I really appreciate YTers like yourself that maintain integrity and remain credible and honest with their opinions on products being reviewed. Good job. Subscribed.
As a family of 6 who just recently started tent camping we have only been 2 times. 1st time was great 2nd time horrible we had really bad weather and we were soaked everything leaky tent all of it. I have been researching a lot watching reviews and it was important for me that the videos were not sponsored because I needed to really know the products were really good products not just hyped up for the sponsorship.. I appreciate what you are doing!!
To go back to this now that I have more time, I appreciate your attempt to be open and honest. Getting products for free, even if the content creators clearly state it up front, DOES have the potential to subconsciously or not affect the reviewer's opinion. THAT SAID, you are a person who does not have unlimited resources to "buy" $300-700 + tents in order to review them. I know most of these outfitters (or Amazon) have return policies, but that almost seems worse to me than to just get a tent from wherever and disclose where it came from (using and abusing a return system just always sits poorly with me for whatever reason). The funny thing is that people expect a creator to spend their own money (thus remaining "unbiased") so that these same people can (for free) use your reviews as a basis for their own purchasing decisions. There's something unfair in that equation. I don't know everything about RU-vid, but I *DO* know most creators cannot sustain themselves with Google Ads alone. Most of them need Patrons on Patreon if they want to be truly independent of Google's grasp. As a smaller channel looking to build a name for yourself, I would hate to see you have to go into debt or NOT review things simply because you can't afford them. . Long-winded way of me saying I honestly don't care one way or the other. I'd rather you have access to the materials you need to make solid and entertaining reviews (like that huge tent comparison video) and not always be bound by your own pocketbook.
Wow - thanks for the super thoughtful comment, Matt. I agree that it does create a lot of financial constraints. I am lucky to have access to a lot of gear without buying new stuff, but there’s obviously a limit to that. I also agree that I don’t like the idea of abusing the return policies of retailers. I did return several of the tents that I bought for that big comparison video, but for each tent that I did return I felt I had a legitimate reason for doing so. But at the same time, I don’t want to make a habit of returning items like this (unless something is broken or clearly not as advertised of course). Because I agree that this just doesn’t seem right. So to avoid that, I’m going to see if I can get discounted gear (or even used in some cases), and if I don’t plan to keep and use it I’ll try to resell it online. That’s my short-term solution, so we’ll see how it goes. Later on, I’ll probably try to add an additional source of funding. Like a Patreon or possibly even a product. Feel free to send me any ideas you have. I always read your comments, because you always seem to have constructive things to say. Thanks!
I agree completely! I always look for unsponsored objective videos and stop watching videos that appear to be sponsored by the product. A few years back, I was approached by a few companies that offered to give me a product if I would film a review. I accepted one of these offers an created a more than fair review that briefly mentioned two minor limitations. The company was not happy and so I decided not to do anymore. I’d like to review new tents but I can’t afford to buy them. So I watch your reviews instead. I don’t know how you afford it but thanks for the objective reviews. Congrats on the growth of your channel. I know that is not easy.
Thanks for the input here. That’s an interesting perspective especially since I’ve watched your videos also! And you’re right, the tents are pricey. Of the tents I’ve tested so far this year, I’ve returned some that I didn’t like for some reason, and others I’ve either re-sold or kept. I’m honestly not sure what the best way to break even (or even make a bit extra!) on gear reviews yet, but my short term plan is to shop sales and get heavily discounted gear whenever I can, and then to resell some of it that I don’t want to keep. Hopefully this’ll help to grow the channel, and once we’re big enough I’ll be able to get sponsorships from companies unrelated to the gear I test. We’ll see how it goes :)
@@littlecampfires Hadn’t thought about reselling the tents. I’ve sold a few of my older ones but usually keep them several years after buying them. I currently have 6 tents and will never use most of them again. Thanks for the note. You’re off to a great start. Good luck.
If this is the way you want to do it I fully support your decision. Its just unrealistic to expect you to purchase everything new and stick around because thats not financially sustainable so personally I am fine with both sponsorships and affiliate links and making the channel more profitable because you deserve it. Not to mention getting bigger better more things to review. Start with getting a patreon and push that then idk start selling some camping merch or what ever. I do like links btw even if they arent affiliated because there are times when reviewed products get revisions or other similiar brands/models that make being sure I am getting the same product people are talking about is difficult sometimes. There are channels out there in the tech space like Gamers Nexus that I think are great examples of how a review channel can operate with these various revenue streams ethically. When they show an ad for NZXT PC cases in one video I know that wont affect their judgement after they have had multiple videos on NZTX PC cases catching fire and forced the company to send free replacement parts to everyone and redesign the product lol.... they still get sponsor spots for NZTX PC cases btw lol. Anyways, transparency is clearly the key factor and I think you can handle that. Their sponsor spot is a single promo at the beginning of the video nothing more nothing less before they get into their actual video. Could be a flashdrive sponsor on a video about CPU coolers or what ever because the sponsor isnt related to the video content. So an example for you could be a 10-20 sec promo spot for MSR's newest stove then you go into your videos content on tents. Also like you were saying there are other non camping related sponsors you could try and go for, start bringing some magic spoon cereal on your trips while you listen to audible XD
Yeah - thanks for weighing-in. That makes sense overall. And yeah, I probably will do a Patreon as a start point. I’ve got some ideas I could add in there that I think would be pretty cool, and that folks who watch the channel would enjoy. Anyway, we’ll take it one step at a time. Thanks again!
Well, I always wonder about all the free stuff many get with many bogus reviews just to keep getting free stuff and percentage of money from lies that people watching buy just to find out is crappy merchandise. I guess there are just too many out there thinking like you.
Integrity is everything, I subscribed. Hate the channels getting free stuff with great reviews of crappy merchandise just to make money. They should get a job and stop cheating people into buying just to benefit no other than themselves.
Yes, I'm also "that guy", suspicious by nature. While I do look for non-sponsored content, I'm sure that can be a difficult thing for a content creator. Without having first hand knowledge of the different kinds of sponsorship, on the surface some do seem less troublesome, like links to the products. It would be easy to argue the links are simply a convenience to the viewer, and return only a small amount to the creator - so I'm not bothered by the links - especially when this is mentioned/disclosed. Thank you for simply doing a video on the topic. Discussing the topic is a huge step, for earning trust; at least it is to me. When a creator never mentions the issue, the absence is noticeable. Maybe "words are cheap", but just hearing a creator say something like "the manufacturer sent me this item, but my impressions are not influenced , blah blah blah". It at least shows the creator is thinking about it, and not blind to the potential conflict. When buying all your own products isn't practical, maybe full disclosure is the next best thing. I'm very new to camping and have found your content very helpful so far - Best wishes, and Thanks.
Hey - thanks for your thoughts. I try to keep things above board :) And hey - if you’re completely new to camping, you might want to check out my “Camping for Beginners” playlist here on RU-vid if you haven’t found it already. Quite a few topics are covered in there that you might find helpful. Thanks for watching and welcome to the channel!
I get where you are coming from, it always makes me wonder how honest someone is being if they are getting paid to do the review. I watched one camping video and the guy on there was trying to sell a kids balance, that wasn't really why I watched the video, but he made a commision if he sold the bike. I also like how you make camping videos, a lot of people make backpacking vidoes and to me thats different from camping. Could you do a video about things to take for kids camping?
Hey Chad - thanks for weighing in. Yeah, I don’t like it when I watch a review where I feel like someone is actively trying to sell me something, so I’m going to try to avoid that type of situation on this channel. That’s also a good point about camping vs. backpacking. I’ve actually done a lot of both, and have considered doing a mix of some of each on this channel, but I’ve been wondering over the last week or so if that’s something that the viewers overall are interested in. Good to hear your perspective on that, and I might also do a poll next week to get some more input from other viewers. And regarding camping things for kids. That’s a good idea, and might be something I’m able to do in the future. But I’m not sure I have enough knowledge about that currently to make a good video on it. We’ll see what the future brings.
Hey Brian - wow, super generous. Thanks for wanting to support. I don’t have it set up yet, but I’m planning on setting up a Patreon soon. I’ll be announcing that on the channel once it’s ready. Thanks again!
