Janice McC

Part 2

NOW the not so easy FAQs:

What happens if one member of a group is tardy in making and mailing blocks? Will the group have to wait for that one person in order to get all of our “squishies” back? This is where it starts getting tough. If the delay is going to be just a few days to a week, I’d prefer to hold everyone’s blocks for the missing ones. If the delay is going to be a month or more, I will send your completed blocks to you. However, if the delay looks to fall somewhere between a week and a month I believe I’d want to poll the whole group and the majority wins. Another option is that I can send to those who do not want to wait and hold for those who do. They’re your blocks so I think you all should decide. If a consensus cannot be amicably reached, I will make the decision about what to do.

Will you cap the number of participants? I’m beginning to think the answer is yes. Due to the complications associated with the new rules, and all of your comments about how much work I will have, I’d like to cap the number of people who enroll to not more than 50. That’s approximately three small groups or one large and one small. Right now, the vast majority of folks are asking for small groups so we’ll have to see how it works out, numbers-wise.

Will you have a waiting list? In the event we reach our max and people still wish to sign up, yes, I will have a waiting list. If it looks like a waiting list will be necessary, I will forewarn by a note on the sign-up post. The person at the top will have the opportunity to join first should there be a last minute drop out. People will be taken in the order in which they contact me.

Can international members join? What about tracking? I don’t know. My next job before the coming holiday weekend is to review the rules about shipping internationally. Anyone with reliable experience on international shipping this is welcome (greatly encouraged!) to email me with “International Shipping” in the subject line. When I have info, I’ll post it.

What is the cost of mailing my F8’s? This is still in question and will obviously depend upon how many you are mailing and the weight of your package. However, if yourF8s can be carefully squeezed into a letter size Flat Rate USPS Priority envelope, it costs $5.60 to mail. A legal sized Flat Rate USPS Priority envelope is $5.75 to mail. If your F8s won’t fit in either of these sizes, then costs will increase. (I’d planned to have experimented with F8s by now to determine how much would fit in a Flat rate envelope, but I’ve been to darned busy to do it yet. As soon as I do, I will let you know the results. This will help determine the amount you will need to send to me in order to pay for the return shipment of F8s. Obviously, it will be approximately the same as the amount you will pay to ship to me.)

I've signed up and am not sure if I want to participate. Am I committed? You may with draw from the group at any time prior to the close of sign-ups. Any later than that will jeopardize the balance established between the groups but if you must withdraw late, you must. I’d like to go into this with members who feel positive, or are at the least willing to give the new rules a try. Frankly, if you don’t have a gut feeling about whether to participate or not after reading all of this, maybe you should hold out for another swap at a later date.


I hope this answers the majority of questions you have. I will work hard (believe me, I already am) to make this a good experience for everyone. I guarantee you we will stumble through with a few bumps but we'll work it out. I hope you now have enough information to make your decision to join or wait for another round.

Have a great evening. I’m taking the rest of mine off. I will answer any sign-up emails tomorrow.