Mojo bass trigon???

[MontclairDave]

3 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

I understand your concern so maybe I can help ease your concern a bit. 
 

About 6-7 years ago before I was a moderator I was approached by Glenn and was asked if I wanted to review some products (Berkley and Abu Garcia). They were doing an add campaign and wanted some reviews. The very first thing Glenn said to me, “be honest about your review.” He went on to say not to feel obligated to give a good review just because they were a sponsor. I received lures, a reel, and line. I loved the lures and reel. I did say the line was stiff and didn’t care for it at the time but was going to give it more time to see if it would soften up after some use. Another member (a well respected member) received the same package I did with the same instructions. This members review about the line wasn’t good (too stiff) and they said as soon as they got home it was coming off! Glenn wanted an honest review and he got it, which he was perfectly fine with.
 

I became a moderator and I’ve received more stuff with the exact same instructions, “be honest with your review.” Sometimes these companies give their product to us early in the process ask us to be the Guinea pigs and aren’t looking for reviews at the time so not all the kinks have been worked out and they listen to us and make the changes or they’re made aware of issues shortly after we received them and are already working to fix them. I haven’t experienced this yet in my short time as a moderator. Most times the kinks have been worked out by the time we receive the product so naturally there aren’t any issues with the exception of the rare one off occasionally happens. 
 

You mentioned the Seviin reels so you probably have seen their response to some of the questions members have had. They reached out to Glenn so you know they are watching these threads and looking at positive and negative feedback from us and the members which I think is a great thing. 
 

If we were to give biased reviews of a bad product and anglers try the product word would spread quickly the product isn’t that good, it would blow up in our faces and all trust would be lost. So it doesn’t make much sense to be biased just because it’s a paying customer. 
 

Hopefully this clears things up for you.

It certainly does, thanks! Glad to hear you all take that unbiased approach. I will take that into consideration when I read product reviews on this site.

3 hours ago, Glenn said:

@MontclairDave I understand your POV.  You're not alone.  A lot of folks are wary of somebody speaking about sponsored products. It's driven by all the "influencers" on social media and Youtube who will shill anything if the price is right.

 

I don't work that way.

 

For decades, I have always told advertisers that the moderators and I will always be truthful about their products, which includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.  AND we will talk about their products based upon our own experiences using our own voices, which may not be "on brand".   

 

Most sponsors welcome that approach, but I have turned away a few that wouldn't. 

 

I've also turned down potential sponsors that wanted exclusivity (they'd pay a little extra if I wouldn't let their competitors also advertise here).  I won't let an advertiser dictate who I can do business with.

 

Along the same lines, I've had a couple of sponsors long ago ask me to remove negative posts about their company/products.  I don't do business with them anymore.  Now I'm clear will all new partners that they do not have the right to ask me to change how I manage the site.  While I'm always happy for feedback, I won't make changes unless it benefits you guys first.

 

I also will not accept sponsorship from a company that I don't feel comfortable recommending to you guys, for whatever reason.  Often I will ask for sample products to try on my own first before accepting a sponsorship, and sometimes their products just don't pass my standards. I have turned away many potential sponsors for this reason.  

 

I have also been transparent here on the forums through the years about all this.  In addition, I've always told the moderators to be truthful about their experiences, even if they encountered something bad.  Their integrity cannot be sold.

 

And to be completely transparent, yes, sometimes I will arrange meetings with the sponsors and moderators to learn about the products, especially if they are new products to the market.  This enables the moderators to do a better job of "kicking the tires" to test the marketing claims, and to help them answer your questions.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

It does, Glenn. Thanks for taking the time to share your approach to these situations.