So, for those of you who participated in the 3rd swapmeet, how did it go? Feel free to tell us what you got, and whether or not you loved it.
Anything you'd like to see changed when we hold our next swapmeet in March? Also coming up: a "splitmeet" (for people who want to organize bottle splits) and a "freebiemeet" (for people who just want to give away their unloved perfumes). Both of those will be in January.
And I said in the swap rules that you would not be allowed to post complaints here, ever, but I really meant that you would not be allowed to post an accusation against another reader. If you want to post a general complaint because your swap didn't go well, feel free, just don't tell us who you were swapping with.
BTW, there's a "regular" poll coming along shortly for people who want to chat about something other than swapping.
Note: top image is Chrysanthemums by mdpai75 at flickr; some rights reserved.
Unfortunately this time the swapmeet didn’t work for me. I didn’t swap with anyone. Too little number of Europeans read NST
It’s not really about readership — less than half of our readers are in the US — but about who chooses to participate and/or swap. But so sorry you didn’t find any takers this time!
I know I know. There are many hidden lurkers.
No problem. Better luck next time I guess.
Hi,I haven’t participated this time, just missed it all togehter due to other things going on. Totally missed the announcement. I do have some intersting things, I believe, for split / swap with others and also have some things Id like to have (in smaller sizes). How: I’ ve started the list for swap so by March I will be fully prepared to act on a spot. Robin, can we please have the announcement beforehand, at least a week may be even 2 wks before (I don’t know what was the case this time, sorry)? Txs.
I do always announce it before — now I can’t remember if a week or 2 weeks, but probably a week. I announced it in a Saturday poll, maybe I should make it a separate post? And also announced it on Twitter & Facebook. Still easy to miss if you’re busy!
Superhappy with how swap went, discovered many gems and lovely swap partners!
I did have one small issue, with a swap partner I think having mistaken what size decants she had on hand, such that she only sent half as much juice as we’d agreed on. I am still pleased with the outcome because those scents turned out to be some of my favorites, and it would have been quite a while before I got around to sniffing them myself. So the degree of unpredictability that a swap introduces was a net plus, in my eyes. But it was also a reminder that for times when I just want things to go as planned, paying for decants may be the wiser course.
Glad you were able to be flexible about it, but that’s too bad.
The swapmeet was very well-organized.
I was very happy with my swaps, even getting 2 FBs! It was serendipitous that one of the perfumes I had been searching for for at least 6 months was up for swap.
My advise:
1) If you have something on someone’s wish list but there’s nothing on the person’s To Swap list you want/like, email anyway because most swappers would have more than what is listed, especially since we were limited to a list of 15. The reverse also applies: If a swapper has something on their To Swap list but you have none of what’s on the “wanted” list, email anyway.
2) NOW is the time to get decant supplies if you are running low or have run out. I usually have extras and they came in handy when a swapper did not have any and I just offered to send some empty ones for her to decant her perfumes to send to me.
Now I need to work on packaging my freebies. I usually like to do them all at once and this is the weekend to get that all done.
Thank you for hosting the swap, Robin, and for keeping it open a little longer.
This was my first swap and i was so happy with how it worked out. I got about a third of a bottle of OJ woman and a big fb of Eau du Sud with a bunch of samples thrown in with it, including a large sample of Jovoy amber which I’m saving up for fb.. Both bottles I absolutely love. Thank you Robin for organizing the swap. Also, think you NST community for being so generous, kind and inclusive.
I didn’t participate in the swap this time, in part because the last few swaps I have take part in, both here and on Perfume Posse, have been so productive that I have very few unloved perfumes left! Those of you who have been holding out, please consider taking part. I have honestly not had a bad experience yet, and that is after about 25 total swaps.
I am looking forward to the freebiemeet. I think January is a perfect time to have it, as that usually seems to be a pretty quiet time of year. I do have just a few things left to divest myself of, and will probably offer them as freebies. I honestly have no lemmings at the moment, and am fine with not getting anything in return. The hardest part of offering freebies in a swapmeet is convincing people that free really means free. Nearly always, the other person has tried to get me to take something in return.
Robin, thanks for organizing these special events! I had a great swap last time and would love to participate again. I’m also interested in the freebie and split versions. Looks like I’ll be moving soon so I’ll be looking for homes for lots of stuff!
This swapmeet was every bit as great as the last one, but in a totally different way. I swapped with different people, am less of a newbie now than I was, and of course, got to try all different things. I’d love to do another one, and might even consider branching out beyond the US/Canada for swaps. I’d definitely be interested in participating in a splitmeet, and maybe a freebie meet as well.
Thanks for organizing/hosting.
Thanks to you, Robin and all the swappers! I had very successful swaps with some wonderful people. For me it is just easier to work with samples, as I do not buy anything FB unless I want to keep it for sure!! Would love to participate in the splits and freebies coming up and thanks again to the fab NST community.
This was my first swap as well. I swapped a full bottle for decants of five scents I had been very interested to try. I found a new love! Looking forward to splits and freebies in January in order to share the love. Many thanks to NST, my swap partners and everyone who contributed to my perfume education!
I had a great swap, and met two wonderful new NST friends! I got a few scents I have been longing to try – Iris Nazarena (love!) and IUNX no OO among other things, a very interesting set of Hermessence testers, and the lovely TDC Osmanthus. I also got to share some of my favourite iris fragrances, and hopefully my swap buddies found some new favourites too. Thank you Robin for hosting this swap!
Happy to report that I had several wonderful swaps! If I could give feedback to the above poster, the lovely Gardeniagirl, I would give it in droves. I am loving all of the irises, especially the Keiko Mecheri, but also Iris Poudre (and others, sigh, how I love iris).
Unfortunatelly, it didn’t go well for me this time. Only one person was interested in one item on my swap list. Communication was quite slow and I haven’t received anything in exchange yet. Still, this is a rare case, mostly, my swapping experience is great.
I was happy to rehome some unloved scents, and several generous perfumistas sent me things in exchange, even though I didn’t ask for them. I’m having fun working through my samples and decants–enjoying Habanita and Tearose as cheap thrills! (Could use more of those instead of always reaching for a Malle!)
The freebie meet sounds great, although I won’t have much to offer this time around, I expect. Gave away nearly everything I wanted to this time!
I had a great swap experience and am looking forward to more! Everyone was kind and generous and I love the idea of the freebie swap. I have some “unloveds” that I would love to find a good home for. Thank you Robin for organizing these opportunities!
I had a good experience, met one person in person and another through the mail…
though most people were afraid/shy of swapping to Canada. Maybe others can convince them it’s not too tricky? My mail swap went smoothly, we even received our things the same exact day.
I was away for a weekend when the swap took place, but managed to jump in at the very last moment. It went very well, I am satisfied. I swapped with one person I remembered from a year ago , and it was great. Thank you Robin for organizing this event. Will swap again next time.
Mine experience was ok. I swapped with Jepster and obtained a really fun 5ml rose scent from Yves Rocher that I adore. My other swap, she received her goodies, mine never made it to me. Not sure what happened, but I’m really sad about it.
That said, if anyone wants to go back to the swap page in the future and hit me up, I’m still game, : )
Oh, and thank you very much for holding the swap Robyn!
My thanks would probably mean more if I spelled your name right – sorry!
No luck this time – didn’t have any takers.
Sorry!
First timer, and I’d say a descent experience. I had one swap, so not as much as I’d hoped, but probably learned a few things.
The scent I received – Nuit de Tubereuse – turned out to not be my thing, but always helps to keep trying and learning.
The gal I swapped with was very nice and easy going. She graciously sent me a few extras I didn’t expect which was a fun surprise.
Thank you for organizing!
I was a first timer and thought it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed sending out my packages and recieving goodie boxes and envelopes after long, busy days. Definitely something I would do again.
And I discovered that not only does Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune work beautifully with my chemistry, it’s a dead ringer for the scent of my childhood walk to elementary school. Here in California, with our damp 55 degree mornings and our dry 85 degree days, it is a perfect Fall scent here, surprisingly.
I had such a wonderful time! Thank you for hosting and thank you to all the swappers. The experience gave me a real lift… how great is it that perfect strangers are willing to decant samples, pack personalized packages and mail them across the country to each other? Everyone was very kind and generous. I also appreciate the old-fashioned excitement of exchanging mail!
This was my first NST swap. I just caught it at the last minute so I didn’t have time to do my homework and prepare a good list of my own or have more decants supplies handy. (I’m trying to catch up!) But I’m happy with my swap. My goal this year was to actually give away, and I did a little bit. I look forward to January. I have a bunch of stuff I want to unload. I need to double check my inventory – it’s hard to remember and some frags are now in deep storage.