Secret Santa 2014 input wanted

[Elizabeth Mac]

I agree with a shorter sign-up window for all of the reasons already mentioned. I've already started collecting items just in case my person is interested. I truly think about Christmas year-round! I love gifting so much!!! 

 

[SaraP]

Late to the vote but...Short window to ensure more shopping time!

 

[Kristine Walker]

 I have a question about the rules. It states that all items must be new,  never opened, swatched, used , or tested. I have no problems giving things strictly according to that rule. My question is that there are some items I would love to receive even if they are used.

  Case in point: Midsummer swap. My number one wishlist item was the UD Glinda palette, used was fine by me. Lo and behold, my fondest wish came true! I did indeed receive a beautiful, gorgeous, beloved Glinda palette in gently used condition! I was beyond thrilled as I thought it was an impossible wish. (I still crow about it, Momma and DH are getting about tired of my ongoing excitement )

   May I state in my Secret Santa information that I , personally ,do not mind if certain products (ie palettes) are used?

 

[lovepink]

Ok maybe I am missing something but if we have to ship by December 1st this means we will not be able to take advantage of any black Friday sales right?  Because Thanksgiving is Nov 27th and then December 1st is the following Monday.

It has been a long day and I would just like clarification.  TIA!

 

[SaraP]

Ok maybe I am missing something but if we have to ship by December 1st this means we will not be able to take advantage of any black Friday sales right?  Because Thanksgiving is Nov 27th and then December 1st is the following Monday.

It has been a long day and I would just like clarification.  TIA!

@@lovepink The 1st is only for international shippers, the 15th for the rest, but with an earlier sign up day we should be able to shop the bf sales.

 

[lovepink]

@@lovepink The 1st is only for international shippers, the 15th for the rest, but with an earlier sign up day we should be able to shop the bf sales.

Thank you!  I knew I must have been misreading things!  Thank you for clarifying for my sleep addled, sugar infested, sitting in  traffic melted mind! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[kawaiiwoofs]

 I have a question about the rules. It states that all items must be new,  never opened, swatched, used , or tested. I have no problems giving things strictly according to that rule. My question is that there are some items I would love to receive even if they are used.

  Case in point: Midsummer swap. My number one wishlist item was the UD Glinda palette, used was fine by me. Lo and behold, my fondest wish came true! I did indeed receive a beautiful, gorgeous, beloved Glinda palette in gently used condition! I was beyond thrilled as I thought it was an impossible wish. (I still crow about it, Momma and DH are getting about tired of my ongoing excitement )

   May I state in my Secret Santa information that I , personally ,do not mind if certain products (ie palettes) are used?

This is a point of information I think that should/will be included in the survey/profile/info and would count as an extra and not toward the $25 since it is used. 

 

[meaganola]

I think the key word to clarify here is "value."  It's not that the *value* of whatever you're sending has to be below $25.  It's that your *out-of-pocket expense* should be below that amount.  My 2015 packages are likely going to go *way* over the value due to a Kickstarter (less than seven hundred bucks to MAGIC!), and then there are all sorts of things I accumulate and never use thanks to subs that can probably go into my Santa packages, not to mention GWP or breaking-up-gift-sets stuff, but I won't be counting those items against my spending limit.

 

[BSquared]

So soon already!! Woohoo I am excited! I miss shopping for someone else!

Edit: becuse iPhone.

 

[NotTheMama]

Is there going to be a separate Secret Santa for nails again this year? It was so much darn fun last year I'd love to see it make a return!

 

[zadidoll]

Is there going to be a separate Secret Santa for nails again this year? It was so much darn fun last year I'd love to see it make a return!

If I have staff to run it like last year then yes it'll be back. I didn't run nails last year and I'm not running it this year. I wasn't going to run Secret Santa this year either but here I am. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[zadidoll]

Oh and that reminds me, I've decided to take someone's advice - forgot who, sorry! - and we'll be using Elfster this year to coordinate Secret Santa. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I do have it up now however I'm not going to post the link to it yet until the day of the official sign up. At this time it looks like the deadline will indeed be November 8 since for far we have approximately 40 yes let's close it November 8 to zero leave it open until the 15.


 

 

[JC327]

@@JC327 What are your thoughts on this? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Thanks for mentioning me didnt realize this thread had blown up. I will catch up and let you know.

 

[JC327]

While I obviously do not expect you to change this now, I wanted to voice for consideration for the future that I think the turnaround time for international swap buddies is ROUGH, and is what makes me want to avoid saying I can take an international santee. Those people are going to have barely 2 weeks to stalk, shop and ship and I personally think that's not long enough.  Some indies take 2 weeks to even ship the package out to you and even with bigger and better known companies it is common that it would take at least 1 week to get something. It is even more frustrating if someone is 'late' posting their wants list in that case you'd basically have to guess just to get stuff on time.

I am not meaning to sound critical and I understand why December 1 has to be the ship date to make sure people get it by Christmas, but I think a 2 week window is really, REALLY tight.  I personally would favor a 2 week sign up window so there would be 3 weeks minimum to shop.

Again, this is not meant to sound overly complaining and I do not expect you to change anything for this year, but I feel this is a serious concern that I need to voice.

I agree with this, sometimes mail sent to and from APO takes forever to arrive. I am looking  to see if the German mailing system is quicker during the holidays because I would be worried about my giftee getting their gift late.

 

[Dashery]

I wasn't going to run Secret Santa this year either but here I am. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

We're lucky to have you! Thanks for organizing it, Zadi!  :hugs3:  ♡o｡.(✿ฺ｡ ✿ฺ)

 

[onelilspark]

I think the key word to clarify here is "value."  It's not that the *value* of whatever you're sending has to be below $25.  It's that your *out-of-pocket expense* should be below that amount.  

Yes, that's exactly what threw me for a loop!

 

[JC327]

People tend to go above the $25 limit and that's fine. Many people use points, freebies they get from purchases or from their personal stash of unused items from various subscription groups. People also do a lot of swapping to get what they want for their giftee. So long as the items are new, unused and never opened. I love shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales because you typically can walk away with hundreds of dollars worth of product for under $30.

Cost to ship internationally varies depending on the weight of the package and the location. Last time I sent a small gift via priority to the middle east it was $25.

Not sure if  I fall in the international category since  I have a US mailing address but who ever ships to me needs to fill out a customs form.

 

[Jac13]

I like the idea of a shorter window. So, I vote for the 8th.

 

[zadidoll]

It looks like, since we're over 40 votes in, that the window will be shorter this year with a longer shop/stalk/send window. Just remember that once you DO mail it to send me or the Elves (TBD) the tracking #. We're going to try to avoid the issues we had last year with a couple of members who waited until AFTER Christmas to send stuff with one member (who has been subsequently banned due to swaplifting) sending used/old products. Trust me, I have a few choice words about people like that. That is why tracking is mandatory this year and it costs about 80 cents to $1.25 more at the post office unless priority is used. Best to use Paypal since 1st class still has built in tracking.

 

[Jac13]

I wish we could do an early ship and end date as well. My least favorite thing is the drawn out wait time, especially around the holidays. Are we doing the tier group? I know that was thrown around after last year reveals.