IllustratedATCs.com FAQ

You are welcome to participate in one on one swaps at this website. You can organize trades with other members in the One on One Trading forum or through our private messaging system. Please ensure that both participants are clear on the private trade terms to avoid disappointment.

Cards must be sent within 30 days of trade acceptance unless other arrangements have been made and agreed to by both trading parties.

Once you have received the card from your private trade, you must leave the trader iTrader Feedback. Please see the iTrader FAQ for futher details.

An organized swap is a group swap organized by a swap host. Participants send in their cards to the swap host who then sorts and sends the returns to each participant. Swaps are normally organized by theme and sometimes by genre.

Swaps are posted in the Open Swap Forum.

Please read the swap information carefully before committing. Swap information is contained in the first post of each swap thread. If you would like to join, please post a response in the thread indicating your desire to join. The swap host will add you to the participant list and send you the swap guide or their mailing address for your cards.

You can subscribe to the thread of each swap that you join by clicking on the “thread tools” button. This will help you to keep informed on what is happening with your swap.

IllustratedATCs.com swaps are original artwork only (unless otherwise noted by the host). This means you are not allowed to submit digital prints, copies, coloured lineart, or any other form of "copy" for swaps. Each card must be original and created specifically for the swap. If the swap is a 3 for 3, you must send in 3 unique cards, not multiple copies of a single card.

Please refer to "A Note on Digital Paintings" in regard to submitting this type of card for swaps. Digital paintings are perfectly acceptable at IllustratedATCs.com, but some swap hosts will want original, one of a kind cards for their swap. If you plan on printing more of the same card, then it is not an "original" so please clarify this with each swap host before joinging if you plan on submitting digital paintings.

IllustratedATCs.com is an exclusive site where a higher quality of artwork is expected. Please do your best work for each card that you submit and do not send in sub-par artwork. Artists who continually send in sub-par work will no longer be able to participate in swaps.

Swap participants must mail cards prior to the due date. It is unacceptable to mail cards on or after the due date, for which reason, hosts may no longer exercise discretion in giving Neutral ratings for late cards. If you mail late, you will receive a Neutral rating. If for some reason the host forgets to provide a Neutral rating, an Administrator will assign a Neutral rating.

Even one Neutral rating within the last six months disqualifies artists from signing up for PATs, CATs, Moley swaps, gift swaps, and Monthly Match Game trades.

Any artist who receives 3 or more neutral ratings for late swapping within the same six-month period will be suspended from trading here for a period of 3 months.

To reiterate, the two week mailing out period is NOT for swappers who want to send cards at the last minute. It is provided for the benefit of hosts, who are not obligated to wait for cards once the due date passes.

Swap mailing guidelines

• Domestic: Mail cards at least 4 business days prior to swap due date
• Canada / USA: Mail cards at least 7 days prior to swap due date
• International: Mail cards at least 14 days prior to swap due date

If you are in the same country as your ATC host, please make sure you enclose enough return stamps to cover your postage or a SASE.

Your swap host has an obligation to mail out returns to all participants within 2 weeks of the swap closing date.

Pick-a-Theme (PATs) swaps are swaps where participants join groups (usually limited to 5 or 6 per group). Each person in the group has chosen a theme. You will make one card for each person in your group in the theme that they have chosen. In return, each person in your group will make you a card in the theme that you have chosen. All cards for PATs are sent to the host who will swap them out just like a standard swap.

You must have an iTrader rating of +5 to participate in a PAT swap. Those with the required iTrader ratings at ATCsforALL.com will be allowed to apply their positive iTrader ratings to an IllustratedATCs.com PAT swap.

You cannot withdraw from a PAT swap so please make sure you are able to honor your commitment before you sign up. Some members begin working on their cards right away and if you withdraw, they have made a card for nothing. Withdrawal from a PAT (or not sending in cards without notice) will result in a negative iTrader rating.

Artists who do not finish their PAT or CAT cards on time will receive a Neutral rating from the host. Players in that artist’s group may give a Neutral iTrader rating at their discretion. Late artists are expected to communicate with other members of their group and mail cards directly to those individuals at their own expense. The host will not mail the late artist’s returns until group members have confirmed receipt of their cards.

PAT participants should give iTrader ratings to the host as well as to each participant in the group as cards are made individually for others.

Some swaps require an iTrader rating to join:

• Moleskine Collaborative Journals = +25 (plus 3 months active membership)
• Chunky Pages Pick-A-Theme (PAT) = +15
• Chunky Pages with limited participants = +15
• Holiday Gift Exchange = +12
• Pick-A-Theme (PAT) = +5
• Chunky Pages OPEN (like a regular ATC swap, no limit on participants) = 0
• Play it Forward (PIF) = 0
• Open Swaps = 0
• One on One Trades = 0

Hosts cannot assign arbitrary iTrader ratings to their own swaps. Please contact an Admin if you feel your swap needs an iTrader rating set.

Please note that we accept iTrader ratings from both affiliated websites - illustratedATCs.com and ATCsforAll.com. You can combine all of your iTrader ratings into one rating in order to meet swap requirements.