Asking for free review copies

13 years ago

I agree completely. It's really annoying me when I go to the WSO forum and find people asking for review copies, when the seller hasn't mentioned anything about them.

The other thing that annoys me, is that some sellers do react to this and send out review copies to those people (and mention it in the thread). It does make a mockery of that rule, when really they should be reminding the miscreant of the correct procedure.

Thom

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KenThompson

13 years ago

Originally Posted by impact-productions

some sellers do react to this and send out review copies to those people (and mention it in the thread). It does make a mockery of that rule, when really they should be reminding the miscreant of the correct procedure.

Thom

I've seen that one quite a few times.

The seller, who is usually 'newish', is trying to build a good rep. So
they probably feel more inclined to give in to this.

Who knows if those sellers are aware of the rule against asking for
review copies. They should be, of course.

Ken

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Zeus66

13 years ago

Originally Posted by impact-productions

I agree completely. It's really annoying me when I go to the WSO forum and find people asking for review copies, when the seller hasn't mentioned anything about them.

The other thing that annoys me, is that some sellers do react to this and send out review copies to those people (and mention it in the thread). It does make a mockery of that rule, when really they should be reminding the miscreant of the correct procedure.

Thom

Well, as a WSO seller, who wants to come off as a Scrooge in their own thread? Know what I mean? The responsibility is on the asker, who has no business even bringing it up on the seller's thread. I get your point, but what goes on in your thread if you're the seller is crucial to your success. It should not be tainted, especially on that critical first page of comments. The rules need to be strictly enforced on this because a lot of money is at stake.

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KenThompson

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Zeus66

Well, as a WSO seller, who wants to come off as a Scrooge in their own thread? Know what I mean? The responsibility is on the asker, who has no business even bringing it up on the seller's thread. I get your point, but what goes on in your thread if you're the seller is crucial to your success. It should not be tainted, especially on that critical first page of comments. The rules need to be strictly enforced on this because a lot of money is at stake.

A good point, John.

The seller really needs to do a balancing act and avoid coming off like
a total appendage. lol

Ken

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edlewis

13 years ago

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HeySal

13 years ago

Originally Posted by edlewis

I agree 100%...

Although I honestly clicked on this thinking it was about the flurry of self-promotional posts and flat out WSO spamming that has been going on recently....

Dare I ask...

What up with that....?

Hulu - Saturday Night Live: What Up With That: Paul Rudd

These kinds of scum travel in waves just like slimemold does when invading bathrooms. You can clean it all out temporarily, but where there is food, it always reappears eventually. The mods will eventually be able to scrub most of it out, but there are always little bits of it that hides and is able to avoid detection until infestations become large enough to be apparent again.

The best way to reduce infection is to act as lysol and hit the "report" button whenever and wherever you detect the mold starting to grow again.

As for those of you asking for "freebies" = which is exactly what most "review requests" are actually attempting to diguise themselves as -- these products are already given as specials. People providing these specials have needs, too - just little things like food, shelter, etc. I know it is a travesty to have to pay for the hard work of others, but.......

Have some class and dignity, wouldja? How do you think it comes across when you aren't willing to spring ten or twenty bucks for something that may very well change your life. Do you think we're going to be buying from the type of person who is probably seeking to get free what they should be glad to pay a small amount for when we realize that your type of slime is most likely using these free products to steal material to make their own products to save the work and education it takes to make their own?

You ask for a freebie - and you have destroyed your chances here, so just do us all a favor and leave while the getting is good.

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oneplusone 13 years ago

It also makes a complete mockery out of people who've actually paid.

A couple of times in recent weeks I've purchased new WSO's, only to see around 10-15 minutes later people requesting review copies which were never offered by the seller.
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ryanjm

13 years ago

Originally Posted by impact-productions

The other thing that annoys me, is that some sellers do react to this and send out review copies to those people (and mention it in the thread). It does make a mockery of that rule, when really they should be reminding the miscreant of the correct procedure.

Thom

There is the exact same problem in the "warriors for hire" section as well, but there is no rule against it in that section so I hesitate to report them. The forums are full of these broke bums begging for reviews the instant a thread is approved to go live. And, like you said, many warriors will give out reviews to these beggars which encourages the people who would normally keep silent to start begging as well since it seems to work.

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cynthea

13 years ago

John, I really appreciate you posting this. I've been hesitating on posting a WSO for my writing services (very high quality, BTW) because I figured I would get a barrage of "send me a freebie" requests, in spite of the rule to not ask for review copies if it's not part of the offer. For myself, because I know and trust the quality of my work, I wouldn't offer review copies, but would of course have samples. The samples would consist of partial articles, as teasers, so that they couldn't easily be copied.

I don't want to appear less than generous, because the WF has been so good to me! And Warriors, for the most part, are supremely giving people.

In fact, I'm continually amazed at how generous some folks are!

But here's the deal... I suspect that some of the samples requested might end up on the net without permission and without acknowledgment of the source.

It's been my experience here, that if a Warrior is interested in purchasing work from another Warrior, that they will pay for a test article. So I'm not sure why folks feel justified in requesting free samples of, in my case, high quality writing services.

I'm relatively new to the Forum, in terms of not becoming active until recently. And I want to play well with others!

Thanks for giving me the space to vent my concerns. Will be interested in hearing what others have to say.

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ShayB

13 years ago

Originally Posted by cynthea

John, I really appreciate you posting this. I've been hesitating on posting a WSO for my writing services (very high quality, BTW) because I figured I would get a barrage of "send me a freebie" requests, in spite of the rule to not ask for review copies if it's not part of the offer. For myself, because I know and trust the quality of my work, I wouldn't offer review copies, but would of course have samples. The samples would consist of partial articles, as teasers, so that they couldn't easily be copied.

I don't want to appear less than generous, because the WF has been so good to me! And Warriors, for the most part, are supremely giving people.

In fact, I'm continually amazed at how generous some folks are!

But here's the deal... I suspect that some of the samples requested might end up on the net without permission and without acknowledgment of the source.

It's been my experience here, that if a Warrior is interested in purchasing work from another Warrior, that they will pay for a test article. So I'm not sure why folks feel justified in requesting free samples of, in my case, high quality writing services.

I'm relatively new to the Forum, in terms of not becoming active until recently. And I want to play well with others!

Thanks for giving me the space to vent my concerns. Will be interested in hearing what others have to say.

Sample articles on your site should be quite sufficient for anyone who is seriously looking to hire you.

If you do have someone who is skittish, have them simply buy one article to test out your services. Stick to your guns.

You could put in your WSO "Since this is a service-related offer, no free 'review' articles will be given. Sample articles are available on my site so that the quality of my work can be seen." (Or something similar.)

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cynthea

13 years ago

Originally Posted by ShayRockhold

Sample articles on your site should be quite sufficient for anyone who is seriously looking to hire you.

If you do have someone who is skittish, have them simply buy one article to test out your services. Stick to your guns.

You could put in your WSO "Since this is a service-related offer, no free 'review' articles will be given. Sample articles are available on my site so that the quality of my work can be seen." (Or something similar.)

Thanks Shay, I appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

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donhx

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Zeus66

People, people, people... Stop asking for review copies in WSO threads where it isn't offered by the seller. PERIOD. STOP DOING IT.

This forum has rules. Learn them. Follow them. A lot of us who are "regulars" and care about this place are on the verge of banding together and getting those of you who break this rule banned from here. I've even seen some members who I know know better breaking this rule. STOP IT.

Consider yourself warned. Tough love, baby.

Many newer people here think IM is easy money... they don't recognize if for what t is, a business that takes time, money and skill to make a decent income.

Since this forum attracts do many unrealistic "something-for-nothing" types, it is no wonder that they continue to ask for free copies. They may think they have a sense of entitlement, but they're just beggars IMO, and they'll probably never stop their begging.

Ban, tolerate or educate? That is the question.

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Jonathan 2.0 Banned 13 years ago

Sometimes people start out looking to make a “quick buck.” Then, they keep going and eventually create a successful business.

That's the way it worked for me anyway.
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Doran Peck

13 years ago

If you need verbal reviews of your
Product for your sales
Effort, the way to do it is contact a handful of noteworthy or trusted members and ask them to review your product.

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Ken Strong

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Doran Peck

If you need verbal reviews of your
Product for your sales
Effort, the way to do it is contact a handful of noteworthy or trusted members and ask them to review your product.

Some members consider unsolicited PMs to be spam, and report them to the moderators, so you may want to be careful with this tactic.

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Zeus66

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Doran Peck

If you need verbal reviews of your
Product for your sales
Effort, the way to do it is contact a handful of noteworthy or trusted members and ask them to review your product.

Better yet, sell a great product that does what you say it will do and you'll get get real reviews. If you give something mediocre (or worse) away for free for a "review" you get falsely positive reviews 9 out of 10 times. It's human nature to cast a positive light on anything you get for free.

People new to WSO selling use this fact as a shortcut to gain social proof, which in reality is nothing of the kind. If I ran this forum I'd do away with sellers even having the option of publicly offering review copies. It just invites false positives.

It's just another way to shortcut your way to making money. This applies to every seller here who has not put in the time to cultivate a good reputation via posting helpful comments in the free forum areas. It's essentially buying testimonials. The coin is paid in something other than cash, but so what?

And shame on reviewers here (you know who you are) who are serial review copy takers. How many of your "reviews" are ever negative? Never mind... rhetorical question.

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J Bold

13 years ago

Frankly, I doubt most of the people asking for review copies are going to be reading this thread. Ok, maybe some, but those will be the ones with good intentions who will listen. It will still happen, in my opinion.

The best way to deal with this is just to report any post that's asking for review copies, if you ever see it. I think most of the people in this thread will just be agreeing with you, so the best way any of us can deal with it is just to report it, and if it's reported enough, the post will disappear.

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admin

Administrator 13 years ago

Please report them and they will be banned.

Give out 3 review copies and I guarantee you your product will be on one of the sites full of thieves and losers the same day. How do you think they get most of them? They're too retarded and broke to pay for them.

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Peter Clark

13 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

Please report them and they will be banned.

Give out 3 review copies and I guarantee you your product will be on one of the sites full of thieves and losers the same day. How do you think they get most of them? They're too retarded and broke to pay for them.

This is so true. A friend of mine who has been on this forum for much longer than I told me that when he googled a WSO he wanted to buy looking for more info than the thread provided, 4 of the 10 entries on Google's first page were for stolen torrents of that WSO. It had been released just a few days earlier(a WSO of the day that week) and the author had given out a BUNCH of review copies.

The lesson; people value what they pay for, and the paying customers on the WF generally seem to have business ethics much more so than the freebie seekers.

PS-My buddy did come back and BUY the WSO here

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judith

13 years ago

hi guys, am a newbie that actually asked for a review copy and one kind member told me not to ask for a review copy. the owner of the thread kindly also told me that review copies were not available. but i only asked because of the way the seller portrayed his/her thread and I don't know how else to ask for a review copy.

but ofcourse the smart sellers are the ones that say, no review copies available so don't even ask. really, if you ban all those newbie who really want something to review but don't know anybody or anyone or how things work, then how will the forum grow? however if one is spamming asking for review copy and is warned but still continues is just annoying.

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vndnbrgj

13 years ago

Originally Posted by judith

hi guys, am a newbie that actually asked for a review copy and one kind member told me not to ask for a review copy. the owner of the thread kindly also told me that review copies were not available. but i only asked because of the way the seller portrayed his/her thread and I don't know how else to ask for a review copy.

but ofcourse the smart sellers are the ones that say, no review copies available so don't even ask. really, if you ban all those newbie who really want something to review but don't know anybody or anyone or how things work, then how will the forum grow? however if one is spamming asking for review copy and is warned but still continues is just annoying.

If you would read the rules before posting... One of the stickies says not to ask for review copies unless the seller states there are reviews available.
If the newbies want something to review, have them purchase the product like the rest of us, and leave an honest review.

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Roaddog 13 years ago

I haven't ever sold a WSO, nor do I intend to, at this point.

You know it's kind of a shame that the world is what it is...but it is.

Giving away a small sample of a product to garner interest has always been a smart business move... IMHO

If you have ten great points to make, give away one, not the whole shebang.

I am hardly an example of Little Mary Sunshine, nor am I trying to be....but the last couple of WSO's that I PAID for, were outstanding and well worth the money.

I wouldn't dream of asking someone to give me something for nothing.

Hope I'm not going against the grain really appreciating this 'discounted' opportunity...WSO
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judith

13 years ago

Originally Posted by vndnbrgj

If you would read the rules before posting... One of the stickies says not to ask for review copies unless the seller states there are reviews available.
If the newbies want something to review, have them purchase the product like the rest of us, and leave an honest review.

newbies usually here that people get review copies so they think that you get a review copy when you ask first. anyhow, people don't care about those stickies so the smart sellers say no review available. nothing wrong with reminding people on your own thread not to ask for review copies.

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Zeus66 13 years ago

Originally Posted by judith

anyhow, people don't care about those stickies

Then "those people" need to be reported and banned. Problem solved. This forum doesn't need people who can't be bothered to care about the rules.
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Scott Ames

13 years ago

WSO price: $17
Review copy Price: $27

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Michael Thorsett 13 years ago

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

WSO price: $17
Review copy Price: $27

A perfect solution. I wish I'd thought of it.
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Mohammad Afaq

13 years ago

Can I please get a review copy?

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Asking for free review copies

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