!!! PLEASE READ!!! Important News Regarding Swaps & Shares!!!

[KarlaG4Kids]

I am so sorry to hear that the Disboard "powers that be" have decided to make this decision. In the past we have used both the stroller swap and the photopass share, as well as sharing an illuminations cruise and a wishes cruise. All have worked out wonderfully. IF they had not worked out as we had planned I would have been ok with the results, because I went into it knowing it might not work out, but it was well worth the risk. As previously stated...we are all adults and know what we are getting into. As for the comments that if we can't afford a umbrella stroller or our own photopass we maybe shouldn't be planning our trip to Disney World...how RUDE. We scrimp and save to make a very memorable trip for our family, these extras (Stroller that can accommodate two children comfortably, photos of many of our experiences, special memories made by the Illuminations/Wishes cruises) make the trip even more special. In this time of economic hardship it is a shame to remove the help many of us receive in the form of sharing and helping each other. No, it won't destroy our trip, it won't make me avoid the disboards. But I am very disappointed in this decision.

 

[Momto3Girls&Max]

I would still like a REAL explination as to why DVC gets to be an exception and no one else does. There is a lot more money and risk involved there than in a ten dollar stroller swap. What makes DVC so special that they get to d owhat no one else is allowed to do, and for much higher stakes. It just does not make sense to me that the only exception to the rule should be the one that has the most potental to go horribly wrong and needs to be the most closely watched and policed. If you guys are going to allow this service to DVC owners to promote their product and make money on the deal. I feel that the same courtesy should be extended to people who are only trying to help one another. I have said before and i will say agian the the right thing to do here would to be to set up a section for swaps the is policed like the DVC board. Otherwise you are giving one group special treatment, and I just don't feel that this is fair.
To be completely honest I feel like people with more money and influence (DVC owners) are being allowed to dictate policy here. I realize this is a generalization, but I feel like it is a fairly valid one. It is not fair that they get to do something the people on a buget are denyed just because they own DVC.

It's Pete's website to run as he sees fit and he's decided to put an end to the stroller swaps, refrigerator swaps and Photopass swaps where $$ exhanges hands. I'm not trying to be rude, but you can go elsewhere if you don't like the rules. In fact, others have suggested Yahoo Groups, Yuku or something like that for swaps where $$ will be exchanged.

I actually wish an explanation wasn't given because someone will always take exception or find a loophole or think that they can circumvent the rules somehow.

 

[MKB419]

The worst part about these swaps ending is that the Disboards are losing something that helped to build community on their site. Swaps and Photoshares brought us closer togethor. It added to the excitement . Once I invested some money and time into finding a group to which I belonged, the site seemed friendlier. Freindships were formed. Magic was made.

I agree

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

Swaps will not go away. They will simply go elsewhere. Disboard paying advertisers should take note. It is foolish of Disboards to drive swaps underground.

Photopass/fridge/stroller shares are smart shopping by smart people. I bring my own light-up toys, water bottles, and groceries because it's smarter than paying Disney prices. The Budget Board should encourage smart people - not drive them away.

 

[princessmom29]

It's Pete's website to run as he sees fit and he's decided to put an end to the stroller swaps, refrigerator swaps and Photopass swaps where $$ exhanges hands. I'm not trying to be rude, but you can go elsewhere if you don't like the rules. In fact, others have suggested Yahoo Groups, Yuku or something like that for swaps where $$ will be exchanged.

I actually wish an explanation wasn't given because someone will always take exception or find a loophole or think that they can circumvent the rules somehow.

NO ONE should be allowed to circumvent the rules. Rules should be for EVERYONE period. That is all i am saying here.

 

[CarolA]

I am not reading upteen pages of posts on this but I want say that personally I think this is GREAT!

IMHO the Photopass swaps alone were hugh issues. (Sorry folks but what was going on here was a violiation of copyright law. It did NOT matter that you weren't making a profit... you were not using the photos as the "waiver" intended!)


Those of you threatening, whining and going elsewhere

I fail to see why an adverstiser is worried about losing customers who appear not to want to spend money LOL!

The DIS was not suppose to be a "see what I can do to make more work for Disney CMs" (frig swaps) or "see how I can violate Disney rules" (photopass swaps)

I know the board owners and mods are getting trashed...... but... I wanted them to know that not EVERYONE is upset!

 

[ZPT1022]

Noone required anyone (of course a general anyone, not a specific anyone) to read this thread or post an irreverent reply. Anyone (again a general any one, not a specific anyone) with half a brain who thinks swaps are nuts and discussing them interferes with their regular lives would probably not invest the time to read and comment.

When something reaches over 24 pages in one day, it usually garners some attention. Just because I haven't participated in a swap and it's not my cup of tea to rely on someone else to hold up their end of the deal for an element of my vacation that's important to me (ie a stroller or trip photos), doesn't mean that I can't be glad to have the budget board go back to not being all swaps all the time. It will be nice to look through the first page and not see swaps and shares central. I'm not the only one who feels that way.


And hey, I offered a solution to be able to keep doing things they wanted to be doing. And even better- someone tried it and found it to be easy and a good solution

Maybe having been a member for seven years has given me a bit more perspective than someone who's only been around for a month

 

[Disneytwinz]

Originally Posted by bearlyanne
The worst part about these swaps ending is that the Disboards are losing something that helped to build community on their site. Swaps and Photoshares brought us closer togethor. It added to the excitement . Once I invested some money and time into finding a group to which I belonged, the site seemed friendlier. Freindships were formed. Magic was made.

I couldn't agree more.

What's fair is fair...why should the DVC point rentals still be allowed yet simple stroller rentals not be allowed? We're talking big bucks being exchanged in DVC compared to a measley $15! In both cases, money IS being exchanged, no? Not a happy Disser.

 

[tlenzendorf]

Some of us do not usually use a stroller with our 4, 5 or 6 year old and know that they cannot possibly walk for 12 or more hours in the parks. Most strollers have a 35-40 lbs weight limit and will not hold a larger child. The ones that will are really expensiveI ened up buying a Maclaren from a discount site for the trip rather than swapping, but I seriously considered a swap. I fell sorry for the people who were counting on that stroller and now have no recourse but to rent one or run out and spend at least $100 on a new one.

Totally agreed. I am quite disappointed by this. My DD will turn 5 right before we go, I have no stroller. Don't really want to spend $100 on a stroller for her to use for 1 week only, whether I buy it or rent it. I'll be looking on yahoo group or something now

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

So if any items that are "like cash" can't change hands on the DIS will this finally end the threads by the same 2 people that beg for Gymbucks (which are like cash at Gymboree)?

I must have missed this earlier.

Coupons are not the same as cash equivalents. Gymbucks are high-value coupons. They require an additional purchase in order to get the discount. They are not gift cards and have no cash value.

Coupons trains will still be permitted as will the act of GIVING one another coupons.

 

[tlenzendorf]

What if, what if, what if....

Bottom line, if people are not in a financial situation to spend the extra money to buy a stroller or bring one, then they need to rethink spending the money on their vacation. Bring what you need, rent it down there or buy it down there.

Wow that seems kind of ignorant to me. I have the money for a stroller. I simply don't see the need to buy one when we could respectfully be sharing them. I only need it for a week. We have 2 stops on our flight over, I don't want to be hauling something else from gate to gate when DH and I have to haul 3 kids and all of our carry on already.

 

[ColinCodyMom]

Originally Posted by bearlyanne
The worst part about these swaps ending is that the Disboards are losing something that helped to build community on their site. Swaps and Photoshares brought us closer togethor. It added to the excitement . Once I invested some money and time into finding a group to which I belonged, the site seemed friendlier. Freindships were formed. Magic was made.

I couldn't agree more.

What's fair is fair...why should the DVC point rentals still be allowed yet simple stroller rentals not be allowed? We're talking big bucks being exchanged in DVC compared to a measley $15! In both cases, money IS being exchanged, no? Not a happy Disser.

Bearlyanne: I completely agree. We are families who have become friends by trying to help each other out and still enjoy a magical vacation. I have made many friends by doing the share. It's a shame that people were taken advantage of, but what's more of a shame is that that has caused many people to lose out on opportunities that helped many. I don't understand anyone who thought the sharing/swapping of strollers, fridges, photos, etc.. shouldn't have been on a BUDGET board. This is a shame.

 

[glitzybabes]

Not sure if this has been posted or not. i don't want to go through 25 pages but
what about DVC points? For shares we are talking about $100.00-$150.00 for the items 10.00-20.00 a person. DVC points could be over a $1000....and sometimes lots more.
They will be shuting down too, right?

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I couldn't agree more.

What's fair is fair...why should the DVC point rentals still be allowed yet simple stroller rentals not be allowed? We're talking big bucks being exchanged in DVC compared to a measley $15! In both cases, money IS being exchanged, no? Not a happy Disser.

This question has been asked repeatedly and was answered by WebmasterKathy several pages back.

 

[DisneyTigers]

Not sure if this has been posted or not. i don't want to go through 25 pages but
what about DVC points? For shares we are talking about $100.00-$150.00 for the items 10.00-20.00 a person. DVC points could be over a $1000....and sometimes lots more.
They will be shuting down too, right?

You'd think, but no.

 

[CarolA]

Folks, it is time to STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD!

The truth is the decision is made. At this point this thread resembles the kid in the stroller when you tell him "NO" Throwing a fit doesn't change the "NO".

The DIS is not a democracy. The rules are the owners who PAY the bills. (Maybe the band width these things used played a role?)

This thread needs to be locked, the new announcement posted as a sticky and "whining" threads on this closed when someone tries to open them.

25 pages is enough. You have said your say. It's done!

 

[2TxAgs]

[QUOTEMaybe having been a member for seven years has given me a bit more perspective than someone who's only been around for a month ][/QUOTE]


I tend to agree with this. Many of the complaints are from new folks who I'm guessing saw a way to make their trips less expensive and jumped wholeheartedly into DISing. No problem with that. But threatening to leave and comments about advertisers is somewhat laughable. The DIS has been around for 10+ yrs, and a few folks bailing out due to not being able to swap strollers or fridges won't change anything. Plenty of folks were around long before all these swap threads started consuming the boards. The loudest complainers need to get busy creating a yahoo group or something to save their swaps.

BTW ... yes, I did take young children to WDW, and yes, they walked most of the day. When they were tired, we rested. We had a cooler with ice in our tub where we kept a few cold drinks and yogurt.

If you can't take an Illuminations cruise cuz you have to rent a stroller, then so be it. When my kids were little, we had to make accomodations as well. You can't have it all.

Flame away...
TxAg

 

[KigerKat]

I have to add that I just think that the people that run this site have obviously opened a can of worms with this new policy.

There are wayyyy too many stipulations and exceptions to really enforce things across the board: You can only swap if it's free. No money can be exchanged unless it's for DVC points. You can't swap for money, but you can send an item of equivalent value (cup holder, umbrella). You can't exchange any certificates used as cash, but high valued coupons are okay.

I keep seeing the Mods answering TONS of questions and comments about the new policy, and I can imagine the headaches they have already. I honestly think the best thing to do is to ban all swaps all together. It's going to be a tough road ahead for all the Mods here, and probably the best thing for you to do is cut everything off - DVC included. Bring this back to a discussion board, not a place to advertise/swap/sell/purchase anymore at all.

That being said, I am sad to see the swaps go - I know a lot of people relied on them for convenience and value. We don't have children, so never needed a stroller swap. We have our own mini fridge, so never needed one of those, either. But I have participated in a PhotoPass swap and I am currently running one. Getting a handful of people together to purchase something that none of them would buy separately is a great idea to me. We would still get our pics taken everywhere - just to upload them online and look at later, but never actually pay $100 for them. I know a lot of extended families traveling together will pool money together to buy one, and doing the same with strangers is no different to me. I believe if Disney really wanted to prohibit sharing, they would tie the Photopass to your room key and link it to your reservation so no one else could add to it. But they leave it open with the option to add as many PhotoPass cards as you want. They have the power to control it, and they don't. They fixed DDP so there can't be any sharing, they could fix PhotoPass as well.

 

[tlenzendorf]

All righty then. I respect the decision. I'm done reading as its got my emotions flying high right now. People being mean and snarky(and I'll admit it my post was too, my apologies). We need to accept and move on. I'm staying away from this thread

 

[OctMtnWoods]

I've protested other decisions here on the DIS and the answer always seems to be that people are welcome to go elsewhere to do that or talk about politics or religion.

The answer is the same. "You can't do it here, go elsewhere." I've seen that as the answer from mods about 3 times on 3 topics over the last couple of months.