Abe CDs
Here's the deal on the CD circle.
There are two options: a weekly and a monthly CD circulation. Consistency with the schedule is the biggest thing I ask of you. Whatever day you send the first CD off to the next person on the list, that is the day to send it off every week (or every month). This way there is a regular schedule and the next person knows when to expect the CD to arrive. (Hint: Don't pick Mondays as your day to mail them or Monday holidays will throw your schedule out of whack. Ask me how I know...)
If a strict schedule isn't the way you operate, or you just can't stick to a regular day right now, that's all right. There's a place for everyone, and I'm happy to rotate you to the end of the list where you'll be on an erratic schedule with others like yourself! ;)
Why do I care? Because we have a whole long line of people waiting for their CDs each week. When one person is late, there's a ripple effect. Once there was someone who wasn't getting CDs and who didn't want to "complain." We found out about it when the CDs were returned to sender (because we had a typo in the address). What happened was, everyone in line after the polite person didn't get their CDs for weeks. (Hmm, guess they were being polite too?) Anyway, if you're not getting your CDs when you expect them, please tell me so I can send a CD out to fill in the gap!
FOR THE CD-A-WEEK PLAN: - One happy day you'll get a CD from the person ahead of you on the list. It's yours for a week to listen to.When that person sends you another CD the following week, wait one more week before your schedule begins. We want you to normally have in your possession this week's CD that you're listening to, plus last week's CD ready and waiting to be mailed when the mailing day arrives.
This timing is tricky for your first CDs on the weekly schedule, so pay attention! When the second CD arrives, you're not going to mail out the first CD yet. Wait until the following week and then begin your weekly mailing schedule. I know you're eager to live up to your commitment to mail them out on time, and that will all begin soon enough. In the meantime, for the first CDs only, this waiting period is crucial for the CDs to flow smoothly all the rest of the weeks to come.
There will be occasional bumps of the postal service and other participants' lives. This extra week buffer means you've got enough overlap in the CDs to alert me that things are amiss while still keeping the CDs flowing.
If you've got a busy week or are traveling and you don't get a chance to listen to the current CD before the next one arrives, ship the current one off to the next person anyway so we don't slow down the circulation. You can probably copy the CD onto your computer and listen to it at your convenience. But if that doesn't work for you, just make peace with the fact that you may miss listening to a CD here or there. There'll be another one next week.
THE MONTHLY PROGRAM - One happy day you'll get a CD from the person ahead of you on the list. It's yours for a month to listen to.
When that person sends you another CD the following month, take the current one (that you got the previous month) and, on the appointed day, drop it into a mailer and send it along to the next person.
If you've got a busy month or are traveling and you don't get a chance to listen to the current CD before the next one arrives, ship the current one off to the next person anyway so we don't slow down the circulation. You can probably copy the CD onto your computer and listen to it at your convenience. But if that doesn't work for you, just make peace with the fact that you may miss listening to a CD here or there. There'll be another one next month.
LABELS - I'll send you address labels of the person you're mailing to. Until you get the labels from me, handwrite the address onto a mailer.
POSTAGE - Postage is $1.56 as of May 2009. The best combination of stamps I've found is two 78-cent stamps. If your post office doesn't carry that denomination you can buy it from usps.com for a $1 handling fee.
GET READY - Buy some CD mailers now, before the first CD gets there. You can find them at Staples or Office Depot. For years I bought mine online from Quill. Recently I've begun buying the Conformer® Expansion Jewel Case Mailers from Sleeve City. They're priced about the same as the ones from Quill except there's a shipping charge so they end up costing a little more BUT they take up far less space. I find it worth a few extra bucks to have fewer boxes cluttering my home. (Some people reuse the mailer that is the CD is sent to them in. That may or may not work, depending on whether the person before you in line is also recycling.)
THE CD SKIPS - If the CD isn't playing perfectly, please take an eyeglass cleaning cloth (microfiber) and wipe the shiny side of the CD from the center to the rim in a series of swipes (as if cutting slices of pie). That usually does the trick.
IS IT FREE? – Almost. I buy the CDs new (I pay $60 for each 4-CD set); I don’t ask you to share in that cost, I’m lending my CDs to you. However, I do spend around $200 a year in expenses (CD cases, mailers and postage) to make this circulation happen, and I ask for a buck a month to defray those costs. This will be an annual request in January for $12. If you’re just joining, there’s no charge until January.
I’ll send a reminder in December or January, and that’s it. If it’s a burden for you, you don’t need to explain your circumstances; it’s not a hardship for me to do this, and anyway we've got enough people on the list that my expenses are covered plus a latte and scone.
Hope this doesn't come off as overly bossy. I'm just trying to lay out the framework and make sure we all know what to expect, and what is expected of us.
HOW TO SIGN UP - If you're on board with all this, email me with the following information:
1) Tell me that you agree to the ‘terms and conditions’
2) Whether you be on the weekly schedule or on the "my life is crazy, I'll do my best" weekly schedule or the monthly schedule
3) What your mailing address is, with zip+4 if you know it
and we'll get you started.
Best,
Teresa