Advice needed on unwanted donations
Added 2017-08-21 19:15:54 +0000 UTCI have a problem that seems to be escalating lately. I've asked a few people already on opinions of how to deal with this, with some conflicting answers. So I'm now asking for more opinions so I can get a wider range of answers.
Here's the problem, I've been getting a lot of donations lately that I didn't ask for. With most of these, the person (usually a kid) emailed me about it, and I politely turned down the offer because it was total junk that I had no use for. But then, they send it anyway. Often it comes with a note asking for a shout out to their youtube channel, which has 10 subscribers.
Some examples of things I've received. I got a 10-year old RAM module for desktop PCs. It was crunched up since it was not packed in anything but a regular paper envelope. I got a Pentium 4 processor, also with all of the pins crunched up because it was shipped in a paper envelope. I received some old crummy hand-written floppy disks from maybe 15 years ago with some pirated games on them. You get the idea, right? I have gotten a lot of this sort of thing and keep getting more and more.
Up to this point I've been tossing the stuff in the trash and ignoring their emails asking me if I received it. I hate doing that. I like being honest with people. But at the same time, I cannot show this junk on my show because nobody wants to see this sort of thing, and it will only invite more of it, especially if I show their youtube channel name like they often want.
I already get about 10 requests per day for "shout outs" to youtube channels that have a dozen subscribers or less, and for good reason once you look at the content. Obviously I am not going to honor those requests, and I often feel like these donations of garbage are often just an attempt to get me to do that.
Although I got another one today with no request for a shout out, but I'm sure they are still expecting me to show it on camera. And I did tell this kid directly (but politely) that I did not want the item. What's worse, his father emailed me demanding I show this on camera because his son has been wanting to see me unbox something on screen. There is simply no way I can win here. I either have to be a jerk, or I have to degrade the value of my channel.
I'm considering mentioning this, tactfully, in the next unboxing video that I will not be showing any items sent to me unless they were approved first. But I'm not sure if that is a good idea.
Should I just continue to throw this garbage in the trash and ignore the people?
Should I reply to them and explain why I'm not going to show this stuff on screen?
Should I just give in and show it on screen anyway, possibly inviting even more of it in the future?
Comments
I'm afraid that if you're too polite, that people will just get angry and insist. Better to just ignore them.
2017-09-09 07:59:08 +0000 UTCMaybe a small change to the donations page of your website. Keep the "Things hard to find" and "Things I need" sections, and maybe add a "I don't collect these" section, or make the whole page a webform where the sender has to type in their name, e-mail and what they can offer you. You can then reply with pre-formatted "yes" and "no" e-mails, and only the "yes" one has your private address on it.
Glen Rea
2017-09-01 14:50:52 +0000 UTCI agree with Lisa. Set up a donation-specific email that auto-responds to requests saying that you can choose whether or not to honor them, and reply to the emails you receive with a "yay" or "nay" message.
2017-08-31 06:45:02 +0000 UTCAnd yes - hide your mailbox address and only give it out to those who you agree to receive from. Anyway - thanks for making these episodes. I'm a fan and I will keep watching no matter how you deal with this :)
Per Kofod Hansen
2017-08-29 16:03:23 +0000 UTCIts a complex problem. Maybe some of these kids just want to be "famous" and try these tricks. But there will also be the occasional deep fan that really want to give you something and see your appreciation. Having these young fans should also make you proud, since kids who actually are interested in old computers are rare. Of course it would ruin the show if you unbox the litter can. But maybe you could find some small way of aknowledning these kids. Send them a postcard with an autograph or have some subchannel where you unbox this without the usual professional level of production, but still a warm thanks. A somewhat out of view list of youtube links could also make them happy and proud.
Per Kofod Hansen
2017-08-29 15:57:39 +0000 UTCI would not show the content unless its something you want to show for the channel. IMHO I would only show the things in the unboxing that you asked for or plan to do a show on. I'm not sure its relevant anymore to see another Commodore 1541 Hard drive get unboxed or some video games you plan on never doing a show. It's to a point that the unboxing episode will come not that interesting.,,,
2017-08-28 21:49:18 +0000 UTCI wouldn't show the junk donations as it might get more people to send in unwanted junk. Make the rules for donations very clear and try putting a disclaimer like "All donations require prior approval! Any donations sent without my approval will NOT be opened and will be tossed in the trash."
2017-08-28 09:17:53 +0000 UTCYou should not show these items or honor their requests for recognition, it's your channel and once you've made it clear you don't want the item then they are being a**holes if they send it anyway, double-a**holes if they then try to manipulate you into doing what they want. The greatest kindness is honesty, you are being honest when you tell them you don't want their junk and that you are not a vending machine for youtube shout-outs, and you can honestly tell them you will throw their junk away and ignore them if they persist, you should not let them try and guilt trip you into doing stuff you don't want to do and will resent, and should feel free to throw their stuff away. Keeping up the quality of your content is your professional job and you can't let some over-entitled consumers make a mess of your channel because they will falsely claim to feel bad.
2017-08-27 01:48:57 +0000 UTCI think you could do a little video just about this topic where you just speak into the camera for a minute and say basically the same as you wrote here! Then, when any other kid comes up, you just reply by the video link! I think not just your patreons would upvote this solution.
L3P3
2017-08-25 22:38:08 +0000 UTCMake up some donation rules, stick to them and let the people know. It's your show in the end and you decide the content.
stynx
2017-08-25 20:37:49 +0000 UTCLol, I was about to suggest the same, but I could see trolls getting way to much entertainment out of a massively overflowing bin of trash.
2017-08-24 14:20:04 +0000 UTCYou are not a charity. Bin it, and block them. And mention on every unboxing shows that unsolicited shift will go in the bin if you received any. Maybe even cut to a picture of the bin. I won't think any less of you. Maybe a bit more actually....
DOSGamerMan
2017-08-23 18:33:37 +0000 UTCI wouldn't show any on the screen you don't want to, and if people email you; set-up an auto-responder explaining that items sent are at owner's risk with no acknowledgments etc etc perhaps have a separate email address for legitimate other business. I suspect you have to be a bit of a 'hard-ass' when it comes to that, also; it couldn't hurt to let people know about the problem in your next video
Lisa
2017-08-23 12:07:42 +0000 UTC
