Too Much of a Good Thing ??

[Marci]

The last few days have given me pause to reflect on giveaways I have been hosting on my blog. I had one person post a comment asking why was it that they had never won a giveaway, and ask my guidelines about picking winners.

I did some research - their blogger profile, the email address they were using and found that this person was ousted on another blog for using different email addresses for the same giveaways sometimes on the same blog, and sometimes on different blogs.

I was really shocked to find that even with a google search their multiple email addresses came up on over 100 postings for free books - one email address had 140, and so on.

Will this in the future discourage the publicists, and publishers in general from hosting future giveaways on blogs? Should there be strict guidelines from the onset of a blog giveaway?

Just curious on what your thoughts were and should we have a section on this site to be able to post these particular people so that they aren't able to do this ??

[Cinnamon]

I personally would love a section of multiple email address users. It goes against the spirit of the giveaways.

[Lexie]

I think a section to list them would be a really good idea--though I suppose once all their e-mail addresses are 'known' they'll create another one. I always wondered about that for giveaways b/c the ones that link to the blog profile are one thing, but the ones who are Anon and just leave their e-mails...how do you know they aren't all from the same person? It would be tedious to look up every single IP address after all.

My sister and I ran into this problem for a giveaway carnival post a few months back--my gmail account is just for me, but we share my AOL mail account for giveaways and such. One of the giveaways I signed up (with my gmail account) for she had already listed us on (with the AOL account), but I didn't know (there was over 200 comments--I don't have to time to go through them all every time I entered a giveaway) so the giveaway host had banned both e-mails and sent me a rather scathing e-mail about trying to 'cheat' the system.

[Isalys Blackwell]

Hi Marci,
Thanks for posting this question - I think you bring up a very good point.
Although there aren't any formal guidelines to ban someone from doing what that person did, it's certainly doesn't make it right or acceptable. That person was, in my opinion, behaving unethically!

I honestly don't know what publishers will think about this. It's flattering that someone would want their books so badly as to enter 100 times into a giveaway I suppose, but it's also abusive and makes it an uneven playing field for others...like "cinnamon" said, it goes against the spirit of the giveaways.

I think incorporating a section for for multiple email address users is a good idea! If people are going to insist on using more than one email to enter giveaways, we may as well all know about it (lol).

[Cinnamon]

Heh - "Cinnamon" - I'm in quotes! That is actually my real name. :)

[Marci]

Oh I know!!

Their question was - Why is it I enter the giveaways on your blog and haven't won anything. What is it you use or do when picking winners?

I replied very professionally, and told her that i use a few different things, AND I moderate the comments, if I dont approve your comment then you aren't entered.

As of today, she has been stalking my blog, staying for hours on end, just watching what is happening, even after I have emailed her and asked her very nicely to go away.

I do no think it is fair for anyone - multiple email addresses for the same contest, and for all of them that are listed. I have no idea what she does with them whether it is to give them away herself, or sell on ebay, it just isnt right. It will make it harder for the rest of us that ARE honest and are trying to do good things about the books we talk about and try to promote on behalf of the publisher/publicist.

I came across this last night and it made me think of how many other email addresses she really has BEWARE - Readers Who Cheat To Get Free Books

I then googled her email address the one she provided me with and it came back with over 100 hits of places she had entered similar giveaways.

I honestly feel like Im being stalked through my blog LOL they spend so much time there....

[Breezie]

People like that make it hard for the ones that actually follow the rules .