What Is A Swap?

It's a really good question that doesn't really have a single, solitary answer. A swap can be two people trading items physically, like at a clothing swap. It can be going to an online exchange site to trade your copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season one for someone else's Doctor Who Tardis mug. It can be a Secret Santa exchange, at the office or over the internet. Or it can be a non-holiday-affiliated online exchange for something fun and random like hockey, Disney, or My Little Pony.

The truth is that swaps are unique as the people who organize and participate in them. While there are core things that need to happen--like making sure nobody gets scammed--the details of how one swap will work can vary from another swap going on at the same time greatly. To put this into practice, let's compare how the Anime and Manga Swap I'm wrapping up hosting differs from the RedditGifts Secret Santa 2016 that I signed up for two nights ago.

How Are They Similar?

• They both run on the premise that participants will send and receive a gift.
• They both have a set budget and include options for domestic and international shipping.
• They are both suppose to be secret swaps, where you don't know who your partner is.
• They both run off a suggestions and details list, rather than a hard wishlist. 

How Are They Different?

• My swap requires participants to wrap their gift, whereas RG allows people to ship direct from a retailer if they desire.
• The community I hosted my swap in is much smaller, meaning we won't need angels or rematchers since those who have entered have proven track records of sending boxes.
• My swap had requirements that had to be met, whereas RedditGifts is taking the same risk with me that the pony community took two years ago. I did let three 'newbie' swappers in, but since I'm hosting for a group of 17, rather then 90,000+, I can monitor what's going on more clearly. 

Will RedditGift's Secret Santa work out for me? The jury's out on that one. From looking at the details, though, it seems more chill and less frilly / crafty than how our groups tend to like doing things. That may be a good or bad thing, depending on how someone likes their swaps. Which ultimately brings us full circle. 

In the end, the most important thing about a swap should be that you have the opportunity to make someone else's day by doing something nice. I think we can all agree the world needs more of that.