Greedy People! No more knife contests

[europeanoutdoorsman]

Hey everyone,
I frequent BF often and I am mostly a reader. I have a site which does mostly knife testing, but I also do testing on other gear.

In the past I did giveaways. I think I did 3, but I remember distinctly giving a BK2 away and an ESEE 4.

Last night I posted a video on youtube giving 4 knives away, 2 of them were well over the $100 range, nearly $200, another was a BK2, and the last was a customized Cold Steel Voyager. The way to get in was to donate to me, or several listed legitimate links to non-profit organizations to promote awareness (places like knife rights, wounded warrior project, etc.) and then link to my website. Thats it. The donation I set was $10. Shipping out of my country to any other 1st class is 50 euro (65 bucks).

I am stopping my contests because people got so greedy and were complaining. Basically, getting expensive objects for very little cost while helping out good people. I am sorry to those who don't complain and who aren't greedy people, but I can't afford to spend upwards of 700 bucks giving away knives to greedy, unappreciative people.

Does anyone else have any similar experiences?

 

[singularity35]

I'm in...

 

[newknife]

You should do your contest here. I bet the response would be different.

 

[The Logical One]

You just learned that human beings are greedy and unappreciative? Just in case you didn't know, FYI they are also selfish and cowardly. Probably 99% of human beings will possess one or more of those ugly traits.

Save the knives for yourself or sell them. What I learned when helping or giving things to others out of kindness is that you should NEVER expect to get anything back, not even a thank you. If the person reciprocates with appreciation it's just a "bonus".

 

[viper89]

You should do your contest here. I bet the response would be different.

I agree. People here are more supportive and just overall a better community, but that's just my opinions.

 

[Spinerazor]

i think youtube was your first mistake.

 

[rodogg]

So sorry to hear about your experiences You were obviously being totally generous and asking for very little in return. The internet can be a horrible place, but don't lose complete hope in humanity because of it! There are still appreciative and genuinely nice people out there. But in answer to your question, yes, I have found almost every negative human trait in abundance online. Thus me disconnecting from a lotttt of places online I used to frequent. (But I've never done a knife giveaway, so no experience there specifically)

 

[klute]

Can you give some examples of what they were saying?

 

[knifemaking01]

mate thats just people for you, take alot, and expect to give nothing in return, i think yes youtube was your first mistake

i could only image what they where saying, something along the lines of scammer or something stupid like that

 

[Sonnydaze]

The type of folks you encounter will differ for each community (forum) that you visit. This forum has a bunch of nice folks, but I've also read posts from some folks that I don't ever care to meet again, forum or otherwise.
Sonny

 

[elijames21]

That Sucks. Thank you for being a generous person though. :thumbup:

 

[unit]

I generally do ALL my GAWs randomly and unannounced these days. I get really tired of seeing long drawn out threads that appear to be created so people can fluff their own egos by seeing how many pages they can grow their give away threads. Some of the YouTube GAWs really are lame (its not a GAW if you have to donate, or otherwise put up money...it is a CONTEST and if you have to pay to play...you cannot really expect everyone to be noble, now can you?)

If a person wants to give something away, give it away...why turn it into a contest or something else.

The last time I did one I simply told myself that the next time I see someone doing something nice on BF, I am giving them something. Another time I decided to give some stuff to the next person on BF that made me laugh.

The thing about it is, I always feel good helping out a person in this community that I see doing good things for this community. I guess they are not totally random, but the point is I do not wave my arms and draw in the feeders...I just do it and a good member of the community always benefits.

To all the guys that have not been here long...this forum is a GREAT place with lots of fantastic and generous people. Credibility, honor, and reputation can not be purchased, it is earned. If you are here a while you will no doubt see these people exist. These people are great not because they scream the loudest, or give away the most stuff...they are simply great because they are great people...but like all relationships, they take time to develop. Be patient and cordial...you will see

 

[combatjiujitsu]

I have had nothing but good experiences with giveaways. Loved the pay it forward giveaways and wish they were brought back. I hosted one a few months ago and am thinking about doing another one here soon.

 

[cbwoods67]

I generally do ALL my GAWs randomly and unannounced these days. I get really tired of seeing long drawn out threads that appear to be created so people can fluff their own egos by seeing how many pages they can grow their give away threads. Some of the YouTube GAWs really are lame (its not a GAW if you have to donate, or otherwise put up money...it is a CONTEST and if you have to pay to play...you cannot really expect everyone to be noble, now can you?)

If a person wants to give something away, give it away...why turn it into a contest or something else.

The last time I did one I simply told myself that the next time I see someone doing something nice on BF, I am giving them something. Another time I decided to give some stuff to the next person on BF that made me laugh.

The thing about it is, I always feel good helping out a person in this community that I see doing good things for this community. I guess they are not totally random, but the point is I do not wave my arms and draw in the feeders...I just do it and a good member of the community always benefits.

To all the guys that have not been here long...this forum is a GREAT place with lots of fantastic and generous people. Credibility, honor, and reputation can not be purchased, it is earned. If you are here a while you will no doubt see these people exist. These people are great not because they scream the loudest, or give away the most stuff...they are simply great because they are great people...but like all relationships, they take time to develop. Be patient and cordial...you will see

Well said.
OP, spend some time around here, and you will be surprised how many great people are on this forum.

 

[RevDevil]

Here is the official word on these things:

Solicitation:
Asking a member to click on a link, subscribe to a channel or website, donate money or goods, or “Like” a page on Facebook is considered solicitation. Our members should not be subjected to this type of spam especially under the guise that they may win something. Spark (Site Admin.) does frequently authorize solicitations for carefully-selected causes. Persons seeking such a special exception MUST apply to Spark and MUST wait to receive that authorization before making any posts.

 

[NPE]

giveaway? it's not much of a giveaway if you require donations to enter --"to donate to me, or several listed legitimate links " -- really, "donate to YOU" = SCAM

 

[Daddyo16]

The type of folks you encounter will differ for each community (forum) that you visit. This forum has a bunch of nice folks, but I've also read posts from some folks that I don't ever care to meet again, forum or otherwise.
Sonny

Lots of truth here.

 

[beau007]

The internet is an interesting place, because you see all kinds of people. Unfortunately, some of what you see can be pretty ugly. I think the bad apples can act out easily on the internet because they never have to look another person directly in the eye when they are saying something greedy, outlandish, or even cruel. The anonymity of the internet emboldens them to just throw their words around without any consequences. It is part of the dark side of human nature, and it is not pretty.

I have sold some items on the internet and have had one or two absolutely ridiculous things said to me, so I know how hard it is to hear. I think some people are just fishing for a fight. They seem to feed on the drama of stirring things up. So don't take the bait. And try not to take it to heart. What these folks are saying is really just static in the atmosphere. It makes things unpleasant, but try not to listen to it. I just try to respond to them in a detached, matter of fact, business-like manner. I try to focus on the business part of the dialogue, not the personal part of what they have said. I may say something like, " you sound upset and I am not trying to upset you", but other than that I ignore their behavior and try to bring things to a close quickly, by telling them what I am willing to do (and why) in response to their complaint (which may be nothing ).

So, I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience when you were just trying to do some good in this world. It sucks that you've had to deal with such people. But, I would like to encourage you to try again, (when you are ready) because you are doing something good and worthwhile. That's the sort of thing that makes the world a better place. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[europeanoutdoorsman]

Thanks for all the info. I even had one guy say that I'd be doing it to make 1,000s of bucks. Not really. I wish I had that many subscribers. I did give people the choice to donate to a non-profit organization of their choice, as long as it was legit! So many NPOs have normal folks donating during disasters, but the higher ups just pocket the money.

Basically, if people are donating time for a good cause, I don't care, but they should be supported and I gave people the option to, so I don't see how that is a scam, especially since I don't run a NPO or even a business.

As far as doing another contest, I will think about it. Doing via youtube makes it easy cause people are lazy and don't want to read. And if I am giving someone a near $200 knife(knives) for around $10, to me, that is nearly giving it away. If ZT offered me a knife for $10, I'd buy out their entire line.

Thanks for all the interest and comments. Like I said, I will be thinking about doing another contest, but it may ONLY be for BF.

 

[cziv]

Why are you posting here about your donation/giveaway/contest anyway? Were the greedy people members of BFC?

I think you'd make your points (I agree with, taking your word on things) in a YouTube video where all of the offenders in your list are going to see it?