Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaCD

I sent a PM to the receipient of a CD I had mailed more than a week ago. I asked if the CD had arrived, and if so to please maked it "received" so that I could get my credit. He responded that he had received it, but would have to listen to it first. I've sent more than 100 CD and DVDs via SwapaCD and SwapaDVD, and have never had someone respond this way. The rules clearly state that one must mark a CD "received" as soon as they get it. I could understand if the CD was scratched or worn, but this disc is in absolute mint condition.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Trace

That is irresponsible of the recipient.  There are programs (such as EAC) that can be used to check the condition of a CD.  On a CD in mint condition, it should take all of 5 minutes to check it and then mark it received good.  If it flags certain parts of a (non-mint) CD as bad, those individual sections can be double checked by listening.

I have heard that before, too.  AND had the same reaction.

Everyone has concerns about condition.  Everyone wants "mint".  The trader that holds up the entire process because of a perceived sense that his or her higher standards (and busy, busy schedule) justify an open-ended delay is just not thinking.

I don't know what you'd have to do to convey to a person that simply to RECEIVE a polite message of inquiry about a disk long arrived hence is to know instantly that it's time to  to go do WHATEVER it is (EAC, eyeball check, full-scale listen, electron microscope scan or whatever)  and do it with a smile.  AND follow it with a equally polite note of confimation.  We're all busy, after all.  We can relate.

It is important to mark a CD received as promptly as possible after you receive it, so that the sending member will get credit for sending it.

Your CDs must be playable to be posted.

The first rule above is not as cut and dried as you *have* to marked it received as soon as you get it.  However, the second does state that it has to be playable.  As I'm sure we all know, the system asks that you confirm that your CD is playable as you post it.

I listen to every CD I get before marking it received, but I do it within a day 95% of the time, and within 2 100% of the time.  I don't think that's irresponsible or thoughtless.  I'm not looking for mint, I'm looking for playable and if it's not it's no good to me.  I can't repost it and I can't listen to it.  I've had plenty that looked bad and played OK.  I've had more than one that looked OK but skipped.  I test on multiple CD players and try to clean them first before marking it damaged, but in one case, the sender claimed to have tested it using one of the programs listed above before sending it and it still failed in 4 out of 4 CD players so you can't trust that either.

Guys, guys... ;^)

Easy there.  I wrote that ha.lf joking about the person who has waited quite a long time before listening or whatever.   "a disk long arrived hence" was my stupid-y way of saying the disc has arrived and been  around the house for a long time.  Sorry all.  I didn't mean to point any fingers.  Really -- apologies. 

besides the fact that you really shouldnt have pm's the member in the first place. tptb send reminder emails asking if the cd has been received yet. i would be pretty ticked if someone asked if i had received a cd yet and then told me if i had that i needed to mark it received.

i too like to listen to some cds before i mark them received. a comment/pm like that wouldnt make me mark it quicker, but would make me want to take my time in marking it.

Really? I've frequently sent PMs to recipients after a week or so, and have often gotten appreciative messages in return saying they had in fact gotten the disc but had forgotten to log on and mark it “received.” With more than 200 transactions between the three sites, I’ve never had anyone react unpleasantly to a PM. I guess I’ve mostly swapped with low-maintenance people.

As I re-read the original post, the phrase "mailed more than a week ago" is somewhat vague to me.  It could have easily taken most of that time in transit.  I don't think anyone should be taken to task for taking a day or two to listen to the disc.  At what point does the wait become too long?  Of course, that's subjective and open to debate.  Perhaps the original poster was too impatient -- maybe not.  It's hard to say, we don't know exactly how long he waited.  Personally, I don't even consider a message until two weeks have passed.  And then, my biggest concern is that the disc got lost or delayed in the mail, in which case I send a message assuring the other trader that I did indeed send the disc on such and such a date.  That quite often prompts a quick posting of received status.

I hear it almost immediately after receiving it, and I mark it according to how I hear it.

Sorry.

Love & Peace,

St. Reno

I have only received 2 CDs, and I listened to each one before I marked it received. But I listened to each one THE SAME DAY I received it, so I could mark it received that same day.

I listen to mine the same day so that I can immediately give credit to the sender. But I feel a few days after receipt is OK too. After all, what if you mailed a CD and it arrived when the recipient was out of town for a few days? I say let the system function the way it was designed to. People have lives outside of their swap sites and they may be dealing with things we don't know about. 

I would have a problem with someone who ordered something and then abandoned their account completely though.

Sorry, I realize this thread a bit old at this point, but the Help Center actually has a section about when your CDs have not been marked received:

If a CD you sent hasn't been marked received yet...

This is just a portion of what it says:

If your CD has been longer than 2 weeks in transit, and has not been marked received:

• Remember that the requestor may be away from home and unaware if the CD has arrived. 

• If this is the case, he or she can mark it received when he or she returns home. 

  • If the CD transaction is still active, he or she can mark it received from the En Route to Me tab in My Account.
  • If the CD has been declared Lost in the Mail, it can be marked received from the requestor's Transaction Archive

• If you want to discuss the situation with the requestor, you can contact the requestor using the button on the transaction on the CDs I've Mailed tab in My Account.

   

  So, the HC does ask that you wait for 2 weeks in transit before contacting the member. 

i too ~always~ listen to the CDs before i mark them as received because once you mark the CD as "Received" the transaction is DONE!  If you realize later that the disc skips or is otherwise unplayable, it is pretty much too late. You have very limited options at that point, and have essentially "lost" a credit. You can only report damage when marking a CD as received, and in my opinion, you can only tell if it is "not playable" by (...drumroll...) playing it...

That being said, like other users have indicated, i do this the day i get the CD (or in rare cases, the next day). If i haven't confirmed playability by the third day, then i just mark it as received and take my chances... Btw, djtal (Daniel T.) that is a great tip about using Exact Audio Copy (EAC) to check condition of CD. i'm definitely going to check that out...

Fyi... the sender still gets their credit even if the CD is marked as received with a problem/damage. Therefore, in my opinion, it is a better option to take the bit of extra time to confirm the CD is good and everyone is satisfied. i have the feeling that if somebody "loses" a credit to a "bad" disc, they probably post it back into the system to unload it, which doesn't help anybody...

Here are some additional details from Help Center...

• Damaged by Sender

  • This means the CD arrived in poor condition/was not playable, and the damage was not attributable to USPS damage en route

• Damaged by USPS

  • This means the CD was damaged en route, either through bad luck or due to [inadequate] wrapping technique

All problem transactions, once they have been marked "Received with a Problem," will be archived in your Transaction Archive.  The sender DOES get credit when the CD is marked received with a problem.  The credit [for the requestor] should be refunded if the problem described is accurate.

Yeah, wow.  That doesn't seem right.  But I hope SwapaCD is keeping track of that type of thing, so that if a pattern emerges, steps can be taken.

For a while, I listened to every one before marking it received. 

Then I moved and no longer had a CD player handy.  So if the disk looked OK, I marked it received.  

Now I've started ripping CDs to my computer to put on a music player  (hooray!!!, I'm almost in the 21st century).  I assume that if Windows Media Player rips them without an error, that they are ok.

Techies in the SACD community--is that a good assumption?????

sorry linda but i've ripped many that have actually skipped when played in my cd player, i guess if the damage is minor enough you can still rip it without an error but that same disc won't necessarily play ok in a stand alone player - the ripped copy does play ok though.  i've seen this happen at least a half dozen times, maybe more.

there is another discussion thread about a program called exact audio copy eac which proofreads your cds for you - apparently it works well, haven't tried it yet

patrick   bossajake