This is a process that allows a new trader who has a small or nonexistent collection to receive shows. Basically in return for sending the correct amount of blank discs with a self-addressed and self-stamped envelope, you receive the shows that the B/P’er was nice enough to help you obtain. In a B/P, the trader that burns the shows is doing the B&P process with no profit to himself or herself other then the gratification of helping the community out and building friendships and potential traders down the road. You should never have to include anything extra in your B&P such as extra discs or cash or anything. If the B/P'er asks for anything in return, they should be avoided.
Do NOT request a show before 2 weeks following the date of the show. This is considered extremely rude.
What will you need?
Your going to need a couple things in order to do a B&P. The following supplies can be picked up at any home office retailer (OfficeMax, Staples, etc.).
1. An outer envelope. This can be any envelope capable of holding the rest of your materials being mailed out.
2. The returning envelope. This can be any envelope that is padded in some way that can hold your returning CD’s. Normally 6" x 9" Self-Sealing Bubble-Lined Envelopes are used.
3. CD’s. The type of CD is really up to you. Most people like to stick with name brands though. Like Sony, Fugi, Verbatim, and TDK.
4. CD Sleeves. Your CD’s should be keep in some sort of protection and not just thrown into the envelope. NO JEWEL CASES. They break and add to the postage cost.
What do you do?
1. Take the appropriate number of blank CD’s,and place them individually into the CD Sleeves. One per sleeve.
2. Take the padded/bubble envelope and put YOUR address as the “Mail To” address, and the return address is that of the B/P’er. (This is the enveloped coming from the B/P’er to you.)
3. Take the blank CD’s that are in the sleeves and place them into the bubble mailer.
4. Now you should write your note. This is when you mention the date of the show your asking for and included your email address in case there are problems. It also wouldn't hurt to say thank you to the B/P'er for giving up some of their time. Put the note inside the envelope with the CD's.
5. Please dont seal the mailer. If you do this the B/P’er will not be able to remove your discs and burn them.
6. Take the outer envelope and write the B/P’ers address on the outside in the “Mail To” position and your address in the return position. Then put the unsealed padded/bubble envelope into the outer envelope. (Do not seal outer envelope)
7. It is now time to mail them. This part is very important. The easiest way to do this part is to go to your local post office and have it done infront of you. It is possible for you to do it all at home if you have a scaled and the correct amount of postage. A calculator is provided by the postal service at http://postcalc.usps.gov/ . But if you do it the easier way, take both packages to the post office. First have the mailer (with the CD’s and everything still inside) weighed and STAMPED. It is VERY important that the padded/bubble envelope have stamps on it and NOT metered postage because postal regulations require that metered postage be used on the date issued, and only for traffic from the originating city. In other words, they are only valid from that post office, on that date. After you have had the bubble mailer stamped, place it (still unsealed) into the outer envelope. Now have the outer envelope weighed with the padded/bubble envelope inside.
Wait a reasonable time and your show should arrive. Now you are ready to trade.
Trading
Trading is the primary way for getting shows. In order to trade you must have a CD burner.
1. Find someone to trade with and exchange list of shows.
2. Determine how large of a trade is going to be done and each trader decides which shows will be traded.
3. Once the shows are picked by each trader go over the shows and note any flaws in the shows, which include skips, jumps, cut songs, TAO, or poor quality.
4. Once the shows to be traded is agreed upon, talk about the type of discs you will be using and any kind of individual rules you may have. (ie. No writing on discs, including set lists, etc.)
5. Set up a send date. This is the date both traders will mail the shows.
Tips/Rules for Trading
1. NEVER trade any MP3 sourced shows.
2. Communicating is the key to building friends and ensuring a successful trade.
3. Shows are only traded for other shows. Nothing else and always on a 1:1 basis
4. Do not send money or pay for shows.
5. Note ALL mistakes with shows BEFORE trading. Mistakes are fault of the provider if not mentioned ahead of send date.
6. When burning the discs to be traded they should not be burnt “On the Fly” (disc to disc) http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ which is from a CD-ROM drive to a burner. The show should be extracted using Exact Audio Copy to the computer hard drive and then burnt to CD.
7. All packages should be padded to prevent disc damage in transfer and the discs should be individually placed in sleeves.
8. Agree to a send date on which the package(s) will be sent. Try to adhere to this agreement as much as you can. If for some reason you didn't send, let the other person know why and when you will be able to.
9. The sender should NOT write on the discs. Sticky notes should be attached to the individual discs and labeled with the show date and disc number.
10. Only trade DAO (Disc At Once) shows. This is when there is no 2-second silence between the tracks. You must set up your CD burner to do this. Do NOT record in TAO (Track At Once), which is with the 2-second gap.
ALL OF THIS WAS DONE BY THE LOVELY MELISSA (Aegrl189) OVER AT http://www.dmbcorner.com - SHE GETS ALL THE CREDIT ON THIS INTRODUCTION AND TIPS
just thought I might share it under her permission...I didn't read all of it, but looks very useful for newcomers...meh...
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