Free giveaways--Some general comments
This year I have given away many dozens of healthy young Venus Flytraps of various varieties both privately as well as in my public free giveaways.
I think a free giveaway for a modest shipping charge is a good deal, and I enjoy sending my young VFTs to good new homes. That's why it is disheartening when people try to turn a good thing into something else, like--
<ul>
* wanting to pick and choose from the varieties I have or ask whether I have a particular variety, and customize the "order" instead of accepting the free offer as it is;
* turning the offer into free, private technical support by asking questions about how to grow carnivorous plants (VFTs in my case), both before and after the free plants are sent, when there are numerous places to get expert information without imposing on my own private time; I'm giving away free plants, not free growing advice or free time;
* wanting to make special arrangements or wanting me to make exceptions regarding paying the shipping fee. From my own point of view, requiring the shipping fee to be paid in advance via PayPal was a way I figured out to make it easy on me, after some bad experiences in the past.
[/list]
Without mentioning names or nicknames, here are a few extracts from private messages I received in response to my latest free VFT giveaway, by way of hopefully gently chiding those who wrote them and others who might be inclined to do a similar thing, and giving examples of my points above, without publicly embarrassing the people who wrote them--
The person above wrote to me asking for my next offer before it was posted.
The person above has already received free VFTs from me in the recent past. Some others may wish to receive some free VFTs too. *smile*
Aside from not being an "expert on call" to answer VFT culture questions (unless I want to answer questions or provide my own take on the issue in the public forums where more than one person may benefit or be able to consider the information), there are so many possible explanations, and this person didn't mention crucial details, like what the climate and humidity is like at his location and how it varied during the "heat wave", exactly how the VFT has been grown and is being grown and for how long (just a vague "I've got one growing outside"), etc. This "free tech support abuse" *smile* is beginning to affect me like my Windows computer using friends who want me--an exclusively Linux guy--to help them fix their broken Microsoft boxes. *grin--ain't gonna happen; "I don't do Windows." And I'm not waiting in the "Venus Flytrap Care and Information" booth with bated breath eager for the next person's question.*
Uh--no. I figure I do all the work, grow the plants, divide them, pot them up individually and care for them until they are healthy and vigorous and ready to ship, and then I pack them up and ship them, all for just a modest shipping fee. If a person can't do the shipping fee the easy way I prefer, then-- I guess it's flattering that this person apparently thinks I must be a big commercial enterprise that has paid for and set up a credit-card processing system, instead of just a home hobbyist and enthusiast, but ...
Best wishes, Steve / xscd
This year I have given away many dozens of healthy young Venus Flytraps of various varieties both privately as well as in my public free giveaways.
I think a free giveaway for a modest shipping charge is a good deal, and I enjoy sending my young VFTs to good new homes. That's why it is disheartening when people try to turn a good thing into something else, like--
<ul>
* wanting to pick and choose from the varieties I have or ask whether I have a particular variety, and customize the "order" instead of accepting the free offer as it is;
* turning the offer into free, private technical support by asking questions about how to grow carnivorous plants (VFTs in my case), both before and after the free plants are sent, when there are numerous places to get expert information without imposing on my own private time; I'm giving away free plants, not free growing advice or free time;
* wanting to make special arrangements or wanting me to make exceptions regarding paying the shipping fee. From my own point of view, requiring the shipping fee to be paid in advance via PayPal was a way I figured out to make it easy on me, after some bad experiences in the past.
[/list]
Without mentioning names or nicknames, here are a few extracts from private messages I received in response to my latest free VFT giveaway, by way of hopefully gently chiding those who wrote them and others who might be inclined to do a similar thing, and giving examples of my points above, without publicly embarrassing the people who wrote them--
[b said:Quote[/b] ]
"... And not to push my luck, but if it's at all possible for you to toss a royal red seedling my way, I'd REALLY appreciate that as well (it's one of my must-haves )."
The person above wrote to me asking for my next offer before it was posted.
[b said:Quote[/b] ]
"Can I have both offers? I would like have offer #1 and #2. Thanks!"
The person above has already received free VFTs from me in the recent past. Some others may wish to receive some free VFTs too. *smile*
[b said:Quote[/b] ]
"I am interested in the free VFTs, preferrably Offer #1. Hopefully, I can get the offer!!
I do have a question regarding VFTs. I've got 1 growing outside and a couple weeks ago we had a particularly bad heatwave, all my upright leaves immediately became droopers like nepenthes. They were kept on a higher watertable but could this be because of heat exhaustion? It's something that really bugs me but at least now the VFT is reverting back to producing upright leaves ..."
Aside from not being an "expert on call" to answer VFT culture questions (unless I want to answer questions or provide my own take on the issue in the public forums where more than one person may benefit or be able to consider the information), there are so many possible explanations, and this person didn't mention crucial details, like what the climate and humidity is like at his location and how it varied during the "heat wave", exactly how the VFT has been grown and is being grown and for how long (just a vague "I've got one growing outside"), etc. This "free tech support abuse" *smile* is beginning to affect me like my Windows computer using friends who want me--an exclusively Linux guy--to help them fix their broken Microsoft boxes. *grin--ain't gonna happen; "I don't do Windows." And I'm not waiting in the "Venus Flytrap Care and Information" booth with bated breath eager for the next person's question.*
[b said:Quote[/b] ]
"... Also, I do not have a paypal account, but do have a credit card with which to pay online. I've never used paypal (that I know of, I do periodically make purchases on amazon), so let me know if this is all I need to seal the deal."
Uh--no. I figure I do all the work, grow the plants, divide them, pot them up individually and care for them until they are healthy and vigorous and ready to ship, and then I pack them up and ship them, all for just a modest shipping fee. If a person can't do the shipping fee the easy way I prefer, then-- I guess it's flattering that this person apparently thinks I must be a big commercial enterprise that has paid for and set up a credit-card processing system, instead of just a home hobbyist and enthusiast, but ...
Best wishes, Steve / xscd