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July 16, 2021
Swap Site Update – A Temporary Pause
Updated 6/23/2020
Swaps have reopened! Read more here.
Updated 6/1/2020
We understand the importance of swaps to the MSA community and your health and safety is our top priority. We are continuing to pause the Swap site for the next 30 days or until the Covid-19 phased rollouts happen across the country. We will keep you informed here as anything changes!
In an effort to help minimize any unnecessary trips / person-to-person interactions (like going to the post office) due to the spread of COVID-19, we’re temporarily pausing the swap site. Thank you for your feedback and your support.
No new swaps can start at this time. If you have an existing open swap and are not able to ship it at this time, that’s OK. We ask that you message the person you’re swapping with to let them know that there will be a delay in shipping their item to them. Feel free to reference this post. Stay safe, hopefully, we’ll be swapping again in no time. We are looking at new ways to engage with our community online, stay tuned!
Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!
Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!
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253 comments
Lacey Volk
Hello! We have reopened swaps officially as of this morning. Please see this post for more info: https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2020/06/fyi-swaps-have-reopened.html
Teresa
I think the cost of running the swap outweighs the benefit from MSAs point of view. I could be wrong. But I think this is as good a reason as any to “pause it”.
I think this is short sited as not being able to swap away boxes items I don’t need has resulted in me canceling boxes. I’m at an all-time low and have not subbed to any new boxes in the last few months. It’s the new box subscription codes that we use that make the company money. I think the correlation goes unnoticed.
Jen
What cost is there to running the swap tab to an existing website? Doesn’t it for the most part run itself with our uploads and trades?
Tina
Seriously, i was thinking the same
Sara
Great so is the swap site going to go the way of the forum?? They’re just not going to tell us and then one day it will just disappear? I already visit this site less than I do when the forum was here; but take away the swap site too and I won’t be visiting MSA again. Most states have reopened, some are in phases, but mail has never gone away or halted because of the virus.
Greta
100% agree! All states have at least partial reopening. Even the hardest hit NY is reopening. And even there, Amazon and deliveries never ceased. I think this is absurd. I have cancelled all my subs. Without being able to swap away all the nonsense that comes in it, it’s not worth it. I have too much stacked up already. I just give it all to my housekeepers now.
MSA with wither away and vanish in an unnoticed fashion. It will be their own doing.
Amy
Sara – I agree completely. After the forum was shut down I cancelled a lot of boxes. This continuation of pausing swaps is completely unnecessary, short sighted and quite frankly, a big fat screw you to all of the people that have been loyal to Liz and her homegrown business. This is unfortunately what happens when a company is taken over by another. None of what was actually matters and apparently, neither do any of us. I’m sad to see it die and I bet Liz is too, though at this point, she may just be relieved to not have to run this any longer. It was 6 fun years for me but those days are gone.
Susan
Agree!
Kristina
I wish swapping would open up. Let us decide if we feel safe swapping.
Kristin
I’m not holding my breathe it will ever reopen, safety is just buying time to figure out the least damage it will cause to the site. I hope I’m proven wrong but doubt it.
Brooke
Restaurants are open but swapping isn’t?
Sharyn
This site is quickly becoming a joke
Tonya
I am half inclined to ask my hubs to create a swap website. Being married to a programmer has to have some benefits, right?
Michelle
Yes! Do it please!
I want in 😀
jen
I would join. This site isn’t fun anymore!
Jess
I would join too!
Mtbikergal
Please do. I have so much stuff. Count me in!!
Dawn
Do it!!!
Laurie
Please count me in!
Carol Robinson
Please do! I’d join!
Leslie
I will join.
LBB
I would definitely be interested in a swapping site alternative. I would be shocked if MSA actually un-pauses the swap feature. Since Liz has stepped back I have noticed a decline in this site—spoilers, reviews, announcements, etc. are all posted after I see them on other sites or my own in-box. Without swaps there is (with the exception of a few great reviewers here) not a lot that MSA has to offer anymore.
julia
Count me in! Just let me know where to sign up.
Lily
I don’t understand the reasoning behind keeping the site closed. There are no guidelines from the government against mailing packages. The post office and every other shipping business is open as usual.
So swaps are unsafe but keep getting subscription boxes is safe? Doesn’t make any sense.
We should stop the engagement with this website until swaps resume. We are the ones that create the success here.
CoffeeBeforeMascara
Absolutely Spot On! I am with you 100%.
Amy
Agreed
Susan
I’m totally with you on this one. Let’s find another site to swap on.
Jennifer
Sylvia, we all got the same update you got about the 30 more days. You can stop commenting this on all of the previous comments. I emailed the new team last night, linked them to this post and asked them to provide an update to everyone, which they have. No need to keep restating this.
Tina
Lol, hear hear!
Elizabeth
I did not receive an update. Was it emailed?
Jennifer
Elizabeth, it is added at the very top of this original post.
Sylvia
Swapping is halted for another 30 days at least.
woodall1880
If there is a product that you want to swap for all you have to do is click directly on the person’s name or avatar (picture) and you will not have any issues sending a swap request.
Elizabeth
Understood. I didn’t realize it was purposely still halted based upon all the comments regarding Liz
Sylvia
Swapping is halted for another 30 days. Don’t tell people sneaky ways to try to get around the ban.
Carol
Liz and the MSA team should show their members more courtesy by providing us with more updates. Very poor communication on their part. This site wasn’t set up out of the kindness of MSA’s heart. They have profited by their followers and the resulting advertising income. I feel like we have been thrown to the curb, all while MSA continues to advertise and post for their vendors.
Sylvia
Unfortunately Liz is gone now and I’m guessing swaps aren’t a huge priority for the new team.
Jen
Thanks for the info UrbanMonk. I am surprisingly upset about finding this out (that a marketing company now owns MSA) Maybe it isn’t any different than what Liz and co. have been doing the past couple of months, but it feels different that a company is selling access to this site beyond the obvious advertisements. I think I finally have the push I need to end my addiction to MSA.
UrbanMonk
Oops…mistakingly said reddit in my post (that’s what I get for multi-tasking!). But the announcement for Liz is here on this MSA site. https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2020/05/note-from-liz.html
It’s from May 14.
Sylvia
You might not be aware that she is gone but many people are since there was a post and hundreds of comments about it lol
Sylvia
Liz has stepped away from regular msa operations. She posted about this last week.
UrbanMonk
Liz announce on reddit In May that she was taking a step back. There’s a new CEO of MSA since March (look up Simran Dua on LinkedIn. Also, MSA is now owned/operated by a media company. Lookup Ampush on LinkedIn. It says it right on their splash page.
URBANMONK
There seems to be a lack of transparency on Liz “stepping away” on the MSA site, although she did address it on reddit (go search for it). There is a new CEO that started in March 2020 (Look up Simran Dua on LinkedIn) and MSA is now owned/operated by a media company. Look up Ampush on LinkedIn. It says they own/operate right on their splash page.
Amy
What do you mean “Liz is gone”? Did something happen we are not aware of? Up until I cancelled last week, I was still receiving the daily sizzle notifications. I’m so jonesing to swap and wish the requests were hitting my inbox. Sigh
Lainee
I was in the middle of a swap when a halt was called. Of course I had sent my end but the swapper never sent theirs. I understood at the time but now with everyone kind of fading away I am guessing I am never going to receive my swap.
Tina
I’m in the same boat. They haven’t been active for over a month and am worried i won’t receive.
Lainee
I’m not sure that is true. Many many swappers do not have the “has not been active for over a month” banner and I do not know if active means in swapping or presence anywhere on the site since so many profiles do NOT say that. EIther way, the longer swapping is closed down, the less likely the swaps will complete. Just hoping they don’t have some kind of a fee to swap when it comes back…
tpop
All swappers have been inactive for a month since they paused the swaps over a month ago.
Lainee
My mid-swapper also “has not been active for over a month”. I do think it would have been better if MSA would have said “Complete your current swaps please and do not initiate any others” rather than just stop mid-swap at the time.
Carol
Has the other swapper at least been in touch with you? Is the swapper still active?
Liz has to know that several transactions were mid-swap when things were put on hold. Liz and the MSA team should show their members more courtesy by providing us with more updates. Very poor communication on their part. This site wasn’t set up out of the kindness of MSA’s heart. They have profited by their followers and the resulting advertising income. I feel like we have been thrown to the curb, all while MSA continues to advertise and post for their vendors, thus still collection an income.
Peggy
Anyone know alternative swapping websites?
Carol
Is a bit ridiculous that we are not receiving any type of updates from MSA regarding their plans regarding resuming swapping.
Sylvia
The ban on swapping has been extended by at least 30 more days
Leslie
Agree, this is absurd.
Michele Merritt
Maybe Liz needs some help. I am a disabled mom of grown boys. I could possibly help.
jen
Looks like no update on swapping. I find myself coming here less and less frequently. Does anyone know of another site that offers swapping? My hoard is unruly lol.
Midas
The site works… you can swap. Just click on an item you want to swap and send a swap request. I’ve done 2 swaps this month. 🙂
Frances
When I click on Swaps it still says it’s temporarily paused – I wonder if it’s only available for certain users?
Amy
Jen – are you subscribed to the daily sizzle updates from MSA? If yes, maybe you cancel that (I did) and for reason explain that the inability to swap makes sub boxes a much less attractive purchase. It was a true statement for me and I think Liz needs to hear this message. Just a thought.
Carol
Without the option of swapping, I’m losing interest in not only this website, but subscription boxes in general. A person can only hoard so many unused products for so long.
Leslie
Same
L
Agreed. I hope they bring swapping back soon, and if they aren’t, let us know so we can find other ways to get rid of our stuff.
Pisa
With many things throughout country re-opening that are FAR more high risk, I hope so, too. Many of us don’t even leave our homes to ship, and have been socially isolating awhile. There’s no reason to not be passing the time with some fun swapping. Getting kind of irrate it’s still suspended.
Laura
Even though this post hasn’t been updated and all indications are that swapping is still paused, I have received two requests in the past week. I wondered how that was so, but then figured out that you can click on an item, then the person’s name and from their list of items request a swap. So maybe swapping cannot be ‘officially’ condoned, but for those who wish to, they can still swap? Regardless, I have actually enjoyed the break. I always spent so much time on packaging and on shipping fees and worrying if someone was going to steal it out of my mailbox before it could be picked up, so I have no plans to continue at this point. But for those who are anxious, seems there is still a way to request.
Pisa
I was able to swap by using the interface in the Swap Matchmaker (https://swap.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/swap_matchmaker). But can’t outright swap for random things.
Carola
When will swapping begin again?
Linnea
Please please open swapping back up!!
Jen
Please unlock swapping!!! We are raring to go!! Thank you!
Allison
The radio silence tells me MSA follows the party line of, “we need to stay shut down forever.”
Leslie
Yup! Sad but true.
Sharyn
I thought the same thing, Allison!
Allison
I suspect Msa in general is slowly shutting down.
Sylvia
I agree. I would be surprised if msa is still around by the end of the year.
Allison
I hope I’m wrong as well but don’t think so. I don’t believe that Liz is just taking a break but rather wrapping things up. I mean obviously this website always had an expiration date considering its completely centered around a trend and trends always end.
Josette
That would break my heart ❤️
Amy
I sure hope you are wrong but I can’t argue with that observation. Maybe after all these years, it’s just been enough.
Charlotte
“Party line”?
Two months is not “forever.” Good grief.
Greta
“Two months?!” Where have you been? It’s four months and counting.
Peggy
Barter is becoming increasingly important, as people are struggling economically and need to figure out how to get by with less. And doing it through the mail has a built-in quarantining of goods that in-person barter doesn’t. This swap site is a great way to support this community. I’m really surprised swapping is still shut down.
Leslie
Yes, bartering is going be increasingly necessary with the Draconian measures being levied upon us every day. A EX MSA Facebook swap group would be a good start. Some subs have members only FB swap groups like Yoga Club.
Jill
My thoughts exactly.
Dee
I agree. I can be safe and still get a package in the mail. I miss swapping. I was hoping for at least an update. Or maybe just a message of hope that things might start up again in a few weeks.
Josette
Agree, when can we mail items to each other again? It’s not in person contact, many of us are getting big stock piles that we would like to trade. Much of the country is slowly reopening with precautions in place. Thanks.
Susan
I really need to swap. I have to get rid of stuff. You can also schedule a pick up from the mailman
