Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD

How long does it usually take for your transactions to clear? I'm a bit concerned because the first CDs I mailed out were 2 to the same person, but they were not packaged together because they were requested on two different days. However, that was about a week ago and she had not marked them received, and I didn't do the instant credit... I sent out another cd a few days ago to another person,a dn that one has been marked received..

You only signed up a week ago.  Mail can be tricky depending on where they are going and if they are being delivered to a home or po box.  Not everyone checks their mail daily.  If the CD has any flaws, the person may be waiting to mark received until after they can verify that it does play without problem (I myself have had to do this several times when I've received CDs that looked like they were drink coasters in a previous life).  They will be marked received in a timely manner, for future orders, if you want credit quicker than you should invest in DC. 

A few things to consider:

a) It sometimes depends on the condition of the CD's.  I immediately receive one if it's visually in great shape.  If it's pretty beat up, I want to listen to it first to make sure it's okay - and I, frankly, don't drop everything to listen to it immediately - it could take a few days.  If it plays fine - then great - I receive it.

b) It sometimes depends on where the person lives.  It takes longer to get mail in rural areas than areas close to the postal distribution centers.

c) Unlike me, not everyone logs onto their computers 100 times a day - some only log on once a week or so.

d) Some people have their mail go to a post office box - so they might not get mail every day.

e) Some people just don't get around to it - others are more prompt.

Best thing to do is to be patient.  If you don't get a receipt in 2 weeks or so - you can PM the receiver, ask them if they received it, and if they did, would they be so kind as to receive them into the system.

Regards,

Steve :)

I've heard that the Chicago area has the worst postal system in the country.  Expect ships in and out of there to take longer.

But in any case, don't start to get impatient until *at least* 7 to 10 days have passed.  It can happen sooner, but often it doesn't.

Hint:  For faster ship times, use a bubble wrap mailer or a CD-specific box.  I don't really know why, but they often only take about 2-4 days.

A story that happened this morning to me:

I have been waiting for a disc to arrive for weeks but I was under the impression it would never arrive, the sender forgot, it got lost, etc.  I go for a run this morning and when I get back, behold, it's in my mailbox.  The postmark said it was sent 2 weeks ago, and since it was 10am, the postman didn't just arrive during breakfast. 

Sometimes this stuff is just out of your hands and in your neighbor's (until they decide to drop it off).

You get mail at 10:00 am?   I am so jealous!    I'm lucky when I get my mail by 5:00 pm.    :(

"Sometimes this stuff is just out of your hands and in your neighbor's (until they decide to drop it off)."

I've recently learned that I have a problem like that, but worse.  I noticed my neighbor from up the street was acting really uncomfortably every time he passed me when I was working in the yard (I assume he was walking home from the nearby bus stop).  I'm not usually suspicious but every time he passed it just set me off in a bad way.  This saturday I was indoors when he past my house so I watched him from the shadows and sure enough he stopped at me and my neighbors mailboxes, thumbed through the contents, then moved on.  I kept watching him continue the down the street while I called the police and he kept doing the same thing like some criminal reverse postman.

He was in his house and didn't answer when the police arrived so nothing could be done.  Now I do dropoffs at public mailboxes and try to pick up my mail as soon as I can.  Unfortuneately 5 days of the week the mail arrives 4 hours becore I get home.  And next time I see it I'm going to remember to grab my camera to gather evedence before calling the police.

Dustin: May I suggest a PO box until you get the problem fixed?

Maybe speak with your postmaster as well.  The PO might be a bit more upset and insist on the cops doing a bit more to investigate.  Especially if there have been reports of missing mail on your street (unless he's just being nosy and not taking anything).