Sending free items for reviews. Is it worth it?

[Former_Member]

I have had multiple people contact me recently through Instagram to send them free items in return of publicity of my designs and my shop.

I have previously sent free items for giveaways of a few blogs but only received a couple of views, no sales.

Has anyone ever had this experience and what have you done? One lady has over 32,000 followers on her Instagram but wants over $300 worth of my handmade jewelry. I am just not sure if I want to take that big of a risk as I have never paid more than $30 for advertising (other than on Etsy)

[heartsabustin]

I delete those. All they're looking for is free stuff - it's a scam.

[PaperCreationsbyDeb]

No, it is not worth it. I've been blogged about and had products reviewed many times. Not once did these people ask for free stuff. They made a purchase and then did their write ups. I never even knew about them until they were done, and that's the way it should be.

[MAKINGtheNESTofIT]

Most are just scams. Be prepared, with the holidays coming, many bloggers get freebies to gift. If you look at prior giveaways or reviews that a blog has done you can get a feel for their following. Often, it is a few other fellow bloggers who have entered to win, or commented on a blog post featuring an item. I did send a few small items when I first started selling here, but quickly realized that it was not worth my effort.

That said, if I were approached by a hugely successful blog (like Oh Happy Day!) I would respond in an instant!

[ScarlettsCozyCottage]

I would definitely not send out your items for free. It sounds like a scam to me too. You mentioned that you had already tried a giveaways and it did not help bring in traffic so I would just delete those requests in the future. I sent a small item for a giveaway early on and it was a waste of my product and brought in meager traffic. Recently, a blogger contacted me about me donating one of my canopies! I quickly deleted the convo!