Bunny Goods Swap?

[aeposten]

I'm a member ofthe photo sharing site Flickr and a member of a bunny group within thesite. Recently, they hosted a Bunny Goods Swap where members who wantedto participate were paired with another member and they swappedinexpensive homemade, store bought, or crafty bunny-related goods.Things like toys, treats, bunny stationary, and handmade picture frames.

Link to the swap results on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnygoodyswap/pool/

I think this is an AWESOME idea. I was wondering if anyone here on ROwould be interested in participating in something like this? I would bewilling to organize/facilitate things (or a willing mod could do it).This first post is just to see if anyone is interested.

I'm about to logoff for the night, but if there is interest I'd love to do some planning in the morning.

-Amy


P.S. Mods, if this is inappropriate feel free to delete it.

 

[Jess_sully]

I did a Secret Paws thing with the bunnycommunity on Blogger.net a few years ago. It sounds very similar towhat you're talking about... we'd send eachother packages of treats,toys, etc. It was really fun! I'd probably be interested, but not rightat this exact moment in time. I'd like to wait until I actuallyhave a bunny again... which isn't until October 1st

 

[nuttinbutrouble]

I actually do something like this every yeararound Christmas time on Sibernet-L (an email list for Siberian Huskyowners). Whoever wants to particpate sends their contact info (name,email, mailing address) to the organizer and you get paired up withsomeone else. We send toys, treats, siberian-related t-shirts,hats,mugs, etc. The spending limit is generally set around $15. We all havea really good time doing it and sharing things with our fellow breedfanciers. I would be interested in participating in something similarhere.

 

[Haley]

Its weird you should mention it, because justtoday I got a catalog at our office for (eek!) Christmas cards, and Istarted thinking about gifts etc. I was thinking how fun it would be todo something like a secret santa here on the site. Great minds, ya know?

Anyway, I think it would be fun, whenever we did it. Im definitely interested. What does everyone else think?

 

[Runestonez]

Two thumbs up!:happydanceGreat Idea!:bunnydance:

 

[kellyjade]

That sounds like it would be fun..I'm definitely in if we do it.:thumbup Cool idea!

 

[SugarGlider]

What a great idea! We do sugar glideritem swaps on the sugar glider boards I'm part of and we also did horseitem swaps on the horse board (when I had a horse, which I din'tanymore). I've always really enjoyed them!

Some of the swaps we did...

Easter Basket Swap (for horses/gliders AND their humans)
Book swap
General gift exchange
Christmas card swap (we each had three people to send to and people got very creative)

I think the easter one was the best but mostly because I got chocolatewith it Christmas is sometimes a hard time to do a wholebig swap but the cards aren't very expensive and it was really fun

 

[Jess_sully]

Haley wrote:

Itsweird you should mention it, because just today I got a catalog at ouroffice for (eek!) Christmas cards...

Christmas comes up sooo fast! It's exciting considering the presentsyou receive, but not so much when I think of all the money that will bespent on presents for my friends and family.

Anyways, I'd LOVE to do it around Christmas time. I think a $20.00limit per package would be pretty reasonable, don't you think?

 

[naturestee]

I think this would be a great idea!Just remember that we need to do this in a way that keeps addresses andfull names private. You do have to be careful about wierdoson the Internet, ya know?

I'll talk to the other Mods. It would probably be best if aMod organized it because we're always here... chained to our computerdesks.

 

[aeposten]

"weirdos on the internet . . ."

You mean us bunny slaves, right?

I'm so glad that there's interest in this! it should be a lot of fun! Ibet us RO members could come up with some great and creative ideas!

-Amy

 

[SugarGlider]

To keep things private the organizer should haveeveryone send their name and address in a private message to them andthen they send that info to the person who is buying for them.

Sign ups should last a couple weeks then give a month to get packagesout. Then when we all get our packages we post pictures ofwhat we got and try to guess who sent it!!

Another thing that is ushually done with ones I've been a part of isthe packages must be shipped with a tracking number and that trackingnumber is to be sent to the organizer when the package is shipped so noone can say oh I sent mine but it must have gotten lost.

If I think of anything else I've seen done to make things easier I'll post it.

 

[aeposten]

Having a tracking number is an excellent idea. Igenerally do it with all the packages I send as a rule, and it would begreat to prevent people from signing up just to get free stuff (notthat anyone here would do that).

-Amy

 

[Jess_sully]

Yes, we had the problem of packages "gettinglost in the mail" with a few newer members to the Secret Paws that Iwas involved with. It was frustrating, because you can't really proveif they sent it or not. Hopefully nobody would do that on here, but thetracking numbers would help!

 

[nuttinbutrouble]

In my personal experience, I've found thatappointing 1 person to take everyone's email with their full name andmailing address makes people feel more secure about it. That way nopersonal information is posted directly on a website. Another helpfulthing I've discovered is having the participants also list in theiremail their pets along with their ages and colors (sometimes this helpsthe gift be a little more personal). Considering some customs laws andshipping costs, it's also generally a good idea to ask if there is apreference as to being matched with someone from the same country. Atracking number on the package is also a good idea. Once theparticipant mails the package, the number should also be emailed to theorganizer to let them know that the package has been shipped. It's alsoa good idea to email the organizer when you get your package to letthem know it arrived safely. We generally also have a few volunteerswho are willing to send out backup packages should one get lost in themail or if something happens that a participant cannot fulfill theircommitment (sometimes things just happen and you can't help it). I'lllist a sample below of what questions we like participants to answer.If I think of anything else I'll add it.

SAMPLE:

Name:

Address:

Pets (types/ages/colors):

T-shirt/Sweatshirt size (if desired):

Shipping Country Preference (if any):

 

[Jess_sully]

A fun thing to do would be send the firstpackage, and then two weeks later send a second one with a picture ofyour bunny in it so that they know who sent the presents For some ofthe more famous buns around here, that would be one surefire way toreveal the "secret" santa

 

[JadeIcing]

Jess_sully wrote:

I did a Secret Paws thing with the bunny community onBlogger.net a few years ago. It sounds very similar to what you'retalking about... we'd send eachother packages of treats, toys, etc. Itwas really fun! I'd probably be interested, but not right at this exactmoment in time. I'd like to wait until I actually have a bunnyagain... which isn't until October 1st

Well First my birthday is October 1st. Also That day will be one year married. Yea I got married on my birthday.



Second I would love to do this.

 

[Jess_sully]

JadeIcing wrote:
Well First my birthday is October 1st. Also That day will be one year married. Yea I got married on my birthday.

Wow! Strange coincidence, huh? That's an easy way to remember your birthday... if I ever need to know it

 

[Snuggys Mom]

That's a great idea.

I was wondering if we could have a "Craig's List for Rabbits" threadhere. I know many of us have extra things laying around thatother bunny huggers could use, like grids, bottles, hay racks,etc.

Iwould gladly send my extra stuff to anyone here who could use it.

 

[Jess_sully]

That's an excellent idea, too! I would bewilling to do the same. I'm sure many people could benefit from thestuff I have laying around... and I could probably benefit from otherpeople's, too.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

We could have a "things wanted" list and a "things for grabs" list!