Requests ? What to do with it ?

Hi...I thought I 'ld better ask you. Many times I get requests from DG subscribers that ask me if I can help them to obtain certain seeds or bulbs or so. Mostly it is okay for me and I sure will gladly help if I can...that's fine...really !
But before I post a reply I 'll check if the person, if for me unknown, is a payed subscriber. If that's not the case..it depends on what and how the request is...maybe I'm bad or to suspicious..but sometimes I even won't reply for privacy reasons.

I'm wondering how do you handle a request by personal mail from DG ?

Saya, I have had a couple inquiries. Like you, I check to see if they are Subscribers or just members.

If they are just members, usually I write back and say the item is no longer available, which is almost always true anyway. I don't offer much and it usually goes fast, LOL.

Wish we had better names than "Subscriber" and "Member"... seems like they should be the other way around.. I can 'subscribe' to a newsletter without paying dues, but if I join a club and pay dues, I'm a 'Member'.

Thanks Darius....I've had also a few nasty experiences with internet ..only a very few with "gardeners" though...but I think I have to live with that fact ... : (

Sometimes I don't respond to a request because I don't want to reveal my E-addy to just every gardener...but that does'nt feel well also...sigh...

Saya, you have been a DG'er a long time, as have I. I think the new feedback rating system will help us all. I've only been burned a time or two trading on DG, and have had enough wonderful trades come to me with extras that more than make up for a bad apple.

I've not been an active trader the last year or so as I have been either preparing to move, or moving. Still in temporary quarters with no garden to call my own. Sigh.

I wish you would move back up here, but totally understand why you dont want to. If I could move back to W.V. I would in a heartbeat.

I usualy wait a day or two before I answer a members email, Ive answered them all but wait until I feel comfortable doing it. Most times whatever they are asking for I either already traded away or I just dont have it yet(mainly seeds) but Ill do a sase with them if I have it extra. That way in my mind everyone wins and I can give someone a good impression of what its like to subscribe.
Ill always be grateful to those that did the sase thing with me before I subscribed, it was only about two months but between that and all the info I couldnt see (and wanted to badly) it helped me to make the decision to pay for my first internet subscription.

Saya, You should respond to unsolicited requests however you feel comfortable doing so. There is no code of ethics that requires you to respond to an email from someone that you do not know. Nor should you feel any obligation to try to honor someone's request for seeds/plants when you have not posted that you have extras available.

D'Cat, I guess I'm lucky that I found DG long before there was a paid subscription, and I did many, many trades those first years I was trying to learn to garden. I didn't hesitate a moment when the option to pay came along.

Last year, the Angel fund paid my subscription since I wasn't employed nor yet getting social security. I hope to pay that back before my own subscription is due again.

I can honestly say I have never refused a trade request my email when I actually had the item and didn't want to get involved with someone unknown. We all have to look in the mirror, after all.

Thats how I feel about it too. And thanks for the extra reminder I need to make sure I pay my subscription before October, wanna make sure I dont forget and have to wait to get back in LOL.

Being so new to many things, I might see a plant in the PDB that I would love to have and ask the owner if they have any.

It doesnt hurt my feelings if you say no .

charlotte

Charlotteda, Ive done that too, maybe its begging but I also was able to look at thier wants list to make sure if I had something they would want too. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it dosnt but I figure the worst that can happen is Im told No and maybe they laugh at me a bit. LOL

Point is like above go with your gut, if your not comfortable replying then dont if you do then do, and dont feel bad if you dont respond, even as dingy as I can be understand that I might not get an answer because this person has no clue whatsoever who I am.

Janet