materials from that site will need to pay shipping costs -- it would be unreasonable to exect one person to cover all costs.

The last paragraph in the quote above [from Sheila H] would be an excellent way to handle the whole program, if BD could provide a space; then the one shipping the "extras" would cover the shipping costs, unless there was a private agreement to the contrary.

Stan B.

Stan, if we do it as I suggest you would only pay once for shipping by just geting the address of the reciever.

I suggested doing it as a gift exchange where one person with the list of names of all wanting to join in would match a name to another. put on the site which person would recieve from whom and they would send their mailing address to the person they are to receive from.  That sender would than send the beads directly to the receiver. You just won't have a choice of what you will receive, but if you don't like them you can get rid of them on the next swap. I also  suggest that we do this either bi-monthly or quarterly. Each exchage would be a seperate thing just because you did the first one doesn't mean you have to do the next or if you didn't do the first one you couldn't join in when you wanted. Each exchage would have it's own list of players. Join in when you want and just don't add your name if you don't. Jump in or out as often as you want for each swap will have a different drawing of names.  Am I making my rambling thoughts clear?

But that is only a suggestion. I am afraid that if you request a certain bead color,type or size it just won't happen. If you were to send it all to one place you will then have to have someone sort the stuff and resend it and that would be like a job and I for one wouldn't want to have to do that.

Sue, I was very interested in the part where you mentioned the posibility of two lists, one of "to give away" and the other of "wanted".

I would be very eager to join that plan, but not a "blind exchange".  I don't mind giving away what I most likely won't use, but I'm not sure I'd want to take the chance on receiving the same.  I would not mind not getting something I'd like if someone else made the first "bid'.

Thus the dual lists idea is my preference. This, however, would require someone to remove from the list those items which have been given away.  Most likely that would be the "donor" of the item.  As I mentioned in my last miussive, I hve most of a tube of those beads, and probably could find several others to list as well.

Now if one were willing to do the extra work in the "blind exchange" plan [Set up plan, make up list, delete names of those who mhave changed their minds,etc. ], there would probably be many interested in participating.

For that matter, both could be set up, they are not mutually exclusive, but the dual list requires assistance from Interweave.

Stan B.

 OK, everyone, seems to me that we've got 3 different ideas bouncing around here:

 1.  A message board where we can post pictures of beads we have to give and post "want ads" for beads we'd like to find.  We'd need Beading Daily staff to start a separate room for this one.

 2.  A one-on-one type bead exchange where we have each other's name and address to send/receive package from each other.  We basically only need each other to make this kind of swap.  This could actually also be a "secret santa" type of exchange which would then need a person to gather names, assign the names to each of us and then let us know.  Stan, is this idea what you consider a "blind exchange"?

 3.  A round-robin, or swap-it-forward (SIF) type of exchange where we form a list of people and replace as much as we've taken out and then send it to the next person on the list.  We would need a person who would take on organizing the list of names and the order of sending and keeping everyone in a particular loop informed.

 I like all 3 ideas because each really has it's own intrinsic purpose and each sounds like fun to me.

 If anyone is interested in creating a SIF, email me and I'll get things going.  I'll organize the address book and email list for each of us in the SIF, and I'll start a small box of several various beads and will send it to our next person on the list.  For anyone who's not sure if you'd like this idea, you can sit back and watch the first round and listen to our feedback and ideas for refining the round, then you can get in on the next round.  If we have 4 or 5 people interested, and make each turn-around time at a week, give a week for shipping, that would mean that this idea would last about 10 weeks (give or take a week or 2).  Other than myself, I have one other person who has emailed me, so anyone else??

 Dawn

Dawn, I would consider both 2 and 3 as "blind exchange", as you do not know what is there until you open the package. 

I am more interested in finding "a good home" for those [very few] beads I will probably never use, but may be "Just what I needed" for another.  I'd rather not throw them in the trash.  I also have some others whose fate I have not yet decided, I may just decide to reduce quantity, rather than give away all.

Interweave willing, I may soon list something in Bead Chat -- no idea when, yet.

Stan B.