No, I never added support for saving trackers to be published later. You'd just have to restrict the tracker if you wanted to make sure nobody else could see it until it's ready. (A whitelist restriction that has nobody in it would be an option.)

-- Ryan

Plotting and planning for a large event and needing stamps ahead of time I could see where support for trackers as unpublished would be helpful (and keep me from losing all the lists I have on my desk.)

wink, wink, nod

I use to do LTC's quite a bit but life happened and its been a long time. I just got back on the site and am lost. If I wanted to start trading again how can I start. Any help would be greatly appreciated

you can join this event coming up...

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?eventId=4984

If you look under "My Page" you will "Trackers" click that and then look under Available for "LTCs" and you can see swaps that are open to join. :)

Is this an online event?

Yes - Zoom

How do you go about trading LTC's if they are not listed in a group. I just like to carve stamps and make cards. I usually always make more than the "group" request in the hopes that I could do random trades but how do I list those and do others do random trades and if so how do you list yours?

Marjorie’s Potpourri is a monthly trade for whatever cards you want to send. You send 5 and you get 5 back.

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?trackerId=11818

Or sometimes people just like to trade, if you ask! :)

Check your AQ mail -- sent you a private message.

I often just make and send no special reason "happy mail" to other boxers that I know also enjoy making/receiving LTCs.

But how do people "advertise" that they made a LTC just for trades or find people that want to trade. Or is this just a thing where you look through the new LTC's and send a AQ mail and ask?

I sent you an AQ message. Check your mailbox. 😊

You could just post here that you want to trade 😊 seems like several years ago that happened more often than happens now. Im happy to trade with you.

I've seen new LTCs become available and just sent a quick note to the creator offering to trade. I've gotten lots of neat cards and sent out mine too. I'd be happy to trade with you too!👍😉

So I think I want to do a tracker. Is there somewhere I can get information about this endeavor. I would like to know how I start it, what settings do I use, how many people is a good number? What time period do most people give and what other things do I need to take into consideration.

This might tell you most of what you’re looking for (in the glossary under LTCs):

hosting LTC tracker

I've been thinking about wanting to get involved in LTCs (not necessarily hosting) and I'm trying to read as much as I can about it before I take the plunge. lol Just wanna make sure I understand all the expectations and etiquette around it. So if you want a newbie on your list, let me know! :)

How do people feel about reusing uncanceled postage on LTC envelopes? When I started doing LTCs, I did reuse uncanceled postage until a couple of people pointed out to me that the USPS was holding up their end of the deal by delivering the envelopes, and they deserved to be paid for it. I thought that was a really good point. I haven’t reused postage since then and would prefer that other hosts not reuse my postage, but I may be an outlier on this!

Similar opinion, but my version goes like this ~ if you want a local restaurant to remain open, you eat there from time to time. Support the businesses you want to keep alive.

I have been getting some envelopes back unused because the postage was not cancelled. I’m confused by why/how it happens. I, too, waffle about the ethics of reusing those envelopes, so I’m not making a stand.

If you buy forever stamps online, other than USPS.com, they are 99% guaranteed to be counterfeit. That's the same as reusing postage as they don't get paid for that mail either.

I'm surprised they still sell stamps without holograms or something... so many online companies selling "2024 forever stamps" at 30-40 cents each! The "forever" part of those old stamps can't last.

As for my reusing:
I haven't sent a bubble mailer in years and the time/effort to remove it directly from a paper envelope is more than the few cents I'd save. Maybe when they become a dollar each....

Oh. . . . Um . . . I always thought an uncanceled stamp was like finding a stray coin on the ground and it's my lucky day. I may or may not have an uncanceled stamp right by me, waiting to be put on a new envelope. Um . . . .

But I never try the grapes from the bag in the produce area of a store, so I'm going to say that things balance out in my universe. :)

That’s what I used to think, too! 😜 But it seems that many of the LTC envelopes I receive these days have uncanceled postage. I’m not sure why.

If it's not postmarked, I will definitely reuse it!

I'll reuse them, too!

New LTC tracker: due by October 1, 2025

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?trackerId=12010

I reuse them too - I’d say I’m one of the few people these days who go into the physical post office 1-2 times a month and spend $80-100 on postage stamps even in the months I know they’re going to raise the price twice (I have a business account and get updates on the scheduled postal rate increases every quarter). If I get one uncancelled stamp out of all the postage I go through, I’m not going to put it in an album and save it! What’s the point of that? And it’s so rare, I hardly worry about it. Maybe one time since I started doing LTCs?

We do it occasionally. It’s not something we really celebrate nor ignore. We have a TERRIBLE local PO, so much so that we usually drive one town over when we need their services. I figure we’ve been overcharged more than we take from re-using.


Oh, I do! How else to know if they are ripe? 😉
Related…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Unmc78XQoP4