how do i run a trade?
If you are interested in running a trade in the future, or you are doing one now and are unsure as to your responsibilities, this is the place to be.As a trade organizer, it is your job to enforce the deadline and the theme, to perform the unpleasant task of bugging participants who don't send you things on time, to go to the post office laden with 14 or so misshapen bundles.
First, the trade set up. Someone, usually the listmistress but not always, reminds everyone that there's a trade to be done. We all pick a theme and set a tentative deadline to give the list members an idea of what's expected. Then we wait for people to sign up.
Once you have the cap number of traders (15, or less if you wish), you should email the trade information to the list, or to the members of the trade privately, whichever you prefer. This information includes the theme, the deadline, the amount owed for postage, and your address. Then you make books and wait for books to arrive!
It is good to email the list and/or traders and remind them when they have 2 months, a month, a week left til the deadline. Make sure that if someone drops out of the trade, that you notify all the traders so that they don't make extra books.
The traders, if all goes well, will have mailed you their books by or around the deadline. If there are 15 traders total, each person will mail you 14 books, one for each other trader. It is then your job to put the trade packages together with one of each book, address and put the correct amount of postage on them, and mail them in a timely manner.
If you have any questions, please email the list or me personally! Organizing a trade is more difficult than it sounds, and I've provided this little intro to try and be helpful but obviously I can't read your mind if you have questions.