Hi Maggie,

There is a lot of different wording when it comes to trading and sasbe, etc.
The Special Instruction link is broken, but I just reported it and also posted them on the Exchange (Discussion) side.
The wording in the Special Instructions is not good in my opinions, as it says this, which would lead one to believe that sase and sasbe offers thus were not permitted.
This forum is for the purpose of exchanging material, there should be no need to mention money in any postings.
If one is 'offering' an sase/sasbe, of course somewhere there must be mention of the amount of postage that will be required for seeds to be sent from the 'offerer' to the receiver.

So...just to make a short answer long. No, trading for postage stamps is not permitted. Neither are additional costs (boxes, supplies, gas to the PO)...say if one was sending plants. The person offering' the seeds must just try and make an educated guess as close as possible to what the 'actual' cost would be to send the seeds to the member. This can be a tough call, if one is not very familiar with what seeds in what quantities, weigh how much.

So, in offering seeds up for SASE, SASBE, POSTAGE, BEAP (my term Bubble Envelope and Postage), one can only 'guess' what postage might need to be asked for. I am sure others can chime in here.
Small seeds, in small quantities if kept under 1 OZ, are to be charged 80 cents. Many members just say 2 (41 cent) stamps to keep it simple. Members have also asked for 3 stamps if they know their PO was going to charge them $1.13 for the first ounce. (please see or do a search on other threads here on the Conversation side for 'postage' and what they are supposed to now be charging for a 1 OZ envy, if it fits the correct dimensions, and is not BULGING, and is contents are evenly distributed (TAPED DOWN) and kept under 3/4"
Big bulging, non evenly distributed over 3/4" thick would be
1 OZ--$1.13
2 OZ--$1.30
3 OZ--$1.47
4 OZ--$1.64
5 OZ--$1.81...etc

Now if a bigger (height/width) envy is used (which is often best) and the seeds are evenly distributed, taped down and not shifting, and the thickness is UNDER 3/4 " The correct charge SHOULD be
1 OZ--$ .80
2 OZ--$ .97
3 OZ--$1.14
4 OZ--$1.31, etc
It would be hard to keep heavier weights under the 3/4" non bulging (PO) rule.

Bigger seeds= higher weight if very many are sent....example hyacinth beans, peony, canna, wisteria, corn, peas, beans of any sort. In my humble opinion, it is not cost effective to trade more commonly found veggies of corn, peas, beans, unless one is just wanting a few...say 5-20 seeds.

So did that answer things for you, or did I just talk all around the question.

Sue

Hi Maggie,

I saw you posted, "This post is now CLOSED!!. I have seen a lot of members not notice or read the posts, b4 replying themselves. Being the resident busy body that I am, I chose to post it a little more boldly (in HTML) so you would not be receiving any more requests there.
With your computer running veryyyyyy!!! slow for for some reason-all of a sudden
you certainly don't need even more replies to contend with....I can really relate to that!

Hope you get things fixed up, and are feeling better soon.

Sue...rbb

i wonder if you have a virus, (the pc) if you don't have a virus protector thingi, goto or http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html
to get mine cleaned and to get a free antivirus thingi, it works great, and its FREE!!!! LOL sometimes free is better!! LOL oh ya, one lady had me send 3 stamps and that was fine.