Participating in swaps is a great way to get new things for you and your dolls. You can find swap groups on Flickr, Swap-Bot.com and Plastic Paradise (new memberships are currently closed).

I personally like to participate in swaps that are all about crafting items for your swap partner – that way I only need to buy crafting materials and I can try out new fabric combinations, new patterns and I get a great excuse to buy new trims. So far I’ve participated in three swaps, all were revolving around handcrafted items for Blythe, and have had great success in getting to make things for people and that way I also get to see the things I make on other dolls.

You can participate in swaps where you trade things you already have. If you have dresses that you no longer like to see on your dolls, you can send that to someone and someone else will send you things in return. This way, you’re getting something that’s new-to-you and someone else is getting something that is new-to-them! This is definitely a win-win as everyone gets something and all you have to pay is the postage for shipping out your swap package.

There are also swaps where you mostly trade new items, which can get pretty pricey considering the costs of some doll items, but it is totally possible to avoid those swaps altogether and find ones all about swapping gently used doll clothes or things made by you.

If you can’t find a swap group that’s currently organizing a swap that you can sign up for, see if you can organize a personal swap between you and another person! If you have some Blythe friends online (or offline), see if they’d be interested in doing a swap with you.

Some important things to consider about doing swaps are:

• Do swaps where your address is hidden except for whoever is sending to you. You want to make sure you need your personal information private from other people!
• The requirements for the swap packages. If they state ‘handcrafted items’ only, be sure to only send handcrafted items for the other person’s doll. If it’s a swap with a theme, be sure to follow it. If there’s a price limit (maximum or minimum) try not to go over or below the limits.
• The date of the swap send-out deadline. You don’t want to be the one who doesn’t get their swap package out on time. If you are going to send out late, be sure to contact the swap group’s administrator/moderator so they know that you’re going to be sending late.
• Be sure to use adequate packaging for your swap package. You don’t want your fragile items to be broken in the post!
• If you’re not sure how many items you should be sending out, ask the administrator/moderator for an idea of how many items for a swap package.
• Remember to include a note in the package so that the person knows who it’s from and that it’s for the swap.

I think swaps are an excellent and inexpensive way of getting new things and I’ve gotten some really great items from people in the Blythe community. Sometimes the most expensive part of participating in a swap is the cost of sending my package out!

Have fun swapping!