SBAF free advertising for Massdrop?

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by brencho, Jun 12, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Garns

    Garns Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,483
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sydney, AUS
    Exactly. It would be very easy to get caught up in the trees of arranging secret loaner tours and so forth while missing the obvious wood: all of this is only an issue because Massdrop have a wild business model which is a highly nuanced 21st century take on vapourware pre-pre-pre-announcements. I say stuff it, why not call Massdrop's bluff and treat their products as actual vapourware until they are in general circulation. If they want to reach out and arrange tours they are welcome to, but I don't see that anyone else should have to put energy into finding workarounds for the Massdrop model.
     
  2. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    I absolutely agree with all these points. The only thing is that the "pre-review" helps other people here in deciding whether or not to buy. Anyway, I'm behind by several pages on the thread, and things have moved on, and stuff will be worked out to the benefit of SBAF and its members. One way or another. Or yet another. Or both. SBAF is like that: finding ways to do stuff.

    But what you say there is a bottom line. And the absolute bottom line is...

    Yes, Paypal is easy, and, IIRC, it takes clicking one button to say "Makke this a recurring payment. Well, I guess one has to specify the frequency too. But not hard at all. Hey, we're a techie-centric community, right?

    ha ha! Body parts as bonus?

    When I set up my contribution, I thought you did. So... No problem.
     
  3. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,758
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Jackson, Mi
    I didn't realize you could set up recurring payments in PayPal. Thanks! I'll just do this in lieu of patreon for now.
     
  4. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,750
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Calgary, Alberta
    Home Page:
    To be fair, I'd probably act that way too if I was 15 years old and head of collaborations.
     
  5. Josh83

    Josh83 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,375
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Charlottesville
    I understand the criticism, and I actually have pretty mixed feelings about Massdrop as a company. But if I weren’t already in a committed relationship with my Yggdrasil, I would’ve greatly appreciated the multiple pre-drop evaluations of the RDAC. It looked suspicious because they all liked it. Had one or more panned it (and I trust that had they disliked it, they would’ve) then things would’ve appeared quite different.

    The shitty thing about Massdrop is that consumers really need pre-drop info, unless they’re willing to wait to see if there’s a second drop months or years later. The problem seems to be, as @purr1n said, that Massdrop was cajoling people like him to review it and coordinating the reviews in semi-secret. (Will’s condescending responses certainly didn’t help diffuse the situation.) If Massdrop will pony up (literally and figuratively) by sponsoring the site and allowing pre-drop loaner tours for a wider array of reviews, great. As a pinko, I’m super cynical about sponsorships, but I also think people should get paid for their work. Massdrop’s soliciting free labor from people here in shady ways worries me, not the appearance (as opposed to reality) of shilling.

    Basically, the point of my first point was that I’m fine with any arrangement that facilitates trusted SBAFers’ continued measurements and reviews. Once things become too thankless or annoying for them, shit breaks down.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
  6. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,028
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Amsterdam
    Home Page:
    Where is "Venom"?
     
  7. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,177
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Nation's Capital of failure
    Venom, the symbiote, is using Amir as its present host.
     
  8. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    425
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    San Ramon, CA, US
    What about @Garuspik with Verum and similar projects? It promises big benefits to community in case of success but can't happen without community involvement.
     
  9. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    This has been a very interesting thread, and a great lesson in the need to have mental flexibility. I think it is a great thing that SBAF does not have everything set in stone: Any time, dogma can be taken apart and discarded or put together some other way that works.

    And it is still in process...

    :bow:
     
  10. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,177
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Nation's Capital of failure
    I don't see how the Massdrop issue being discussed is related to community-contributed growth of indie product developments. Unless Massdrop is being used as the distribution/marketing platform.
     
  11. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2018
    Likes Received:
    579
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    DCish
    That's really a different kind of situation, isn't it? He's working to develop it pretty much in the open and we're all aware of the generalities regarding his interactions with SBAF members auditioning, measuring, and providing feedback.
     
  12. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 6, 2018
    Likes Received:
    3,316
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Ukraine
    Exactly. If I want to ask for money - i don't want to ask it for a pig in the poke. Any questions regarding construction are answered, and one reputable SBAF member already received and other will receive within 2-3 weeks a sample. That's the only way I see to prove to community that this product is worthy investment.
     
  13. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,842
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    London, UK
    What thread have you been reading?

    Massdrop have cherry picked who to send samples to in order to guarantee positive reviews and avoid negative ones. Coordinating those reviews as a marketing tool to maximise sales on a set date. SBAF has been used, and not necessarily even deliberately so. But it is against the spirit of the community, and circumvents part of what makes it such a great and dependable source of information.

    @Garuspik for example is just sending a sample out without any manipulation, pressure, prior relationship, or strings of any kind. Members who get to try it here could well hate it, and there’s no way to know that until they have it in their possession. There’s not even a release date yet. In fact it’s quite a risk for such a fledgling project.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
  14. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,754
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    EU
    Couldn't have said it better!

    @Dzerh Very different context between Fapdrop and @Garuspik, the former values SBAF's contribution 2200 times less than that rando 11 million subs Youporn channel (5000 users VS 11 million subs, SBAF gets 0.045% of their attention and care according to Big Willie's post if we do the math), the latter is one humble man that wants to make something really good and really understands the value of enthusiast forums in 2018...putrid apples vs healthy oranges comparison there.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,778
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Good news: @CEE TEE has contacted me via SMS from his vacation said simply said that he will make things right.

    He's on the inferior T-Mobile network, so his Internet is spotty.

    We should have a different classification for Massdrop launch / product review type of posts. Perhaps posting in the vendor section. Then move to regular gear section after buyers get their products and we can get more feedback.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2018
  16. brencho

    brencho Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Likes Received:
    7,978
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    LA
    Not surprised at all, he's a mensch, and he gets it. Hope he's enjoying his vacay.
     
  17. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,637
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    I think the cherry pick issue isn't so much who the samples were sent to, but instead how they cherry pick what they choose to send. Notice how their last Toppings DAC didn't get a sniff around here. I could go on and on...
     
  18. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Uhhh, do they do custom collaborations with Topping? I think they specifically select collaboration type items for reviews.
     
  19. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,637
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    If you're using the RDAC as an example, its questionable how "custom" it is. Airist has a prototype as far back as 2015. Who knows if this is that proto or something from scratch. If you're using the ZDT jr. as an example, that's basically a repackaged existing design. Not trashing either, just don't necessarily consider anything about them as truly "custom". No biggie...

    Either way my point is Massdrop wouldn't dare send us polished turds to audition. They pick and choose products because they know their gems from just their deals.
     
  20. sfoclt

    sfoclt Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    317
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Online
    At least you can buy a Topping. The other stuff you're financing for them. It's bad enough when people buy on credit, but to buy by extending credit is lunacy.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page