Clara Listensprechen @ClaraListensprechen4@social.cleverlibre.org

#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.

#MarvySwap #seedswap #tutorial #KnowItTeachIt

If you are aware of a post office which places the bar code further up on the envelope, then add more writing on the area of the envelope where you know the bar code occurs, but leave the writing on the bottom because that's where most post office sorters look for it.

And even when you're taking the non-machineable strategy, STILL always use the foam simply because "accidents" do happen.

Non-machineable rate still has thickness limits, so to avoid seeds lumping together in transit, this is how I pack the inside of the greeting card (see attached image).

Yes, I made the tiny envelopes myself and that part alone is labor intensive but it does use up scrap paper around here and I've created a template to make quick work of it.

You can find "coin envelopes" in the business supply area of a store like Walmart or Target in your area, and, of course, one like Staples. Just know that you'll need to use more than one of those for larger seed quantities (than First Class) to avoid lumps.

You'll still need to be able to fit the card in the envelope, too, so the envelope's limits are where your thickness limits are as well.

#MarvySwap #seedswap #tutorial #KnowItTeachIt

An improved strategy to send more seeds inside a greeting card with sheet foam protection involves multiple small seed packets laid out so that the card still lays flat, but it's a large greeting card, and its envelope bears a NON MACHINEABLE RATE stamp instead of a First Class stamp. It costs more but it's less than the cost of sending a bubble envelope.

That's USPS-speak for "HAND CANCEL" markings on an envelope but even that's not good enough to be sure they won't run it through the machinery, because they will "by accident"...and that's why the attached image looks the way it does.

It has Sharpie markings on both sides for the purpose of interfering with the bar code they put on it as the result of machining.

Notice also that I put the destination zip code where the return address should be (and type of seeds inside) so that the USPS has only one address possible. The idiots in my town have kicked back mail for no reason and with this method it always goes through and the seeds always arrive in good condition.

#MarvySwap #seedswap #tutorial #KnowItTeachIt

If you take precautions that don't trigger the USPS to send your seeds back to you, there is a way to send a few FLAT seeds (like milkweed seeds) via First Class without them getting crushed by sorting machinery.

Some grocery store produce, like apples, get packed in crates with sheet foam. When you use a greeting card, you can slip a piece of that foam in between the front and the back of the card, with your seeds, and send them First Class that way.

Sending small hard seeds, as long as there aren't many, thus risking them bunching up into a lump in one spot, can be done this way via First Class.

Sending more, bulkier seeds will require a different method, of course. The USPS has both size and thickness limits on First Class so anything beyond those limits require a better strategy.

The posts following this one outline the methodology of how #MarvySwap worked on FB.
#tutorial
In a nutshell, you post what seeds you have available, members read what seeds you have and say they're interested via reply, but swap details are conducted via PM (in the Fediverse, that would be DM).

They make an agreement to swap, and then swap addresses. That's for a straight up trade.

If a swapper simply wants to order seeds, they can ask the poster if this is an option and if it's okay, the arrangement via DM is to obtain an address to send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) and the transaction happens by that method...BUT!!...

Different methods of utilizing the USPS means the possibility of the seeds getting crushed by USPS sorting machinery, and that often happens if the expectation is to send the seeds via First Class. You need to protect the seeds from crushing while still meeting USPS thickness restrictions or they'll kick the mail back to you for additional postage and then it's a hassle.

Details of how to go about mailing seeds safely will be in the next post in this thread.

#seedswap #KnowItTeachIt

So Trump was in the #Epstein circle. QUESTION: Was Melania an Epstein Girl?