I have this on my profile:

"I give lots of hearts but not just because of extras, as I believe the swap item is what is important. I will appreciate anything extra you choose to send because you think I will like it, but it will not automatically earn you a heart. When I send extras myself, I do it in the hope of making my partner smile, regardless of possible hearts."

That sums it up perfectly, thank you!! I am going to add something very similar to my profile.

Amen! to that, spinjenny. Well put.

i give hearts out on nearly every swap. why? cause it makes someone smile.

I think that the rating wording is really good to help with this question. It says something to the effect of "this was an extra special package. Give a heart." or something like that. If you feel that the extras, what ever the extras may be (items, extra work in the swap, etc.) meet the wording, you could base your rating on that. And I don't think anyone should feel bad about using/not using the hearts. My newbie opinion...

I have received swaps with extras that I feel deserved a heart; not because they came with extras but I felt like the sender had put extra effort into making sure I felt special :) I've also received some amazing swaps without extras that I've given hearts out for, because I know that the sender had put extra time into ensuring it was a personal package (eg. looking at my profile, choosing things around my likes etc).

Hearts are for extra special packages -- it doesn't have to just be about extras! And having said that, I don't believe extras translate to meaning a guaranteed heart, either.

I try to find a reason with every package to give a heart. Sometimes I truly can't find one and it makes ME sad to not be able to. I'm such a dink.

The swap rating says it all for me. If its an extra special package, extras or not, I give it a heart. If its a poorly done swap to begin with, extras won't get a heart from me.

My profile says:

I only give hearts based on the swap item itself, never for "extras".

I used to give hearts out for everything cause I thought if they send extras that's what your supposed to do.But what I've come to do is only give hearts out to people who really took their time in putting quality into the work.If the quality isn't there I don't care how many extras they send.I don't intend this to sound cold.To me it's reasonable.I put so much thought into what I send but have sometimes gotten things that looked like they were rushed thru.

I adapted that part of my profile from a suggestion someone made in a previous thread like this. I apologise to that person for having forgotten who it was.

Hearts were introduced because people were frustrated that, as they gave 5s for all swaps which met requirements, there was no way to mark out extra special packages. Now some people hand hearts out to almost every partner, there is still no formal way to indicate extra special packages, which I regret. At least we can still try to communicate that in our comments.

urgh i battled with this one for the last 2 days.. i ended up giving a heart, but tbh i didnt feel it was deserved (especially as i was allergic to the extra)... im going to have to toughen up a bit i think...

I see that people that are putting some efforts in sending out extra "stuff" such as balloons, paint chips etc. but seriously I do not want to receive those things. What I would prefer is to see artists putting extra time creating their ATCs. I have received some very nice and stunning pieces but on the other hand I have received ATC’s that are simply a sticker on a piece of cardboard – good for the garbage.

I think that there should be a different rating for how the swap looks. What I mean is that I have received a swap and it came on time so you have to give a 5, will what I have received did not deserved a five, it was not a good swap, so I think that there should be another way that we could grade the swap base on the work and what you received. What do you all think?

Patrica, I do like that idea. I have given quite a few "reluctant" fives because technically the sender did meet requirements and sent on time, but the items were low quality or obviously used. There should be a rating for "on time, met requirements, but sent a load of cr--." :)

Euphoria, thanks for your response, im glad that im not alone on this one.I am so there with you.

The problem with a rating like that Euphoria is that everything is subjective; what may be crap to you may be treasure to someone else. This makes it very difficult and a lot more complaints would occur if there was such a rating system.

I also used to give hearts whenever I received extras but I soon learnt to change :) I give hearts if my partner obviously put a lot of effort or thought into the parcel. I give hearts even if there are no extras if the item in question has been beautifully crafted or has had a lot of effort put into it. I have even given hearts for packages that were late and therefore did not meet swap requirements (but only if the sender has communicated with me about the reason for said lateness).

I always give extras in my packages but it is because I like to spoil my partners not for hearts. Most of my swaps are handmade so if I make a dotee I tend to give extra dotee size material as I love to share my stash. If I send ATCs I usually include an extra oil painted ATC for the recipient's collection as I love to paint. If I don't receive a heart that is cool, it's not receiving a comment that really bugs me!

I'm with mjnr on this one.

That's what I like about the comment section. You can write something about the swap that is specific, rather than a heart, that, despite its original intention, is going to be subjective. At least the comments let someone explain stuff.

My heart ratings work like this: If I open the package and think "Oh that's good!" I rate a 5. If I run around the house squealing and showing people what I got, that's a heart...

I don't always rate hearts for extras, and I rate hearts without extras if the aforementioned squealing happens (like my frog. I LOVE MA FROG)

I LOVE that idea Frogglin!!! They should put those sentences as the rating things. LOL! Aww, you just made me smile Frogglin - that doesn't happen a lot. Thanks!! x x x x

well.. after i felt obligated to give a heart for something the other week, i have now added the following to my profile:

I like to rate hearts but, random extras put into the package do not guarantee you a heart from me. If i feel, that you have thought about my package, put a lot of work into the item you made for me or tried to put a smile on my face in any way, even by just including a small note, you are showing that you care and to me, caring about a person you have never met deserves a heart every time.

I give hearts for just about every swap I get. The only ones I don't now are ones that I open and just think "Cool, I received my swap." I almost always open my package and think "COOL! I received my SWAP!"

Hah! Cheryl - I'm like its a SWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!! lol! Lil ole us getting all excited over the mailman ay?!