What are the rules on Soliciting during a trade?

[talk2ham.1]

For example: if I want to drop my home business card, pamphlet, or brochure in with an envie that I'm sending in a trade, is that o.k.? Or is soliciting prohibited without HCW entrepreneur status?

I don't remember having read anything about this in the rules for trading and don't want to do something that is not recommended or even prohibited.

[lmcconne]

I can't say what the Official Guidelines allow. However, as a trader, I would not want the other person to take that opportunity to make a solicitation. I realize you are using the stamp anyway, and it certainly makes good business sense. However, I don't trade for coupons expecting the other person to infringe on my time with any sales information.

[puakinikini]

I have no idea what the rules are - glad you asked - we can all earn something! I personally would not mind about the solicitation during a trade. It will be interesting to see others opinions on this.

[sbp]

Officially we have no guidelines on whether it's allowed or isn't allowed.

I will say that I wouldn't personally recommend it, because as you can see from the first 2 replies, one member is against it and the other member isn't against it. There's not really any way to know which way the recipient is going to feel and depending on the nature of the solicitation material, you may risk alienating a member who may not want to trade with you again based on the lone fact that you used a trade as an opportunity to promote yourself and your business/beliefs/whatever.

[talk2ham.1]

Yeah, I'd say these responses are pretty much polarized. It's no biggy; just wondering. Maybe we should take a pole. I don't know how to set one of those up though.

[Sweet_Southern_Mama]

I wouldn't personally be bothered by it. It's not like I'm forced to read it. If I'm not interested I just throw it away with the rest of the junk mail. If I am, I'm glad the other trader sent it. Personally, I don't think that doing it says that you trade just to promote your business.

[aimeebee]

Don't most people put a business card type thing in their trades anyway? Since it apparently isn't against the rules...and I don't think something as small as a business card would offend too many, I'd probably go for it. I personally wouldn't mind. If your website/business intrigued me I'd probably check it out. If not it wouldn't bother me that you had included it and it would just go in file 13.

Something larger like a pamphlet or catalog might just be money/postage wasted on people who possibly aren't interested.

[kval07]

I wouldn't be bothered by it. (But I also love getting mail of any kind, even junk mail.) Getting a business card that is not wanted or needed is no different than getting extras in an envie that you don't want or can't use. If you don't want it, don't look at it!

[anothershopper2]

I think it depends on the nature of the solicitation. I'd probably be ok with it but honestly, I would probably not read it. So it would be waste on me... but a waste on me could be totally useful for someone else. Hard to know.

[cspigner28]

I wouldn't mind it, like many others have said, if it were something I were interested in, I'd probably check it out, if not interested I would just throw away.