🎃 A Haunting We Will Go ☠ Halloween elf Exchange (2020)

[ZombieMetroAnt]

                                        *SIGN UPS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR ALL SPOOKY SOULS*

                                              Stick around for the spooktacular unboxings

                                                              👻     👻     👻     👻     👻     👻

 

Something's brewing, and it 'll be ghoulishly fun! A wicked good time for everyone...

If you are interested in joining, please see the Eligibility Requirements, Rules, and Key Dates below to see if this will be a good fit for you!  

We are looking forward to some haunting good fun!  

Bugs & hisses,
@prettyinpa & ZombieMetroAnt 

🎃important information for all potential Ghoulfriends...

Spoiler

👻ELIGIBILITY 

Have you participated in a gift exchange on BT/BIC previously?

Yes
Previous participants in exchanges that either @Mcakes  @prettyinpa  or I have hosted without incident on their part are pre-approved. If you participated in an exchange that MCakes, PrettyinPA or I have not hosted, please kindly provide a link to that exchange thread for us to do our due diligence. If there were no issues from the exchange on your part, we are excited to have you on board!

No
Meet one or more of the following requirements:

1.Must be willing to do a $50 box deposit that will be taken at sign up and returned once your Ghoulfriend has given us confirmation of delivery.
2.Must be vouched for by 2 members of the community who PrettyinPA or I are familiar with.

*Since we are trying to be as inclusive as possible while also protecting other participants in this exchange, PrettyinPA and I will have final discretion on participant eligibility. We realize that this is very subjective, but we must establish a certain degree of trust between users as there is sensitive information being exchanged. Thank you for your understanding.


👻RULES

By expressing interest in signing up for the exchange, you are agreeing to the following:

-The minimum spend for this exchange is $50. You do not need to go over this amount, but in the spirit of fairness you may not go under it.

-If you have not participated in an exchange previously, you must ship your gift on or before October 21st. If you miss this deadline and do not communicate with PrettyinPA or I about the reason for your delay, you will not get your box deposit back. Instead, we will use your box deposit to create a gift on your behalf. No Ghoulfriend will be left behind!

-Provide tracking number(s) to PrettyinPA or I once you have shipped your gift. This can be done via Elfster or messaging PrettyinPA or I.

-Acknowledge receipt of your gift ASAP, even if you need a little more time to do a full post. This is a courtesy to your giftor to know it was received (it is stressful waiting to know if a package made the journey ok!) and for PrettyinPA and I to keep track of the progress in the exchange. You may do this via Elfster, by posting on this thread that you have received the parcel, or by messaging either PrettyinPA or I.

-You must post pictures of your gift. This is an integral part of the exchange experience and we want to share in the excitement with you! We know how much thought and care goes into curating a gift, and we want to acknowledge your giftor's efforts as well. You may provide pictures for either PrettyinPA or I to post on your behalf if you are having issues posting, but please know that the pictures are a firm requirement.


👻KEY DATES

Sign Up Deadline: 10/09/20

Draw Day (This is the day you find out who you are shopping for, yay!): 10/10/20

Ship Date for First Time Participants: 10/25/20 (*If you are shipping from Canada to US or vice versa, this deadline will be earlier)

All Gifts Must be Received or Shipped by: On or before 10/31/20 (Halloween Day)

👻To sign up, please comment on this thread! PrettyinPA and I will be messaging approved participants with more details and will be updating the Participant List as we go. 

🎃Tips, Tricks & Other spooktacular ideas!

Spoiler

💀Elfster Tips:

-> Ask questions! Anyone can ask anyone an anonymous question, that will help you get a better idea of likes and dislikes, haves and wants, etc. It is important to note of any dietary restrictions 


->When you purchase something, click "Mark As Purchased." They won't see it, but they might be using the same wishlist for other gift exchanges, so this can prevent them potentially getting the same gift from two different people.


->If you got something for yourself, remove it from your wishlist!

🎃 Shipping suggestions: 

Spoiler

How to ship abroad/add a customs label while still using online shipping:

1. Creating an account: First, you must create a free account on the USPS website. The paypal.com/shipnow site will not let you create customs forms.

2. Shipping Label: To create the shipping label, you want to use the "Click n Ship" function from the dropdown menu under Mail & Ship. Many of the directions from above are basically the same but the key difference is under, "Where are you sending to?" you will need to use the dropdown menu to select the country of choice.

3. Finishing the Shipping Label:Fill in all the corresponding information until the end of the form including the value of the package. The Canadians on the board may have more to speak to with this but I always kept this amount on the lower side so the recipient doesn't get hit with high customs fee. (average amount I would put would be $10-$20) A great feature is at the end of the page it will give you all your options for shipping. I can tell you on a personal note that when I ship to England I always choose first class international mail and I have never had a problem. Once again, delivery confirmation is thrown in for FREE.

3. Beginning the Customs Form: You will then get to a page that will you through step by step filling in the customs form. The first question will ask you to "Enter Package Information." This is where you can just write this is a gift box for a friend. You do not need to write anything more!

4. Customs Inventory: Next up is, "Enter Item Information." Okay, this one is a little tricky. If you want to itemize, and fill in every single thing in the box, you can. If you only want to do a couple, you can. I've done both over the years and both have been okay. I'm not going to tell you though that it will work every time so ultimately, the decision is up to you. Make sure though that you mark each item a GIFT so that the recipient does not get charged increased fees. Also, and this is IMPORTANT, the total that adds up for the all the items has to be the same total you gave on the previous page for the value of the box. So if you make something worth $1, that's fine! (Again, Canadians speak up hear if I'm wrong but my abroad friends always told me it was better to do this to reduce customs fees for the recipient.) Lastly, each weight of each individual item will need to add up to the to the total weight item, so I've honestly literally made up ratio numbers in the past. (I have never had a problem in years of sending packages)

5. Tarrif Number: Lastly, you do not have a tariff number so leave that blank. Okay, one last thing, choose your AES exemption. I would choose the second one having to do with gifts.

6. Obtaining the Label/Customs Form: The steps following this are similar to the ones from above except that I believe the payment options for USPS may also include credit card options as well as PayPal. Go ahead and print your label which will also contain your completed customs form. (Please note: you may need to sign your customs form before affixing it to your package) On a positive note, YOU STILL SAVE MONEY BY USING THE ONLINE POSTAGE SYSTEM!

7. How to actually ship it:For international packages, my personal advice is yes, bring it to the post office, and yes, actually check it in and get a receipt saying it was checked in by a postal worker. Since many international packages take quite longer than domestic and tend to get delayed at different intervals, you want to make sure that everything is okay when it first enters the system.

Duty info (thanks @veronika23  😞

The US can receive a gift up to 100$ USD. If you are sending a gift from Canada and mark it as 100$ you are actually saying it cost you 100$ CAD. Today Google converts that to 73.30$ USD so your recipient should be ok and not pay additional fees.

Canada can receive a gift up to 60$ CAD. If you are sending a gift from the US and it was 60$, you are actually saying it cost you 60$ USD. Today Google converts that to 81.86$ CAD. So your Canadian recipient in this case might pay duties/taxes/fees. But if your gift only cost you is lets say 35$ USD today Google converts that to 47.75$CAD. So the recipient shouldn't pay fees.

I believe customs will check the rate on the day the item is processed.

For the US ladies. The cheapest way to ship to Canada is via USPS First Class International mail.

 🎃 Participants: 

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Mix one part Scream with two parts Scare,

a pinch of Fear, a dash of Dare...

and give your elf a Halloween Box Extraordinare!

[Samtian]

I received two incredible boxes with tricks and treats! It has been an extremely tiring horrendous last month, and today I learned it is going to get even worse. Bandit's news was not good and it's only a matter of time. But I cannot thank @ohheyitscindyk for her incredible generosity and amazing skills at gift giving. You spoiled me tremendously and lifted my spirits up. 

Box 1-

As you can see I had help 😕 Apollo helped unbox but took off once the kittens came in. I just realized the Harry Potter Ravenclaw cosmetic bag isn't in the photo! Eek. So many things on my wishlists I can't even! ❤️ As I was opening them I was showing my mom and she was all...oh let me guess...another highlighter? I had to laugh. I really love the white/pearly based highlighters and Cindyk included two I wasn't even aware of! Treats for the kitties, and cute masks I can't wait to add to the line up! George is blocking a cute star bath bomb and this funny tub with a motion sensor spider that screams inside of it haha I thought it was funny but Apollo did not. Those beans have two flavors each of the same color, one is a good flavor like toasted marshmallow and the same color is also i think it was stink bug haha I better eat them before I get my taste back.

Box 2!-

The incredibleness just kept continuing! I can't wait to dive into the Reese's cause honestly I could eat the whole bag in like 5 minutes...haha. I love astronomy and she got me the puzzle shown in the first one and this super cute spa head band. I needed one of those. Can't wait to use everything! These eye shadow palette are stunning! I absolutely love love love everything. Again I really can't thank you enough. 

[ohheyitscindyk]

@Samtian I'm so sorry about Bandit, I can't imagine. And I apologize for the boxes being late, I was so excited thinking they were going to get there right on Halloween, like the labels & the website said. I was so upset when I saw they were delayed. Oh goodness, poor Apollo haha that spider sounds horrifying, doesn't it? I haven't yet gotten up the courage to try the jelly beans, but maybe one day 😄 The puzzle is apparently glow in the dark, so I'm hoping it'll look really cool! I also love the kitties checking everything out 🙂

I'm glad I could lift your spirits up, & I have to say that shopping for you did the same for me. It's been a hard past few weeks. Thank you @ZombieMetroAnt & @prettyinpa for once again hosting this exchange. I think we all needed this ❤️

[Samtian]

@ohheyitscindyk I'm glad it lifted your spirits too. I don't mind them being late, just happy to get anything at all! Let alone all the amazingness! Haha so I had my mom and brother try the beans, he insisted they spin. He got Rotten Egg and Mom got Stink Bug. I was on the ground trying to breath, crying, and trying not to pee my pants laughing so hard at them. 

[ohheyitscindyk]

@Samtian Omg hahahaha that sounds hilarious! Maybe one day I'll finally get the courage to try them myself 😄

[tjffc]

@Samtian These are such lovely gifts. I hope they lift your spirits.  Thoughts and prayers are with you and Bandit 

[ZombieMetroAnt]

😮wholly moly @Samtian !  This is one incredible box of treats 🖤 I love how @ohheyitscindyk  decorated it and then to see it filled to the brim with such great gifts!  You're gonna love those MakeupRevolutionxNBC items - they're my fave.  And is that a Charlotte Tillbury lippie?  AH!  The bat mask! 🦇!  so cool!  I love it all!  Congrats on all your goodies!!

[ohheyitscindyk]

@ZombieMetroAnt The CT is the Pillow Talk eyeliner 🙂 Funny story about that- I stopped in store to pick it up & the SA was trying to sell me on it, not knowing I was definitely going to buy it. I told her it was a gift, thinking that would be the end of the conversation, but then she asked, "What color are her eyes?" She looked so confused when I said I wasn't sure 😄

[Samtian]

@ohheyitscindyk Haha that is funny.

[Anastasiya13]

@Samtian  So sorry to hear about Bandit. I hope these goodies brought a little joy though, and hope you enjoy them. @ohheyitscindyk did an amazing job

[faeriegirl]

Enjoy all your goodies @Samtian! I am so sorry to hear about Bandits bad news.

[SportyGirly125]

@Samtian I'm sorry to hear about Bandit but am glad @ohheyitscindyk box helped lift your spirits up.  She did a great job wrapping and decorating your box.  I love the variety of treats and beauty products included.  Apollo is so cute!!! 

[Snglbug]

 

My gift arrived on Friday but before I had a chance to get pictures my phone broke. 😢

Buuuuut now I have a brand new phone and some brand new goodies to go along with it. Huge thank you to @Guessgal  who did not disappoint! Unfortunately, I have lost ownership rights of the little boo to my toddler who has claimed it and won’t let it go to save my life lol! I particularly love the long and personal touch inside the card. 

Thank you to not only my ghoul friend but to everyone involved! I’ve enjoyed watching all of the unboxings and look forward to the next exchange! 

[Samtian]

@Snglbug What awesome items! That boo is super cute. I love the decorations on the box! What is the flowery looking item?

[Guessgal]

@Samtian They are washable cloth pads and a wet bag for changing on the go. I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to eco-friendly products and wanted to include something reusable that we all need during that time of month. Although, I just realized I likely have shorter periods than the average person and should’ve gifted a set with more pieces 🤔

[ohheyitscindyk]

@Snglbug Your boyfriend's coworkers must have been jealous haha! Omg those are some impressive art skills, @Guessgal, I love how you decorated the box. Don't know what you meant when you said you're "not much of an artist," pshhh 😄 That ghost light is so cute & yay new palette to play with, enjoy all your goodies!

[tsavorite]

@Snglbug ,

@Guessgal  did such a clever job of decorating the outside of the box!  I was quite impressed!

I hope that you enjoy all your gifts and treats!

[Guessgal]

Haha thank you @tsavorite I tried to pick simpler designs since I’m not much of an artist 🙈

[Snglbug]

@Guessgal Waaaaaay better than anything I could have done lol! It was amazing!

[SportyGirly125]

@Snglbug Love the goodies you got from @Guessgal The Ghost light is so cute and you are going to love the Morphe 35O palette.

[tjffc]

@Snglbug Have fun with all of your gifts from your GhoulFriend!   

[Guessgal]

@Snglbug I am SO SO glad the box came in one piece!! I was second guessing myself with my crappy taping skills and even called CP the day I shipped it asking if I should come back to re-tape it 😅 Anyhow, glad you and your little one are enjoying the items! 👻 💕