This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Occasionally, as bloggers, we run into a “Dead Beat Sponsor”. It’s unfortunate that a business would allow this to happen.
What is a “Dead Beat Sponsor”? My definition would be: A sponsor that has promised to send a prize(s) but, after a fair amount of time and several attempts at contact, your winners have not received their prizes from that particular sponsor.
I find it very frustrating. In my opinion, a review and giveaway is a business deal. You do the work of completing a review in a timely manner, promote the product and the giveaway, send traffic to the sponsors specified sites, do the work of contacting the winners and obtaining info. Communicating between your readers and your sponsors. I enjoy doing this but, it makes it difficult when a sponsor does not fulfill their end of the business deal.
Often we, as bloggers, don’t have much we can do. I feel it gives those particular readers who won, a negative experience on the blog. Even though the blogger themselves may have done everything within their power to obtain what should have been delivered by the sponsor.
So what do we do? Well, here is my new solution, “The Dead Beat Sponsor List”.
Why the “Dead Beat Sponsor List?” As bloggers, there’s not a whole lot in our power we can do if a sponsor flakes on a giveaway. This is a way for other bloggers to be warned that they may want to think twice before agreeing to a review and giveaway with the particular company. Also, for consumers to know that they may not get what they actually paid for.
I sincerely hope I will not need to update this much or at all even. Sponsors will not be added to this list at a whim. There is a process that will be followed before they end up on this list. It will be as followed.
1. After a fair amount a time has passed and a winner has not received their prize the sponsor will be contacted.
What is a “fair” amount of time? This could vary slightly. If a sponsor states to allow say 4-6 weeks for a winner to receive their prize and the winner has still not received it after 6 weeks the sponsor will be contacted. If no time line for shipment was established then 30 days will be the deadline. The first communication will be tactful and in good faith hoping that the email sent went to spam and they did not receive it or orders are backed up and they will be shipping next week etc.
2. 2nd email if needed (hopefully not)
If the sponsor replies and states a fair excuse a ship date will be required so as not to end up on the “Dead Beat Sponsor List” If no reply to the email, I will attempt to contact the company through another means such as twitter DM, facebook, or phone if available. There will be a warning attached that if they do not reply they will go on the Dead Beat Sponsor list to warn other bloggers/customers of their business practices.
3. If first 2 steps have been attempted without success, Sponsor will be added to the “Dead Beat Sponsor List” and tweeted to my followers.
Feel free to RT these tweets if you feel so inclined.
4. The only way to get off the Dead Beat Sponsor List
–I understand life happens. I’m not a person to hold grudges. If the sponsor contacts me, apologizes, and has a truly valid excuse and winners confirm they have now received their prizes they will be removed from the list.
–The sponsor does not contact me but ALL winners confirm they have now received their prizes (and maybe a even a little something extra for the wait) they will be removed from the list.
If you have a certifed Dead Beat sponsor. You can fill out the form here to have it listed:
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That being said, Sadly I do have one to add to the list:
1. Kellee Maize cd giveaway — had 10 winners. All recipients, including myself have yet to receive their autographed cd. Has been contacted through email 2 X and sent a twitter DM. No reply to 2nd email or DM. Giveaway closed 11/01/10
***UPDATE*** it seems most if not all of my winners did finally get cd’s and bracelet after being listed on the Dead Beat Sponsor list HOWEVER they were supposed to be autographed cd’s sent out and they were not…soo…the sponsor stays on the list.
2. The Vinyl Zone.com and Wallabaloos.com — I completed a review and giveaway for The Vinyl Zone back in the beginning of August. http://angiewith2.blogspot.com/2011/08/vinyl-zone-review-and-giveaway.html Never shipped the prize to my winner. Even after numerous attempts to contact by email with the person I had been corresponding with eventually got bounce back emails. Attempted to use the contact form on the site, still no response. I never did complete the review for the Wallabaloos because they were owned by the same people and the vinyl decal didn’t work. It wouldn’t transfer to the wall and ended up being a balled up mess. They did replace it but it still didn’t work. They said it might have been due to old vinyl. After the fiasco with the vinyl zone review/giveaway I attempted to contact them to tell them I would need to write a negative review for the wallabaloos and never heard from them again. Even tried through twitter.
3. Garden Botanika — Garden Botanika was initally friendly . They got the review products to me right away. I sent them a link to my review/giveaway post once it was live. I didn’t get a response but wasn’t too concerned about it initially. Drew my winner and sent the winners info to them. Again no response. About a month and half later had my winner contact me to say they never received their prize package. Attempted to contact them through the email I corresponded with them and twitter. No response. I had received an email from them asking when I was going to do the review. I again sent an emailing saying it was done a while ago, had sent several emails and again replied with the link to the review and the giveaway winner’s info. Again no reply. I then attempted to contact them through another email address I have, again with no reply . Winner has still not received their prize and the giveaway was over in September: http://angiewith2.blogspot.com/2012/09/garden-botanika-skincare-review-and.html
4. Firmoo — This one came from a submission as a warning to bloggers. This is a copy and paste of the warning:
“Firmoo is looking for bloggers to host giveaways. Should you decide to work with Firmoo, please demand your glasses upfront and note in your disclosure that you are not responsible for prize fulfillment!!! I have not received my glasses and neither has my winner. I have been given the runaround (ex. trying to charge shipping, etc.). I just don’t want anybody else to be disappointed or taken advantage of. I worked with them last year and they were wonderful, so I figured I could trust them. Please be careful!”
Please feel free to leave your comments on this post. Are you one of the unlucky winners who did not receive your prize? Vent it here. Are you a sponsor on the list who wants to make it up to my readers? Tell me about it.
If you are a blogger who feels you have an authentic Dead Beat Sponsor you can contact me through email. Please make sure that several attempts have been made to contact the sponsor. Feel free to tell them about the Dead Beat Sponsor list. I will not take these requests lightly. I don’t want to put up a sponsor because of a personal matter. It must be related to a blog giveaway and several professional sounding emails/contact methods must have been used. You also must update me on if they should be removed for one of the reasons listed above.
This is a fantastic idea! I’m sure it will be very helpful!
Love it! There have been some prizes I have won from blogs and never gotten (two from the same company and one was from a well known baby company)so I am glad someone finally wants to make a list
Hi Angie!
As a giveaway blogger – I LOVE this idea. We Promote compay’s products – and if the company is flaky really promoting them in a negative way is all we have control of. AND that is A LOT of control if we get together!
Where will this list be? Should we put it on blogger networks?
Karissa
Great idea for a post, love it. I was a winner of this giveaway and of course haven’t received it but as a blogger myself I know it’s not your fault. I’ve had pretty good luck so far with all my blog winners receiving their wins, although I have had to contact a sponsor a time or two.
I’ve won a couple of giveaways on various blogs and Twitter that I have never received, including boots from @sheekinboots (which partnered with @skbootstweet seems to be running scam contest for whatever reason).
Also I won huge baby gift basket a while back and included was a GC to Labybugs and Lullabies. When the promo code didn’t work and after several attempts (and months later) they fixed this for me, I placed an order in which I still had to pay the balance, I still have not received my items after about 5 weeks (which they said was shipped before Christmas). I’m tempted to contact the site I originally won from and let them know about this dead beat sponsor.
Thank you for doing this! I’ve been shocked at the amount of winners not receiving their prizes on my blog over the last few months. At first I thought maybe I just had a bullseye on me (lol), but it seems to be happening to a lot of us. 🙁 I’ve won a few things from other blogs too, and there’s a chunk I haven’t received either.
I think its great that you are doing this. I have had several issues with sponsors of products I have won on giveaways from various blogs. In all cases, I have contacted the sponsor/brand directly after the blogger has done all they are able and willing to do (which is always TONS and beyond the call of duty). I have gotten all prizes doing this. When the sponsor/brand is contacted directly by the winner, it seems to kick them into gear. In one case, the sponsor was NOT the brand and I contacted the brand not knowing this. The brand was furious to learn that this sponsor they paid for PR did this and the brand made it right and fired the sponsor!
Terrific idea. I am sure there are many of us who have not received prizes that were won. Thank you.
From Maryann
This is a great idea. Glad you thought of it
I won $50.00 worth of pencils or pens, and I chose pencils. When I went to put in the code the blogger gave me, it showed the sponsor wanted me to pay $16.00 in postage. I thought I’ve never had to pay postage on anything I’ve ever won, so I contacted the blogger and, after repeated attempts, nothing happened. I went to their Facebook page and they were still sponsoring other giveaways and I left a little comment to be ready to pay the postage of $16.00 if they win! LOL
Oh my goodness Mary, that doesn’t sound right at all. If they expected the winner to pay shipping it should have been layed out in advance. I doubt the blogger even knew that. I’m sorry for your experience.
I think it is great that you are updating this so other blogs will know that the sponsors do not follow through. I always feel bad for the blog owners that go through all the trouble reviewing the products for the giveaways and then the winner does not receive the prize. We do appreciate your effort in trying to contact them.
twinkle at optonline dot net
Ive won a few blogs in 2 years of blogging,and my only problem is when i win the same prize from 2 different blogs..I won some chips and salsa(same prize) last year on two different blogs..I got one prize with both blogs telling me the prize was sent..I never got my other prize,and although this is a rare thing and i sound greedy?..a win is a win..I just wish the blog name the prize was won on is in the shipping from address.
I won three of those saving nimo dvds, the prize was on more than 50 blogs..i got two of them,but the other one who know?…I know this is a petty,greedy type rant,but i had to say it!
this is SUCH a fabulous idea! ive had at least 3 prizes ive never gotten!
This is a great list to have because I know how it feels to keep contacting a sponsor about a prize and when they don’t come through – I feel like I’ve let my reader down.
thank you for starting this!!well done!!
This is a great idea! Thanks for starting this! Will be very helpful for blog owners.
Yikes! It is scary/unfair that people would offer a prize as a sponsor and then not come up with it :/
Wow– I am glad you have a list –its interesting– because of the few giveaways I have enter — there has been about 5-6 I never received anything and one was one that you mentioned. but I guess that is a chance we have to take–it just urks me–all the hard work that bloggers do and then the sponsor gets all this promos and enteries and then nothing–Im glad someone is stepping up–thanks for the insite and your hard work