I thought we'd need a new master list that people can reference to find out who is organizing mbags for everyone - like we had before.... Please PM me with any information and I'll add it to the list here until we have it complete again. My memory isn't functioning this morning, so I don't think I can even begin to reconstruct the list myself. Thanks!

Please note that a $1 per book contribution toward mbag postage should accompany each book unless other arrangements have been made with the people involved. This is still considerably cheaper than mailing your book directly overseas. If people want, I can put specific instructions next to your names so the info is here OR can put that you should be pm'd or emailed before a book is sent?

The following mbags are IN PROGRESS:

CdnBlueRose for Kislany (Cyprus) FINAL MBAG MAILED MAY 11, Marlene (The Netherlands) FINAL MBAG MAILED MAY 9/07, and Giz-Angel (U.K.) FINAL MBAG MAILED MAY 10
Noumena for Missy (U.K.) mailed 8/25/2006
Morsecode for zzz (Serbia) MAILED 5/12/07
Three104 for sunlightbub (U.K.), and Juliet982 (Venezuela) both mailed 5/10/07
SandDanz to Xeyra (Portugal) mailed 5/5/07, and Jebbie74 (Canada) will hand deliver in July
Ladiibbug for Malagan (The Netherlands) FINAL MBAG MAILED, and AmberKatze, Rianonne & OBCZ's combined (Austria) mailed 5/8/07
Xallroyx for camis (U.K.) mailed 5/12/07
Mellonhead for Candy-is-Dandy, Teachie & katybean combined (U.K.)
Ixion for cosmic-gin (Australia) mailed 5/14/07
Candieb for Geegal (Germany) FINAL MBAG HAS BEEN MAILED
Herbwench for butterfly-noir - see here
nekki2976 for Potok-fan, Intrycksflikka & Sobergirl combined (Finland), only till Feb 28
FranciJo for catsalive and Aussie Convention (Australia) FINAL MBAG TO BE MAILED END OF APRIL

Hi is it possible to put in the countries of the recipents please? SO if someone is interested in releasing a book in a particular country, or want to start one to a country that is not listed, it's easier work than looking up everybody's profile. Thanks.

I've added that info, but just want to make note that you'd also need to contact the recipient first to make sure it was okay before sending a book you wanted released in their country..... :)

I've got an M-bag underway for Candy-is-Dandy, Teachie and katybean. It's a joint m-bag for them all in Essex, UK.

Huh.... Rosie, dear, unless I moved without being aware of it, I'm in Portugal, not Greece. :lol: Though I certainly wouldn't mind if I was enjoying the beaches around there. :)

I am also doing a M-bag for Juliet982, Venezuela.

I have one for Geegal

Sorry Xeyra! Thanks for correcting me! Hm.... I must have been thinking of asterw? Did she live in Greece and move to Spain? Oh! and isn't someone doing an mbag for her too? :rolleyes:

Rosie, just to confirm, is the $1 donation to help with the cost of the m-bag PER BOOK? I have tried to send more than $1 when I've sent more than one book, but if we send 10 books, should we send $10?

:unsure:

It should be per book, yes - it really wouldn't be fair for someone to send along 10 books for $1 as those 10 books would obviously take more than $1 worth of the combined postage..... At the very least, $1 per 2 paperbacks. Depending on the destination of the mbag, the postage is a minimum of $1/pound for the first 11 pounds and .95/pound thereafter - some destinations are more. The vast majority of packages I've received for all the mbags I've done have been only 1 book, so $1 is easiest to send and closest to the amount required. If someone had a lot of books - using your example 10 - they could always weigh them and send accordingly, using $1/pound - if there were a lot of thinner books, then less than $10 would probably be okay. I think basically people need to be fair about this - expect to contribute something - and contact the person sending the mbag and/or the recipient to work things like that out. I've lost all my mbag details along with the old BookRelay site - had it all in my blog there - but I know for a fact that, of the last 18 mbags I've sent, contributions from folks sending books through me only ONCE matched the amount of the postage. The $1/book has proven to be the closest to the required amount and seems to be what is easiest for all concerned. Hope that is a sufficient answer! :)

you can add fto the list: firefly is doing a m-bag for me

nekki2976 sent an M-bag to Finland last year, and has kindly offered to do a second (partly because there were still books left over from the first one!) :lol:

I don't mind if this gets used for me, Intrycksflikka, Sobergirl, or any other Finnish bookcrosser... as long as you realize there may be some delay getting the books from me to them (it WILL happen eventually). Please make it very clear in the journal entry who the book is for (and maybe also stick a post-it into the front cover).

DEADLINE for this M-bag: 28 Feb. Any books that arrive after that date I have authorized her just to wild-release. She's moving house and shouldn't be burdened with extra books after February, please.

nekki2976 lives in New York state. I can email anyone her address who needs it.

Thank you for you PM Potok-fan! Would probably have missed it other wice. And to answer you question: Can't think of other Finns :)

Now off to acctually work ;)

If anyone else is wanting or needing an Mbag done I would be HAPPY to do it.. last time I only had one person send me the dollar per book so that would be lots of help and since it was my first Mbag and I live in a little town no one seemed to know what I was talking about.. thanks to Rosie I had to explain it to them! Let me know!

Rosie can you add, last to my M-bag? :kiss:

Will do, my Crazy Foreign Friend! Just remember that if you want another in the future, just let me know - any time!! :kiss:

Thanks hon :kiss: :wub: :bash:

Thanks for adding our Mbag to your list! :wub:

Just want to add that I would be more than happy to help organize a M Bag if someone needs it.

Doesn't MissBagPuss have a M-Bag? :unsure: :huh:

I think Rosie has sent MissBP's M-bag.

MissBP's final mbag was mailed out January 10 - all my correspondence was in the old forum, but if memory serves, she didn't feel she was active enough to do another.... it took a very long time to fill that last one and that meant the books were sitting here for months..... :)

Okay thanks zzz and Rosie. :kiss:

FranciJo is going to do an M-bag for me. WooHoo!!

:bananadance:

Does FranciJo is doing two M-bags: one for catsalive and other one for Australian Convention? Or is it the same one?
(I saw in other thread that FJ wants to collect books for Convention's M-bag) :unsure:

FranciJo is doing 2 M-bags to Australia, one for the Aussie Convention & one for catsalive (hey, that's me). She must be very organised.
:rolleyes:

I am going to be taking over butterfly-noir's M-Bag for Fireflywishes so she doesn't have to worry about it while she prepares to move.

If anyone has books for butterfly you can pm me for my address, ok?

Edited to add: Fireflywishes is going to forward the books already collected for Butterfly-Noir's M-bag. That way they are all in one place and can be sent in one M-bag instead of needing to wait until 2 bags are full enough to go!

Hmm, I have a question...
What exactly is an M-Bag? I've been searching for two days now but can't find an explanation (same goes for a few other new-to-me book-somethings, actually).

Could anyone explain this to me? Thanks!

Hi Oisec

It's a way of sending books in bulk from the US to other places. Saves postage - so basically with my M bag, CdnBlueRose collects books owed to me from US BCers, who mail the book to her and include a $ towards the M bag, and once she has a load of books she ships them to me in an M Bag or Media Bag - it takes quite a long time to reach me (UK) but it's far cheaper for the US people.

However, the rates for M bags are increasing quite a bit in May so most of us are discontinuing them at the moment. We will have to see how it goes. It's one thing putting in $1 but sometimes people forget to pop that in, and it's going to increase to $3 each.....and for us Europeans, if people forget to pop in those $ in effect we have to pay twice - to ship our own books to the US AND to ship them back in M bags!

That was probably a really complicated answer to a simple question but does it help?

Geegal's bag has gone out, you can remove us from the list. I don't know if I'll do another one any time soon. Maybe next year when all the craziness in my life dies down.

Better cross ours off the list, too. I don't know if nekki's sent it out yet, but I did warn her about the rate increase coming. I'm still amazed the USPS could get away with eliminating surface mail. :angry: (most surface mail? international surface mail? all except now-more-expensive Mbags? :huh: ) Whatever. It grrrrrs me. :rant2:

Maybe those doing mbags could chime in here with expected mail dates and if their's are the last (for now anyway) - most probably are closing due to the rate increases. All 3 bags I'm doing will be mailed out in the week of May 7-11, so anyone wants books to go, get them to me NOW!

My bag from Xall will be the last one for the time being. She's planning on sending before the rate rises.

I am sending Juliet's m-bag around May 1st. She hasn't responded to any of my email's but that is my current plan.

I'll probably hold out on Sunlight's till right before the rate change - it is looking light, I'll have to find a few more to stuff in there.

After that, I guess I'll check around and see what the prices will be. Is there going to be a 5-10 pound bag? I love doing them, but we'll see what happens.

Mellonhead's M-bag to me in the UK (for candy-is-dandy, teachie and katybean) is to be sent shortly. If you have any books you wish to have included they will need to get to her in the next few days or you will need to send to us direct. Thanks.

Looks like this will be my first and last M-bag (but at least I get to see what one looks like). :P

I will send camis' last m-bag on 5/12!!!

ditto for zzz

This sound so ultimate that is scary :erm:

I am still waiting for fireflywishes to forward Butterfly-Noir's M-bag books to me so I can add the ones I have here and get it sent. All I have here for butterfly is 4 or 5 books so would really like to get the others. If I don't get the books fireflywishes has for her very soon then I'm going to mail these ones off before the rate increase.

Has anyone heard from MissyZ I mailed her MBag months ago but havent heard a word about whether or not she has received it.. I'm guessing she has but who knows!