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SS Rules

Rod

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2001
Messages
10,311
Please do not join SS unless you agree to the below rules. Thank you.

Secret Santa is open to members that meet the following requirements:

  • Secret Santa participants must be 21 years of age or older.
  • Not currently prohibited from participating due to past difficulties with the Secret Santa event.
  • Been a member in good standing of Cigar Pass for a minimum of 6 months AND successfully completed a Newbie Sampler trade, or a Cigar Pass under the supervision of an established member. Participation in either case will be verified with the established CP member involved in the trade or pass.
  • Alternately, must have been a member in good standing of Cigar Pass for 12 months AND have no unresolved issues with any passes or trades they may have participated in. This includes the ‘Make-a- wish PIF’ thread and any involvement in the Buy, Sell, Trade Forum.
Signups for Secret Santa must be made before the posted registration cutoff date. No exceptions!
  • In addition, every participant’s mailing address must be verified by PM before the registration cutoff date. Failure to do so will disqualify you from this year’s Secret Santa.
Minimum Requirements
  • The requirement for the Secret Santa gift exchange will be a 5 stick, $50.00 total value, minimum. There is no maximum dollar amount or cigar limit. But please keep in mind that your Secret Santa is only required to spend the minimum on your gift and may choose to do so. If this is the case, do not get upset and post or PM your dissatisfaction. We expect that you accept your gift graciously and thank your Secret Santa accordingly.
  • Please use your best judgment on prices. Many members pay very different prices for cigars due to many different reasons…geography, tax rates, etc. So please use your best judgment when choosing cigars to give. If you have any questions, consult the pricing guidelines in any of the larger cigar passes in the ‘Cigar Passes’ forum or PM any experienced member who will gladly help out.
  • Each Santa is required to start a "kid thread" in the Secret Santa forum area using our existing Secret Santa ID. The post needs to contain your kid’s Cigar Pass handle in the title line of the message.
  • This thread is very important because this is where we will track all activity between the Santa and his Kid. Using the Secret Santa ID (ie: Cigar Pass account) you can ask your kid what he wants for Christmas, post the shipment date, and post a tracking number of the gift. Kids will use this thread to respond to their Secret Santa.
  • In these threads is where all the fun occurs. Others can join in on the fun as well, offering up their own ideas of what Santa could bring his kid for Christmas.
Secret Santa Account

  • The Secret Santa CP account is user name Secret Santa, and the password it hohoho. DO NOT CREATE ADDITIONAL SECRET SANTA ACCOUNTS.
Dates
  • The dates for Secret Santa are very important, and all participants will be held accountable for shipping and notifying their kid, in their kid’s thread, when their package ships. Many people are very busy with family and friends during the holiday season. Please do not sign up if you have any concerns or reservations about being able to meet the deadlines.
  • If there is a problem with your package in transit, please notify us immediately, via a reply using the PM where you received your kid assignment. Throughout this period, please update your progress in your kid’s Santa thread.
Surrogate Santa's
  • ‘Surrogate Santas’ will be clearly designated before the event starts, and will fulfill several roles during the event.
  • If a Santa is unable to meet the shipping deadline, he has the option of notifying Rod via your kid assignment PM, a minimum of seven days before the shipping cutoff date, so that a ‘Surrogate Santa’ will have adequate time to fulfill your obligation.
  • If a Santa does not post a message in the kid thread, with a verifiable tracking number, indicating a gift was sent prior to the cutoff date, a PM will be sent to the original Santa. If there is no reply within 48 hours, a ‘Surrogate Santa’ will be enlisted to fulfill the gift in lieu of that Santa.
  • Use of a ‘Surrogate Santa’ does not remove the obligation by the original Santa to compensate the ‘Surrogate Santa’ according the criteria of the Secret Santa gift guidelines, within 30 days of the kids package being mailed.
  • If an original Santa needs to use a ‘Surrogate Santa’, notifies Rod or the SS team at least seven days prior to the shipping date to allow the ‘Surrogate Santa’ time to get a package in the mail, and provides repayment to the ‘Surrogate Santa’ within 30 days of the mailing of his kid’s replacement package, no consequences will be incurred.
  • This will allow Santa’s that have ‘life events’ come up to use a ‘Surrogate Santa’ and fulfill their kid’s request, without penalty, as long as the ‘Surrogate Santa’ is compensated in the appropriate time frame.
  • If an original Santa doesn’t post a verifiable tracking number before the shipping cutoff date, a PM will be sent. If the original Santa doesn’t reply within 48 hours, a ‘Surrogate Santa’ will ship a package.
  • The original Santa must compensate the ‘Surrogate Santa’ within 30 days of the Surrogate Santa’s shipment to the original Santa’s kid.
  • Compensation may be cigars or cash, at the Surrogate Santa’s discretion.
  • Penalty for not shipping and not notifying Rod or the SS team by the deadline will be a suspension from participation in the following year’s Secret Santa.
  • After the one year suspension, if this happens for a second time, the original Santa will be suspended from the Secret Santa event permanently.
  • If an original Santa doesn’t post a verifiable tracking number before the shipping cutoff date, a PM will be sent. If the original Santa doesn’t reply within 48 hours, a ‘Surrogate Santa’ will ship a package. If the original Santa fails to compensate the ‘Surrogate Santa’ within 30 days, they will be banned from Cigar Pass.
  • Additionally, in the case where one of the Surrogate Santa’s has to step in, the name of the original Santa may be made public in the forums.
  • This will depend on the situation, and could involve forum notification or other measures depending on the circumstances.
  • Because tracking numbers will be used to monitor shipment and indicate when a ‘Surrogate Santa’ must step in and fulfill an obligation, It is a firm requirement to use a method of shipment (USPS, FedEx, UPS) that has a tracking number or delivery confirmation number. It's also a good idea to pay for shipping insurance, but not a hard requirement.
  • If you don’t use a tracking number or delivery confirmation number, there is no way to verify that a shipment went out on time, and a ‘Surrogate Santa’ will be assigned.
  • Kids are expected to notify their Santa, in thread, when they receive the package. Failure to do so is not only considered bad form, but may yield consequences depending on the individual case. Consequences could include a one year suspension from Secret Santa.
Packaging
  • Packages must be packed properly, so that the contents arrive in good shape, undamaged. Of course shipments sometimes get damaged in transit, but proper packing must be used in any case.
  • If a kid receives a package with damaged contents, packing will be considered and consequences may occur if the packing is inadequate. Throwing five sticks in a Priority box with no additional packing is unacceptable. Consequences could include a one year suspension from Secret Santa.
  • Consult any of the larger passes for hints on shipping properly. Or, PM an experienced member for suggestions on how to pack properly.
  • Consequences will be determined on a case by case basis, so use sufficient packing.

These rules are in place for the betterment of all, and to prevent anyone from being disappointed during the holiday season. Please, enjoy yourself, have fun, and enjoy the season of giving!
 
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