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Group orders and free gifts...

Oct 30, 2008

    1. As someone who runs group orders I feel that the small gift items that tend to come with the order should go to the person running the order, because if you add together all the time that we put into the order, it comes out to payment.
      I have received an extra head in my minimee order, Denny told me it was coming because one of the original 10 was "damaged". That head is now a faceup practice head and i have no plans on selling it for any reason.
      Most of my orders I get small things like candy or tiny accessories. If someone in one of my orders specifically asks for some of the candy I will send it along with their stuff.
       
    2. I agree! The person who is in charge of the group order should get the goods! They are the organizers and the middle men/women who do all the leg work so that others can benefit. Why not reward them for a job well done (unless of course the group order went haywire) :thumbup
       
    3. I ran a group order once where we unexpectedly received an event head (our order was placed before the event started, so I hadn't expected to receive the head). I didn't feel right keeping it, so I contacted the other participants in my order asking for their input. To be honest, it became a huge hassle. There were differing opinions on what should be done with the head, but eventually we decided I should sell the head and split the profit between all the GO participants. I was fine with that situation, but again, it ended up being a lot of hassle for an extra freebie head. Finding a buyer, negotiating price, receiving layaway payments, GO participants asking for their money before the head was paid off, Paypal fees, etc... well, I swore from that point on that if I ever received freebies from any other group orders, I would just keep or dispose of them myself. :| To be honest, it's just easier this way, because it's impossible to make everyone happy otherwise. I don't have any particular expectation of freebies in group orders, and usually when I do receive them, I just give them to the GO participants anyway. I think the best thing I ever received (and kept) was a free wig brush, which sells for a whopping $3 on the website!
       
    4. please delete?
       
    5. I think the GO organizer should keep whatever freebies, even if they don't have a lot in the order, sure I would be very suspicious if someone ran a GO and only ordered like, a piece of elastic, but hey, you're responsible for making sure you, personally, do not get taken advantage of.

      Not that the GO runner should ever feel guilty about getting something out of a GO, but if there was something they didn't want included, I think it would be a neat and hassle free idea to PM each person in order of the amount they spent and ask which of the item(s) they want. That way no-one will even know there was free stuff handed out unless they got something, so there would be no complaints.
       
    6. I am just participating in my first go. The person who took my order was just as sweet as can be. Helped me with links, etc. I really think if the person is taking care of you, shouldn't you take care of that person? I know there will be goodies from this go, but I feel that the person running the go should have them. When you participate in these things, you already know what is going on with the company. Points aren't really that much, unless you send in a couple of thousand $$$ in orders. If someone was not comfortable with the organizer getting the freebies, then they should really order on their own or start their own.
       
    7. Well....

      considering the person who ran the group order took the time, shipping materials and patience to provide their fellow bjd enthusiasts with a very convenient service I don't see why the organizer shouldn't have free claim to any extra goodies? I would just consider it a bonus to them :) If someone reaaalllyyyy wants whatever extra item the company is offering they should either work out a deal with the group order organizer or purchase from the company directly themselves.

      But that's just my insignificant two cents ;)

      ~Gio
       
    8. It seems that I have made a debate topic that isn't really a debate at all.
      Bottom line, those who run GOs are entitled to keep swag. Sweet. Thanks yall!
       
    9. I've opened a small Dollmore GO on another forum and this topic has occurred to me anew. Before I'd always been a participant in GOs and I figured it would be right for the person running the GO to keep the swag, but now the shoe's on the other foot, I think I'd feel a bit awkward doing it.

      I think with things like Dollmore giving away a free pair of eyes with every five pairs sold and one person bought five pairs of eyes in one go, I'd be happy to send the free eyes to them. It would get more difficult with dolls or doll parts (like "buy ten Puki get another free" or event heads) but if someone spoke up and wanted it or specifically joined the GO just to get that head/body I think that we could work it out that the person who only wants the freebie head pays a little bigger percentage of the shipping fees to even out the costs.
       
    10. I tihnk that whoever ran the order should get to keep whatever is free. They organized the order, placed and then packaged everyone order and shipped it out. I dont think that one should expect to get something, but it if comes then they should keep it.
       
    11. I have run GO on other doll sites in the past as well as being part of them.

      I say that the "freebes" for the most part should really go to the "runner" its a lot of work weather you realize it or not. When they get big it can be a mess if your not an organized person. I had a friend that started a GO and it was such a mess she called me in to fix it all. I got her in order and on her way again. She ended up giving me the freebe. That was cool.

      I mean theres lots of things that people dont take into account. Keeping track of all the buyers, What they are buying, When they paid how much and how much will be due.. Then splitting the items up getting new shipping quotes repacking them and mailing them out to the parties that ordered them. AND OMG if its a doll order on layaway and some one backs out on you covering that end of the doll too.
      PLUS most people that run GOs dont charge for the packing materials that they resend out the items to the other buys ether.
      That can really add up fast. As an example if there are 10 buyers that's ten packages, boxes, tape, shipping quotes and at least one trip to the post office gas is not free ether.

      WOW that was alot.. LOL Sorry.. Hehehe.. Just food for thought..
       
    12. Well were I'm from the organisor of the GO gets the freebies.
      In case he/she doesn't want it, people interested (who were in the GO) can tell that and there will be a lottery.
      I did a Luts order and got the wintery event head. I really didn't know what to do, and it didn't fell right to keep it, and sell it a little while later. So I gave it away.
       
    13. Ive seen someone run a GO before, and it is A LOT of work. I think they have a right to keep the free gifts, theyre going through all the hassle for everyone else.
       
    14. I'm in the process of saving for a doll at the moment, so I've never participated in a group order. I've been reading about them, and I must say that after seeing that a $6.00 pair of shoes from DollMore will cost me $22.00, these GOs are looking MIGHTY splendiferous.

      I'm sure I have more to learn, but I'd be really concerned if I received something extra like shoes in my package with no note from the person who is distributing the GO. O.O I'd think everything got messed up and something was my fault.

      I'd be stoked if I got a lollipop from Dollmore. >:3 Yum.
       
    15. Interesting topic. I have never participated in a GO but have certainly watched a few and think they are a great idea :)

      I think who gets what free gifts would depend on the situation, but communication is the key. If free gifts are expected, then stating what will happen to them (the person running it gets to decide) before hand could be a good idea.

      In general I agree that small and unexpected gifts should go to the person running it.

      Perhaps it's an unpopular view, however, if certain gifts are included because of certain items ordered, then the people who ordered the actual items should get them. Say, if 10 of us decided to do a GO and ordered one doll each, and the company was kind enough to include a free pair of shoes for each doll. Then I don't think the free gifts should all go to the person running it.

      Running a GO is a lot of work, but I think saying they are going through all the hassle just for other people's benefits is a oversimplification. I have no problem with them keeping free gifts as payments, or even charging a fee for doing the work, however, stating them upfront could save everyone the trouble of possible confusions or disappointments of the issues later.
       
    16. hmm I run a few GOs sometimes...

      I usually will try to sell off the heads or items in order to pay for all the shipping so no one has to pay for shipping from me to them. It makes everyone in the order happy, and people who wanted the event items happy. If there's enough paid for the shipping and still some items left I'll usually ask if it's ok to keep one, if not then it's raffled off within the group, though usually people are nice and let me keep one item.

      But yeah stating up front is always a good idea since people can make a lot of assumptions and getting blindsided because it wasn't clear first can cause much unneeded drama.
       
    17. Who ever does the ordering gets the goodies. No matter the amount/ value of said goodies. They are the one that has to receive the pms, organize the order, pack and ship all the items in a group order. Not to mention update the thread and deal with stupid/rude people (people who order then cancel).
       
    18. I've run multiple group orders, the latest to Dollmore. Dollmore always throws in stuff. In this case, I kept only the Dollmore postcard, since no one's packaging really accounted for its safe transport that I remember. (If any of my GO members are reading this and you've a yen for the postcard, shoot me a PM, lol...) I didn't need the pins and the glass eyes, while lovely, are a colour I have multiple pairs of. If I had really liked them, I would have kept them as a prize for running, ordering, waiting, keeping everyone happy, sorting, and spending an hour at the post office mailing.

      Once DOD threw in a wig that no one had ordered, just one of their fur ones, most likely pretty cheap for them to make. I kept that, I like it, it brings me glee when I use it to give my dolls giant fros on a whim.

      Group order freebies definitely belong to the person who was running the group order. Anyone who thinks otherwise should run a group order themselves, put up with the possible irritation and the effort it takes, particularly if you have many orderers. It's the group order runner's choice whether or not to distro the freebies. Simple, easy.
       
    19. I think that if it is a big gift (ex. free head) it is rightfully the runner's. However, my usual GO group decides that if it is small, we see which of our dolls it suits best. And if we ever get a free head, we would give it to a friend who wants a doll, but can't afford the whole thing. (We already did this for one friend) Really, I think either the runner, or who it suits best.
       
    20. Running group orders, especially large ones, is a huge pain in the butt. I spent HOURS organizing a urethane eye order I ran. It was so big and complicated and there were so many custom orders and various methods of payment that I had to use a spreadsheet to track everything. And then when the order came in I had to verify that it was all correct, which involved unpacking 11 little boxes of eyes and comparing them to color charts.

      So when we also got one mystery eye, I felt completely entitled to keep it. I still have it. It's pretty. I'll probably sell it eventually unless I randomly acquire a one-eyed doll who wants a green-purple gradient eye. XD

      I think group order runners get to decide who gets free gifts, and they're perfectly within their rights to keep them. After all, they went to all the trouble of organizing a group order.