there are unspoken rules to swapping, or as i like to call them, swap ethics...
these rules derive from moral, consideration, and values... while some
people ignore them, the end results leave a bitter aftertaste when
mentioning "swap"... i thought to write a post about this topic; its my
opinion based off of what i've seen in the past year of swapping... so
what are these swap ethics?
this one, which i've seen several times, is when you give a swapper a
ton of goodies... then that swapper gives them away to another swap
buddy... now, i understand that you may have given them 5 yards of
beautiful fabric [for example] and they shared a teeny bit to someone else, who will appreciate it too... what is tacky, is when, the person gives away the entire 5 yards
to someone else they are swapping with... it makes you wonder why you
even bothered giving it away in the first place when you could have
swapped with someone who would have actually used it!!! i guess its
like re-gifting, which i also find particularly tacky...

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or what about when you give a swapper oodles of vintage goodness...
buttons, music sheets, fabric, paper, epherema.... you sent them some
lovely vintage items and then you find out the swapper is selling it on
their etsy shop for loads of money?? the items are unaltered and just
tossed in their etsy shop to gain a profit... even if they put it up
for a few pennies, the fact that they even did this, is insulting...
often you put goodies in a swap package for a swapper to use craftily
and not to sell to someone else... after all, if you would have known
someone would pay $10 for 5 vintage buttons, you would sold them
yourself instead of giving them away wholeheartedly and assuming that
swapper would use it....
oh, but what about the swapper who asks for expensive items all the
time? they want you to make tons of handmade goodness while they barely
even send you a handmade card.... they ask for TONS of old buttons and
would rather swap than to pay the price for them.... [and it's
especially bad when that swapper ends up being the same kind of person
who sells them!] after all, we all know how expensive handmade goods
are... and we also know how pricey vintage items can be... it is one
thing when that swapper cheerfully sends you oodles of goodies... but
its another thing when swappers sign up for swaps only to gain goodies
they dont want to pay for but will charge someone else an arm and a leg
for!
then there is the swapper who never ever emails you...you ask them
personal questions so you can send them the perfect package but they
never email you! and on top of that, they won't tell you if they
received your package, even though, according to the tracking number,
they got it last week!! could their computer be down? no, they just
uploaded photos yesterday.. the swapper who never emails is often
grateful for what you sent them but the fact that they didnt have the
courtesy to email you [when you sent it out on time and full of
handmade love] leaves you feeling frustrated and confused... while they
said they liked it, did they really???
and then you have the swapper who is always late... they send out
beautiful packages and their goodies don't look made the night
before... the package isn't full of cheap items but they are late...
shipping week was a month ago and they have yet to ship out their
package... they have five thousand excuses and half of them sound like
lies... at the end of this swapping ordeal, you are left feeling as
though you were taken advantage of... you ship on time but the swapper
fails to make you [and your time] of any importance...
there is the swapper who will never blog or post photos of what you sent them... they'll post of what another
person sent them but not you.... you check their blog daily to see if
they liked your goodies enough to share with the world but the post is
never written... though, this person will email you, exclaiming their
love for the package... while it's not manditory to blog about swap
packages received, it is a way of showing gratitude... if the swapper
chooses to blog of other swaps and not yours, it can leave you feeling
as if you [and your swap] wasn't worthy enough to make it to their
prestigious site....
lastly, you have the swapper who sent you whatever they felt like...
never mind your dislikes!! this swapper fialed to read your likes and
dislikes and sent you doggy toys, when you have birds... they send you
peanut butter candy bars, when you are allergic to peanuts and diabetic
to tiop it... they send you #2 pencils with teeth marks and yarn full
of cat hair... they didnt even bother to write you a note! this sort of
swapper is cheap, and leaves you full of regret...

i've seen all this and more in the world of swapping... thankfully,
i've never had to deal with such issues, other than one which was
speedily rectified... there are times when i have fell behind on
emailing or posting about a swap, but i always show love... there are
times when i was late in shipping, i am not perfect... none of us are,
and we all can fall lax in swapping... but we should try to follow some
sort of ethics in swapping... this is supposed to be fun, inspiring,
and a good way to make new crafty friends... let's not make the word,
swapping, a bad one...
*note: these photos are of GOOD SWAPS!! i wanted to use photos for the post but in NO WAY am i saying i DISLIKED any of these... the photo with the dogs, belongs to my mom