Tips for a Successful Exchange

[WWWendy]

The easiest and fastest way to mail a video within the USA is in a Priority Mail video-sized box or padded envelope with a US Priority Mail stamp on it. If you are sending more than one video, have your package weighed to see if it requires additional postage. However, Priority Mail service has not been great lately, and many traders prefer to mail first class (which is less expensive) or media mail (the least expensive, but can take longer). Most traders like to let each other know at the outset what their preferred mailing method is.

Beyond abiding by the Video Exchange Rules (posted in this Forum), following these exchange etiquette tips will help keep you in the good graces of other exchangers:

• mail the video you agreed to trade within a few days. If you can't get to the post office to mail a video within a few days of arranging an exchange, email the other party to inform them there will be a delay, so they won't worry.
• Pay a little extra and get delivery confirmation on your outgoing package. In the event of a bad situation, it will allow you to prove you mailed the package and you will be able to check to see if the packate arrived at its destination
• Ask for and use the Zip+4 zipcodes. This usually improves transit time whether you've used Priority, First Class, or media mail.
• only offer a video to one person at a time
• allow the other party a few days to respond to a proposed trade (remember, some people don't have access to email on weekends and holidays). If they don't respond and you wish to offer the video to someone else, email the first party to let them know you are doing this.
• email the other party to confirm that the video was mailed
• email the other party to confirm that the video was received
• let the person know if you are mailing a video by a slower method than first class or priority mail (e.g. media mail).
• Use a well-padded envelope or box to lessen the risk of damage in transit. The Priority Mail video-sized boxes available online from the USPS at http://supplies.usps.gov in quantities of 50 (no cost) offer very good protection, but you can only use them for priority mail.
• Write "Video: Do Not Scan" on the video package to lessen the risk of damage in transit.

Tips for international trades:

Please write the following on the outside of the package so that your trading partner will not be charged unnecessary taxes and duties:

• used fitness video
• *gift* under $10 (or $15) or "no commercial value"

Also, be doubly sure that you have packaged your tape securely (a box with lots of padding will be the most protective).

[Felicia]

How to Post your Exchange List

Click on "New Thread" to post your list. Please specify at least one fitness related item that you have available for trade. Your Wish List of videos you would like in exchange can be open--i.e., you are not required to list any specific items for your Wish List. If you have any other comments (e.g. willingness to do 2-for-1 trades), add them to your listing. Also be sure to note any defects with your videos, including missing cases, artwork, etc.

Make sure you have enabled either the Email option or the Private Messaging option, or it will be impossible to make a trade.

You may only have one exchange listing at a time. You may edit or delete your list (click on the Edit key in the lower right corner of your post), but neither you nor another user may reply to it. If your list has changed substantially enough that you wish to post a new list, please be sure to delete the old one, which will keep you from receiving outdated offers. However, please only post a new listing no more frequently than every 48 hours.

Remember, offers to buy or sell videos are NOT permitted! Please remove all prices that are carryovers from other Swap forums.


Using Abbreviations and Punctuation in Exchange Listings

When posting the names of videos you have for trade or are interested in receiving, please use the full name of the item. For example, many exchange readers may not know that MIS means Cathe Friedrich's Maximum Intensity Strength.

Equally important is using the full name of numbered videos, in particular the CIA tapes. This will save people the trouble of going back and sifting through reviews to try and figure out whether you're offering a slide video, a body bar video, hi/lo, etc.. (Although we HIGHLY recommend reading the reviews for any videos you are interested in receiving and we encourage you to submit reviews for videos you are trading away!)

Regarding punctuation, try to avoid dashes (-), asterisks (*), or other punctuation marks right next to the names of the items on your Trade or Wish Lists, as the punctuation will eliminate these words from searches. For example, a search for "Firm" will not pick up on "*Firm" or "Firm-", so be careful how you are posting!


Deleting Your List

Please delete your old list before posting a new one; this reduces the total number of listings and ensures that users are only viewing current lists. Please show consideration for your fellow traders and delete your old list. Here's how:

To delete your old list before posting a new one, open up that post and click on Edit in the lower right corner. On the next screen, click the Delete box and then press "Delete Now." That's it! If you just have one or two minor changes to make to your list, please consider editing versus reposting it.

If you are having difficulty locating your old list(s), try this:

1. Click on the "Search" key near the upper right corner of the screen, just to the left of the "Log Out" key.

2. To the right side of the screen under "Search by User Name," put in your user name.

3. Further down to the screen and to the left side under "Search Forum," change the dropdown where it says Search All Open Forums to Exchange Listings. This means it will search only the Exchange Listings section of the forum.

4. Click on Perform Search near the bottom of the screen. This will bring up everything you currently have posted under Exchange Listings.


Our Very Own Bermuda Triangle (aka "Missing" Lists)

Call In Search Of! Call Ripley's Believe it or Not! Yes, we have our very own version of the Bermuda Triangle. Ours is located at the top of page 2 of the Exchange Listings. What this means is that about a day after you post your list (a little more or a little less depending on how actively people are posting lists) you will not be able to find your list. It will have TEMPORARILY (please note that word) disappeared into the ether, along with the other 3-4 posts at the top of page 2.

Please DO NOT post a new list. It will show up again in an hour or so when enough people have posted to move your list down.

If you click on "Thread Starter", the posts will be alphabetized by login name and you *should* be able to find your post (unless yor login starts with an A or B in which case it may still be up in the BT. Be patient--it will return.)

You might also try going into My VF and click on Edit Options. Where it says Default Thread View, change the dropdown from Forum Default to View All Threads. By changing the age range of the posts you see, this may correct the problem.

If a few hours go by and you still can't find it even when alphabetized, please email a moderator to let us know.


"Bumping" Lists

bump (verb) 1: to post a virtually content-free reply to a bulletin board thread in order to bring the thread to the top of the page 2: to delete and re-post an exchange list with few or no changes for the primary purpose of bringing it to the top of the page.

The VF Exchange does not permit users to post new exchange lists more frequently than every 48 hours.

In general, it's better to edit your list to make changes if it's just one or two items. However, if a couple of weeks have gone by and your list is in the nether regions of the exchange forum, where any edits/additions you make are unlikely to be seen, it's OK to post a new list (just be sure to delete your old one!). Ditto if you've made radical revisions in your exchange and/or wish lists and 48 have passed. However, we ask that people not post new lists when there have been either no changes or really minor ones, like the addition or deletion of just one or two items, even if 48 hours have passed. That is really nothing more than "bumping" for position, and not considered good netiquette. Moreover, if a lot of people do that, then we end up with a lot of "new" exchange lists that are, in fact, not really new at all, which is confusing and frustrating for other exchange users.


Month Old Lists

The moderators delete posts that are more than 30 days old. You will need to post a new list after 30 days. The moderators recommend that you keep a text file of your list, so that you won't have to reconstruct it from memory!

Happy Trading,
VF Exchange Moderators