**swapping & gift exchange**

WHAT DO PEOPLE SWAP?

Since most of my main passions involve the postal service...! I guess its no surprise i love to swap ! gift exchange is another hobby of mine. I love getting/making little bits for my penpals and it is lovely to recieve little gifts in the mail :) 

Where as you may choose freely to send a gift to a friend /penpal with of course no obligation for them to return the gesture.... swapping is where you agree to swap certain items , in return for other  items. It is usually an arrangement made between 2 swappers. I enjoy this and also surprise package swaps where nothing in particular has been requested!

I notice many swappers who collect...
> thimbles
>lapel pins
>tea towel
>postcards
>stationary
>magnets
>souvenir items
>candy
>cosmetics
>snow globes
>kawaii items
>keychains
>playing cards
>currency
>Hand-made crafts

And much more! I personally love to swap all sorts of things , and do arranged swaps and swap via swap bot.com also. I usually prefer to swap "surprise" packages though! so the gifts inside are random ....and i usually know a penpal/swapper well enough to put together a nice package.

online Sites that allow you to create your own personal profile such as swap bot and interpals is great if your looking to penpal and/or swap because you can tell  potential swappers/penpals all about yourself , Including photos,hobbys,interests ect. even for non-swapping penpals its nice to read abit about someone in order to have a great first conversation and find some common ground ! I love looking at other peoples profiles fully ,reading about them ,their interests and any likes & dislikes.

WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?
Ide love to know what you collect! maybe you swap postcards? cosmetics,stationary,stickers,push pins..and so on. For me personly i go through phases , I have swapped postcards for stickers, ive got hello kitty items in return for thimbles, recieved written and stamped postcards in return for blank ones, and swapped candy from the uk for japan candy! but mostly i prefer random swaps ! surprise packages :)

SWAPPING COURTESY!
I have had many great swaps and feel lucky to know some very reliable and good swappers ! Those that actually return the swap! and return good swaps with good swaps!
and yes ive also had some bad swaps! lol .

pet peeves: people who ask you to send first and then.....

  A.) dissapear from the face of the earth

 B.) INSIST they didnt recieve your swap (all 3 of them!) even though you checked the address carefully AND sent signed for !

C.) Block you from online sites as soon as they get the package!!!

I rarely have these problems,but it does happen from time to time! now i insist on recieving first!


I swap with a penpal in america (well 2 actually!) , a penpal from turkey , 2 in australia, a penpal from greece and 2 in the uk. As postage has gone up here, my swaps are never as quick these days -but friends understand right? Does any one also love this hobby!? ohhhh, crazy me and my posting obbsession ! :-) hehe.

I often post pictures of swaps i send and recieve on flickr , although not as often as i used to! Its nice to look back on them , i know a few people that do this also ! PLUS its a nice way to show off personal collections , i guess some people do the same on face book . and ive known many people to have swap albums . them choosing something from yours and you choosing from theres!

what do you think about it?