Group orders and free gifts...

The last closed Go I ran was for the FL event with the new Pukifees and the multiheads. I let everyone know I wanted one of the multiheads and the second would be raffled free to the participants with the number of "entries" per person calculated on the amount they spent. Incidentally the person with the second smallest portion of the order won the "raffle".

As far as the who-gets-what question - its up to the individual co-ordinator, if there are gift items that can be included in the split prices then I think thats a great idea like Fairylands gift-events - if its something that just rolls up from the company to say "thanks for another MASSIVE order" then again its at the discretion of the organiser as to what to do. I for one would say to the GO organisers I've joined splits with in the past: Go-for it!! Keep it... You've been up late at night spreadsheeting, taping, padding, driving dealing with buggers at the post office, replying to 15-50pm's a day, calculating and all the while being polite and nice to me just so I can get a spare pair of hands... Yeah keep the gift

Forbidden is right on the mark with saying the amount of time and effort that goes into organising a Group Order that in the end is saving people money off their purchases and getting them items that cant be bought singulaly ALWAYS outweighs a gift from the company and in some cases you're still out of pocket for packaging if you dont include it in your prices... And again if you're out for free-stuff, you can always ask and if you dont like the answer then its best to move on and find another group to join.

I feel that communication and honesty is key and I'd rather say up-front (example only) "I'm running this to get the event head for myself" and have people say "thanks but I'll go to another GO" than end up with a squabble at the end. As far as accumulating points goes... Same goes - they can add up if you consistently did massive orders but in reality they arent that much... For example the orders I've place this year with FL including two group orders and my own personal purchases came to $3767, the points add-up to enough to pay for the shipping of one PukiPuki... not a lot at all!

 

I can't imagine how much trouble it must be to actually run a group order.

I think the runner should keep the items. It seems like it would be a huge hassle to organize a group order and the runner deserves the free items!

I can understand holding a raffle though. That would be nice, but I really think that the runner deserves it more.

 

I've only ever run one group order. It was small, including myself, there were six people who took part.

Now, it was a bit of a hassle because I was having an issue with a few missing items and and issues with various post offices (I was at a friend's house for a week, one day, I couldn't find either post office, the second day, I found one, but they were out of boxes, post office closed early the next day, finally my fourth attempt was fruitful). Point in case, it was a lot of extra work for really not much benefit for me. I saved nothing in shipping and pretty much did the order so that I could get started on some good feedback.^^;;

Anyway, due to this, I am more hesitant to do group orders in the future. If someone is willing to do a group order, it's up to them to do whatever they want with any free items. If they want to keep them, they deserve it.

 

With smaller ticket items, I don't see a problem - like clothes, eyes, wigs, or shoes. But for doll parts that are contingent upon a minimum order? I don't feel that it's fair, especially if the organizer didn't mention that they were going to keep the doll parts.

I agree that group orders require time and effort -- I think it's a given. If you don't have the time to organize one, then don't start one. They also require careful planning so that you don't end up underestimating shipping fees or any other costs associated with running the group order.

I used to run a lot of group orders here years ago, and I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable or right to keep something that valuable without letting the group know. For me, the discounted shipping was the reason why I placed the order, and since the items were delivered to me, I didn't have to pay for a domestic shipping cost on top of split EMS. The time that I invested into my group orders was worth the dollars I saved on my end, and I am assuming with my participants, the time associated with doing the group order wasn't worth saving the domestic shipping fee.

In the end, it's really up to the group organizer since all goods are in his/her possession anyway, and if participants are unhappy with the decisions made or policies, then place your own order or join another group.

(And let me clarify, I don't participate in group orders because I had one very frustrating experience where I was a buyer, not because of the free swag.)

 

I'm also thinking the runner should get the free stuff that comes with an order. They went to the trouble of getting it all together, and it takes some time and worrying! I wouldn't mind if the runner took a free doll part either, but I would personally only take a free head if the other participants says it's okay. I would then cover shipping as thanks.

I like the idea of using free gifts that no one or everyone wants as prizes in competitions

 

I was worrying about this recently actually. My FL GO arrived with the event freebies and I hadn't even realised we were ordering in an event period, so I had no idea what to do with them! In the end I raffled off one head and kept the one I wanted as most of the participants either said they weren't bothered or they thought I should keep one of them.

I think I would rather raffle most things than keep or sell them - although running a GO can be hard work or expensive, at the end of the day I feel that if I ever stop enjoying it I'll just stop doing it. If the hard work outweighs the fun and the chance to meet interesting people, I'll give it up. Points or free stuff isn't important to me, since I don't find running Group Orders that much of a hassle. I think mostly that's because I'm lucky

Also, I'd rather run a split than a GO if I wanted an event item. I would much prefer for GO's not to say "I'm running this GO for suchasuch event" or "I'll be raffling off event gift blah" as I've been in GOs where the leaders have done that, or promised a gift, or something similar. And nothing's materialised. That's disappointing, especially since sometimes I don't mind paying a little more in shipping if there's a chance to be part of a raffle, but if the runner just vanishes after everything's been shipped out it's kind of annoying. I'd rather say to my participants 'oh hey, we have some free shiz, I'm gonna do a raffle' at the end, than say about it beforehand and just not.

I don't know, maybe it's just me. I feel selfish keeping event gifts, but on the other hand, I do like presents

 

I think the GO organizer should get the freebie unless one of the participants ask nicely that if it's something like a candy would they mind letting them have it. Shoes, heads, clothes, things like that I think the GO organizer should get. As others have said, it appears to be a lot of hassle so they should get something extra.

 

I personally believe that the runner of any group order should be entitled to whatever goodies/extras that come along with it. I have never done a group order, but I have ordered things for someone else, in large amounts, and it is a big hassle when it comes to 'special options/details'. Not to mention, sending out each individual package, making sure all the right items are going to the right address, etc. I think when a runner goes through all this trouble, whatever goodies may come are rightfully theirs. No one is paying them for doing this, so in payment, they deserve something for their hassles. I personally would share any goodies, if I were the runner, depending on what the goodies were. Stickers, candies, etc., would be divided into packages if possible, and sent along with the other buyers packages. If it were something else that wasn't able to be divided, then I would probably keep it, and just decide that it was a gift for me for doing the group order.

 

Good question. I run dollmore GO's and to me, my account getting the points for the orders is reward enough for hosting the GO. Sometimes though dollmore has thrown in a button, or some stale star crackers once, and a pair of acrylic eyes. I wasnt sure at first what to do with these items, but since it was nothing big i just kept it. If something really big came along it might be a different story.

 

I think that no matter what the freebie is, it's the GO organizers to keep. A GO takes a LOT of effort (I ran one that failed on the companies part, and have a fellow member as a friend who does them a decent amount). You have to keep track of everyones items, whats out of stock when you go to order (and thusly PMing someone to dissappoint them and possibly have them drop out of the order), and lots of other headaches. Some times people don't calculate paypal fees correctly, and you lose money there. Most organizers don't take account packaging when they make up shipping invoices, more money lost.(In my case, I refunded nearly 1200$ out of my own pocket as I got paychecks while the paypal dispute was in progress!) Gas and time too! A lot of GO organizers throw in little gifts (candy, stickers, whatnot) to thank participators (Again, more time and money). And then, some participants can be very hard to get along with (I don't look down on them! There money, they want stuff right understandably!)

So, I feel like no matter what the freebie is, it's the GO owners right. If they want to keep it all to themselves, than that's there right. If they WANT to raffle it, or lottery it, or offer it first to the GO participants, then it's their choice and props to them. But I don't see any reason they should *have* to, and I think any participant should just appreciate the shipping help and leave it at that.

 

Let the leader keep it! They are the ones spending the gas money to drive to the post office, they take the time to do all the details stuff.

 

Running a group order is a huge responsibility and can turn into a big headache. If something goes wrong, the group order organizer will have to pay out of their own pocket, too. I think they deserve a sweet or a pair of doll shoes for all the stress they take on just to help out other members.

 

Totally agreed on that note. If an extra head was made I would have no problem whatsoever if the person running the GO wanted to keep it.

There's a lot of responsibility when it comes to Go's, I'm surprised that people are even willing to do them!

 

Yeah! the leader should keep it, since we don't pay leaders for their hard work!

 

I agree that the organizer of the order should be the one getting any unexpected extras, seeing as the work they put in into the GO is much more abundant than what any of the participants do.

 

i've never run a GO, but in my opinion, all goodies should go to the runner - what a lot of hassel for them to run the thing! plus, if for not that reason, then for simplicities sake. plus most people join GOs for the cheaper shipping, and probably don't expect the freebies they would receive paying for full shipping.

 

The runner should definitely get the gift, regardless of the value. If the runner doesn't want it for any reason, then the GO participants should be notified that the freebie is available. If more than one person wants it, it should then be raffled. The GO runner did all the work and went through all the hassles of ordering, money-handling, packaging, shipping, follow up, etc. Chances are the bigger the order the bigger the headaches. I say that if the gift is valuable, then it also reflects the amount of time and effort the runner had to put into the order. They've earned the gift.

 

I would imagine that it takes quite of bit of effort for one person to put together a group order. If the company wants to send the person coordinating the group order a gift (big or little) I think that person should keep the gift. After all, I'm sure when the order was late you had to inform everyone placing an order of the delay, right? All that takes coordination and time - I doubt if many people volunteer to do it!

 

I've never been in a GO and I sure as heck wouldn't have the patience to run one. I've considered jumping in on a GO before but I always seem to find them after they've closed...

Either way, I think the runner is entitled to any freebies whatever they might be. If it's something big like a head that I wanted, I'd order enough stuff to get it myself and not go through a GO. It's not like I'd likely be buying my small item from the company without the ease of the GO anyways, so I wouldn't see the freebies regardless.

Lucky for me I have a room mate who is also into the hobby who I can piggyback on for stuff (and vice versa!), so it's a non-issue anyways.

 

I have had run a few GO but never gotten any freebie from the companies.Honestly,if I did get anything free from the companies in my GO packages,I wouldn't know if I can keep them.Maybe I will if they are very small stuffs,like candies,stickers.I wonder if I need to let the participants know there are freebie,even they are only candies,when I decide to keep?