Ethics of Selling Review Units

[doubleshuffle]

The longer I think about this scam, the more this is becoming my favourite part of the pitch:

Originally Posted by Kozlowski

... this is our way of giving back to the community.

You've got to hand it to those guys: their cheek is awe-inspiring.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Yes, "donated" was a poor choice of words. Should have simply said "provided" instead which neither connotes that they were freely given, nor simply lent.

You were correct in something being wrong.

Now my first thought was does he actually have any to sell.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Oh, here's something you should know about free review units: they belong to the company, not the reviewer.

Many companies will actually send a return label with the unit, making it clear they want it back. Some will even have you sign an agreement specifying the unit has to be returned before they will ship it.

I returned most of loaner Kindles I got from Amazon (I'm using the one or two I kept) and all Nook hardware lent to me.

This is why i don't think I can sell it.

I would have assumed that some such agreement would have been put in place because otherwise that would represent a lost sale for the manufacturer.

Giving away the devices wouldn't be quite the same as the people they were being given to might never have been willing to part with money to purchase them.

I also wonder about tax and customs. Does one have to pay any kind of duty when one is receiving a review unit?

I would think that a gift and a review unit might be treated diferently by customs officials, but I could be wrong. No experience in the matter.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I would have assumed that some such agreement would have been put in place because otherwise that would represent a lost sale for the manufacturer.

Giving away the devices wouldn't be quite the same as the people they were being given to might never have been willing to part with money to purchase them.

I also wonder about tax and customs. Does one have to pay any kind of duty when one is receiving a review unit?

I would think that a gift and a review unit might be treated diferently by customs officials, but I could be wrong. No experience in the matter.

If the guy is in the US, it doesn't go through customs if sent from a US company.
Gifts typically don't have sales tax. Prizes you either pay sales tax or social security tax depending on the 1099. I learned that when I won a prize from game show network.
Now this may vary by state but one typically doesn't pay anything for review items because the review is considered payment.
Note the next is for the US.
According to the Federal Trade Commission if you get a product for review, you are required to put in a disclaimer saying you got the product in exchange for a review.

I hope this helps.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

You've got to hand it to those guys: their cheek is awe-inspiring.

Quite agree. And even though they have since edited the blog post to remove the line about the proceeds from such sales allowing "Good e-Reader to maintain the high level of journalistic integrity", they still left in the line about the sales being their way of giving back to the community.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I would have assumed that some such agreement would have been put in place because otherwise that would represent a lost sale for the manufacturer.

Giving away the devices wouldn't be quite the same as the people they were being given to might never have been willing to part with money to purchase them.

I also wonder about tax and customs. Does one have to pay any kind of duty when one is receiving a review unit?

I would think that a gift and a review unit might be treated diferently by customs officials, but I could be wrong. No experience in the matter.

Some companies don't care. Others want their hardware back but don't want to piss off reviewers.

Amazon always sends a return label. Sony had me sign an agreement, scan it, and send it back. And I forget who, but a couple other companies required me to agree in an email that I would return the hardware.

As for customs and duties, a single review unit would be treated like an overseas purchase. I've bought devices from China and never paid duties.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

If the guy is in the US, it doesn't go through customs if sent from a US company.
Gifts typically don't have sales tax. Prizes you either pay sales tax or social security tax depending on the 1099. I learned that when I won a prize from game show network.
Now this may vary by state but one typically doesn't pay anything for review items because the review is considered payment.
Note the next is for the US.
According to the Federal Trade Commission if you get a product for review, you are required to put in a disclaimer saying you got the product in exchange for a review.

I hope this helps.

Interesting, but, from what I understand, they are based out of Vancouver, Canada. Not sure if Canadian customs practices are different.

At any rate, buyer beware.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Some companies don't care. Others want their hardware back but don't want to piss off reviewers.

Amazon always sends a return label. Sony had me sign an agreement, scan it, and send it back. And I forget who, but a couple other companies required me to agree in an email that I would return the hardware.

As for customs and duties, a single review unit would be treated like an overseas purchase. I've bought devices from China and never paid duties.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[doubleshuffle]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Quite agree. And even though they have since edited the blog post to remove the line about the proceeds from such sales allowing "Good e-Reader to maintain the high level of journalistic integrity", they still left in the line about the sales being their way of giving back to the community.

Oh yes, and added, "just in time for the holidays." Priceless.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Oh, here's something you should know about free review units: they belong to the company, not the reviewer.

Many companies will actually send a return label with the unit, making it clear they want it back. Some will even have you sign an agreement specifying the unit has to be returned before they will ship it.

I returned most of loaner Kindles I got from Amazon (I'm using the one or two I kept) and all Nook hardware lent to me.

This is why i don't think I can sell it.

I believe they buy a lot of the units they review. That's why they have so many off the wall units nobody else reviews. I remember them talking about the Glowlight 3 and mentioning they had purchased one to review.

I don't think too highly of GoodEreader, but I'm not too miffed about them selling these. At the prices they're asking they'll probably sell exactly as many as they deserve.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I believe they buy a lot of the units they review. That's why they have so many off the wall units nobody else reviews. I remember them talking about the Glowlight 3 and mentioning they had purchased one to review.

I don't think too high of GoodEreader, but I'm not too missed about them selling these. At the process they're asking they'll probably sell exactly as many as they deserve.

yes and no.

I know they have posted "reviews" for devices which never shipped - or at least had not been released ( thus there was no hardware to review). I also know they posted "reviews" for devices they only ever saw in E-ink's book at a show - including a couple Japanese devices that can't be used outside of Japan (the devices reviewed weren't functional).

I would not assume they bought anything.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

yes and no.

I know they have posted "reviews" for devices which never shipped - or at least had not been released ( thus there was no hardware to review). I also know they posted "reviews" for devices they only ever saw in E-ink's book at a show - including a couple Japanese devices that can't be used outside of Japan (the devices reviewed weren't functional).

I would not assume they bought anything.

I'm not assuming. I am going by their words here "What are we doing with the revenue that we generate from the ereader and tablet sales? We intend on purchasing even more units from all over the world!" and here "We pre-ordered one because B&N does not send out demo units to reviewers."

I'm not saying they purchase every unit they review. But according to them they purchase at least some.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I'm not assuming. I am going by their words here "What are we doing with the revenue that we generate from the ereader and tablet sales? We intend on purchasing even more units from all over the world!" and here "We pre-ordered one because B&N does not send out demo units to reviewers."

I'm not saying they purchase every unit they review. But according to them they purchase at least some.

They have also promised many things and not delivered.

I would not be surprised if they sold a few.
I would also not be surprised if the buyer received an empty box or no box.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

They have also promised many things and not delivered.

I would not be surprised if they sold a few.
I would also not be surprised if the buyer received an empty box or no box.

Yeah, but there's a difference between them being flakes "promised many things and not delivered" and telling an outright lie that serves no purpose "We pre-ordered one because B&N does not send out demo units to reviewers."

Ultimately, I just don't care if they choose to sell old review units.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

*Well, I did sell one Dasung monitor I got for free, but I had also bought one myself so it balances out.

How does that balance anything out? Effectively you still got one for free?