stationery exchange
posted on by Lee Cattarin
do you, like me, have a stash of greeting cards and stickers you’ll never use? Too many notebooks and pens?
let’s do a stationery exchange! You’ll still have too much stationery, but some will be new to you.
originated on the fediverse - see the #stationeryExchange hashtag.
outline
similar to a Secret Santa (but not holiday-oriented), each participant is assigned a recipient. Participants assemble an envelope or package (estimate around $20-25 in value (not incl. shipping), but you are highly encouraged to pull from your own supplies, thrift, or make things yourself before buying new) and send to their recipients.
because of international shipping prices, participants will opt in to broad location categories that they are able to ship to (US, EU, and rest of world). You are encouraged to provide more detail about your shipping abilities in a free text field following the opt-in question - if you’d like to check where you are unable to send mail to, try postcrossing’s postal monitor. I will do my absolute best to accommodate shipping restrictions and needs. If you are unable to be matched with a gifter and/or a giftee I will reach out.
CAVEAT: this can only occur if we get enough people. ‘enough’ is rather unquantifiable here, as it depends on the shipping needs of the recipients. As long as gift assignments are possible, we will get this off the ground!
timeline
this is tentative at current. Stay tuned for more surety once a poll closes.
ship-by date of the end of January. Packages will be expected to arrive at some point in February. If any recipient hasn’t received a package by end of February, I will follow up with their designated gifter.
reach out if you need flexibility regarding timeline!
shipping
if you are struggling with shipping costs, please feel free to put together a flat envelope with things such as greeting cards and stickers rather than more 3-dimensional items.
if you are shipping ink, please be aware that liquids often have specific shipping rules. Look up the relevant rules for your location.
if you are in the US, I quite recommend Pirate Ship which can help you get discounted rates with USPS and other services. You must make an account, but there is no fee for doing so.
backups
in the event of a drop-out or other issue, I will be providing one or two backup gifts. Participants may also opt-in to being backups as well to take some load off me. If backups are needed, I will cover the first one, then round-robin a randomized list of those who have opted in to backups.
let’s do it!
sign up for the stationery exchange
(if airtable is for any reason inaccessible to you, please reach out directly)