Go to town, DogsNDs ... quote me or file off the serial numbers and say it yourself. But pleeease ... always to call it "rrrrresearch"! (*)
I think the idea about a local proxy is only worth discussing if someone feels left out of the USA swap, and don't have enough ATP members or drop-ins within their own country to make a central seed swap likely. And then it still doesn't need much discussing - just two people could try it and then it works or it doesn't.
I wouldn't want any non-US ATP members to feel left out or alone. If Jonna offered to participate, i would stand on my head and then swim the Atlantic to help her particiate ... well, maybe not swim the Atlantic.
As for multiple swaps per year ... maybe decide that after the first swap is over.
Once people have
invested their time in creating trade lists that are up-to-date, they can each decide whether to leave them publicly visible and open for requests. Then, maybe just wait and see how many people receive requests, and whether anyone volunteers to be the next "central person".
Of course it would stimulate that to say "and there WILL be another mass-mailing next March".
I wouldn't ask people to send a SASE.
Even though I am a cheap, cheap cheap skinflint, the $6 USPS small flat rate box is much easier for anyone without a precise postal scale to determine weight. I would urge that for the "return leg". Then the box is free and the postage is the same for everyone, and hundreds of trades will fit without bursting.
(PayPal has a well-hidden tool for printing labels with discounted postage, cheaper than the post office sells. (**))
Last I checked was a year or so ago, when the cheapest possible rate for a bubble mailer was $2.32 (zero to 3 ounces total weight) - plus the cost of the bubble mailer. Admittedly, $2.50 is much less than $6.
I bought a huge case of 250 #0 bubble mailers, 6"x10" from ULINE for $53 (21 cents each total).
That's more than a lifetime supply, I think.
Sub-Total $39.00 (250 mailers, current price $42)
Shipping $9.69
Sales Tax $4.63
Total $53.32
If the central person wants to hassle with weighing bubble mailers and collecting variable postage, I could ship him or her a few dozen bubble mailers to use.
(*) Tom Lehrer, a song about Nicolay Ivanovitch Lobachevsky (spelling?)
Let no one else's work EVAAADE your eyes, but plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize ...
... but always to call it "rrrrreeeeesearch".
(**)
Every time I try to print labels with postage from PayPal, I have to refer to my notes and make them a little more accurate. These come close to a how-to:
1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. after logging in, paste this into browser & CTRL-CLICK
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-...
ALLOW POP-UPS!
right-hand side "My account tools"
Multi order Shipping
close the floating box.
File Menu | CREATE New Orders
Shipping Details
Apply Preset
USPS Package (Package/Thick Envelope) "First-Class Mail Parcel"
bubble mailer 3 oz or whatever
enter Ship To addresses & Ship From Address
select one or more rows by clicking on far-left green square
"green printer Print" - select row again
<<? allow popups on the new site?>>
Pay & Print (get tracking #), pay & print selected or (1)
Print Label (1 page) on pop-up
print (network print button)
