Postcard Swap - DONE! *phew!*

[ristvak]

A reminder about feedback...

I am the only one who will leave feedback for everyone in this swap. When you receive a card all you have to do is post in the thread that you got a card and from whom.

Do not leave feedback for anyone. Thanks.

Postcard Swap

Because getting snail mail is fun! (when it's not bills...)

This is just a quick and easy swap for something fun and different to do!

There are NO feedback requirements. As long as you joined the Arena before April 23rd, 2012, I'll let you in. (As long as you can fill out the sign up form correctly!)

This is a real swap though, and I will leave you feedback once everyone has sent and received their postcards.

Once sign ups have closed I will send out everyone's address to everyone. Each member will then be responsible for shipping one postcard to each person on the list.

(So if 10 people signed up you will need to mail out 9 postcards. You will also receive one postcard from each of those 9 people)

Please read this post in it's entirety!

I know it's long, but I promise all of your immediate burning questions will be answered <3

And if they aren't then post them in the thread or PM me! I will answer them and add them to this post for anyone else who's wondering the same thing.

Important Dates to Remember
Sign ups: April 26th - May 5th
Addresses sent out: May 6th
Mailing Deadline: Saturday June 2nd

Do I need feedback to join?
Nope! This swap is open to anyone and everyone who would like to join! (Provided they joined the site before April 23, 2012)

Will I receive feedback?
Yes. At the end of the swap, once everyone has sent and received, I will leave you overall swap feedback. You will not receive feedback from everyone you send a card to, just me. (That means no one but me is responsible for leaving feedback either. You lucky ponies you )

Ship on time and send a card to everyone you had to? Positive!
Ship late or forget someone? Possibly a neutral. At best you'd get a positive with a wrist slap.
Ship excessively late or completely flake? Negative!

(Hypothetical freak out)
Ack! 30 people signed up! I don't want to send out 29 postcards! Can I take back my sign up?!
No =P But don't worry, I don't want to mail out that many either! If more than 13 people sign up then I will start breaking the list up into smaller, diverse groups. So absolute worst case scenario, you'd be responsible for sending out 12 postcards.

Wait, so 7-13 people will have my address? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that...
Then this probably isn't the swap for you =/

 

Will I have to ship outside of my country?
...Probably. If you REALLY don't want to I will do my best to facilitate your wishes. Just keep in mind that you wouldn't be receiving any international postcards either.

What kind of postcards are we sending out?
Something that shows off the area where you live. Be it a picture of the sky line, a historical monument, the local baseball stadium, or just a general "I'm from Texas! Look, an armadillo!" postcard.

Can they be comical as well as physical/realistic?

Examples of "comical" postcards.
Examples of "physical" postcards. (And of course monuments, skylines, and landscapes would all be in this category as well.)

I will include each person's preference when I send out addresses.

What do we write on the postcards?
Whatever you want! You can tell people who your favorite pony is, something you like about where you live, a funny quote from your favorite TV show or movie, or (if you've got really bad writer's block) what the weather is like the day you mailed the postcards.
The only requirement is that you include your name at the end of your message. Either your full name (first and last) or your username. Just so we can keep track of which cards have been received =)

 

Now when you say "postcard"....
A postcard is a single sheet of thick paper with a picture on the front and the back divided between a message on the left half and the receipient's address on the right half. Postage is placed in the upper right corner (like any other letter). Remember to keep important info above the bottom half inch or so (1/2", 1.5cm). The post office typically runs a meter type stamp there. Sometimes it's a rubber stamp and doesn't cause an issue but sometimes it's a paper strip, and we don't want any addresses being covered!

The USPS website defines a postcard as "maximum size: 6 inches long by 4-1/4 inches high by .016 inch thick." A large postcard is "maximum size: 11-1/2 inches long by 6-1/4 inches high by 1/4 inch thick" (And the larger ones cost more to send!)

 

How much is postage for a postcard anyways?
Within the US- $0.32 ($0.45 for a "large" postcard)
Outside the US- $1.05 (only listed rate online is for a regular postcard)
Don't live in the US? Ask your local post office or check their webpage for rates.

How do we prove that we've shipped?
I will ask that before you mail out the cards you take a quick picture of all the postcards you're mailing and PM it to me. (Front and back so I can see the designs and addresses ) A group shot is fine, I don't need (or expect) you to individually photograph them!
Because really, by the time you obtain the postcards and address them all, what's stopping you from mailing them out?

What if I don't have time to get to the post office to mail them?
Put a regular First Class/Forever stamp on them and stick them in your mailbox for your mailman to pick up. (They'll take items with more postage than necessary, just not less )

Where would I even buy postcards to send?
Well I can't speak for everywhere, but in my area Walmart Supercenters and Hobby Lobbys have a souveneir section near the registers with postcards. There's also a souveneir shop in my local mall that sells them. I imagine larger truck stop type gas stations would have them as well, though I haven't investigated that myself.
(If you have any tips on where to find postcards post them in the thread or PM them to me and I will add them to this post!)

How do I sign up?
Fill out the following form and PM it to me (preferably with "Postcard Swap" somewhere in the title)
Username:
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
E-mail Address:
Do you prefer comical or physical postcards?:
Will you ship internationally?:
Do you Pinkie Pie Promise to mail out each and every postcard expected of you? (yes would be the correct answer here ):

I sent in my sign up form! ...Now what?
I will PM everyone a list of addresses on Sunday May 6th. Then get shopping, send me a picture of the fronts and backs of your completed postcards, and get them mailed out before June 2nd!

So I can mail everything on May 8th if I have all the cards found and addressed?
Yep. Just don't forget to PM me that picture of the fronts and backs of your postcards!

Participants:
ristvak - mailed 5/30 - received 12
Vintergatan - mailed 5/11 -  received 12 - feedback left!
SweetScoops - mailed 5/29 - received 12 - feedback left!
xeevee - mailed 5/10 - received 12 - feedback left!
nuttertasha - mailed 5/14 - received 12 - feedback left!
truevampiress - mailed 5/17 - received 12 - feedback left!
xkelpiex - mailed 6/2 -  received 12 - feedback left!
tulagirl - mailed 5/7 - received 11 - feedback left!
Meru-desu - mailed 5/16 - received 12 - feedback left!
Salli - mailed 5/8 - received 12 - feedback left!
NinaMarie - mailed 6/1 - received 12 - feedback left!
wiccanpony1 - mailed 5/17 - received 12 - feedback left!
Princess-Sparkles - mailed 5/26 -  received 1 - feedback left!2

[SweetScoops]

I'd love too! (Depending how many postcards we have to ship.)

[ristvak]

I'm planning on doing smaller groups if a lot of people sign up. I think at most I'd have 10 people to a group, so you'd only have to ship to 9 people.

[kaoskat]

Sounds neat! Have fun!

[nuttertasha]

yeah sounds fun to me

[pyrodarknessanny]

yeah im in!
justed posted to my DA page that i was looking to do something like this!

[Diamond]

Sounds interesting, but are people going to send the postcards out by themselves or are they going to say put all the post cards in one envelope and send to there swapie?  It is not super clear. 

[ristvak]

Everyone would ship out a postcard to each person signed up (or in their group)

Example: If everyone who's posted so far signed up, then I would have to mail one postcard each to SweetScoops, kaoskat, nuttertasha, pyrodarknessanny, and Diamond.
And SweetScoops would have to mail one postcard each to me, kaoskat, nuttertasha, pyrodarknessanny, and Diamond.
And kaoskat would have to mail one postcard each to me, SweetScoops, nuttertasha, pyrodarknessanny, and Diamond.
etc, etc.

Does that make sense?

[Ginger]

Ooo! I'd LOVE to join! I used to look for penpals to do this with all the time, postcards are so fun. ^-^

[ristvak]

Yeah I was doing this last year with just one pony friend and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd expand my horizons! =)

And Diamond I just finished typing out a super long informative post that I'll put up once I start sign ups if any of the mods want to give it a once over <3
My gauging interest post is slightly incoherent but I promise it all makes sense in the end!

[TexasGal]

I might well be interested in this, though I want to know who wants funny ones and who wants more serious ones?  There are usually some really funny ones down here cause, come on.   Texas cowboys and whatnot. ;]

[Vintergatan]

I´m actually totally up for this ^^

i´ve always been intimidated to join swaps, mainly because the customs here would tear me apart if I received a good sized box, but this could really work out

Plus, Iceland is a beautiful country and everyone deserves to at least get a postcard from here

count me in ^^

[ristvak]

*swoons* I can only imagine how pretty an Iceland postcard would be!

I was going to wait til the weekend to open sign ups but since there's a fair bit of interest maybe I'll do it a few days early... We'll see how tomorrow goes! *grumbles about having to go to the PO to pick up a package she missed delivery on*

[BrightSide]

Hmm.. I'm intrigued by this.

Would shipping be costly? (from England?) It's just that I'm currently running the Candy Swap, and I can see my shipping being mighty expensive! So it really depends when deadlines are going to be, and how much it'd cost me.

I live in one of the biggest tourist locations in England, so it's super easy for me to get hold of lots of postcards! We're by the seaside, and Blackpool Tower is a landmark for most tourists..

[ristvak]

I honestly don't know what postage for postcards is outside the US (here it's $1.05 to mail them internationally) Check the Royal Mail's website and see if they have their postcard rates listed =)