Hey maybe MacRumors should do an international give away at some point. Or maybe that's too wild an idea. 
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MacRumors Giveaways... Why are they only open to U.S. residents?
- Thread starter Fabian90
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https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-are-they-only-open-to-u-s-residents.1918337/Hey maybe MacRumors should do an international give away at some point. Or maybe that's too wild an idea.
Not a good enough excuse. All I can see is that they're avoiding import charges. Hell they don't even have to have the items in the US, just order them within the destination country = no import duties and much cheaper postage.
Our giveaway guidelines have nothing to do with import charges. There are specific contest laws that vary from country to country and it is difficult to navigate through the legal mess and comply with the myriad laws. That said, we definitely want to expand giveaways to additional countries and we are actively looking at solutions.
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I don't believe you, though. If you're truly 'actively' looking for solutions, show us how many options you have found so far, otherwise your words mean nothing.
I've seen plenty of people do international giveaways. Are you saying that those people open themselves up to legal action? Do you consider those people to be unprofessional compared to MacRumors?
Fair point, well made.
Literally today I have seen an international giveaway on a website with an associated YouTube channel amassing almost 2m subscribers. They were using a system similar to Macrumor's Rafflecopter (you basically give name, email and then you can do things for more entries) that had about 5 lines of legal rules and that was it.
I don't know what YouTube channel you're talking about it, so I haven't looked at exactly what they're doing, but if it's open worldwide, they're definitely not complying with laws in many countries. That's their decision, but it's not something we're willing to risk.
I raised the possibility of partnering with Stack and got almost zero feedback on whether needing to sign up with them would be a deal breaker for people.
We're also talking to our lawyers, and they've told us the same thing we discovered in our own research...ensuring compliance with laws around the world would be hugely expensive, and even then there would still be people left out. We're looking at what we can do to open it up to more countries, but anything we're able to do will take time and probably be limited in scope at least to start.
I know it's been a long time, and I still can't promise anything, so all I can do is reiterate that this is definitely something that concerns us and that we are indeed working on it. We'll update you when we have more to share.
Too much crying about something you probably wouldn't win anyway
Can't expect a site like macrumors to have the resources to research and comply with all the varying laws around the world. Its hard enough to keep track of the laws across the different states in the US. It seems Canada has regional differences as well. I imagine many countries do.
Can't expect a site like macrumors to have the resources to research and comply with all the varying laws around the world. Its hard enough to keep track of the laws across the different states in the US. It seems Canada has regional differences as well. I imagine many countries do.
Hey maybe MacRumors should do an international give away at some point. Or maybe that's too wild an idea.
It's too wild for them. Just give up.
I always enjoy reading the comments on giveaway posts. There's always those two people.
To OP:
Internet HAS border. Look at those d**n geofences. Look at those region restrictions. Look at limitation on switching countries when using iTunes Store. Look at how China locks down Internet for censorship.
Internet is just a tool anyway. Guys using it defines how it would be. Maybe because of the anonymity, Internet border is not that significant somewhat when comparing to geographic border.
Internet HAS border. Look at those d**n geofences. Look at those region restrictions. Look at limitation on switching countries when using iTunes Store. Look at how China locks down Internet for censorship.
Internet is just a tool anyway. Guys using it defines how it would be. Maybe because of the anonymity, Internet border is not that significant somewhat when comparing to geographic border.
Too much crying about something you probably wouldn't win anyway
Can't expect a site like macrumors to have the resources to research and comply with all the varying laws around the world. Its hard enough to keep track of the laws across the different states in the US. It seems Canada has regional differences as well. I imagine many countries do.
True, but Canada's differences are quite simple: Province of Quebec has their own specific rules that remove them from eligibility of pretty much all contests. Rest of provinces in Canada have the same rules. That's why any contests outside of Canada, that lists Canada as an eligible country, specifically states something about, "Excluding residents of Quebec."
Also, contests held by a Canadian entity requires that winners that are residents of Canada answer a skill testing question. Usually a simple arithmetic problem involving a combination of addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. This is because there is a law in Canada that bans for-profit gaming or betting (unless it's a lottery, casino, or approved charity event.) However, the law does allow prizes for games of skill, which is why there is the "skill testing question" for winners.
There is also a section in the law that prohibits the contest provider from receiving "consideration" (ie: buying something from the contest provider in order to enter the contest.) You can legally get past that by stating "no purchase necessary" in the contest's fine print.
So these three items are all that's needed to be kept in mind for Canada.
How about if I have an US address I can provide. The border, and my address,mid only &0 miles away my home in Canada.
Canada says thanks for the clarification.
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No kidding. I don't get why it's 'complex'. Other people do it. Is shipping somewhere above the bar of 'complexity'?
It says in the article - hell, it says in the post you quoted - "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." Could you perhaps do as they ask? Maybe let this be one giveaway article where the comments aren't mostly about where the contest applies, please? Shipping is not the problem. Varying legal restrictions on "contests" in varying countries are the problem. MacRumors is using a giveaway-running service that is only set up to handle US requirements. Now take further discussion to the Site Feedback section as they requested.
This thread covers the complexities essentially.
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Seems like it just got moved here.
Yep, that was kind of amusing. Got the notification that my post had been moved mere seconds after posting.
Please find a way to offer competitions to your readers outside of the US namely UK in my own case. As people have said before other companies manage it and while there are obvious logistical hurdles it is possible.
Please look in to this.
as for the prize it looks alright but the Leather messenger bad Pad & Quill had the other week was nicer.
Please look in to this.
as for the prize it looks alright but the Leather messenger bad Pad & Quill had the other week was nicer.
US only, pfffff. Kinda tired of reading that, since nearly every competition I've seen on sites I visit are US only.
They never do. The last time I looked at a competition and got annoyed here was maybe a year ago now. A mod assured me they'd look into it.
Did they balls.
I run a games studio and give away items and work with other companies for giveaways. That's all done worldwide. I just got my lawyer to sort it out and that was that. It took maybe 4 hours to work out the T&C. Done.
I doubt Macrumors will ever let the rest of the world in on their competitions.