Secret Santa 2016

[pacpix]

Count me in as well!     $50 Seems like a good price to me.  I would also prefer to stay in country.

[telly]

Yeah, I have a preference to stay in country too.  Hopefully that doesn't cause too much trouble for you Soera. I can totally do outside the US if you need more people to! I also don't want to exclude all our friends overseas. 

[burningdoom]

I guess I'll be in this year. If something were to come up, when would be the last time to back out? (It's been a rough year for our family, a few deaths, but I think it's all okay now.)

I think $30-$50 sounds good. I'm leaning more towards the $30 end, but if the rest of the board disagrees, I'll still play ball according the rules.

[telly]

You know, I was always wondering about that "poll" option that shows up underneath our post count on our stats page... now would be a perfect time to have a poll to decide on the pricepoint!

[karyann]

I'm in, and I'll give a range of 30 to 50 dollars.

EDIT: And while I didn't mind, because my giftee was AWESOME, I would prefer to not have to ship to Canada again. It really bumped up the cost of things. I wanted to add more to the gift but the shipping rate would go up even more.

Not as awesome as said giftee's gifter 

I'm also in for this year, $30-50 makes sense to me! With our still superb exchange rate, I don't think I can go much higher though.

[kashell]

Not as awesome as said giftee's gifter 

You give that person too much credit! <3

Anyways, I've been going back and forth about posting something on this thread regarding this year's SS. I feel the need to point out a rule that should go without saying: if you decide to participate, then don't be a prick. Last year, one of the participants' had a giver that was disrespectful.

First, the gift was cheap. Everyone who signs up for this realizes that he or she may not get a gift that reaches the maximum limit. If you're asking for a rare Sega Saturn game, don't expect it. However, 99% of the time, the recipients liked their gifts. If you have financial issues this year or you just don't want to spend money, that's totally fine. Life happens; no one will be upset if you can't participate. However, if you do participate, show some respect and follow the adage, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Second, the gift had absolutely no thought behind it. The receiver's present was a game that he/she already had in his/her collection. To me, this means that the giver put zero effort in finding a gift and did absolutely no research. Do not participate if you are not going to put in some effort for your recipient. Take their wishlist into account and look at what they want. If they aren't clear, then try to be creative and take a cue from their collection to see what types of games they like and what's missing.

Obviously, I will not be naming names in this story. Nor will I be upset if the moderators find this post offensive and it gets deleted. I just had to get this off of my chest. When I heard about what happened, I was infuriated. If the same incident happens again and I learn about it, so help me. I know I haven't been on this forum as long as others. I know that I'm not a moderator. But, I do know that this website has provided me with some irreplaceable company and I'll be damned if I see any of them get shafted because of another member's lack of respect.

I think that's about it; carry on.

[telly]

On that note, I think we should either go with $30 or $50, and not as a range. It should be at a single point so we don't have any disparities.

[turf]

Count me in!  I love this stuff.
Just give me someone that really wants cool stuff. 

I also don't care to ship to those shifty Canadians.  I'll even go to Europe if there's something over here that they want. 

Merry Christmas 2 months early!

[ignition365]

I've done Secret Santa in a lot of different groups over the years, the rules vary obviously from group to group.

But some of the groups I've taken part in have had rules such as, instead of a maximum spending, a minimum spending limit.  Usually either a minimum value or actually minimum spent.

Some groups do the minimum value to prevent someone from say going to a game store and paying $25 for Mario Bros./Duck Hunt and calling it a day.  (Yes, I've seen this)  I've personally had a similar situation in the past, but not nearly that extreme, more like a $20 value on a $50 minimum spent.  But then this forces the gifter to be thrifty or overly generous.

Some groups do the minimum spent so that, if you find a $30 game on someone's wishlist for $15, you should be willing to still spend the other $10 to hit that $25 minimum.  It is all about giving, you know.  See the previous paragraph about this one's downside.

Of course, I've also had SS where they never sent a package, or the package was lost and never replaced.  Had that happen twice last year.  Not here, of course.

[kashell]

On that note, I think we should either go with $30 or $50, and not as a range. It should be at a single point so we don't have any disparities.

Then my vote goes for $50.

[puddingm]

Would like to join if possible (international shipping  ).
I'm ok with $50 limit.

[karyann]

Life happens; no one will be upset if you can't participate. However, if you do participate, show some respect and follow the adage, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Insisting on this as well. If you cannot afford to participate, please don't. Do it for the others, but for yourself too; if you can't spare that money, don't spend it. I'm sure we've all had moments where money was tighter or big expenses arised all of a sudden. It's okay.

[davifus]

You give that person too much credit! <3

Anyways, I've been going back and forth about posting something on this thread regarding this year's SS. I feel the need to point out a rule that should go without saying: if you decide to participate, then don't be a prick. Last year, one of the participants' had a giver that was disrespectful.

First, the gift was cheap. Everyone who signs up for this realizes that he or she may not get a gift that reaches the maximum limit. If you're asking for a rare Sega Saturn game, don't expect it. However, 99% of the time, the recipients liked their gifts. If you have financial issues this year or you just don't want to spend money, that's totally fine. Life happens; no one will be upset if you can't participate. However, if you do participate, show some respect and follow the adage, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Second, the gift had absolutely no thought behind it. The receiver's present was a game that he/she already had in his/her collection. To me, this means that the giver put zero effort in finding a gift and did absolutely no research. Do not participate if you are not going to put in some effort for your recipient. Take their wishlist into account and look at what they want. If they aren't clear, then try to be creative and take a cue from their collection to see what types of games they like and what's missing.

Obviously, I will not be naming names in this story. Nor will I be upset if the moderators find this post offensive and it gets deleted. I just had to get this off of my chest. When I heard about what happened, I was infuriated. If the same incident happens again and I learn about it, so help me. I know I haven't been on this forum as long as others. I know that I'm not a moderator. But, I do know that this website has provided me with some irreplaceable company and I'll be damned if I see any of them get shafted because of another member's lack of respect.

I think that's about it; carry on.

Wow, I never knew some thing like that happened last year.

[dstone]

I'm in.

[dashv]

I'm in. If I get someone overseas is it ok.

I am fine with $50. But please no higher. I am expecting with shipping to out of country I'll probably spend close to $100 total.

For folks that have shipped international before any tips?

Do I need to mail it out first week of November to be sure it gets there before Christmas?