A Safe Way to Mail Trade

by Crazy Ivan

Kid Myach is fond of saying that Myachi is all about looking good and having fun, but there's a lot more to it than that.  Of the many other things that Myachi is about, one of my favorites is the way that Myachi builds communities and makes friends.  I can't tell you how many times I've watched people from different parts of the country (or the world) become fast friends over a few Myachi trades or a quick Behind the Back tutorial.

Of course, as a company we try to foster this aspect fo the game through our online forum, our Facebook page, this blog and many of our other cyber-tendrils.  I've made Myachi friends on five continents through our online outreach.  I've also watched as friendships have been forged between the many Myachi Maniacs.  I can only imagine how much fun it would be if we were somehow able to orchestrate a "forum meetup" somewhere where all the forum regulars could meet in meatspace.

One of the consequences of having the movement so spread out is that we wind up having people in different parts of the country making trades.  Trading has become as integral a part of Myachi Mania as playing Fu or making shred videos, so it's to be expected.  And luckily for us, the USPS is there to facilitate the trades and make them relatively cheap.

The first time I participated in a mail trade was in 2006 and I traded a few Myachis with a former forum frequenter in Ireland.  Since then I've made mail trades with people in Asia, Europe, Australia and, of course, plenty in North America as well.  I can't imagine how one would calculate the total number of Myachi mail-trades that have gone on nationwide, but I think it's fair to estimate that there have been at least several hundred.

Inevitably, some of the trades have gone wrong.  While the vast majority have ended with both parties happy, I've heard of a few occasions where one half of a mail trade was less than honest and didn't send out their half of the trade.

Understandably, when moving into one's first mail trade, a lot of people are nervous.  After all, you might feel like you know somebody online, but you've never actually met them and for all you know they were just stringing you along so they could lie to you about a mail trade.  I know that this is the exception, but when you're doing a mail trade you're going on blind faith that the other person will send you their half of the trade.  Otherwise you'll end up simply giving away a Myachi or two.

Knowing this, Pinky has generously offered to help anyone out who is looking for a safe way to mail-trade.  The Myachi HQ will be happy to act as a layover station for mail trades under a few select conditions (listed below).

The advantages are obvious.  Instead of Adam mailing a Myachi to Bill and Bill mailing a Myachi to Adam, both Adam and Bill mail their Myachis to Myachi HQ.  Pinky then mails Bill's to Adam and Adam's to Bill, but only once both Myachis have come in.  This way if Bill never sends his half of the trade, Pinky can just send Adam back his Myachi and nobody gets ripped off.

There are, of course, a few rules on this.  We can't afford to ship all over the country (and the world) on our dime, so to do this, you'll have to provide enough postage to either (a) mail the Myachi on to the person you are trading with or (b) mail it back to you.  To keep things all legal and on the up and up, you will need to basically package the Myachi to ship out, complete with postage (but don't attach the postage to the envelope yet!) and the recipients address and then put that package into another package.  You address that package with Myachi's mailing address:

PO Box 324, Glenwood Landing, NY

Inside the package that has the other package in it, leave a note telling Pinky who the trade is with and what you're trading so she'll know when to ship it out.  Also let her know how long you're willing to wait for the other person's half of the trade to come in.  So a sample letter might look something like this:

Dear Pinky, in all your wonderful awesomeness (salutation optional)

Enclosed is a self addressed stamped envelope with a Black Beard and a Dreamcoat inside.  It is for a trade with Bill.  He will be sending you a PS2 for me.  If the PS2 doesn't arrive within 2 weeks of when you get this, please mail back my Myachis.

Thanks you, you're awesome.

Now, you remember earlier when I said not to attach the postage to the inner package?  That's because if we have to mail it back to you, we're going to need to repackage it and use those stamps to send it back. 

I know this sounds confusing, but that's just because it's early, I'm tired and I'm being really specific on the details.  Essentially you're just sticking a Myachi in an envelope, addressing the envelope, sticking that in another envelope (with a note and some postage) and sending that to Pinky.  And you're done.

There are, of course, a few disadvantages to doing things this way:

• Because of the layover, doing mail-trades through Myachi HQ will take longer than mailing them directly.
• It will cost a little more because you will have to pay for postage to ship the package twice (once to HQ and again to the recipient).
• IMPORTANT: If you do not send sufficient postage to either mail the trade on to the recipient or mail it back to you, we cannot guarantee it will be returned.

Because of all these things, weigh your options on this thing.  If you feel confident that you trust the person you're trading with, feel free to mail trade with them directly.  But to be 100% safe, this is probably your best option.  It doesn't much matter if you're trading relatively common Myachis, but since E-Bay has driven the value of some sacks to well over $100, there are some trades where you definitely want to take advantage of this deal.

... Oh, and don't forget to tell Pinky how awesome she is!