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Interest in bead swap? (sticky please!) - Page 4

post #61 of 80
5/28/09 at 12:45pm
Works now. Thanks!:

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post #62 of 80
5/28/09 at 1:23pm
I've never done a yahoo group before. I tried replying to message(s) already posted, but I can't see my message? Hopefully it's there!

ETA: It's there!
post #63 of 80
5/28/09 at 2:18pm
Just signed up!
post #64 of 80
5/28/09 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deny_zoo29 View Post
Everone should be in the 2nd Tri now right (I'm at 17 weeks so just checking)? I'm anxious to figure out how this all works as I've never done it before! Let us know where and when! :-)

I am still 13 weeks next week I will be in the second trimester
post #65 of 80
5/28/09 at 8:34pm
Thread Starter 
I'm here (with a bunch of pms from concerned mamas!). First of all, not everyone is in the second trimester, yet. I'm working on some things in the background. I'm going with the assumption that some mamas, because they are new to MDC (Welcome to MDC new mamas!), didn't realize about the MDC swap guidelines, since they don't have the minimum amount of posts to see the swap forum and were excited to get the show on the road, since I wasn't posting there. (I've been waiting for everyone to be solidly in the 2nd tri.) I'm sure they are honest mamas, but so many people have had issues with being burned on TP and swaps that there is some legitimate concern.

Here is
MDC Swap Board Rules and Guidelines

Access to the board is restricted to members who have been registered for 6 months and have at least 150 posts.

Organizers must have participated in at least 4 swaps before taking on the coordinator position. This is to include at least one swap of the same type you are organizing (i.e. traditional, craft, reverse, etc...)

Obviously we are taking the swap off MDC to yahoogroups so that new MDC DDC mamas can participate, but the mama who runs the swap REALLY needs to at least fit these minimum qualifications. And honestly, it seems like most boards I am on require coordinators of swaps and coops to have around 1000 posts or more. I was planning to get someone who was well qualified to run the swap, although I will if no one steps up. But honestly, I'd rather not.

I'm working on some background things for this, so give me a few days to get things ironed out. I'm sure all of this was an innocent misunderstanding. One way or another we'll get things ironed out. Fear not!

************************************************** **********************
Just wanted to be sure everyone know its all worked out and it was a totally innocent misunderstanding. New MDC mamas don't have access to the MDC swap boards to even know the rules. And the mamas were just trying to be helpful and get the show on the road. Its all good. We are consolidating everything so we are all one big group of Nov 2009 DDC happy pregnancy, labor, and birth bead love!
post #66 of 80
5/28/09 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
The Nov 2009 DDC bead swap yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/November09DDCbeadswap/

The other group is being closed and consolidating with this group. (If you are in that group you need to sign up with this group.) Sorry if it cause any confusion. At least one of the mamas who set up that group has graciously agreed to help mod this group. Thanks mama!

Go post an intro over there as we wait for everyone to get solidly to the 2nd trimester. I'll be posting pics over there as soon as I get a few minutes to rub together. Any other previous bead swap mamas feel free to post your pics over there.
post #67 of 80
5/28/09 at 11:32pm
I'm getting excited ladies ~ quick question is there a way to change your profile name on yahoo? It's my full name, if not I will probably create another user (with my blog name or something like that) is that okay? ETA: Just my first name, now I think...

Also, without seeming tacky - how much should I be budgeting for each bead? I'm thinking I will get 25+ of the same ones, is that kosher?
post #68 of 80
5/29/09 at 12:29pm
Well since this is the case- I am dropping from this bead swap and MDC. I am sorry but what makes someone with 1500 posts any MORE trusted with "possibly hundreds of dollars worth of beads" ? Someone stepped up- created a yahoo group- and offered to coordinate everything. I am not going to be apart of a group that is going to be so... well I won't name call. I loved this board- but seeing this happen disgusts me. I'm sorry hartfelt- this shouldn't have happened to you.
post #69 of 80
5/29/09 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrizzo View Post
Well since this is the case- I am dropping from this bead swap and MDC. I am sorry but what makes someone with 1500 posts any MORE trusted with "possibly hundreds of dollars worth of beads" ? Someone stepped up- created a yahoo group- and offered to coordinate everything. I am not going to be apart of a group that is going to be so... well I won't name call. I loved this board- but seeing this happen disgusts me. I'm sorry hartfelt- this shouldn't have happened to you.
Oh no! That's sad.

I hope you'll reconsider.
post #70 of 80
5/29/09 at 3:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrizzo View Post
Well since this is the case- I am dropping from this bead swap and MDC. I am sorry but what makes someone with 1500 posts any MORE trusted with "possibly hundreds of dollars worth of beads" ?
Oh, please don't. Those are the rules, that were made my MDC and in most cases they probably do make sense. But as it is always with rules, sometimes they don't make sense.
post #71 of 80
5/29/09 at 10:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrizzo View Post
Well since this is the case- I am dropping from this bead swap and MDC. I am sorry but what makes someone with 1500 posts any MORE trusted with "possibly hundreds of dollars worth of beads" ? Someone stepped up- created a yahoo group- and offered to coordinate everything. I am not going to be apart of a group that is going to be so... well I won't name call. I loved this board- but seeing this happen disgusts me. I'm sorry hartfelt- this shouldn't have happened to you.
I'm not quite sure what your issue is? Or what "disgusts" you? Someone (me, the OP) had already "stepped up... and offered to coordinate everything." and was waiting for everyone to make it solidly into the second trimester to set up the yahoo group as had been posted in the first few posts of the thread. Hartfelt being a newbie (nothing wrong with that, we were all new at one time...) and trying to help out and get the show on the road started a yahoo group. I am absolutely positively sure she did it with the purest of intentions.

There were some concerns raised both in threads on the DDC and in PMs about her running it since she has been here a month and at the time had 15 posts. The bead swap was already being handled. Never, either in PMs or onlist did anyone ever say anything negative about hartfelt. Personally, I found her delightful and lovely, and if anyone has anything mean to say about her, they will have to go through me!. If you have been around any boards with BSOT, swaps or coops, you know that is a classic scammers MO is to join hang out a little and then sell a high ticket item and not follow through on their end. (And many variations on the theme) 99% of the time it is an honest newbie mama who just doesn't have feedback yet (and hartfelt mama, I'm sure falls into that category...if you have read my posts in this and the other thread you will see I repeat that quite a bit), but the pattern has been repeated enough and people have been burned enough, that people are wary. Personally, I won't buy a high ticket item on ebay unless the person has substantial good feedback, but I try to buy low cost items from newbies to help them build feedback. Its the same idea, and it works that way in real life, you don't hire into a huge corporation fresh out of college, as the CEO.

You are right that a high post count does not make an honest trader, and I personally have heard of a few times that people with high posts and feedback have ripped people off, (In particular I know of a coop a couple years ago that had a great reputation and ripped off tens of thousands of dollars, AFAIK the mama faced federal prosecution, so I know it happens.) So anyone joining any swap, coop, BSOT is doing it at their own risk. Whoever I was getting to do it (and I was hoping we would have an experienced MDC swapper or DDC beadswapper in our group to do the actual swap and not me.) was going to have credentials other than their posts. Preferably an ebay, diaperswappers, thebabywearer or similar group rating or feedback. But the truth is at the end of the day it is less likely that there would be fraud from a mama who was known, had been around and had a good reputation to protect. Word spreads pretty fast in cyberland and people who are far smarter than I, can track people even if they change their username. People with a good longstanding rep don't want to lose that and so tend to do things honorably. Also someone who has a longer post history tends to have been around and understands the norms, rules and practices of that board. This whole thing is a good example of this. Someone with a longer post history or (even time period if they are more of a lurker) would know that a newbie doing a swap is kinda frowned on. ***And I want to make VERY clear that is not a criticism of Hartfelt or anyone else, it is just pointing out WHY more posts & longer history seems to be given more credibility.****

As to the hundreds of dollars of beads, I would never have thought that stupid 'ol beads would be worth that much, but I got a lesson the last bead swap and some of them are potentially worth a lot of money. (There were some gorgeous handmade pieces of art beads!) But for me, personally, I would just be heartbroken if the beadswap beads were lost to whatever, but not because of their monetary value. Each bead comes with a note of encouragement for labor and birth and it is very moving and spiritual. It is something that the other mamas here have each touched and that I am able to touch. Even though we are spread all over the world I can physically touch something from each of these other women who are giving birth in the same short period of time as I am. It is very powerful to wear it in labor knowing that all these other women are cheering me on. Which is why I most wanted to get this all together so we could be one single DDC beadswap. I want to share and receive all the earthy birthy beadlove with everyone from our DDC who wants to participate, not just 1/2, like we would if we divided into two groups.

Unless she's not telling me something, hartfelt is all good with this and will be a mod of the yahoogroup and helping out as much as she wants. Heck maybe there is MDC or DDC mama with high posts and feedback in her area and they could do the actual swap together, I dunno. I have no problem with hartfelt, (I really like her, she seems really sweet!) I don't think anyone else has a problem with her, and AFAIK hartfelt has no problems with this other than I think she might be a little (understandably IMHO) hurt because of the questioning of her newbieness (is that a word?) implying she's dishonest, although I don't think that was intentionally implied or believed by anyone. I can't speak for her, though, that's just what I got from PMing her, and I hope she'll pipe up and put this all to rest, so we can all move forward.

I probably have said too much, but I'm big on things being out in the open, and I'm trying my very best to lose the drama, and make everyone happy, and feeling the happy November birth bead love.

PS, was there a typo? Its 150 not 1500 before you can see the swap boards.
post #72 of 80
5/30/09 at 1:35am
Very well put!
post #73 of 80
5/30/09 at 7:16pm
hey mamas,
i am hoping we can all put the past behind us and get excited about this bead swap. this is such a special time in all of our lives. we deserve to share and rejoice.

much love,
lauren
post #74 of 80
5/30/09 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hartfelt View Post
hey mamas,
i am hoping we can all put the past behind us and get excited about this bead swap. this is such a special time in all of our lives. we deserve to share and rejoice.

much love,
lauren
post #75 of 80
5/31/09 at 12:26am
I just joined the yahoo group. I'm in Canada, so I'm wondering if I can still participate?
post #76 of 80
5/31/09 at 7:08pm
Thread Starter 
I think so, from what I remember from my last bead swap, we had international bead swappers. You need to figure out what you need to do to do the equivalent of a prepaid flat rate envelope. It seems like there was some sort of postage coupon? (I haven't had a chance to go to the PO and research that part yet, anyone know?) I'm thinking we can work it out one way or another. I think the big thing is that you will need to get your beads sent to whoever is doing the actual swapping right away to account for the extra time it takes to get to the states. I've heard stories about how long it takes to ship to/from US/Canada. I also think you and the person shipping them back will want to mark the package as a gift (Which it is...) to avoid customs issues.
post #77 of 80
6/1/09 at 5:50pm
Ok, I joined the yahoo group and read all the messages. I saw one that mentioned bead size but couldn't find a message that referenced an actual size. Can someone share? I'm looking into beads now and I want to get an idea of what will work and what won't.

When we will have a date of how many to purchase, where to send, etc etc?

ETA: Not asking for answers here (I know it's against the rules). I'm more looking for someone to tell me that the information I'm looking for is available on the yahoo group (since I can't find any posts that refer to it) OR for someone to PM me on where to look for the info. Between my 2 year old and pg brain I'm kinda useless these days
post #78 of 80
6/18/09 at 11:14am
I just signed up but Iam yahoo stupid!
post #79 of 80
6/18/09 at 12:11pm
There is no information regarding bead size or bead wholes (yet). Deadline for signup is June 20th, after that we'll do a head count. Proposed deadline for purchasing beads is July 15th. It should all be there in the messages.
post #80 of 80
6/18/09 at 10:58pm
hey mamas,
here are some things to keep in mind.

The deadline to sign up is June 21, father's day.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/November09DDCbeadswap/
You should have your beads in the mail by July 15
Katie plans to send them back by August 15


*as soon as she gets all the beads she will send them back, which may be before August 15

** international mamas should get their beads in the mail ASAP, and you might have to wait an extra week to get them back depending on your postal service

*Please package in bubble wrap, or a bubble wrap mailer. the PO can be brutal.

**Please send return postage

We will have a concrete number come monday morning and i will ask Katie to post the address of where to send. If you have any questions/concerns email the list and we can all work it out together!

Love and Light,
Lauren
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Archives › Pregnancy Archives › November 2009 › Interest in bead swap? (sticky please!)