Around The Watercooler-Selling Swag

No, no, no, not that kinda swag.

I’m talking about free stuff from companies. I was Perusing the Beauty Blogger Group, and someone posted a link from Independent Fashion Bloggers about one particular writer’s feelings about items given to bloggers for free and them going back and selling them later. She basically rounded her feelings off to, it being a grey area. With some contributors to the article stating that if they are given custom made items then it would be wrong to sell. However, if it is something they have worn more than once, or have had in their possession for x amount of time, then yeah, sure sell it!

I, in my usual form, am on the fence.

So one part of the argument that I read was on the lines of ‘Well, if I got my phone bill to pay and I have all this stuff here, I am going to sell it to make money’…no honey you need a job.

The biggest misconception, especially in beauty blogging is that we make money. No we don’t. So if you are entering this today, with the expectation of making money tomorrow, go on and quit. With that out of the way, why would you obligate yourself to something that makes you no money? You know this now! I told you so! Why go on? Because this is a hobby maybe? Yeah? No? Let’s move on.

Sidenote- I can not tell you how disgusted I get when I browse around reading blogs and see that big tab that says Blog Sale and right next to it… PR Friendly….uhm no. Stop that.  You are basically welcoming a company in to have a relationship with you, to give you exclusive information on up and coming products, give you a sample or two to share your thoughts about to your readers, and then when you are done… POOF! Said item gets dragged over to the blog sale tab. I speak for no one else when I say, when I see it, I avoid your sites like the plague. And before the hit dogs holler, if you sell your personal items that you bought, I am not talking about you.

Now, where was I? Oh! Now I read yall’s blogs…so as a reader, I don’t care if you sell your stuff, as long as I don’t see it. Once I do, I get ‘in my feelings’ because you have no discretion, and you have this arrogance about you like ‘I am known, and I will still sell this stuff and companies will still continue to take care of me’. So yeah keep your sales private, personal, and in well closed quarters. Every reader is not ok with you doing it in the open. I am one of those.

As a blogger, I do not care to sell my things. Do not get me wrong, when I first got started I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I was accumulating and did not know what to do with it. But one of my blog buddies Krissy showed me how to make the most of my products. She let me know that I could get more than a few good posts out of ….say…a bottle of nail polish.. or a blush. So I keep everything and use it as many times as possible and then I put it in a stack to either give it away in a contest, or just give it away! I am trying to create relationships with companies and my readers, I am not trying to break that up because I can’t pay my bills and entered into blogging knowing that this would not be the way.

So that’s my two cents on the whole deal. If you must do it, because we all fall on hard times, do not make it so obvious and arrogantly post it for all to see. You guys would be surprised at some of the bloggers I have seen sell things that were given to them. What you are essentially doing is making companies have a bad perception of bloggers like me, and they have yet to work with me. All because of your poor ethics.

This is my questions to my readers and fellow bloggers- How do you feel about bloggers selling products given to them for free? Comment and Share!

PR Sample Alert! This product was given to me by a public relations company in consideration for review. This in no way affects my thoughts and viewpoints of the product. To understand my review policy take a look here. If you are interested in having a product reviewed, contact me!