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PatGear
March 9th, 2008, 09:50 PM
In the interest of organization (and organizers' sanity) we are splitting the swap box journal into each box / region. Below is the list of ALL boxes and their organizers, so make sure you contact the right one if you are interested in participating. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST BEFORE INDICATING YOUR DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE!!

What is the swap box?
The swap box is simply a means for participants to "recycle" unused or unwanted hair accessories by passing them on to others.

Who are the organizers?
Eastern US: OhioLisa
Southern US: OhioLisa
Western US (including Alaska and Hawaii): PatGear
Canada: Garnett
Europe: Igor
Australia / New Zealand: AliWho can participate?
Participants must meet 3 criteria to be able to participate (these rules apply only to those who want to be added from this day forward):
Membership on LHC of at least 6 months
250 post minimum
Trader rating of at least 5~~Sorry if you think these guidelines are too strict. You can thank those who have "lost" the boxes previously.~~

If you meet ALL these requirement and would like to participate, please PM the swap box organizer. Please include the country/state you live in so we can make sure you're on the correct list.

How exactly does the box work?
The proper procedure for the swap box is:
Receive the box
Select items you want from the box
Replace the items you took with items of SIMILAR QUALITY
Post in the thread about the items you took and added
Look at the end of this post for the next name on the list
PM the next person to obtain their address
Send the box to its next destination and post here or PM the organizer that you have done so
PM your organizer if you would like to receive the box againWhat can I put in the box?
Any gift quality hair accessories can go into the box. This can include something you no longer use or something you have made specifically for the swap box. Do keep in mind that the box is not a dumping ground for unused hair items. (No plastic or metal clips that come 20 to a pack, for instance.) If you would not appreciate getting the same item as a gift, do NOT add it to the box.

What cannot go into the box?
Although extra goodies may seem like a nice idea, they really only add bulk and weight to the boxes. Please do not include coffees, teas, trinkets, or makeup in the boxes. Please also do not put bottles of product or oils in the boxes. The boxes are meant for accessories only.

What can I take from the box?
You can take any item from the box that you are able to replace with a similar quality item. If you are going to take a high end item (a ficcare or nice hair fork, for instance) you must be able to replace it with an equally high end item. 20 plastic claw clips do not equal a ficcare, yall.

How long do I keep the box?
We are imposing a 2 week turnaround time on the box. If your schedule / obligations will not allow you to get the box, take away and add what you wish, and send it to the next person within 2 weeks, then do not take the box! Squatting ruins the fun for everyone. (Of course, if you finish with the box before then, by all means, send it on its way! )

Any additional points to remember?
Please keep in mind that we need to be kept updated on this thread. We need to know when you get the box, what was taken, what was added, and when you will be sending to the next person. I will be keeping the first post of this thread updated with the box's status so that participants can know when to anticipate their turn. This means that I can only keep others updated if I am kept updated. Do not let other members sit and wonder what is going on with the box. Be courteous to your fellow participants by keeping us informed. Thank you.

As always, when in doubt or in question, please PM your box organizer.
__________________________________________________

Current Western US Swap Box List
The current list of participants (in the order of receipt):

lilmisspicky126 (Has box)
saracuda
missmelaniem
TheHippieChick
manderly
LilyMunster
PatGear
Islandgrrl
Tapioca

snowbear
March 9th, 2008, 10:15 PM
Trader ratings are not available yet on this version of LHC. Any way around that?

PatGear
March 9th, 2008, 10:36 PM
Yup, that's a problem, isn't it? I'm hoping that the old one will get transferred over soon. Maybe a mod/admin can chime in and let us know what the plans are.

snowbear
March 9th, 2008, 10:53 PM
Splendid, thanks!

lemonlife
March 10th, 2008, 07:22 PM
I had the swap box during the down time. I sent it on to Tapioca (who was next on the list).
I didn't think to write out what I swapped in & out on my computer. But, I put a big entry in the box's journal :)

Tapioca
March 11th, 2008, 03:17 PM
I have the swap box, and I got the next address today. I'll be sending it along tomorrow.

PatGear
March 14th, 2008, 05:36 PM
I made minor changes to the rules.

1) Added a little blurb at the end of the Who can participate? section.
2) Added to step 7 of the How exactly does the box work? section. (Basically, I want to know when you mailed the box.)
3) Changed the order of the participants slightly.

lilmisspicky126
March 23rd, 2008, 08:53 PM
I have the box right now and I've looked through it and put my stuff in there. Unfortunately I can't afford to send it out right now. ( I think we should warn people of how expensive the shipping is, if I had known it was going to cost me $16 to ship it out, I probably wouldn't have signed up.) But I will send it out ASAP.

PatGear
March 24th, 2008, 12:50 AM
lilmisspicky126, please post a list of items you took and the ones you put in the box on this thread. We had been lax about it when LHC was down but we should get back to doing that now.


( I think we should warn people of how expensive the shipping is, if I had known it was going to cost me $16 to ship it out, I probably wouldn't have signed up.)Hmmm, has the box grown again? :( It only cost me about $10 to send the box last summer. And it was to a state a several zones away from mine. Are there a lot of junky, heavy items? Maybe it needs to be weeded out again. If you'd like to do that, it might get your shipping cost down some.

Talking about shipping cost, I have some concerns about shipping to HI and AK. I know people who live in those states would like to participate, too, but it seems a bit unfair to the person who gets stuck having to send the box to those states since it can cost almost twice as much as shipping to the next state. At that point, it hardly seems worthwhile. What do we all think about it?

Tapioca
March 24th, 2008, 05:25 PM
I had the box last, and I noticed that the heaviest part was the bag of hairstick-making supplies. There were a lot of very pretty beads and findings, but beads (especially fimo clay ones) can get heavy easily.

lilmisspicky126
March 25th, 2008, 05:37 PM
I took out a steel U shaped hairpin, a pink flower barrette and my mom took out a patriotic headband.
I put in a horn comb and some BPAL imps.

I think that the box needs to be cleaned out, because no offense to anyone intended, there is a lot of junk in there. So I will weed some stuff out of the box if that is alright.

PatGear
April 30th, 2008, 05:57 PM
Sorry I thought I subscribed to this thread but I don't think I was notified about these last few replies.


I took out a steel U shaped hairpin, a pink flower barrette and my mom took out a patriotic headband.
I put in a horn comb and some BPAL imps. I'm sorry you found so few items to your liking. :( No wonder the shipping cost is not worth it for you.


I think that the box needs to be cleaned out, because no offense to anyone intended, there is a lot of junk in there. So I will weed some stuff out of the box if that is alright.Yes, please do that. If you're not sure whether something should be weeded out, you can PM me.

Often people who weed out items take them to a meet as "free-for-all". If nobody takes them then that means they really are worthless! So if you can do that when you go to your next meet, that would be great, so we don't want to feel bad about wasting them. :)

TheHippieChick
April 30th, 2008, 08:55 PM
hello-where is the box now?

PatGear
May 1st, 2008, 12:06 AM
hello-where is the box now?
You can always check the first post to see the status of the box. I keep that updated as I have new information.

TheHippieChick
May 1st, 2008, 07:22 AM
Thanx...off to look!

littlebabywulf
May 1st, 2008, 09:15 PM
Has there been any update about trader ratings? I've never traded on LCH before a week or two ago. I purchased something from lilmisspicky, so hopefully something will go into the trader rating thread at the top of this board. If it does, will that count? I realize I have a long way to go on my thread count and trading, but I'm moving to Oregon at the end of the month (is it May already?!), so I'd like to join in at some point.

PatGear
May 2nd, 2008, 12:12 AM
I think we just have to be patient about the trader ratings coming back. We have mentioned it in site support and it's on the list of things to do.

Tapioca
May 2nd, 2008, 10:10 AM
I noticed that my name isn't on the list of participants. Can I be put back on?

PatGear
May 2nd, 2008, 01:13 PM
I noticed that my name isn't on the list of participants. Can I be put back on?Sure thing!

This is a good time to remind everybody. If you want back on the list after you've sent off your box, you have to let me know.

littlebabywulf
May 2nd, 2008, 01:35 PM
I think we may have misunderstood each other? I'm just asking that if I trade with someone now (before the rating system is active) and they post that it was a positive experience in the thread up above if that will count as a trade. If it doesn't, that's fine. I'm willing to wait until the rating system is back up to continue trading; I was just curious.

PatGear
May 2nd, 2008, 02:11 PM
I think once the official TR came back, the info in that thread should be transferred there by the person who posted them. It wouldn't make sense for everyone to have to check in both places. (The old interrim TR thread was also abandoned once the old official TR was active.)

Islandgrrl
May 2nd, 2008, 02:26 PM
Thanks for adding me to the list, PatGear! I do have a question about shipping, since I read this thread through...is the boxed shipped via any particular shipping method? US Postal, Priority Mail, UPS, Fedex???

Thanks....

PatGear
May 2nd, 2008, 02:37 PM
Thanks for adding me to the list, PatGear! I do have a question about shipping, since I read this thread through...is the boxed shipped via any particular shipping method? US Postal, Priority Mail, UPS, Fedex???

Thanks....We had been shipping them via USPS parcel post with delivery confirmation. With the box at its current size/weight, I believe it's the cheapest way.

If you can ship it cheaper some other way (UPS, etc.), feel free to go ahead and use that, but whichever method you choose should have some sort of tracking -- delivery confirmation at the least. We have had too many instances of the box going missing. :(

Islandgrrl
May 27th, 2008, 10:20 AM
Good morning! Is there an update on the box's whereabouts? It seems like it's been a long time.....or maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

Not that I'm impatient......just curious! :)

Islandgrrl
June 25th, 2008, 02:30 PM
Bump.....any updates? It's been a looooooooooong time.

I have goodies for the box....

PatGear
June 26th, 2008, 12:03 PM
Sorry, I've been insanely busy. I've sent another reminder PM. Hopefully she has enough money to pay for shipping now.

P.S. You can check the box's whereabouts at the end of the first post of this page. I will update it with new information as it comes to me.

Islandgrrl
June 26th, 2008, 01:01 PM
Sorry, I've been insanely busy. I've sent another reminder PM. Hopefully she has enough money to pay for shipping now.

P.S. You can check the box's whereabouts at the end of the first post of this page. I will update it with new information as it comes to me.

Thanks, Pat! I understand insanely busy, I really do! :)

Eboshi
July 19th, 2008, 08:17 PM
The administrators and moderators of TLHC have come to the conclusion that TLHC can no longer be a vehicle for supporting the Swap boxes. This is based on the development of numerous ongoing issues relating to them.

We regret the disappointment and inconvenience that this may cause some members. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

For the current and only active Swap box, the Western one, please conclude it before Friday 8.15.2008. Thank you.