An ethics question, of sorts.

Contributor: JessManifesto JessManifesto
Hi all,

As many of you, I am a reviewer for more than one company. For those of you who aren't reviewers for other companies, I'll briefly explain. The other companies I work with require the reviews to be added (with links, banners, etc.) to my blog, whereas here at Eden, you either do an On site review or an Off site on your blog.

So, I am wondering if it would be terribly unethical to post reviews on site here at Eden, despite having received the toy from another company (Keeping in mind that the review they requested is posted AND Eden doesn't require to you buy an item here to review it) ?

I tried to browse the forums and FAQs for an answer, but I didn't see anything. Thanks in advance!
05/01/2010
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Contributor: Holly (Woman Tribune) Holly (Woman Tribune)
Quote:
Originally posted by JessManifesto
Hi all,

As many of you, I am a reviewer for more than one company. For those of you who aren't reviewers for other companies, I'll briefly explain. The other companies I work with require the reviews to be added (with links, banners, ... more
I also do reviews for other companies besides Eden Fantasys and I do write reviews that are published on Eden Fantasys on products that I received from other companies. I asked Jenn, the off-site review chick, about posting reviews on Eden Fantasys of products that I received from other companies or that I bought from other companies and she said that it was fine. I do, however, change up my reviews. If I publish a review of a product for a company on my blog and review the same item for Eden Fantasys, it is not verbatim, although some parts may be similar because you can only say "this toy is made of plastic" in so many ways, and most of the time my reviews for Eden Fantasys wind up coming out much better than my originals, although I'm not sure why.

The way I see it, you are an active part of the Eden Fantasys community and you have knowledge and insight into a product and have something to add to the conversation, so why not? I ultimately decided to ask about reviewing products on Eden Fantasys that I received from other companies because I am so, incredibly in love with the community here and everyone has so much to add to a conversation and it's a general happy and awesome time and when there are people with that passion in a community, I think they should use any and all tools they have and should be encouraged to do so.
05/01/2010
Contributor: Sir Sir
If you received it from another company to REVIEW IT for another company, then no, you CANNOT post it here at Edenfantasys. Now, if you bought it elsewhere, I would not say that it's ETHICAL, but it IS allowed, so long as you do not mention any other companies' names inside of your review.

I hope that that makes sense!
05/01/2010
Contributor: Gardenvy Gardenvy
Quote:
Originally posted by JessManifesto
Hi all,

As many of you, I am a reviewer for more than one company. For those of you who aren't reviewers for other companies, I'll briefly explain. The other companies I work with require the reviews to be added (with links, banners, ... more
I was just wondering this same question.. Thank you for asking in the forum!
I'm very curious to see what everyone says. I'm heading over to the Q and A pages to refresh my memory. Right now. You may want to ask eden and submit a support ticket.
05/01/2010
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Like Sir said, if you review a toy for another company on your blog or on any other site, you can't post a review for the same toy here (and if you write two different reviews for the same toy, to me that seems unethical because that makes me wonder what your real opinion is).

I don't think there's anything wrong with reviewing a toy on EdenFantasys that you didn't get from EF, if you haven't reviewed it elsewhere. Say you buy a toy at another store, get a gift from a friend, win a toy in a blog giveaway, swap somebody for another toy/book/etc., as long as you haven't already reviewed it, I don't see how it could be a problem to put a review on EF. EF still benefits from your time/effort/opinions that you post here even if the toy didn't come from EF originally.
05/01/2010
Contributor: TitsMcScandal TitsMcScandal
Most companies will have an issue with it. I know a few of the companies I review for explicitly state that if you receive a product to review you CANNOT review it for any other company. So I'd be careful who you are doing this with because it can get you banned from reviewing from companies. Just sayin'.

If you bought it someplace else, who cares? I don't think it is unethical. You could have gotten as a gift/swap/giveaway, whatever. It doesn't matter where you got it from.

Now, if you bought yourself a product and wanted to review it and link to a couple different websites that you review for, I don't see the issue with that, because you didn't receive it to review.

But like I said in my first paragraph, many companies will take issue if they are giving you a product and you are reviewing it on another site. Because that can get the other site more sales.
05/01/2010
Contributor: JessManifesto JessManifesto
Yep, these were responses I was expecting. It didn't seem quite ethical, but I figured I would get a general consensus first before I dismissed the idea.

Thanks guys
05/02/2010
Contributor: JustYourAverageGuy JustYourAverageGuy
As some have said already, if another company PROVIDES it, then the review should be exclusive to them. However, if you purchased a toy or received one as a gift that you purchased from another store, it was purchased with your money so the review can be posted wherever you desire.

Some companies might have an issue as your review is somewhat intellectual property they bought by providing a toy free of charge....
05/02/2010
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by Sir
If you received it from another company to REVIEW IT for another company, then no, you CANNOT post it here at Edenfantasys. Now, if you bought it elsewhere, I would not say that it's ETHICAL, but it IS allowed, so long as you do not mention any ... more
I totally disagree. If you receive a toy in exchange for a review on your blog or on their site and you submit your review, the commitment is honoured. You can do what the hell else you want with the toy then, including using it for another review. With that said, EF policy states that you cannot use the same review content here and on your blog so you would have to write another review.

Personally, I do not review toys both here and on my blog but there is a site I review for which only expect a review on their site so I will sometimes review the same toy onsite on EF.

And if you buy the toy? It's even moreso yours to do with whatever you want. After all, many toy sites don't even have a review platform.
05/02/2010
Contributor: ScottA ScottA
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
Like Sir said, if you review a toy for another company on your blog or on any other site, you can't post a review for the same toy here (and if you write two different reviews for the same toy, to me that seems unethical because that makes me ... more
You can do two different reviews that come to the same conclusion. Think about fairytales. How many different versions of Cinderella/Jack and the Beanstalk have you seen? The ending is the same (usually), but they're different stories with different words.

That said, you should first do a very good review for the other company and put it up. The you can use the toy a bit longer and let it "sink in" a bit more, then do a rewritten review from scratch for EF or your blog or whatever.

I've done a few on my blog that are revisits of products I've reviewed on EF. Usually my conclusions are the same, but I start off again from my notes (which may be edited to reflect new experiences) so that they are "new" reviews. I let EF have "exclusivity" for a few months to a year.

If there are explicit agreements you've entered into they should be honored, including no more reviews on the toy.
05/02/2010
Contributor: J's Alley J's Alley
Quote:
Originally posted by JessManifesto
Hi all,

As many of you, I am a reviewer for more than one company. For those of you who aren't reviewers for other companies, I'll briefly explain. The other companies I work with require the reviews to be added (with links, banners, ... more
It is VERY unethical to do so. It also violates most companies conditions for you to review. You can potentially be removed from reviewers lists for doing this. Again, HIGHLY unethical.
05/02/2010
Contributor: Gary Gary
Ok folks... ethics aside, here are a few facts!

- You may not use any text in more than one place. We commonly call this 'duplicate text'. For example, if you do an offsite review, the portion on EF has a pros, cons, & and a summary. You cannot use the same text on EF & on your blog where the review is hosted.

- You may do a Not Assigned review on any item that you have used. We do not require an explanation or proof of where and how this product was obtained.

- So technically, if you use one product, and write two reviews for this product that are really different, not just changing a word here and there, you are not violating any policy.

As for ethics:

- If you get a product from one company and use it to review for another company, this may be a violation of the company who gave you the item. Because they are paying for your review with the product, reviewing the item for a competitor will probably be frowned upon by that company and could have a negative affect on your relationship with that company.

- This could also be viewed as a shortcut and unfair to other reviewers who do not do this, and this could have a negative affect on your relationships with these people as well.
05/04/2010
Contributor: Luscious Lily Luscious Lily
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
Ok folks... ethics aside, here are a few facts!- You may not use any text in more than one place. We commonly call this 'duplicate text'. For example, if you do an offsite review, the portion on EF has a pros, cons, & and a summary. You ... more
What should be done if you review an item for one company, then another company offers to send you the same item for review? (most likely to be tempting if the item is something that gets used up, like lube) Where does that sit on the ethics line? Both companies would be paying for the review, but they would have no way of knowing that the other company had paid for it, instead of the reviewer just re-writing the review.
05/04/2010
Contributor: Gary Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by Luscious Lily
What should be done if you review an item for one company, then another company offers to send you the same item for review? (most likely to be tempting if the item is something that gets used up, like lube) Where does that sit on the ethics line? ... more
There is some gray area here. I would say don't do anything to violate either companies policies and be fair.
05/04/2010
Contributor: Juliettia Juliettia
Quote:
Originally posted by Adriana Ravenlust
I totally disagree. If you receive a toy in exchange for a review on your blog or on their site and you submit your review, the commitment is honoured. You can do what the hell else you want with the toy then, including using it for another review. ... more
This. As long as you're not violating the TOS that you agreed upon for that company (if they explicitly state that they'd like the toy to remain exclusive to their site for review) I see no problem. Even then it's a little hard to prove, which goes into morals, ethics, and what not.

I don't think it's unethical as long as you're taking the time to rewrite your review for the product in a different standard (no duplicate text). For some of the companies I review for I will do around 300-500 words on my experience and minimal specs of the toy. If I chose to do a review for EF I would expand upon my initial review and go into a lot more detail. Same opinion, just in a different way.
05/04/2010
Contributor: Carrie Ann Carrie Ann
Most companies frown on it. It may not be in their "rules" but they frown on it anyhow.

I've avoided doing it simply because it seems back handed.
05/05/2010
Contributor: JessManifesto JessManifesto
What about a situation where you do a review, then purchase the same toy as a gift for someone else from a different company? In your opinion, is it unethical to write a review (not copy and pasted, a brand new review)even though you've already reviewed the item for another company?

I don't want to fall into any grey area, because I don't even want mixed opinions of my actions...so, first gut reaction - is it wrong?
05/10/2010
Contributor: ~LaUr3n~ ~LaUr3n~
Quote:
Originally posted by Sir
If you received it from another company to REVIEW IT for another company, then no, you CANNOT post it here at Edenfantasys. Now, if you bought it elsewhere, I would not say that it's ETHICAL, but it IS allowed, so long as you do not mention any ... more
I think I agree. I have received toys from manufacturers specifically asking me to review on eden, but that is different. It wouldn't be right for me to review the same item for a different site (especially not copying and pasting the same review-big no no). Same with if eden gave me a product and wrote another review for a competitor.
I have never reviewed on another site. The only thing I plan to do it put reviews for items not on eden on a lifelong friends site, Life on the Swingset. But his site isn't a company and the items are not received from eden.
I have reviewed items on eden that I bought in actual stores. I believe many people do this and I don't see anything wrong with it.
05/10/2010
Contributor: Backseat Boohoo Backseat Boohoo
Quote:
Originally posted by ScottA
You can do two different reviews that come to the same conclusion. Think about fairytales. How many different versions of Cinderella/Jack and the Beanstalk have you seen? The ending is the same (usually), but they're different stories with ... more
I agree with this entirely. I've done it several times. I don't copy and paste the reviews, but on a few occasions I've written two different reviews on the same two for different sites. Say, one that was humorous and one that was more straight-forward and 'dry.' I don't see anything unethical about it; I'm not ripping anybody off, I'm just expanding the community, and my opinion remains the same. I never did it to make myself "look better" or to improve my rank, because those were not important to me and they STILL aren't. I did this a lot when EF didn't have offsite reviews because I wanted that information on my blog, but couldn't duplicate it. I don't do it anymore, though, because I just don't have the time.
05/10/2010