Here's something John and I've been talking about starting for YEARS. Like, so many years it's embarrassing, so let's get right to it:
THE SQUEEGINEERS!
This is going to be a small way for John and I to reward those of you who support Epbot with your dollars - because Squeegineers keep Epbot running.
Eh? EH?
Ahem.
So starting this month, John and I'll be holding monthly prize drawings just for you Squeegineers. The prizes are mostly crafty things John and I've made (like our Bog of Eternal Stench sign), cosplay bits (like our Knights Who Say Ni), some nerdy
treasures I've been hoarding (I have too many collectibles!),
and jewelry. SO MUCH GEEK JEWELRY. Seriously, I have a problem.
These prizes aren't meant to be incentives for you guys to support us; they're just little tokens of our love and appreciation. Besides, we have too much cool stuff packing our closets, so this is a way to pass it on to our friends AND make room for more. WIN-WIN.
These prizes aren't meant to be incentives for you guys to support us; they're just little tokens of our love and appreciation. Besides, we have too much cool stuff packing our closets, so this is a way to pass it on to our friends AND make room for more. WIN-WIN.
The best part? If you've given us any amount via Paypal this month, then you're automatically entered! There are no donation tiers, no minimum requirements, no forms
to fill out. Each month I will randomly select a few people from our donation list (from that month), then contact them through their Paypal e-mail address to ask what they'd like from our Squeegineer Prize Gallery. Boom. Easy-peasy.
And of course we'll also ship the goodies for free.
(Er, well, unless you pick the 2-3 massive bins containing all the Knights Who Say Ni costumes & helmets. We'll probably ask for help shipping THOSE. o.0)
(Er, well, unless you pick the 2-3 massive bins containing all the Knights Who Say Ni costumes & helmets. We'll probably ask for help shipping THOSE. o.0)
In the future we'll be
adding more options to the prize gallery, and in fact we're scrambling today to upload the small backlog we already have. I didn't want to put this post off any longer, though, so HERE WE GO ANYWAY JOHN WHEEEEE WORK FASTER OKAY.
If you're curious what all we're giving away/unloading on any unsuspecting fan who'll have them, you can check out our 2 Squeegineer Prize albums on Flickr. For now we've separated them into Jewelry and Everything Else.
And finally, thank you so, SO much to everyone who's supported us over the years. I'm honestly staggered that so many of you have been donating for so long, so please know John and I are incredibly grateful to every one of you, and love you each to bits. I wish I had more to offer than our thanks and a chance at some of our accumulated flotsam & jetsam, but I hope you'll find some options here that make you smile!
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: After some of you very sweetly pointed out there might be Scary Legal Issues with this give-away, we've changed the rules to allow ANYONE to enter. Please check out my update here, or our Squeegineers Page, for details!
And finally, thank you so, SO much to everyone who's supported us over the years. I'm honestly staggered that so many of you have been donating for so long, so please know John and I are incredibly grateful to every one of you, and love you each to bits. I wish I had more to offer than our thanks and a chance at some of our accumulated flotsam & jetsam, but I hope you'll find some options here that make you smile!
****
IMPORTANT UPDATE: After some of you very sweetly pointed out there might be Scary Legal Issues with this give-away, we've changed the rules to allow ANYONE to enter. Please check out my update here, or our Squeegineers Page, for details!
This is super awesome! And I've been meaning to donate for ages, since I get so much joy out of your blog (and the FoE community that you inspired) so this was a good kick in the pants to remind me to actually do it. Thank you for creating such amazing content for so long! <3
ReplyDeleteAlso, you have some SERIOUSLY cool stuff in those albums. Not gonna lie, I am SO tempted by the Knights Who Say Ni, but shipping to Canada would be SO expensive, lol.
Yay! The only problem I see with this, is, if I actually win, how on Earth could I choose among *all* the awesome things?! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnything I can do to help you out! You two are some of the awesomest geeks ever!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are the best!
ReplyDeleteIs there any way we can help support you by buying that "Squeegineers" logo on a pin, t-shirt, or magnet (in addition to donating through Pay Pal)? Because that logo is AWESOME!
I'm hoping to make those eventually, yes! The t-shirt will be easiest to start, so I'll ask John about adding that to our shop this week. Thx for the suggestion!
DeleteLong time donor (only $5 a month because I'm a poor librarian assistant), and proud to do it. This site gives me such joy, and I truly imagine and pretend that I'm friends with you guys! This is very, very sweet.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how quickly that adds up, and what a difference it makes - so thank you, truly. <3 <3 <3
DeleteIt is so John and Jen of you to apologize for the inadequacy of your surprise gift to people who donate to Epbot out of gratitude!! We expect nothing more than you doing you, to our great appreciation.
ReplyDeleteI'm super excited to contribute to this! Just putting it out there that I would love to see pics from anyone who ends up receiving one of my amulets (After all, the most satisfying thing for a crafter is to see something they've made being enjoyed by someone!)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to think of some stuff to potentially send your guys way to add to this (If that's okay by you and John at least!)
Heck yeah! I actually have quite a few gifts from readers over the years that I'm hoping to add to the give-away options, just have to make sure it's OK with the folks who sent them first.
DeleteAwesome! I have one idea in mind that I hope to pull off, if it works out then I will definitely be sending it your guys' way!
DeleteWhat a cool idea! I've been meaning to donate for ages, signed up for a subscription just now ^_^ I'm thrilled to help support a blog that has meant so very much to me over the years. Your candidness about your struggles and successes has been one of the most helpful things in my own mental health journey and I owe you a debt that is far greater than any monetary amount I could send. Thank you and John for being you <3
ReplyDeleteOof, my heart. Thank you, thank you, my friend!
DeleteSomehow I completely missed that you even have a monthly donation option. Even for a one-time donation, I probably have said "yes, I should do that" only a hundred or so times when I'm inconveniently on my phone and don't want to do it right then. I don't need any more things, but I am happy to have the pointer to set up a recurring donation!
ReplyDeleteWhy is the donation thing in German? Is that just me??
ReplyDeleteI mean, I *do* yell at my computer in German sometimes... :D
Delete(I'll have John check it out! Sorry!)
Because I always zoom in so that the main text fills the screen, I've never even noticed the donation options on the side. I immediately went to subscribe, and was a little frustrated that the option to "pay with credit or debit card" forced me to create a Paypal account. Which I knew I already had but couldn't remember the password because I haven't used it in ages, so I wanted to skip all that. But I couldn't, so I had to go through the process to confirm who I was with Paypal, log in with a code, answer my security questions, and reset my password. On the plus side, I am now a subscriber, so yay! I am so happy to support what I consider to be one of the best sites on the internet. Long live Epbot!!
ReplyDeleteArg, I'm sorry it's such a pain (I haaaaate going through that when I buy stuff online!), but thank you so very much!!
DeleteI don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, and I don't know what the laws are in Florida, but this may constitute gambling? You might have to include a way for people to enter without paying anything, you know, one of those "no purchase required" things...I think you should definitely look up sweepstakes rules just in case.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was thinking the same. I was looking at them recently and there are all sorts of rules for different states, and of course other countries if shipping outside the US. Aside from sweepstakes, other keywords are contest and lottery laws.
DeleteHmmm, good point. We are dutifully researching that right now, so thx for the heads up!
DeleteI wonder if a way around that would be to switch the donation method? Instead of through Paypall like recurring donations, if you made a Patreon instead? A big part of Patreon is donor-only perks or benefits, and being part of a monthly draw would definitely be one such bonus, and I believe you can message your donors (like about stuff like this post) directly as a group through there vs putting the word out through the blog where people who don't donate might feel left out.
DeleteI just looked it up, and Patreon does not allow raffles, giveaways, or lotteries. https://blog.patreon.com/patreons-stance-on-raffles-lotteries-and-giveaways
DeleteI think, basically, if you have to pay to enter, it's gambling. :(