Chrizty,

Have you seen the rate & review forum? It can be very helpful, but a lot of people don't know about it. Before trading try to do a search on the forum for the GW name of the person you are trading with. (try looking up your non-sender, chances are someone else got the same thing, or they may not even be listed)

I wouldn't worry about "bugging" them, but sometimes things do come up and life gets in the way. (I still owe someone a trade from last summer, but I made sure she new I wasn't just ignoring her, I even tried to send her the postage for the plants she sent me but she wouldn't let me.)

But, I've also had some non-senders, and a couple very bad trades not many though. Most of the people on here are great and will hold up there end, but always a few bad apples!

As far as "postage worth" well, that can be easy, it goes by weight! Or a full flat rate box. Some plants are worth more than others, for instance, I wish I had seen you had p grass before I moved, I had TONS of sweet william! I would have gladly sent you a BIG bunch of that for a smaller clump of p grass. I've been wanting that for yrs. so to me, yours would have been "worth" much more than what I had to offer.

I have also sent what I felt was a nice big trade and gotten some very small plants in return. I try to discuss it with the person before the trade now so I know what they are sending, how big, how many, etc. Unless it is plants for postage, then I take what amount they send, which has always been a good deal!

I hope this helps!

PS. if you still have some p grass and would like a nice Dieffenbachia stalk cutting LMK :) I don't have any outdoor plants to trade right now, I just move to a new home in Montana.

Welcome to GW!
Vicky

Here is a link that might be useful: Rate and Review

Also, make sure you check your spam folder, a lot of my GW mail goes there!

also when you ask how many plants do they want in trade n they say they want their postage worth,,, what do you do about that?
hmmm...That would be a hard one to figure out....as not all plants are created equal. Example...small by nature wildflowers, say trilliums, or trout lilies. It could take 30-100 of these precious little jewels to equal 1 LB postage.
Then there are the folks that are big Flat Rate Box senders, which is not always the best postage deal. If someone lives in your state, or a surrounding state, it most often is a lot cheaper to pay by the pound rather than Flat Rate.
An example...a trader sent a box from FL and thought it was heavy and thought Flat Rate would be the best way....paid $8.95.
When I received it, I checked the weight (have wonderful cheap digital scale-Ebay!) and saw it was 2 LB 4 OZ. I checked my handy zone and rate charts (compliments of my friendly PO folks) and saw it 'could' have been mailed for $6.40 also Priority...for a savings of $2.55.

I also don't usually post to trade threads where the member does not have their location listed. If I do, it has to be something pretty special to make it worth the postage if the trade is over one LB. I am working a big trade with a member in zone 8. We will be filling our boxes with lots of Peony roots (heavy), irises, and daffs. Anything over 2.1 OZ would be (3 LBS) and cost $11.20...so in this rather rare case, the Flat Rate is the best deal.

You can go here to fill in your zip code and then print out the Zone Chart. Once you have that and the zip of the person you are trading with, you will see what mailing zone they are in....1 through 8.

You can then go here and see on page 18 the Priority Mail prices for all the different weights to all 8 different mail zones. One can then print it out, choosing to just print page 18 of the file. You can then see there is a big cost difference in trading with folks closer to home (surrounding states) as opped to someone who is far far away.

Also...when in doubt, you can email and just ask privately if you like. Feel free to email me, or others you might feel comfortable sharing the details with.

I have a case the exact opposite of Vic above...someone send me $10 postage for plants, and then told me to NOT send them....LMAO...it was Vic herself above...knowing she was going to likely move and asking that I wait...and we have just recently been back in touch finally. I have stressed (a little) over holding her money...but now will get to finally mail her some long ago promised goodies.

I am careful about posting what I will trade for what...due to the postage cost. Another example...say 8 of my Lycoris could easily be 3 LBs with a street value (purchase price on line) of $40 and cost of $9.80 (flat rate best deal) if mailed to someone in CA or WA, Mail Zone 8 from me. 8 named Daffodils might have a purchase price of $8 and be shipped for 1 LB ($4.80 now I think) or even for less if they were under 13 OZ and went First Class Mail which I am told is as fast as Priority. I hate it when I trade with someone and they overpay when they ship, not knowing the best shipping value.

Sue...who considers mail zone, weight, shipping cost, street value, availability, and everything when 'considering' a trade.

I new I would see a post here from you "Momma Sue" !

Chrizty,
Sue is one of the most helpful people on here! She helped me with a lot of the same info when I started, and is always happy to help so don't be shy if you want to email her, I know she has taken more than 1 newbie under her wing! I learned a lot about shipping from her, and saved a lot of money!

Also, did you know that you can get free shipping boxes from the PO? They will deliver them to your door, and pick them up when you are ready for free also.

A scale is a great idea also (I got mine off ebay after Sue told me about it) You can weigh, package, purchase and print your labels, then have the box picked up and sent! Without leaving your house and wasting gas!

Vic....who when in doubt asks Sue! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: boxes

thanks vicky n sue.
yes vicky i still have some p-grass, ill send ya e-mail :)

yep i did let her know the size of them, the p-grass roots fit about in a 2 litter pop bottle pot.
the flatrate boxes might make a good postage trade but not always a good plant trade. if i would of used one i would of had to cut them even smaller to fit n she wouldnt of gotten as many.

i think ill wait another two weeks before e-mailing her again , she could of gotten sick, it was cold n raining.

chrizty...did you know there are 2 different shapes of the Flat Rate boxes? One is flat and the other is more boxy.

Hey...I'm not Momma Sue...I am the resident Busy Body...and an unofficial member of the unofficial Garden Web Welcome Wagon.

Sue...off to eat weeds....

yep. forgot there was 2 sizes of flat rate boxes!
i need to get a new copyier so i can start doing the pick ups at home. i do have a scale i never use lol, i bought it at wallmart cause i wanted to start mailing at home, now my printers acting up, ugh!

i still havent herd from her, last time i e-mailed was the 21st, ill send another,

i still havent herd from her, last time i e-mailed was the 21st, ill send another,
Is that the no-sender...where you already sent your part? If so, please send me an email, with the scoop (member name)...possibly I can come up with something on the matter.

Little story here.

Member A had a trade with Member B. Member A mailed her box, yet received no box from Member B.
Member B quit responding to emails.
Member A wrote a negative review for Member B

Along comes resident busy body chemocurl/Sue and sees the review. She has had a good trade and left a positive review for Member B, and is confused/concerned that member B now appears to be a no sender, or to be having trouble of some sort (maybe computer?)
Busy body emails Member B and provides the link to the negative review, and asks if everything is all right...since she was not responding to emails any more.
Member B almost immediately emails Member A, explaining that the email addy she (member A) had been using is one that is seldom checked, and that she would get the promised plants out shortly.

I might add here too, that Member B was not aware they had not mailed mine to me until I spoke up and asked if/when they had been mailed. I think their tracking of trades, member names, real names, email addys maybe got confusing to them. I know if I get several going at once, it takes a lot of attention and effort to not let one slip through the cracks.

Sue

Tell me about it. I started this the first of May, against my wifes suggestion, and boy am I sorry. I have sent out dozens of plants on the day we all agreed to ship and NOT ONE person has done what they promised to do. I had to bug the @@@t out of them and finally two people have sent a FRACTION of what they promised. The others just ignore me.

Right now I have someone wanting my plants and they want me to ship this week but they keep changing when they can send anything to me. Finally I am too smart for that one. I am dense but even I learn after getting burned a number of times.

I've come to the conclusion that the rip offs outnumber the non rip offs on this board. The wife told me that I shouldn't put much trust in internet relationships.

My suggestion: trade locally only.

Hi fellow Hoosier/Indyguy,

I see you joined May 16th...just 18 days ago. Sorry you have not had such great trades so far.

people have sent a FRACTION of what they promised.
hmmm...I really try to describe as best I can what I am sending, and usually ask that the member describe what they are sending. More than once I was shocked at that I received in trade, as it was much larger than agreed upon. I 'assume a 'start' is a start...not a 'full sized' 1 GAL sized plant. I 'imagine' it to be something like what one would buy in a 3" pot. Again...I have been shocked at the 'big' size of some 'starts' I have rec in. I always encourage folks to send small...as I know things will grow, and likely outgrow their designated spot in the garden sooner than I would like.
Could it be that your idea of a start or division is different than theirs?

Hey...if'n we were ever to trade...and you were displeased...you could come look me up...lol. If you ever have any questions you don't care to ask on the boards, feel free to email me privately....I have been here quite a while, and am the resident busy body.

Right now I have someone wanting my plants and they want me to ship this week but they keep changing when they can send anything to me.
hmmm...I'm wondering if they are maybe wanting you to send first, as you are new, and have no ratings yet...and they don't care to just come out and say it.

In my case, I must dig Sun, Mon, or Tues eve in order to get pick up scheduled on line for Mon, Tues, Wed...as I don't ship any later in the week...for fear of the plants sitting somewhere hot if they aren't delivered by Sat.
Last night I printed postage, and scheduled pick up to 2 boxes I don't even have dug and packed yet. I am familiar with the plants (natives) and what they will weigh so I was safe in printing the postage for 2 1 pound boxes...now I see I'm gonna have to dig them today in the rain...sigh...

Sue

I joined under this name on may 18. I was previously under another name and for some unknown reason I could no longer log in so I created a new name. The fact remains that I have been stiffed a number of times. This seems to be a common thing here.

I joined under this name on may 18. I was previously under another name and for some unknown reason I could no longer log in so I created a new name.
Oh...I'd suggest you reference your 'old' member ID on your member trade page (for trading/reference purposes) but it seems that you are no longer interested in trading on line, so it would serve no purpose. Once again...sorry.

I have had wonderful trades for the most part...Out of 'many' there were a couple that were disappointing...more so in the 'quality' of the plants, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, sent than what I ever was in size or number. Some things arrived quite 'dried up' as they had been out of the ground a while b4 packing, or else they were shipped without sufficient moisture. With TLC, most lived and thrived...making it well worth the postage I had spent on my half.

Sue

Looks like I am going to be swamped with people telling me I am wrong or I did the trades wrong, ie it's all my fault. I had complete understandings with everyone.
And misunderstandings do not explain the people who refuse to send anything.

And to the other person, I tried to access my old ID. GW's solution was to create another one. And no, I will not trade online again.

And the person who will not commit to when they will ship is trying to get something for nothing just like the others.

Once in a while I do know what I am talking about.

Indy, I'm sorry about your luck!
I will not say you are wrong, and it sounds like you did get more than your share of bad traders and non-senders on here!
I am just wondering if you checked any of their reviews to see if they did the same to others? Or if you thought about posting a review on them?
Vic

Here is a link that might be useful: rate and review

No to both. Until today I did not know that I could. i admit that I should have researched before trying to trade. Had I known that there were so many bad traders I would have probably not risked it.

sorry to hear that indyguy. im very new to trading 6 weeks lol ive done 7 trades,so far ive had some realy good trades :) when looking in the R&R rate and review, copy their screen name n past it in the search box. [that helps me with not spelling wrong lol] some of these screen names are hard to remember. also im not good with spelling so copy n pasting helps lol
dont give up on trading!! there are lots of good traders in here :)just check them out first, also you could ask them to send first. let them know you had some no-senders. me being a newbie i can understand that n dont mind sending first to some one whos been a member here longer, :)