#MarvySwap #seedswap #tutorial #KnowItTeachIt
There will be issues that crop up in the process of seed swap participation, and one would be following my earlier instructions and forgetting to put your return address INSIDE the greeting card...which I forgot to mention in the course of the tutorial, ha.
Another issue would be a transaction that isn't a direct swap and instead, you're sent an SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) for seeds and all it has is a single First Class stamp on it.
Solution: use the envelope, do not put your return address on it and hopefully you haven't thrown out any snail mail spam like political campaign stuff because that's good card stock to use to protect the seeds, and of course, use sheet foam, and don't put too many seeds in it. Any issues that the PO has with it has only one address to go to about it, like a demand for POSTAGE DUE.
Issue: having a different understanding about the terms of the swap than your fellow swapper does.
Solution: Terms of swapping needs to always be worked out via PM/DM before agreeing to swap, when you're swapping addresses, and be tolerant of delays. Netiquette demands that you notify your swapper when you've sent off the seeds and if there are delays in sending off the seeds, as there are often issues with supply materials or family emergency.
Netiquette also demands that the swappers inform the other when the seeds have arrived and in what condition. Don't be quick to hot temper rants--more often than not there's a good reason for what happened including the PO losing the mail or delivering it to the wrong address.
Issue: Seed swapping across the borders with Canada, Mexico, where ever. There is no issue with First Class or Non Machineable Rate mail but there might be with a package, and bubble envelopes are considered to be packages by the USPS, which is why they also involve tracking numbers...and why I haven't mentioned those thusfar, but they're additional (and pricier) swapping options.
Additionally, in the Facebook swap group, requests for seed donations are acceptable because a recognized objective is habitat restoration. That's a case when the requester gives their address via PM/DM and the entire burden of costs are on the seed donor.
