Contests and defaulting Sponsors
Though I would not address these issues to all Sponsors of contests and, indeed, am willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to some Sponsors who appear to be defaulting, I think it is relevant for us bloggers to consider our course of action in the case of those Sponsors who seem intent on taking bloggers for a ride.
I know I have not received either the Lakme or the Sunsilk hampers - which were promised to all acceptable entries and since I won prizes in both of them I cannot be considered to have put in an unacceptable entry. Hampers seem apparently to have been dispatched on a pick-and-choose basis. I do not know if I am a one-off case or whether this is the experince of a significant number of relevant bloggers.
ACTION POINT : I think we need to consolidate information of how many have not received hampers and consider skipping contests of defaulting Sponsors. A request for Indi too - will they consider only e-vouchers when sponsors promise prizes to all entries.
I had already heard of a case with Samsung which is reported to have attempted to coerce winning Bloggers on a trip abroad. What triggered this Forum thread by me is a recent incident of a blogger being asked to pay upfront money for receiving a prize that she won in a contest on the pretext of taxes (Not an Indi Contest by the way). When a Sponsor acts like this, I think that such a Sponsor needs to be banned from sponsoring any contests.
Two things we need to have - information about the behavior of Sponsors and the will to uphold our own self-respect. It is irritating enough for me to have sponsors think I shall write because they dangle carrots in front of me. It is infuriating for them to also take me so lightly that they feel they can break their promises with impunity.
I have ceased to take interest in any contests and, thus, this is not a self-serving post. I think it is time some action is taken to ensure that Companies treat bloggers with more respect.
Let us see some signs of 'Corporate Ethics' in their treatment of bloggers.
Reason: Change in category
Better late than never!
http://www.indiblogger.in/indispatch.php
InDispatch (beta) is up and learning to walk. More details on this thread.
Great Renie! And I confirm that I have received the Sunsilk Hamper last week :)
@DS : U think I posted here with out doing any of those :) ? I mailed many a times and then posted on forums too anyway No regrets no complaints as of now as I am not taking much load and Indiblogger has sent a mug + another mug with a sorry note. Thats a sweet gesture . Thank You Renie and Team
@Suresh : Yep I got it just now like now now !! and an extra mug as i did not get these hampers . It was sweet as there was a sorry note attached to it
Thank You Indi
Thanks for posting this Suresh ! I actually posted such threads but they got drowned with time. Actually "ALL" my experiences with competitions were bad . My hopes rekindled only wen I got shooppers stop vouchers that too "ON TIME" . I waited waited and am still waiting for Lakme hamper and so is sweta tiwary and many others. I dont bother about it now. Sunsilk is in waiting list. .. and few other things which are promised like "EVERY ENTRY GETS ONE" are in waiting list. Hence I cant comment on that but I can for sure say I will forget them with time. My first entry was way back in 08 when I submitted for a contest "soch lo" and emotional attyachar . Dont exactly remember the date and the name of the contest. It was one of the very first contests of Indi. I got a mail that I won consolation prize (in top 20 or some thing). I was jumping with joy as it was first time to me. The prize was movie tickets or some thing. I did not GET THAT and from then it was like I "GOT used to " few goodies which I always saw in pictures but never received.
Its not at all about affording them or not. When you write some thing you also have goodie in mind. If its so tough to fulfill it its better to declare only first 3 prizes and nothing other than those ! but few sponsorers seem to be demanding taxes too for winning entries which is not even nominal and which is highly uncalled for ! I never understood the concept of contests and the business motives or the judges mindsets but only thing I understood is not to give much weightage to goodies :)
Having said that we write as per our will, whatever we want to express but when we see the contest our eyes gleam but competition adds that extra spark and the effort to make the post "the best" but it should not become means to get disheartened ! Lastly I want to say thanks to indi for all the contests as I COULD Build my network and No thanks to many sponsorors who cant fulfill the promises irrespective of the forum which hosts the competition!
PS: I am still waiting for Lakme and sunsilk and also the original HP meet mug and I forgot few other goodies which If I dig mails will able to bring them out of excavations ;)
So far Dove has been a better sponsoror as I got hampers well in advance !
Right in the middle of writing on this thread I got that Indi mug :) so maybe you too shall get it soon.
So far Indiblogger has always beena wonderful experience for me. I have always recieved, what was promised. Sometimes a little late, but the promise was always kept. I think Indiblogger understands the thought that a blogging forum and bloggers are two sides of the same coin and one can't really exist and flourish without the other. BA, soemhow seems to miss on this important fact and seem to be self obsessed about something - I don't know what! They think they can take the blogging community for a ride and feel we exist because of them which is a fallacy. If there were no bloggers, what would they do all by themselves? It is a good idea to write posts, as suggested by Saru. I am in!
"A blogging forum and bloggers are two sides of the same coin and one can't really exist and flourish without the other. " Very well said.
I don't think if I am qualified enough or not to opine on this thread as I have been a perennial loser in contests! But I think that this is a serious issue and I read the said post by Nabanita and I am wondering why she has not taken names so that, in future other bloggers know what is possibly in store for them on that site.
Regarding Indiblogger I have to say that I have always had a wonderful experience here. I received my Melbourne Pen Drive case empty upon which I mailed Renie and Vineet and I was delivered another pen drive promptly. Also I recently received a Sunsilk hamper though I don't remember applying for it (I might have applied...I received the one for my contest entry long back!!)
I have applied for books numerous times on BA but have never received them. I have seen them give the books to bloggers who keep buttering/begging them for books on twitter. I then left a comment on their site asking for the reason -
DS says:
January 8, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Why do I never receive any book despite registering?? Can you clarify Blogadda team?
They never bothered to reply and I naturally stopped applying after that.
Maybe you got mine DS :) Gimme my Sunsilk. I need it to straighten my hair :)
hahaha DS! Now THAT is transparent dealing :) I think I will use one of my own ideas to straighten hair :)
Whatever has happened with Nabanita and other winners is really sad. Glad you wrote a post on the whole issue, Naba! Kudos!
My personal experiences with Indi (Contests and Otherwise) has been wonderful. As a blogger, I have enjoyed every moment of my participation with them, I have grown through them and I have lived my dreams through them.
Of course, I have also had my moments of concern but the response by the IndiTeam, each time I have turned to them for any kind of help or assistance has been prompt, friendly and supportive. There was a time when I had lost all hopes of my Expedia trip, thanks to a few of their T&C which were unacceptable to me. But all I had to do was give the IndiTeam a call and they stepped in, happily, willingly and courteously, taking it all in their own hands -- which meant negotiating and dealing on my behalf -- and finally handing me the grand prize just the way I wished it to be. It is only because of them, that my trip to Japan is a reality today.
Sometimes, things like these do have a tendency to spiral out of control but then that is also when, I believe, trust comes in. There is a reason why I call IndiBlogger - IndiFamily - and other directories just that. There is a reason why I say – I love IndiBlogger and am yet to participate in contests at any other site except IndiBlogger. Trust is like that: it is not about the prize but more about those small little things that matter so much.
Arti That is really so good to know. My experience with Indiblogger has been great as well. They always reply quickly, are warm people and courteous. I got my Samsung Galaxy tab for one of the contests without any hassles. No taxes or other stuff asked for. It is all about trust I agree.
Yes, Rachna. And they also are always willing to listen to you, one quality that has become so rare these days. No wonder, IndiBlogger is making it big and as a member, I feel so proud to see them do it the right way! 
Actually Arti my experience has been only with Indiblogger. I do not participate in any contests anywhere else :) And, i agree, the team is very helpful. In fact, they do not even seem to wait for complaints. Quite often I have received mails from them about whether I had received hampers etc. even before I could think of asking.
I had to name names in my thread post in order to get other people to open up and I have only Indi experience :) Also, I could only think of IndiForum where I could open up this topic and have a discussion without any censorship. This may have created a misleading perception that I had complaints about Indiblogger. Certainly not the case.
In any nascent business, lots of unscrupulous people do come in. The only way to weed them out is to bring those actions to light. And that is what I intended doing in the only forum that I knew of which would put me touch with the affected people and not censor the topic.
@Suresh -Hi Suresh, is this topic specific to IndiBlogger and its contests? As far as the samples are concerned, I can assure you that the dispatch of hampers is never done on a pick and choose basis! :-) We give out 500 - 2000 samples, and the process it goes through from the warehouse to reaching you is quite complex. Even the wording that goes in to the attached letter has to go through various approvals, and the packaging of so many hampers is never easy. At times, delays are inevitable. However, we ensure that hampers are sent to every single blogger who applies for it. All our partners have either already sent out the merchandise, or they are in the process of fulfilling them. Once the hampers are sent however, that's where things tend to go wrong. We have had issues where boxes have been opened and the contents replaced, or hampers being returned because there's nobody at home, or hampers with opened and empty bottles! (Somewhere out there, is a courier chap with really straight hair) I mentioned this on an another thread - we''re building a system wherein everything that our partners send can be tracked. In other words, we're building in dispatch numbers into our system, so that there is no ambiguity and every order can be tracked & followed up on. This system should be ready in a week's time, post which, we intend to do a test run.
As far as prizes are concerned, IndiBlogger has never asked for taxes to claim a prize. As far as cash prizes go, we were told by our auditors that we need to deduct tax, and IndiBlogger bore the brunt of the same - ensuring that the winners got the exact amount which was promised.
Though I did't want to compare the various platforms, since this has come up from what I saw the T&C , when the winners will be announced ans the date when prize will be dispatched is clearly mentioned on the indiblogger's contest page.
About the samples I have lost so many of them (not from indiblogger though) and there also have been instances when parcel was opened things taken out and packed well again that I realised it only later when I opened the package. Tracking system would help eliminate this problem (y)
Hi Renie! Let me assure you that I have had no complaints with Indi. Yes, I have not received those two hampers and I had no reason to know who was responsible for sending them. If Indiblogger was responsible, rest assured that my automatic assumption is that it would be some glitch and not a deliberate act. My experience thus far has been that you have been scrupulously honest in your dealings.
This thread is here because bloggers here are also contestants elsewhere and it is because I was sure about your openness that I used this forum to inform fellow-bloggers of these issues and discuss possible remedies. Had I had any doubts on this count I would not have trusted this thread to exist for any length of time :)
I opened out the topic with issues I had merely because I did not want reluctance to name problem contests from others - and not because I had serious issues. If, perchance, I gave you the impression that I had any doubts about the integrity of the Indiblogger team I assure you that such a thought never crossed my mind. Accept my apology I have hurt your team inadvertently.
No hard feelings Suresh, it's all good!
And, I suppose, that Bloggers are free to discuss problems they may have on contests held elsewhere? There is a concerned person here who seems to think that it is prohibited :)
Uncle, first do let me know where I have used the word prohibited. Respectfully, understand what I have said. If you have decided to not to understand, that is my problem. If you've read the part before this comment by Renie, I have said what others do is uncontrollable. What Indiblogger does can be discussed. Renie has pointed out that the cash amount that Indiblogger assures to give is after tax deduction, not before. In a way, there's nothing wrong with after deduction as pretty much everyone does it. This is an effort that Indiblogger has made because they believe it is right. Now if others don't do it, it doesn't mean it is wrong. It simply means that they prefer doing this. Ask your chartered accountant. He would say that it won't make a good impression on many, but deducting the tax amount and then giving the remainder amount to the winner. And Sureshjee, on another note, I would appreciate if you have the decency to name the person rather than saying "the concerned person". I have respects for you, therefore I mention your name. Hopefully, judging by your profile picture I can only but hope you reflect the same wisdom and honour as I did!! Stop lashing people just because they're saying the opposite of what you've said. Same applies for that "10 shades..../50 shades..." discussion on facebook.
@Sorc: I will assume that that 'Uncle' is meant in respect. There is an ad that has made 'Uncle' and 'Aunty' terms of contempt - so those are actually risky terms to use with people unknown to you these days :) Given that you acknowledge having respect for me allow me to give the following as avuncular advice. If you choose to see it as furthering the argument, I shall not indulge any further.
As far as the tax laws and adminstration thereof go, please do understand that I am a Finance MBA from IIM and I have dealt with these matters. In this very thread, you can see 2-3 messages by me stating that tax law implementation cannot be blamed on the sponsors PROVIDED it is mentioned upfront. That is one of the problems that I faced here with you. You assume that the other person is ignorant about what you are talking about - you may be well-meaning but it gives an impression of arrogance. In this case, a mere reading of all my messages in this thread would have told you that I knew about the tax laws and did not need to ask my 'Chartered Accountant' about it.
I would not have mentioned that FB incident here but for your mentioning it. And, believe it or not, I did not even know it was you there till the argument was all done and I checked up on who it was. As far as that incident is concerned, a person effectively says, "I am so happy that I am going to get published in this book" and you reply, "What a stupid title for the book". She was so happy and your comment pricked her balloon.
As far as the validity of your criticism goes, I have no arguments having discussed the same matter with TF in the HP meet. My point was very simple. THAT was not the place to give the criticism. And that was all I said initially. When I have been given to know that my action may have given unjustified hurt to someone, I apologise even when I intended no hurt. If you doubt that you only need to read my reply to Renie above.
Now, you did not do that and you poked fun at me and when I reacted you said that I was reacting badly because I could not take a difference of opinion. Were it a difference of opinion about whether the title was good or not, I can take all the criticism you can dish out. But there was no difference of opinion on that issue at all, the problem was only your manners and the hurt it caused the person concerned. If you think that your reaction to her message would cause no hurt to the majority you are welcome to check on that. And, all my objections were exclusively focussed on where you were voicing your criticism and not on what you were criticising and you persisted in coloring it as an objection to your criticism. What you said may be right but where you said it was wrong. What is right to do in the toilet is not fit to do in the kitchen.
I sincerely advise you to kindly consider the impact of your messages on the recipient in future before voicing them. We have common friends and they assure me that you are a good person at heart. I would hate to have a good person ruin relationships because he is too hasty in voicing his opinions.
Ofcourse its out of respect. What's wrong with you? I say something honestly and directly, you take it personally and when I give you respect you seem to be interested in misquoting it.
Really now??????I am not talking about what IT book says. I am saying based on observation what happens. Even for PC/Console gaming tournaments they do the same. They mention an amount such as 1 lakh, but they do a tax deduction and then give the amount. Its also one of the reason why many frown at contests/tournaments that give money, but they all do this. But there are those who give the full amount, but they give as cash in hand. Funny part is that some of them flashed their qualifications as well, saying that they know about the law and income tax. FYI, some of them are from IIM, whereas couple of them are from MET, ICFAI. The ones who promise the full amount and/or don't ask for a tax amount when giving an prize which comes with high value are the ones who don't talk about their degrees. Whom to believe and whom not to believe? Ultimately the contest participants and winners would cheated, yes????Seriously, you seem in the mood to troll me. Whatever rocks your boat.P.S.: No, I didn't make an indirect joke about you or make a pun or insulted your or disrespected you.
I didn't say anything wrong. Since when using the words "Stupid title" is bad and offensive? The choice of words in that FB words are so colourful as if I was commenting about the content of the book, which I already cleared it. But if people find it convenient to troll on someone like this, I bet they're famous at parties *sarcasm*. Have a cake, dude! (Dude is not a profanity word atleast in english or used out of disrespect. No, I am not saying this to troll you nor its a pun, I am just saying).
Renie thanks to your platform I have won quite some prizes on Indiblogger and some on other platforms without paying taxes but I did shell out Rs.15,000 as tax for the Tata Docomo 3G life contest without knowing you would have done it for me. Will keep that in mind next time. ;)
Since yesterday, I was confused as to why this discussion had sprang up. Understood the reason today after reading Nabanita's post. What has happened is unfortunate and appears to be a form of cheating! Paying 8k for something which is rightfully ours isn't acceptable. They should have mentioned it in the Terms and Conditions. And I never received the voucher which was promised for all in the Gillette contest held on that site.
I only hope that such a thing doesn't happen with IndiBlogger. I have received all my prizes without any follow up, except for one- the courier guy called and asked for the address but did not deliver it. He probably couldn't find the address. I had to send just a single mail to IB and the prize reached me within a week or two without any further follow up. And regarding the hampers, I don't claim that I have received all the hampers. But, I think that if I had sent a mail saying the same, I would have received them. Infact, I sometimes feel surprised seeing contest threads, 6 to 9 months old surfacing up with someone saying that their hamper was delivered.
@Chetan frankly I am not from legal background but from what I have read the lottery tax applies when winners are picked randomly and not based on skill and they have made some kind of purchase to participate.
We were not told to purchase any product . Also they are lying to us that it is gift tax and sendig us the the details of 194B in the name of gift tax. Also the sponsors gave me a reason that I have to pay the tax because others are readily paying which was also a lie.
The only reason I am not blaming the platform is that even they didnot know about the hidden T&C. But yes I hope they take care of this in future
The sponsors have stopped repling to our mails. Why did gillete choose 5 winners if they cannot afford to give away 5 i-pads??
Lying and not replying is unprofessional and unethical 
Chetan??? Who? Do you address this to me?
Well! The issue here is legally unclear. It was tested on Kaun Banega Crorepati legally I think. There are other case laws which are ambiguous. If a sponsor thinks it is taxable under section 194B I do not see that in and of itself as reprehensible.
What is reprehensible is that the winner is being asked to cough up - that I have made clear. Maybe in all contests where no such issues have arisen, the sponsor has paid that 30% without asking the winners to do so. So, technically, it was always treated like Lottery Income by them but it never came to our notice since we were not asked to pay. Under IT, if they have not done so, then the amount of contest win - cash or kind - is taxable in your hands subject to a deduction of Rs. 5000/- per annum allowed for casual income.
All the rest of the behavior of the sponsor or his agent, i am in agreement with you - else why would I hv started this thread?
As far as that 'Lottery' thing goes, I am afraid we cannot be blaming either the blogging platform or the Sponsors. The classification of such income as Income from Lottery etc. under section 194B is the problem created by the Income tax Laws. So, there is no need to feel hurt or insulted because it comes under such classification. We all know how wonderfully the Government works.
The issue here is that for any such income 30% of the value has to be remitted to Government by the person giving the prizes. Whether he chooses to give it himself or collect it from the recipient is his decision. So, IF THE SPONSOR HAD DECIDED TO COLLECT THE MONEY FROM THE WINNER WHY WAS IT NOT MENTIONED ALONG WITH THE DECLARATION OF THE CONTEST? MORE TO THE POINT WHY DID HE NOT DECIDE TO BEAR IT HIMSELF AND EITHER SCALE DOWN THE PRIZES TO SUIT HIS BUDGET OR INCREASE THE BUDGET TO SUIT?
In this case, Gillette is so poor that it can hand out 25k worth prize but is unable to shell out an additional 8k for tax? It is preferable to appear like a cheapskate than to add 30% to their cost? Why add, if they had only cut down the value of their prizes, neither would the cost have gone up nor would they have appeared like penny-pinchers!
There is a difference in KBC and blogging contestes. KBC still needs some amount of luck
Animesh! I am not the guy drafting the IT laws here or acting on them. So no point arguing the case here. The issue is that up to now there are only 2 options for treating contest wins 1. Lottery wins and 2. Casual Income. In the former case, the onus of deducting tax is on the person giving the prize and the deduction is 30%. In the latter case you have to take the Fair Market value of all prizes received in the year, deduct Rs.5000/=, and add the net amount to your taxable income. Which of the two is correct is not yet clear and will depend upon the interpretations of the IT commissioners unless there is a clarificatory circular or a conclusive case law.
This is extremely sad and we bloggers should not tolerate this. till now I won only one contest and that sponsor did not ask for any fee or tax against the prize.
we try hard and write creative posts, we believe that there is someone reading all the entries and then deciding the most creative & unique post as the winner. but then if they call it a lottery then what is the use of creativity. then they should do such contests on twitter or face book.
They know that we bloggers have the power to influence and they are using us for free, this can not be tolerated.
Its a year and I have not got the lakme hamper, I feel bad asking for same thing again & again and gave up. yes it is a small hamper, still they promised to give it so they should stick to their words.they got free publicity and gave nothing in return (where as they promised to give something) This is not done sponsors!! if you can not afford the hampers/goodies then don't give such words. keep only one winner but deliver what you promised.Unfortunately I am also one of the winners of the same contest as Naba. To be true this was the first contest I entered with my blog and unfortunately won it too. I am surely gonna write about this . I am not paying the tax till the explain in legal terms how the tax is applicable. I seriously don't care if I have to let go the i-pad. Also after speaking to a few of my friends I was told the act according to what they are asking us to pay is not gift tax but Tax on winnings from lottery. This has upset me a lot. We put so much effort in writing and they call it lottery :( They are not replying to our mails and also no T&C were mentioned before the contest started not even the words T&C* apply were written forget about the details.
"Winning from lottery"? Are you serious? All the creative work is being termed as lottery? If that is how winners are decided, I'd rather start a blog for contests and then put any strange word in the post and submit for the contest.
Hey Ani, Swati and Sweta! Read the next page where I have replied to this issue. This treatment of this income as lottery income is not the doing of sponsors but the classification prescribed by the Income Tax deptt.
Why can't a few bloggers are invited during the discussion between IndiTeam and the Marketing Compaies, IndiTeam might have few bloggers, but as they are doing business they might not put across the concerns of the bloggers to these marketing companies.
This also gives a platform to lay terms and conditions across the board, currently T&C are only for bloggers.
Earlier in Expedia contest, a winner would be contacted by phone, and if he is unavailable at the time, they would chuck that winner and nominate other person, this was an insane rule and i don't know how IndiTeam agreed to this.
Problems with Indiblogger have been relatively minor - issues of gifts not being received are mainly related to the gift hampers promised to every entry. And, at that, Indiblogger does put in the effort to set things right. (I, of course, have no knowledge of Expedia - before my time here)
Also, if one assumes that such contests are desirable, I'd say that the balance of power between Indiblogger and the companies is tilted too far in favor of the companies. I doubt that Indiblogger can put in too many pre-conditions for contests. There are, after all, a lot of other blogging integrators in the country/world.
One thing I can suggest for Indiblogger is that they can, at least, convince the companies to ensure that the TDS is factored into the gift value and this sort of shameful behavior of seeking money from the winners is avoided (Not that it has happened in Indiblogger yet to my knowledge but as a matter of precaution). Also, where these 'gift hampers' are not the basis for the competition, exhibit preference for e-vouchers. In fact, if it is not possible I'd rather they avoided this 'all valid entries get gift hampers' nonsense as far as possible unless it can be ensured.
If any financial implications are there for the winners it needs be mentioned upfront in the contest page and not buried in the T&C. And, from my knowledge of T&C in general, it normally is something like 'Tax implications, if any, shall be the responsibility of the winners' and nothing as specific as the amounts or the expectation that it needs to be paid upfront.
I know, there will always be the righteous exclamation that you should have read the T&C and all that but it is a fact that such things are buried there precisely in the expectation that bloggers won't read them. This is the sort of truthfulness that Yudhishtir exhibited when he said that 'The elephant Aswaththama has been killed' knowing full well that Krishna intended to drown out that 'The elephant' part. One could always keep arguing that Drona should have had keener ears or something.
What I think is needed is a platform where bloggers can get an idea of which companies/blogging platforms treat bloggers with such disrespect so that we know to avoid them and their contests.
@TF: Please include 'Give Respect to Bloggers' point in your post. We seriously need some code of conduct.
@Snuffles: Thank you for your support!
@ Saru - Do you want me to include that line at the end of my post? Is that a standard line everyone is including in their posts. Please do let me know if something like that is on. I will be glad to include.
Thanks for all the support guys! And I agree we cannot be taken for a ride by these sites... They need to know we are not dimwits and we won't take it lying down...Even if they don't respond and do something about it , we will make sure more and more bloggers get to know about it!
I have joined a couple of contests only. But it was more for fun. I feel it is so cheap that one has to go around seeking and ensuring we get the prize that we have won. And the tax piece felt like a huge scam...I used to get calls from travel sites in USA where they woud say pay this much towards taxes and we will let you stay in Las Vegas for 3 nights and blah blah. Basically it meant I coughed up money. What is worser here is the amount of money asked from Nabanita. if 30% tax, then is the gift worth rs 24k????
It was indeed surprising to learn that a blogger was asked to pay for her prize!I agree and support your motive of getting the "corporate ethics" right.We (IndiTeam & Indibloggers) SHOULD do something about this. Definitely.
Snuffles!!!! >_>'
have you taken a vow or sumthing? jab deko jahan dekho "snuffles >_>","snuffles >_>" laga rakha hai...inditalk,forum,discussions...kabhi uske aage bhi to bolo? mmRRRRReeeeoowwww
This is very unfortunate. I've deleted the link of the sponsor from my entry as a sign of protest. Asking for tax is not wrong, it is how they treat bloggers.
Also, we should start a campaign - 'Give Respect to Bloggers.'
I am in for the campaign :) "Give respect to bloggers"
I already made a post on the topics of contests. This has been building up in me for a while. Reading about this today morning served as a catalyst.
Good idea, Saru! Maybe we can all do similar posts and post them as "Give respect to Bloggers" posts! What say?
I don't like this tagline, "GIve respect to bloggers". Respect is not asked for, it is earned!
@Rachna- Yeah, it's a good idea but we have to format it and let more bloggers join in. I'm waiting for TF's post and we can take points from there. :)
@Animesh- I am not adament on tagline, keep whatever is mutually decided. Also, there is a phrase, 'Respect is never demanded, it is always commanded.' However, it seems sponsors forget the word 'respect' when it comes to bloggers. And I think, we have earned it. Sometimes, we need to tell others that their behavior is not OK. There is nothing wrong is asking for what you rightfully deserve.
I'll again say, don't ask for respect, command it (as you said). It'll come from our own behaviour. Why not we boycott all defaulting sponsors. Even our campaigns may revolve around it. We can publicly (on social networking sites) boycott all defaulting sponsors and blog about their unethical behaviour.
I'm for boycotting defaulting sponsors too!
Naba! In the context of your specific issue some Tax information gleaned from the Net 1. Gift tax is the problem of the recipient of the gift and there seem to be no Tax Deduction at Source obligations on the giver. 2. Contest wins do not seem to fall under Gifts but are either to be classified under wins from Lotteries - u/s194B - in which case 30% tax remittance needs to be made by the giver as TDS with option to collect from recipient. There is some ambiguity here since there is a divergent opinion on whether money earned by skill in a contest can be classified as lottery win. If it cannot, again TDS obligations do not lie but the recipient is supposed to add the amount (Fair Market value if prize is in kind) to income after subtracting a total of Rs. 5000/= exemption allowed for a year for casual income. I SEE NO REASON WHY SOMEONE CANNOT REMIT THE TAX AS PART OF THE WIN INSTEAD OF BURDENING A BLOGGER WITH THE OBLIGATION. They can always scale down the value of the gift to suit their budget.
Yes Suresh ... Moreover the amount over which gift tax is levied is 50k for this fiscal as far as I found out.. but whatever they mentioned wasn't close to anything I found on the net...
And yes Suresh you are very right about the attitude of cheating by these sponsors and websites... I felt exactly the same, and even insulted to an extent!
What is sad is that we are treated like comodities.... I would participat in contests without the prizes or hampers if they are interesting or give me a chance to do different things.. but I certainly wouldn't want to be taken for a ride... The attitude that we have to deal with is as if some sort of favour is being done to us...My experience with Indiblogger has been really good but I certainly cannot say the same about another website which hosts contests and then pretends it has got nothing to do with it...
I see contests as a chance to write on topics that perhaps I wouldn't normally write on... And I am sure it is the same with many of us around here.. I can only think of a quote by Saru at this point "bloggers are not driven by bottom line but just passion" and certain sponsors and websites need to understand that...!
I see contests as a chance to write on topics that perhaps I wouldn't normally write on << this is exactly why i write for contest...many times take part just for the sake of participating as i get to blabber thru my writing. contests have given me lots of traffic/readers too....thats a prize for me. many people discovered my blog only via contests...
I respect all those sentiments about contests spurring creativity and all that. I would seriously resent anyone even appearing to hint that my own reason for putting up this thread is because I so badly needed those goodies. Let me be very clear here. If you run a contest that offers no goodies whatsoever I shall not be skipping it on that count. BUT if you offer me as much as a pencil and fail to deliver it I shall be seriously angry. It is the attitude of cheating and taking people lightly that I hate NOT the fact that I had not received the goodies.
You are a commodity as you are promoting them in exchange for a chance to win something. How do you promote the content and educate/inform/mislead the readers is in your control.
@Sorc: Time on a TV channel is a commodity much like space on a blog is. There is a difference between treating the TV channel or the blogger with disrespect and buying that time or space.
Blog =/= TV. TV channel is a one-way communicating media. Blog is a 2 way communicating media, unless one decides to be a jackass or for some other reason. There are many bloggers. If a company disassociates with one blogger, they can find 100s of more. Sorry to say, but in their opinion, and in a crude language- we're like tissue papers.
@Sorc: Naba says she hates being treated like a commodity and you say that she is one. I say that the commodity is space on the blog and not the blogger and you say they will treat you like tissue paper so what are you going to do about it.
Not all of us are blessed with the sort of wide-ranging knowledge and acuity of intelligence that you possess nor of that high moral attitude to not attempting contests. Rachna has acquired an MBA and worked in marketing without acquiring a scintilla of idea about promotional products and I have acquired an MBA and worked in middle management without being able to recognise the difference between the power of a TV channel and an individual blogger. Does not mean that we find it pleasant to be insulted even by a person of your outstanding abilities.
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