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MacRumors Giveaways... Why are they only open to U.S. residents?

I’m not a US resident, but I bought most things I own in the US. I have a freight-forward service in FL which I’ve been using for 10 years or more. Not being a US resident has never been an issue. International credit card used to be a problem sometimes but not anymore.

I’ve won contests in YouTube and other sites (3 or 4 times), and my FL shipping address was never an issue.

As long as the prize package is less than 4.4 pounds and 2000 US$, we don’t pay import taxes in Colombia.
 
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godofredog said:
I’m not a US resident, but I bought most things I own in the US. I have a freight-forward service in FL which I’ve been using for 10 years or more. Not being a US resident has never been an issue. International credit card used to be a problem sometimes but not anymore.

I’ve won contests in YouTube and other sites (3 or 4 times), and my FL shipping address was never an issue.

As long as the prize package is less than 4.4 pounds and 2000 US$, we don’t pay import taxes in Colombia.
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The same applies to me! There's no complexity on that... Why MacRumors?? Why??
 
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arn said:
Does any other comparable site run international giveaways? It's just too complicated legally for us to run them in multiple countries.
arn
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I'm with Arn here. I live in Germany. If you sent an electronic device to Germany (other than a private gift), you’d not only be responsible for customs fees and procedures, you also have to provide electrical conformity paperwork (like FFC clearance) that can only be obtained in a lengthy process (and, therefore, is usually only done by the manufacturer or the distributor of the brand). I, on the other hand, would need to pay import-VAT which is 19% of the RRP.
 
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This is getting pathetic, forum giveaways being only for canada and US residents and always using the excuse of 'complexities..'

If you run a site that is open to all international countries then you should at least make some giveaways to other countries, not just USA and Canada. If you keep using the excuse that it is not feasible to accommodate for other countries then you should make Macrumors only accessible to US and Canadian users only.
 
Kapangas said:
Everybody does international giveaways and you don’t because of “complexities of international laws regarding giveaways”? Come on...
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Everybody? Does everybody also actually follow regulations too?
 
Weaselboy said:
https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/why-are-so-many-competitions-void-in-quebec-896835

It looks like Quebec has a lot of restrictions that would make it tough to do.
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Even most Canadian contests aren't available in Quebec, due to regulations by Quebecs Lotto/Liquor/Gaming authority
[doublepost=1526628168][/doublepost]...there are things like taxes, etc that make things tough...
like here in Canada, we don't pay taxes on things like lottery winnings, & prizes, like in America, for one thing...
 
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I read part of the thread. It goes back a long way. Having done some international purchasing I can say the laws are very complicated.

The thought occurs to me to open the contests to anyone anywhere. But if you are out of the US then the winner has to open an account with a parcel forwarder in the US. Then Macrumors sends the prize to the forwarder. Let the winner and the forwarder deal with the customs laws. I have a feeling a lot of the prizes won by people outside the US would not claim their prizes.
 
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Cobalt50 said:
I read part of the thread. It goes back a long way. Having done some international purchasing I can say the laws are very complicated.

The thought occurs to me to open the contests to anyone anywhere. But if you are out of the US then the winner has to open an account with a parcel forwarder in the US. Then Macrumors sends the prize to the forwarder. Let the winner and the forwarder deal with the customs laws. I have a feeling a lot of the prizes won by people outside the US would not claim their prizes.
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& say you win something in another country, & you have to sign legal documents, releases, tax forms, etc... & send them back & forth around the world, which sponsors won't bother with... plus, sponsors will want to advertise & promote the winners & their other contests, which is hard if you live in another country...
 
Kapangas said:
Everybody does international giveaways
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Which "everybody" would that be?
  • Maybe some "everybodies" have their heads in the sand and are irresponsibly risking legal trouble?
  • Maybe some "everybodies" only accept 'prizes' that have, or don't need, regulatory approval from all the major international destinations?
  • Maybe some "everybodies" have a dismal record of actually getting prizes to non-US winners, or don't mind complaints from 'winners' who get a massive customs/tax bill along with a prize that they can't use on 220V without replacing the power supply?
  • Maybe some "everybodies" are operated by large international companies who have a lawyer in every port and/or already have the infrastructure for shipping goods around the world?
  • Maybe some "everybodies" make more money out of contests/giveaways (e.g. driving customers to their e-commerce site, charging advertising fees to the company supplying the prizes) so they can justify the extra admin/legal costs?

Maybe - if MacRumors quadrupled the number of ads, started charging subscription fees, sold everybody's details to EvilBigData corp or solicited a nice fat backhander from Apple in return for censorship - they could employ an international law specialist and offer international giveaways? Anybody up for that?
 
AcesHigh87 said:
When did giveaways start being available for Canadians? I stopped looking at them ages ago because of the US restriction haha.
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Quebec is excluded. They have some of the most crazy regulations anywhere:

For example, in order for sweepstakes with prizes worth more than a certain value to be open to residents of Quebec, the companies sponsoring the sweepstakes must take some or all of the following steps:
  • Register the sweepstakes rules and all advertisements used to promote the contest with the Quebec government at least 30 days ahead of the sweepstakes' launch.
  • Publish the full text of the sweepstakes' rules at least 10 days before the giveaway begins.
  • Pay a fee of up to 10% of the sweepstakes' value, depending on who is allowed to enter.
  • Agree to allow the government of Quebec to mediate any lawsuits arising from the contest.
  • Follow strict guidelines about the contents of the sweepstakes rules.
  • Allow the government of Quebec the right to approve any changes to the giveaway that need to be made once it has started, and to approve canceling the giveaway if it becomes necessary to do so.
  • File a written report after the contest has concluded, attesting that the prizes have been delivered or attempted to be delivered.
  • Agree to let the Regie des alcools, des courses et des jeux mediate any disagreements with the public.
  • File security in the amount of the prize value, to ensure that the prizes are actually awarded.
  • Follow a number of other rules and guidelines listed under Quebec's Sweepstakes Laws.
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max2 said:
I agree there a big world out there it should be for everyone all around the world! Anyway I entered!
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See above. Convince all the governments to get rid of their stupid rules, and contests won't be restricted. Get cracking!
 
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FloatingBones said:
See above. Convince all the governments to get rid of their stupid rules, and contests won't be restricted. Get cracking!
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Won't happen. Easier to complain and expect MacRumors to jump through multiple hoops and minefields.

PS-Finally won a giveaway here*, so maybe I'm biased :D

* won giveaways all over and it's the same B & M about restrictions/formats/requirements, even when they're international
 
AcesHigh87 said:
Quebec is excluded from almost all online contests, that doesn’t stop things from being available to Canadians outside of Quebec like they started doing here. For awhile though it was simply US only.
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Operating contests in Canada typically includes the preparation of “short rules” (for point-of-purchase materials), “long rules” (or “official rules” as they are sometimes referred to), winner releases, a skill-testing question and a review creative materials for misleading advertising compliance.

So Canadian winners may need to do an additional task and MacRumors and/or the prize provider have to make sure to not break Canadian law because "improper operation of a promotional contest can lead to civil or criminal liability." I'd run US-only giveaways and not worry about the headache.
 
MacRumors said:



Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
​
Article Link: MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Cord-Cutting Bundle With Lifetime Plex Pass, TV Tuner and Antenna From Plex
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Stop spreading ******** and start to handle international laws. Or maybe introduce geoblockade for people not living in your precious USA if you don't like foreigners. This is so dull when greatest rumours side cannot hire single lawyer,,,,,
 
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Bin Cook said:
What complexity stops you sending a pair of these to someone in the UK?
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Well, for starters they only work on the left side of the road and all their measurements are in inches.

Oh, you mean the contest? Different countries have differing laws for conducting contests, and the company handling the contest it seems is choosing to limit the countries involved rather than having to jump through additional hoops (keeping in mind that if they expanded to the UK, then people in all sorts of other places would demand similar treatment).
 
Shame other countries are excluded

Laws everywhere seem to treat regular people like some sort of terrorist thread, cannot send this, receive that.

Recently EU is just a pain in the ar*e.
Have sent my used iPad mini 2 to my brother and he needed to pay around $50 dollars in taxes and do a paperwork for it, declarations, bloody nightmare.

That said, I would just buy and send from location, near to winners place, Buy it by sponsor’s money :)
 
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Beyo said:
Another giveaway for US only. Seriously, maybe you should geo-block your site?
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Why get so upset over something that is free?



Anyhoo, the admins clearly don't want to deal with the overhead of legally running a giveaway for dozens of countries. Sure other similar-sized sites do it, but I can guaren-freakin-tee they are doing it illegally.

The bureaucratic overhead of figuring out the nuances between the various jurisdictions would be a nightmare, and would cost more money in legal fees than it would be worth.

It is the exact reason why I avoided knowingly working with anyone out of the US during my freelance days. For liability purposes, I didn't want to deal with jurisdictional overhead. Some freelancers work with people all over the globe, but they likely aren't doing it legally. There's a million things to go through just to legally accept payment from a UK entity when you are a business based in the US.

Giveaways are no different, and in all likelyhood the rules are even more complex than basic business law. Giveaways have to follow stupidly complex rules even across US state lines...
 
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