"Which Bloggers are asking for Freebies?" Topic

I've been chatting to a few manufacturers and it came up in conversation of a new breed of hobby blogger. They send messages to manufacturers asking for freebies so they can review them on their blogs.

I'm wondering who has tried this and did it ever work?

What a nerve!

I had a couple from the Battle Works Studios days, the boss passed on them. Asking for review copies isn't particularly nervy, although most often it works the other way around – the manufacturer contacts you about doing a review and sends out the stuff gratis.

Either way I think I trust reviews where the reviewer actually spent his own money on the product more than ones where they're talking about free samples. The experience of paying for an item alters one's perspective a bit, putting in more in line with average customers – or at least that's my reasoning.

I have been asked.
The blog in question was rather purile looking and slightly offensive in its use of graphics.
I delined.

I read a post on his blog a bit later that I was not the only one to decline, he seemed baffled/confused/angry about it all.

Talking of which, I must paint up your excellent 6mm bunkers that I got for free from you Phil!

<shame>

Not me!

This is a problem I have because it tends toward overly favorable 'reviews' (with maybe some very weak criticisms) of products so that the 'reviewer' keeps getting free products. This happens a lot in the board game hobby with people who do video reviews.

I distrust people who get freebies to review.

I read a post on his blog a bit later that I was not the only one to decline, he seemed baffled/confused/angry about it all.

The world is full of immature, clueless people.

I think getting a free set of figures would create a biased review in some cases. I would not trust it either. What is frustrating is that photos are lacking at some webstores and you feel as if you purchase at your own risk and an honest review would be very helpful.

A curious lack of perspective on the blogger's part; although I suppose if you don't ask you will never know.

Any manufacturers want to start posting links to blogs of people who ask for freebies? A bit of name and shame might slow them down. Or encourage them.

Any manufacturers want to start posting links to blogs of people who ask for freebies? A bit of name and shame might slow them down. Or encourage them.

Not me. While I prefer reviews by paying customers, I certainly wouldn't say that all bloggers who review free product are doing puff pieces. Both the ones that contacted me are well-known news & review sites with good reputations and solid readership, not scammers trolling for freebies. Just because they asked politely for samples and we chose not to provide them doesn't make them villains. Indeed, if I ever get started up on the production end of things again, they'll likely get copies of the new stuff to test drive.

Regardless of who contacts who, giving out free samples for review is an advertising decision for a manufacturer – it's up to them to decide whether it's worth the cost of the product they're sending out in exchange for the exposure a review will give them. Some web sites are kind of obviously not worth bothering with due to low readership, lack of professionalism, etc. Others are borderline – maybe they've got a snazzy page but low hit count, or maybe they don't update very often so the review may take forever to show up. Some are clearly good choices. It's a case-by-case thing.

Asking for a freebie to review seems like bad form.

A manufacturer sending out a free copy on their initiative is another matter although it does seem the reviewer would be tempted to pull punches.

Wasn't the (in?)famous WargameGuru one of these bloggers?

Not me, either. I even offered to pay for some non-blog-related sample figs I requested from Aussi-land because I knew postage wasn't going to be cheap. The proprietor politely declined saying it was just part of the business.

Y'all do realize that no one who has ever asked for freebies is ever going to admit it here, fearing public ridicule?

I review stuff I've paid for, and stuff I've been given for free, but I wouldn't solicit for freebies. This way there is no reason for my reviews to be anything other than balanced and unbiased.

To be fair I cannot imagine there's that much business sense to traders giving freebies to bloggers. My blog has been going over six years and has a good rate of views, at around 8,000 hits per month, but still that is only in the last year or two and so to say I have maybe 500 individual readers a month, compared to many (tens of) thousands for a magazine, or one of the proper websites devoted to the hobby (TMP, TGN, etc), indicates to me the waste of time it would be for companies to accede to mine or others demands for gratis kit on the promise of a review.

Storm in a teacup.

I don't blog myself, but it seems to me that a blogger getting a couple of free minis isn't exactly going to be able to build an army with them……

IMHO I don't think blogging is about getting free stuff, it's about having a conversation with a community. Whether you spend money or get some help to get the stuff made up or painted is not really material. If you want to post reports on a very regular basis you might have no choice but to ask for review products.

Certainly a review 'from the community' carries more weight (usually) than some of the puff you see in he media generally. Does Clarkson drive his own car? How many holiday show presenters pay for their own admission or ice cream when being filmed!! We got a caravan magazine recently which had blatant "I wanted one of these so I got one fitted to my van for free and now here is my load of undemanding and uncritical puff for the product".

It's just the reality of bring your product or service to the attention of the public. No-one is forcing anyone to say yes.

I have done a couple of reviews for a Wargames mag in the past. And yes I did get paid (modestly) for the articles, which meant that my cost of buying the review items was just about covered. I'd have written the same review if I had been supplied with the product. But its a small scale hobby interest, not a business or a career, and I think most bloggers would see it the same way for their own work.

Not me. I've been offered a few freebies for a review but I have not had time to set anything up yet. No plans to accept the gifts either.

Nor me, but I'm open to offers!!!! he he!!

I have had several book companies send me free books to review and a few model companies send me free figures and stuff, not much, but a few. I indicate that I got it for free in the review and I always include photos so you can make up your own mind about the models.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek

bunkermeister.blogspot.com
sgtsays.blogspot.com

</>Wasn't the (in?)famous WargameGuru one of these bloggers?

Where has he been lately?

I once asked a company if I could get a figure or 2 as a sample for myself. I sweetened the deal by saying I'd post a review on my blog when i got it, but it got lost in the mail, so i let them know it never showed up and told them not to throw good money after bad bother sending another one. other then that I have never asked for anything.

if i did get anything I'd probably do it more along the lines of Bunkermeister, and state i got it as a complimentary copy, and include enough info for people to make their own conclusions.

I wouldn't mind freebies though, as i am a "starving student" type, and this hobby isn't exactly cheap! especially the way i do it :P

Anything I have reviewed on the blog is for something that I have paid for and it would be something that I was genuinely interested in buying in the first place.

I share the general unease expressed above that if I was given something for free to review could it be truly unbiased. I would like to think I would be unbiased if in the unlikely event I was given a freebie.

Like Bunkermeister, I would without doubt state at the outset that the item being reviewed had been received as a freebie.

Interesting to see how much we share opinions on this. The makers I spoke to seemed to get a fair number of requests, typically from folk who they'd never heard of, and with some of them getting unpleasant when the offer was declined.

We all love freebies of course but typically they come from makers who you spend a bit with and they just turn up in the bag or when folk like TAG do a promo like they just did – like them on FB and get a free mini.

I don't think I'd have the brass neck to ask outright for something for nothing, and I'd not use the blog as a bargaining tool either that's not what it's about. It's more a narcistic Marxist propaganda device for world domination…

I can imagine if I was a broke teen it might seem like an original way to get neat stuff.

However if there is some manufacturer out there with more cash than brain cells who wants a sock puppet for about six grands worth of kit a year get in touch and I'll start a dedicated blog…

This is a rather standard pratice with those who make model kits these days. Then again, model kits are a lot cheaper (relatively). I have a friend who makes are reviews models kits, and 70% of his models are freebees, and we are not talking small amounts here. This guy finishes one to two kits weekly, while holding down a normal job, playing board games, RPG games, watching sports, praticing guitar, he's amazing.

The problem I have with blogs is findng old posts with reviews etc in them. A lot of people dont label their posts well so it can be hard to track down. Overall I think blog reviews have a limited time span as opposed to websites where the structure is better.

Personally if I was making and selling stuff I wouldn't give out freebies to bloggers but I would for websites.

Cheers
Kieran

Yes , but I can assure you some bloggers do a great job,in fact some magazines could learn a lot from them…we need (better) more magazines 3-4 is not enough…but that is another story.