Isaila said 2012-12-24 14:19:30 -0500

Hi there steepster

I’m very new to Steepster, and I have seen a lot of people talking about trades or swaps. How does one get involved in these? What is the commitment? How does it work?

13 Replies

Kasumi no Chajin said 2012-12-24 15:21:57 -0500

there is a very active swap thread here: http://steepster.com/discuss/641-swaps-lets-swap-some-tea

basically, a swap or trade is 2 people mailing sample sizes (or other amounts agreed upon) to each other.

Isaila said 2012-12-24 15:38:22 -0500

thanks!

gmathis said 2012-12-24 19:08:41 -0500

Welcome! You can be as active or inactive as you want. Review your tea scientifically; review it theoretically; review it poetically—it’s all good.

yappychappy said 2012-12-24 22:02:17 -0500

Bonnie and Azzrian’s reviews are amazing. Completely different styles but love reading both of them. Bonnie must be a professional reviewer.

Sare said 2012-12-25 07:40:31 -0500

I need to review so menny teas im so behind :(

Kasumi no Chajin said 2012-12-25 14:46:00 -0500

I am in same boat there.

seule771 said 2012-12-25 12:23:59 -0500

Welcome to Steepster. I do not trade my teas. I actually try to consume them all at some point. Selfish I am. Happy holidays!

Kasumi no Chajin said 2012-12-25 14:47:28 -0500

makes sense to me. I focus my trades mostly around what I know I will not be interested in finishing(teas I have tried, but don’t like).

Terri HarpLady said 2012-12-25 22:15:53 -0500

Welcome Isaila!
This is really fun community. The best way to get started on trading with people is to read people’s reviews, hit the follow button on some people who have similar tastes or who’s reviews you enjoy, & somehow it will just happen. : )

Lynxiegrl said 2012-12-30 17:54:37 -0500

I havn’t been brave enough to try swapping yet, I guess I am afraid I would do something wrong like forget to replace what I’ve used or include a tea that someone would consider inferior, or pack it wrong or something.

Sil said 2012-12-30 17:58:42 -0500

as long as you figure things out before hand you’ll be fine. it’s a lot of fun and often a cheaper way to try a bunch of new teas!

Alphakitty said 2012-12-30 18:05:56 -0500

Yeah, swapping is an awesome way to try out new teas. When I did my first one I had about a million questions, everyone here is so nice and would be glad to help you out

Kasumi no Chajin said 2012-12-30 18:26:46 -0500

I agree with both above posters, and just want to add that it is acceptable to request types of tea, brands even, and easy to pass on a tea you got in a previous swap that you may not be interested in by including it in another new swap. Honestly, I have gotten both teas I have been impressed with, and yes, some I consider “inferior”, but that is subjective, and any recommendation comes with some personal bias anyway.