Rated X wrote:I admit it is nice of Peaugh to come here and clear a few things up. I don’t feel it’s just a coincidence he shows up here. I’m fairly confident he was “alerted” about this thread. I think he should have said something on the spot to address the broken axe. I’m sure if something breaks on camera again, he has learned it’s better off to just disclose it live on the spot.
But if he pays for his figures from TFSource, why bother putting their name in his videos ? What’s in it for him ? Aint nothing for free, including promotion. Ryan gets paid to promote “sponsors” on this site. How is Peaugh compensated ?
Peaugh….if you do come back here let us know. I know ive been pretty hard on the reviewer community. But a little disclosure could help myself and others see things a bit differently. What you guys do and why you do it doesnt have to be the “Area 51” of the Transformers world.
I get a modest discount when I order from them. It's not nearly as lucrative as people make it out to be. I get to save a few bucks and I take a couple extra seconds to add an extra photo into my intro. It's as simple as that. I can't speak for any arrangements other reviewers have. I've turned down offers for more money to drop TFsource, but I'm not really one to back out of a deal I've entered into just because someone dangles more money in my face. And I LIKE the people at TFsource. They're nice people and some of them I consider friends. With CStoys, which I'll put a bump up for in my Sentai/Rider reviews, I don't get any special treatment or compensation for it, I just really like their store and I don't mind pointing out where I bought the stuff. Sometimes Toy Dojo will let me borrow a test shot or something to review, and popping their logo into the beginning seems like a nice way to say thanks.
As for the Area 51 aspect, it's only like that because people keep trying to make it one. I collect Transformers and make videos because I enjoy doing it. That's really all there is to it. The sponsorships came after, and there didn't seem to be any real reason to turn them down. Some people run it like a career/business, and that's entirely their choice as well. It's different for everyone because you have the freedom to do it however you want, really. It's never been about keeping it all super secret, but when you have a lot of videos up, it's hard to stay on top of every single comment or question. I do my best to stay on top of a video's thread for the first few days, but I just don't have the time to police every video for new questions. I do try to answer the ones I see. And a lot of the time I'll see a question that I've already answered, sometimes more than once, and I won't immediately jump right in and answer it again. It's hard to find a good balance between constantly repeating myself and expecting others to find the info on their own without either getting frustrated or coming off as rude to the viewer.
Regarding the "selling toys" aspect of it, I've never been pressured to push a toy by a sponsor or a company, most of them just want their stuff given a fair shake and some exposure. I admit I'm a little easier to please than some, because a lot of my fascination with TFs is more in the *how* they work than any attachment to a particular character. There are obviously exceptions, some figures I get really excited about and some I don't care for. I always try to use the videos to show off how they work, what they can do, etc. If there's a bit of engineering I find to be really cool, I try to showcase that. Likewise if there's any tricky bits that require a certain technique to pull off correctly. I like to give people a good detailed look at exactly what they're getting with a figure and let them make up their own mind as to whether it's something they would like/want. I tend to avoid statements like "must buy" or "total pass" because a figure I love could be full of a whole bunch of dislike for someone else, and vice versa. If something's clunky during the transformation process, I try to point it out and how it could possibly be improved upon, and if something is really well done I like to point that out as well.
I really like my relationship with MMC, because they encourage me to be as hard on the figures as possible, so they can take those videos to the factory and specifically point out "this is what we need to improve." When they let me borrow the Feral Rex test shots I did a whole shoot for them pointing out the stuff that needed some work (which is part of the reason some of them had some delays. Sorry guys!). I think overall though that led to some much better figures, although a few of the suggestions couldn't be implemented for various reasons.
Short version: I do it because it's fun, and I've been lucky enough to have a few doors opened and opportunities offered because of it. It's never been about shilling toys. I've turned away several review samples because they were offered with a "give this a positive review" caveat. (or in a few cases been blacklisted because I didn't give a good review on something). I don't intentionally try to hide any of the details of it, I just don't spend a lot of time trying to track down conversations like this to try and set the record straight. Regarding Cubrar, I think I did my best to explain that earlier in the thread, but like I said, it wasn't done out of an effort or directive to "make FP look good." I just tend to shoot straight through and get the videos finished. If I tried to minimize it in the video itself, it's because I'm human and not immune to feeling super embarrassed when something like that happens. But I did my best to address it as directly and completely as possible in the comments without having to completely re-edit a new video.
) Usually on the few times stuff HAS broken it's been a piece I've already been wary of, this one just caught me off guard.
