GrayFoxPL said:
and the pictures of the store clerks!
Only if
you swap.
Devin Olsen said:
Question back to you, how often are these swaps? From what I can tell they are every 2-3 months? Is it some sort of set in stone schedule, or just when you feel like it?
It's a mix of both. I want everyones packages to get to their destinations from the previous swap, but I also have to get things organized in my life to have some extra time to match everyone up and to be able to monitor the thread closely.
Visualante said:
I wouldn't be willing to swap if it went down to receipts and pricing. I think that's a bit too far and would ruin the fun, but I'll leave it up to the vote.
Some people have vastly higher priced shipping costs- does that give them justification for shipping less candy once we start boiling it down to how much we spent?
The candy price that partners agree on is completely separate from the shipping costs. So, if two partners decided to have a 20$ price cap then they both must buy 20$ (Or a close currency conversion of that.) worth of candy. Or they could choose a weight cap instead. I paid 50$+ on my shipping not counting the candy I bought while my partner ended up having to pay much more. I really wish he didn't have to, but I really appreciate him doing so.
elseanio said:
I think receipts will take the fun out of it a little bit :-/ Also, hardly any places I bought my candy from would give a receipt.
Maybe have a rating of your swap, so from now on the person that sent under the amount, will have to be paired with someone with a similar low rating to take part in the next swap (or someone willing to go with someone who has a low rating)
To be honest, I sent a little less than what my paring sent me, but it was only when I received his parcel I realised this. I did spend what we agreed, but pricing and conversion rates, its never gonna be exact.
Toy Soldier said:
I agree with elseanio regarding the receipts. It kind of spoils the fun, and I don't like a partner having to prove to me how much he spent...I'm able to look and tell whether there's x amount in value, I trust GAF.
But I don't think it should be deterred as an OPTION for traders to use. Perhaps for the next sign-up, let everyone include if they want receipts required or not, then pair those who want receipts together (and if there's one lone person left, perhaps someone who said no will agree to do it to make things easier). Though considering how many options you have to consider already, that may make even more of a mess out of things. Bad idea, perhaps.
I'm just not sure if required receipts would have prevented Devin Olsen's problem with his partner. I guess the guy would have bought more knowing he was held to that much of a limit, but he knew he was totally underspending their limit anyway, and that didn't stop him. So it could function as a deterrent, but it's not foolproof. I'd prefer it not to be required, but I'd hate for someone like Devin Olsen to not feel comfortable trading anymore. Tough call.
It looks like majority seems against the receipt idea. That's perfectly fine, which is why I asked.
Believe me, I am not trying to treat anyone as criminals. I am trying to make the most of the swap that I can in the most efficient way possible. Obviously, I've had to implement controls and rules to help ensure that users will be faithful. But, I don't want to complicate things too much and push away people who really want to swap.
The more and more I do this, the more complicated it becomes due to keeping tabs on the previous swaps and making sure users aren't getting matched up with a country they have already swapped with. On top of many other things which all have to be organized and matched-up by hand. So, a rating system would be far too much to undertake for one person. Although, it is a very nice idea.
It's a very tough call and I am always trying to think of ways to make the swap better. Technically, the easiest way to handle all of the data would be to build a web application to handle registrations and matching automatically. But, once again, working on that alone could take a LONG time.
Maybe the operation of the swap needs to be remodelled. If any of you have any ideas, please share them!
(although i think those italian cookies are alright)
it's also really tasty.
