Participate in a GE?

[dollydoodle]

Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh we're tempted..........never been in one!
I know I'd want a cute smilebox & I'd need help with that for sure!!! (For the first time in my life I now own a camera, lol.)
Drama free sounds good but exciting is good, too, right?!!


(If I have 2 dogs exactly the same size & sex could I mention both names in the same single Exchange sign up?)

[Lilah Charm]

Originally Posted by horsnaround

The last one went very well I think. It was not a huge one but still fun. And we had an amazing secret buddy. I am in

Woo hoo! I really thought it was great too but it was my only one so I'm low on perspective. Well I think those last three calls make te interest high enough! Taylor- you started this thread with the intent not to chat but to establish interest in a ge, do you pm admin now?

[Dayswalters]

I sent the donation, I'm just not sure how long it takes to post.

[DBlain]

Taylor I promise if you start a new thread I will not post ONE negative thing on it. I apologize for doing so here, I let my emotions get in the way of what you were trying to accomplish. For those of you that have never been in a GE, feelings can get hurt pretty easily often it's not because of the gifts received but because some people don't communicate that well while others are filled with excitement and posting all the time about it. I guess I feel people need to know that going into to it.

I am going to say one last thing about the GE and by doing so I hope it will help the next exchange leave no one feeling let down. While some expectations are higher than others, those with high expectations usually are the best buddies because they pour their heart into it not just by buying appropriate gifts but by communicating a lot. I was lucky on both exchanges because I did get great boxes and nice thank yous, but on my last exchange one person never posted a single photo and a few had to be reminded to do so, no matter what anyone says that makes you a bit mad and hurts your feelings. On my first exchange all of us were excited and chomping at the bit to know who our buddy was but one person did not come back for a month after signing up. The rest of us were all shopping like mad and PM'ing her wondering if she was still in. Finally two weeks after she received notification of who her buddy was she surfaced. She was not my buddy but I know it made the person that got her reluctant to start buying a bunch of stuff since she was left wondering if she was going to participate.

I share this with you not to be negative but to let you know those are the types of things that create drama and hurt peoples feelings. Hopefully talking about them in advance will eliminate them in future GEs and then no one will leave with hurt feelings. Personally if I knew that everyone joining was all in from the beginning of the exchange to end I would look forward to participating again.

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by DBlain

Taylor I promise if you start a new thread I will not post ONE negative thing on it. I apologize for doing so here, I let my emotions get in the way of what you were trying to accomplish. For those of you that have never been in a GE, feelings can get hurt pretty easily often it's not because of the gifts received but because some people don't communicate that well while others are filled with excitement and posting all the time about it. I guess I feel people need to know that going into to it.

I am going to say one last thing about the GE and by doing so I hope it will help the next exchange leave no one feeling let down. While some expectations are higher than others, those with high expectations usually are the best buddies because they pour their heart into it not just by buying appropriate gifts but by communicating a lot. I was lucky on both exchanges because I did get great boxes and nice thank yous, but on my last exchange one person never posted a single photo and a few had to be reminded to do so, no matter what anyone says that makes you a bit mad and hurts your feelings. On my first exchange all of us were excited and chomping at the bit to know who our buddy was but one person did not come back for a month after signing up. The rest of us were all shopping like mad and PM'ing her wondering if she was still in. Finally two weeks after she received notification of who her buddy was she surfaced. She was not my buddy but I know it made the person that got her reluctant to start buying a bunch of stuff since she was left wondering if she was going to participate.

I share this with you not to be negative but to let you know those are the types of things that create drama and hurt peoples feelings. Hopefully talking about them in advance will eliminate them in future GEs and then no one will leave with hurt feelings. Personally if I knew that everyone joining was all in from the beginning of the exchange to end I would look forward to participating again.

I am sorry you were hurt by your GE experience. But, I just want to be sure people understand there are pretty clear rules set up for the GE. If you sign up you are required to send a gift, spend a designated minimum dollar amount, send it on time, and post a Thank You with pictures. If you expect more than this you probably shouldn't sign up. You are NOT required to check in, do a smilebox, hint threads, etc. When I say "do it without expectations" this is what I mean. I consider myself a decent buddy, but I do not have high expectations as you describe. As long as my buddy follows the rules put forth, I'm all good. I have participated in many GE because I get enjoyment out of being crafty and sharing that with others. That's all. I also want to add, that the GE participants that sign up are generally a pretty tight group. We do a pretty good job of following along and looking after everyone to make sure no one is left out. It may not be a perfect system and may have some flaws, but I've seen it work wonders the other way too.

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by Cha Cha

I am sorry you were hurt by your GE experience. But, I just want to be sure people understand there are pretty clear rules set up for the GE. If you sign up you are required to send a gift, spend a designated minimum dollar amount, send it on time, and post a Thank You with pictures. If you expect more than this you probably shouldn't sign up. You are NOT required to check in, do a smilebox, hint threads, etc. When I say "do it without expectations" this is what I mean. I consider myself a decent buddy, but I do not have high expectations as you describe. As long as my buddy follows the rules put forth, I'm all good. I have participated in many GE because I get enjoyment out of being crafty and sharing that with others. That's all. I also want to add, that the GE participants that sign up are generally a pretty tight group. We do a pretty good job of following along and looking after everyone to make sure no one is left out. It may not be a perfect system and may have some flaws, but I've seen it work wonders the other way too.

I was not hurt personally by the GE, just have seen others that have been. You are right though there are rules and honestly just about everyone follows them, most participants are excited to be in the exchange and you can feel it, it does often become a tight group. You are also right that there is no obligation to ever check in but I wish that there was a requirement to at least accept once you were sent your buddy's name. Wouldn't it make you wonder about your buddy if she did not even check to get her assignment until two weeks after they were sent out. Oh well for me it really just boils down to communication if I was running late with my box or with my thank you, I would make sure I got word out, I am not looking for someone to jump through hoops just follow the rules and communicate once and a while.

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by DBlain

I was not hurt personally by the GE, just have seen others that have been. You are right though there are rules and honestly just about everyone follows them, most participants are excited to be in the exchange and you can feel it, it does often become a tight group. You are also right that there is no obligation to ever check in but I wish that there was a requirement to at least accept once you were sent your buddy's name. Wouldn't it make you wonder about your buddy if she did not even check to get her assignment until two weeks after they were sent out. Oh well for me it really just boils down to communication if I was running late with my box or with my thank you, I would make sure I got word out, I am not looking for someone to jump through hoops just follow the rules and communicate once and a while.

Yes, I get what you are saying. I really do. But, once you sign up, that IS the commitment and you are obligated to follow through according to the rules. I think the rules even state that. Yes, I have had buddies in the past that didn't do hint threads, and didn't get into it like everyone else did and appeared absent, but they didn't do anything to not follow the rules. That didn't necessarily cheat me out of anything, I just posted clues to lead someone else on and it was quite fun. Sometimes, newbies are just that "new" and the first time is unfamiliar, or sometimes my buddy may have a real life. I just don't know. I think sometimes that's where the GE gets a bad rap, is by someone getting their feeling hurt because they had higher expectations than their buddy provided even thought the rules were followed. I just think we need to be careful about judging someone who didn't do anything wrong. Now, if a rule was broken, yeah, feelings get hurt, and we all do our best to make sure that person feels loved like they should and admin deals with the rule breaker.

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by Cha Cha

Yes, I get what you are saying. I really do. But, once you sign up, that IS the commitment and you are obligated to follow through according to the rules. I think the rules even state that. Yes, I have had buddies in the past that didn't do hint threads, and didn't get into it like everyone else did and appeared absent, but they didn't do anything to not follow the rules. That didn't necessarily cheat me out of anything, I just posted clues to lead someone else on and it was quite fun. Sometimes, newbies are just that "new" and the first time is unfamiliar, or sometimes my buddy may have a real life. I just don't know. I think sometimes that's where the GE gets a bad rap, is by someone getting their feeling hurt because they had higher expectations than their buddy provided even thought the rules were followed. I just think we need to be careful about judging someone who didn't do anything wrong. Now, if a rule was broken, yeah, feelings get hurt, and we all do our best to make sure that person feels loved like they should and admin deals with the rule breaker.

to be quite honest I am not big on the hint stuff myself and don't expect it in return, but LOL I was flabbergasted that someone would sign up and then take two weeks to check to see if they got a buddy, yeah they did not break the rules but please tell me I am not the only one to find that odd or a little bit worrisome. It's funny now but we all kept checking her profile where it shows the last time she logged on and I swear it was on the day she signed up and then finally about two weeks after we got our buddy's name she finally picked her's up, I did learn a lesson though that not everyone's excitement level is the same as your own.

[Dayswalters]

I got a reply on the donation...it went through and it also says that if you are a member for more than one month and have over 250 posts, you can participate in the GE😀 So I'm definitely in!

[maxdog]

I guess I am out because I do not have 250 posts.

[maxdog]

not yet

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by maxdog

I guess I am out because I do not have 250 posts.

I think you have until the sign up thread for your 250 posts to count. So you can go to the games, or to the picture section and start posting away!! I don't think you're out yet.

[maxdog]

OK (that's 1 more!)

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by maxdog

OK (that's 1 more!)

LOL that's what you need to keep doing, one word posts, that will add up quick. just post thumbs up and I like on all the picture and video threads that will add up quickly

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by Dayswalters

I got a reply on the donation...it went through and it also says that if you are a member for more than one month and have over 250 posts, you can participate in the GE😀 So I'm definitely in!

I hope that the one month is correct, currently it is still showing three months in the rules and reg thread at the top of this page. I remember this well because I was chomping at that the bit to join the exchange when I was new to the board. When the sign up started I was short a few days and even though the sign ups were still open when my three months passed I was not eligible. I was very disappointed, I hope that rule has been relaxed and you will be able to participate. BTW I was told reason they have that rule is they want people to be fully vested in YT and not just a fly by night member looking for free gifts.


We also require you to be a member of YorkieTalk for three months or longer as well as have at least 250 posts on YorkieTalk. You must be a member of YorkieTalk for a full three months before the start of the signup of the Gift Exchange. The actual date of which you must have already been a YorkieTalk member will be listed in the Signups thread. This is so that members can get to know you and your Yorkie better.