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 odinsgrandson wrote:
Oh, that's right. US competitions always say "No purchase necessary." That always means that you could send them a letter, or sign up online instead of buying the soda and enter the competition.

I wonder if there's a way to do that here.

Somebody could probably *gasp* call up GW customer service and ask.

Personally, I really don't care. I get a ticket, I don't get a ticket. All it means is that I'll buy more stuff from the webstore and pay in the shop instead of grabbing a box off the shelf for the next two months. Whatever. The shop still benefits.

 Accolade wrote:

Spoiler:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:

 Blacksails wrote:

wufai wrote:
WOW. GW finally listens and does something nice for gamers.... and we still complain!

Now, if it was FW on the other hand...

Yeesh! Now that is a contest that I would enter!

The Auld Grump

Thanks for that.

Terms and Conditions wrote:
4. Each winner will receive a Space Marine’s height (210cm) in Citadel miniatures shipped to them free of charge. Height of a product is measured by laying the boxed product on its back.

That is a LOT of Sisters of Battle.

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Battle-Sister-Squad

At 4 cm per clamshell / box, you'd get 52 boxes!

520 Sisters of Battle, with a retail value of $ 4,160 USD

Funny thing, GW would probably love this, as it would clear out a huge chunk of inventory that drives zero revenue for them.


I wonder, can anyone do better?

weeble1000 wrote:
And in this economic climate, I expect the state of Louisiana wouldn't mind a fast 20K.

I would expect most states wouldn't mind it (not to mention regions outside the US with similar laws...). $20K wouldn't be the end of the world for GW (granted, I would guess it would be a bit higher than that...I linked to a CVS case from a few years back that was a $175K fine) - 50 or so of those starts to hurt...especially when you are already slipping on your profits.

Now, people have said - oh, GW just will have to exclude those areas from the competition... That opens them up to something like a class action from all the customers who made purchases with the intent of entering the contest, not to mention does nothing to actually insulate them from the initial offense (since it wasn't excluded from the get go like Australia - it can be assumed they want to run the illegal lottery).

Another lawsuit, legal fines, following a rant about pig thieves...it may well be enough for investors to loose confidence in Kirby and force him out along with his board.

Unless I am mistaken, if you win it and you live in the States there is a good possibility you will get a 1099 (from GWUS) where you will probably get the product from. I think it is for retail but brain is a little to senile to remember that bit.

Prizes are basically unearned income and are tax accordingly - often when you hear about a competition to win some big event (like VIP concert tickets) the advert will warn you of tax consequences.

Heard one about 3weeks ago where the prize was valued at $12k. Nice potential $3k tax bill right there.

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

weeble1000 wrote:
And in this economic climate, I expect the state of Louisiana wouldn't mind a fast 20K.

I would expect most states wouldn't mind it (not to mention regions outside the US with similar laws...). $20K wouldn't be the end of the world for GW (granted, I would guess it would be a bit higher than that...I linked to a CVS case from a few years back that was a $175K fine) - 50 or so of those starts to hurt...especially when you are already slipping on your profits.

Now, people have said - oh, GW just will have to exclude those areas from the competition... That opens them up to something like a class action from all the customers who made purchases with the intent of entering the contest, not to mention does nothing to actually insulate them from the initial offense (since it wasn't excluded from the get go like Australia - it can be assumed they want to run the illegal lottery).

Another lawsuit, legal fines, following a rant about pig thieves...it may well be enough for investors to loose confidence in Kirby and force him out along with his board.

If I read the law right, and I might not have, I believe 20K is the statutory minimum fine for running an illegal gambling operation in Louisiana. So, yea, it would probably be more than 20K, but no less than.

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

 Reavsie wrote:
Haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere on the site.

Home page of Games Workshop site has the above offer/draw to those that place an order over £40.

Thoughts?

Quite possibly illegal in the US. Sweepstakes like this are generally required to be "no purchase necessary" in order to avoid accidently becoming a lottery - which is illegal (barring certain exceptions).

Except it specifically states in the contests rules that no purchase is necessary and how to get a no purchase entry into the contest.


caveat: the email flyer link i opened did and i live in the US. I think this is within the bounds of being legal.



... not going to lie, i know my chances of getting a golden ticket are small... but i'm seriously thinking of making a qualifying purchase. Hell, someone's gotta win, right ? 7 feet worth of GW boxes is a LOT OF gak.

 Azreal13 wrote:
I guess a degree of variety is perfectly reasonable, I mean, I'm a foot or so taller than some of my friends, so surely it stands to reason I'd make a much taller Space Marine than them.

Or more likely, they wouldn't make Space Marines at all. Remember that Space Marines represent an extremely small proportion of an extremely large gene pool, specifically chosen for attributes like their genetic compatibility with the Primarchs and their gene seed. They can afford to be picky.

 Haight wrote:

Except it specifically states in the contests rules that no purchase is necessary and how to get a no purchase entry into the contest.

There is no mention of such a thing in the contest rules on the GW website.

 Haight wrote:

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

 Reavsie wrote:
Haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere on the site.

Home page of Games Workshop site has the above offer/draw to those that place an order over £40.

Thoughts?

Quite possibly illegal in the US. Sweepstakes like this are generally required to be "no purchase necessary" in order to avoid accidently becoming a lottery - which is illegal (barring certain exceptions).

Except it specifically states in the contests rules that no purchase is necessary and how to get a no purchase entry into the contest.


caveat: the email flyer link i opened did and i live in the US. I think this is within the bounds of being legal.



... not going to lie, i know my chances of getting a golden ticket are small... but i'm seriously thinking of making a qualifying purchase. Hell, someone's gotta win, right ? 7 feet worth of GW boxes is a LOT OF gak.

Where?

The website rules? No. The email? No. Not sure where you see no purchase necessary - but I can't find it.

I live in the US, I opened the link in the email:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Competition?utm_term=0_c6e14e39d2-5afee22351-114040005&utm_medium=email&utm_source=GamesWorkshop.com&utm_campaign=5afee22351-CW_2015_1_30_Harlequins_US&utm_campaign=5afee22351-CW_2015_1_30_Harlequins_US&utm_source=GamesWorkshop.com&utm_medium=email

The email states: "Orders of $65 or more placed before March 1st Qualify"

The website linked to states: "1.Entry is free to all eligible users of the Promoter's website who place an order of $65 or more."

Where is this free entry method stated?

 AlexHolker wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
I guess a degree of variety is perfectly reasonable, I mean, I'm a foot or so taller than some of my friends, so surely it stands to reason I'd make a much taller Space Marine than them.

Or more likely, they wouldn't make Space Marines at all. Remember that Space Marines represent an extremely small proportion of an extremely large gene pool, specifically chosen for attributes like their genetic compatibility with the Primarchs and their gene seed. They can afford to be picky.

Trust me, height is no guarantee of any sort of genetic purity! I've known some smaller guys who were double hard bastards too - given that traditionally initiates undergo some sort of physical trial and either make it or die, unless there's a Chapter whose initiation rite involves reaching things on high shelves and banging your head on door frames, I don't think you'll necessarily always find the tallest people making it!

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

The website linked to states: "1.Entry is free to all eligible users of the Promoter's website who place an order of $65 or more."

I do wonder whether the "eligible" bit would give them the wiggle room; "sorry, this type of competition isn't legal in your state, so you aren't eligible I'm afraid" etc.?

Can't hurt if you were already eyeing up some miniatures and intending to make a purchase in the near future, might as well do it now to qualify for the prize draw.

If not, its a pretty naff promotion.

 Haight wrote:

 Sean_OBrien wrote:

 Reavsie wrote:
Haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere on the site.

Home page of Games Workshop site has the above offer/draw to those that place an order over £40.

Thoughts?

Quite possibly illegal in the US. Sweepstakes like this are generally required to be "no purchase necessary" in order to avoid accidently becoming a lottery - which is illegal (barring certain exceptions).

Except it specifically states in the contests rules that no purchase is necessary and how to get a no purchase entry into the contest.


caveat: the email flyer link i opened did and i live in the US. I think this is within the bounds of being legal.



... not going to lie, i know my chances of getting a golden ticket are small... but i'm seriously thinking of making a qualifying purchase. Hell, someone's gotta win, right ? 7 feet worth of GW boxes is a LOT OF gak.

Seriously, where does it say that? Where are you finding the method for making a no purchase entry? I couldn't spare a squirt of p*ss for GW if they were on fire, but if I can fill out a form and potentially win several thousand dollars in Sisters of Battle, I'd love to do it. Can't find it anywhere online.

Hey guys, sorry, i was 100% mistaken.... I just double checked (and i was sure as gak i was right!), but i was not ; i was looking at another contest marketing flyer which wasn't even gaming related.


Got my lines crossed between the two. Many apologies. I chalk this up to brain fail.


Looks like i won't be entering into this after all.

Funny how of all ~190 or so countries worldwide (Down Under excluded), it's the supposedly free-market USA who are throwing the most government-regulation-curveballs at this, while everything from China to Russia to Venezuela to every EU-legislation-under-the-sun has absolutely no issues with it

It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

As I have said - it really surprises me that GW had this contest up without knowing about those laws - they are hardly secret, ya know?

The Auld Grump - void where prohibited or taxed, buy yours today!

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

As I have said - it really surprises me that GW had this contest up without knowing about those laws - they are hardly secret, ya know?

The Auld Grump - void where prohibited or taxed, buy yours today!

Well, you have to put yourself into the tiny shoes of the nitwits that run a multi-national firm like it's Bob's Burgers.

Virtual Vouchers don't count and neither do subscriptions. Just an FYI.

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

As I have said - it really surprises me that GW had this contest up without knowing about those laws - they are hardly secret, ya know?

The Auld Grump - void where prohibited or taxed, buy yours today!

Dunno, why would you by default assume it would be illegal. It's their product. In a free society, they should be allowed to "give it away" anyway they please, no?

Just came in from London Heathrow airport last night. It's plastered with posters promising you the chance to win a nice little sports car if you spend some money at any of the duty free shops.

Every other Kickstarter seems to run the same scheme with Beast of Wars these days... "pledge on our Kickstarter (and pay BoW for their paywall-subscription) and you might win your pledge for free",

Etc.., etc..

Seems a common enough marketing-ploy.

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

In Norway, where you have to spend 500 NOK ($70ish) to qualify for the competition, it's illegal.


It's completely legal in the UK, btw.

 Thud wrote:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

In Norway, where you have to spend 500 NOK ($70ish) to qualify for the competition, it's illegal.


It's completely legal in the UK, btw.

That's the problem; they appear to only have check on UK before starting.

Convenient I just placed a £130 LOTR order for mostly direct only stuff!

 agnosto wrote:

 Thud wrote:

 TheAuldGrump wrote:
It is entirely possible that similar laws pertain in those 190 +/- countries, but there are those from the US on these boards that know about those laws here.

In Norway, where you have to spend 500 NOK ($70ish) to qualify for the competition, it's illegal.


It's completely legal in the UK, btw.

That's the problem; they appear to only have check on UK before starting.

They're just adorable, aren't they?

or it was devised as a UK promotion, but their all singing all dancing new website is entering everybody anyway

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
or it was devised as a UK promotion, but their all singing all dancing new website is entering everybody anyway

They can exclude countries on the website... The comp doesn't show up on the Australian storefront. So if they had wanted to exclude, say, the US, they could have done the same thing.

I can confirm it is "working" in the US as I received a black envelope with my latest order ... containing a message with a 7' tall space marine ... but not golden :(

also got a skaven pin like some others have


Automatically Appended Next Post:
By the way, on the Competition webpage:

"These rules are governed by the laws of England and any dispute relating to the promotion will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. Entry indicates acceptance of the rules as final and legally binding."

I do love their legal disclaimers.

Is GW writing their own imaginary laws again?

 Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Is GW writing their own imaginary laws again?

They're just putting forth their own interpretation of law until (maybe) the courts decide to clarify things. I believe many companies employ similar tactics filtered through their legal teams.