I signed up and this sounds like fun. Are the rules posted anywhere?
Before trading can begin, each person involved in the trading needs to signup for a screen name at the new site. Please use the same name as your screen name on the BBQ Brethren forums. Here are the steps:
1) Go to
http://www.ncgrimbo.com/BBQ_Trade. You will see the following logon screen on your screen:
Click on the "Register" link to register your screen name.
2) The registration screen will show up and look like:
You need to fill in the "Requested Screen Name" and the "Email" fields then press the "Register" button.
If there is a problem with your screen name or email address, a message box will appear and let you know what the problem is. You must enter a valid email address since this is how you will receive your password and any trade notifications. Your password will be mailed to the email address that you entered. You should receive this password within 24-48 hours after you click the register button.
Once you have received your password, you can log into the site. Enter your screen name and login then press the "Login" button on the login screen shown above. This will take you to the main screen:
The main screen tells you if a trade round is currently underway and also allows you to change your password and update your mailing information. It is vital that you update your mailing information. You will not be allowed to signup for trades if your mailing information is blank. To change your mailing information, click on the "Modify My Name and Address" link. This will take you to this screen:
Enter your data and then press the "Save Data" button. Your information will be updated and then you will be returned to the main screen.
If you wish to change your password, click on the "Change My Password" link from the main screen. This will take you to this screen:
Enter your old password and then enter your new password twice. Click on the "Click to Change Password" button to save your new password.
Step 1 is to follow the directions in this forum post:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=477207
Step 2: Go to
http://www.ncgrimbo.com/BBQ_Trade and see if a trade is in progress.
If a trade round is in progress, the main menu of the web page will look similar to this:
You can click on the "Trade in progress" like to get to the Show Trades Page. On this page, a list of the past trades will show up and information about the current trade will also be visible. The current trade information table shows the sign up deadline, the trade deadline, and the salting date. It will look something like this:
To register to participate in this trade round, you click on the "No" link in the "I am Signed Up?" column. If the column has a "Yes" link in it, you are registered and clicking on the "Yes" link will unregister you. Once you click on the links, you will get a message saying that you were successfully registered or unregistered. Click on the "Click to return to the trade round list page" link to return to the Show Trades Page.
Once the trade is underway, under the "Package Sent" and "Package Received" columns will be a "Not Sent" link. Clicking on this link will set the date that you sent your package or received your package. Once clicked, you can not unclick. It is very important to click here when you send or receive packages so that the slugs are correctly identified.
If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to PM me.
NCGrimbo
As far as rules......
THE RULES:
If you’re a trader you’re on the hook for a sauce and a rub this round. More is better and that can be a lot of fun, but it’s not necessary. Some folks don’t have access to a lot of stuff where they live. And that’s the idea, btw – send your partner stuff from your area and he/she will return something from their area. If you can’t find enough local stuff, then grab something exotic from somewhere else – that’s fine. And try and stay away from the common items!
Please abide by your trade partner's max Scoville scale rating. If you haven't set yours, take a moment to do that on the address update page for the Sauce Trade Web site. If you haven't set yours, your Scoville scale rating will be 0, Green Peppers.
Once the signup phase closes the computer will match everyone up with someone they've not traded with before who lives far, far away. Note that the computer has no records of the first 15 rounds, so you may get hooked up with someone from a previous trade, but future trades will not encounter this until you've traded with everyone that signs up. An e-mail messages will be sent to each matched pair (or threesome if there is an odd number of traders), and the rest is up to you.
Remember: Communications is Key. We all have stuff come up so if you’re unable to trade or do it on time, just drop your partner and me a note. No sweat.
Slugs… Slugs are those who do not trade in a timely way and do not communicate their troubles to me and their partners. Slugs will be salted. Depending on the circumstances (unanswered messages, reasons for being late, etc.) slugs will be blacklisted from trading for one or two rounds - or they may be completely dead to me. Salting is performed on a predetermined date based on your package getting marked as received by your trading partner. So make sure you mark your packages as sent and received.
To trade, you must have an account and have entered your address information on the web site at
http://www.NCGrimbo.com/BBQ_Sauce_Trade .
Information on how to sign up for an account and how to sign up for a trade round can be found in the sticky section of the "Trading Post" forum.
We all know that BBQ isn't just about the rubs or the sauces....
Good BBQ meat can stand on it's own, but a good rub or a good sauce when used properly can compliment a meal and add new depths of flavors.
Have you ever wanted to sample a rub and a sauce from another part of the country just to see how flavor profiles differ?
Here's your chance.... Go to the Trading Post forum and follow the directions on how to register for the current trade round. Once registered you will be paired with someone else in another part of the country. Once you are paired and trading begins, you are required to purchase and send 1) bottle of Rub and 1) bottle of sauce and send it to your trading partner. In turn your trading partner will be required to do the same. Some traders have sent and some members will continue to send additional items or multiple items. This is not required, and is solely the choice of the sender, this simply shows the generosity and nature of some of our Brethren.
We encourage you to send a rub and a sauce only available in your region/area of the United States. Commercially made sauces are allowed because there are many good ones that not readily available in all areas of the country. Brands like Head Country, Blues Hog, Scott's, Carolina Gold, and many more too numerous to name. Also many local farmers markets, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, local BBQ places, and BBQ teams sell commercially packed items suitable for the trade round.
Try to avoid the extremely common items like Kraft, Sweet Baby Ray's, and such other similar sauces as your primary trade item. Items like these that have variants can be added as additional sauces if you desire because many flavor of these sauces (Raspberry, Hawaiian, ect..) are not available in all parts of the country. No brand of rub or sauce is prohibited, I just ask that you consider not sending an extremely common brand available in every store, in every state, and town in America.
Proper packaging of the items to avoid breakage is also part of the trade requirement. An item broken or damaged in shipment is usually discarded by the shipper and probably will never be delivered. Non-delivery will result in being banned from future trades, we refer to this as "Salting". For the sake of $.95 cents, a tracking number can be added to any package, this is a good way to see where your package is and when it was delivered.
Trading is open to all members with a valid United States Mailing address including Hawaii, Alaska, and yes APO and FPO addresses. The US Mail considers Hawaii, Alaska, APO, and FPO as normal mail and does not charge international rates.
One of our Canadian Brethren have showed an interest in forming a Canadian Trade, so if any other Brethren with a Canadian address wish to form a trade, please Private Message me. I will manually pair our Canadian Brethren for their trades if there is an interest. Remember, for the Canadian trade, do join not Trade Round #45, just message me. Members not having a valid United States mailing address who registered in trade round #45 will be deleted from the list.
Trading can be a lot of fun and offer you a diversity of items to taste. Common courtesy and mutual respect will make this trade a pleasant experience for everyone involved...
To join the trade, simply visit the Trading Post Forum on the BBQ Brethren
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=6 and follow the links on how to sign-up or register for the new trade round.