Critiquing some of the brands YouTubers promote
I’m all for brand deals and earning money on social media. I just want to make that clear. However, some of the brands are questionable and in today’s article I want to discuss some of the brands that some of the medium to bigger YouTubers promote. In particular these:
- Bellesa
- Skillshare
- Squarespace
Why these? Because that’s the ones I see the most frequently within the types of YouTubers I’m subscribed to. It’s also the ones I’ve had my own experiences with.
Let’s begin.
Bellesa
Bellesa is an adult toy company that promotes its products on various YouTube channels.
I had an encounter with this company that wasn’t that positive so I might be screwed by that. However, even before that, I had a hard time passing that the YouTubers promoting Bellesa always call it a “giveaway” where everyone wins something when it’s simply not true. To get a gift card you must spend at least $100 on something. You don’t get anything, therefore it’s not a giveaway. Sure, the sex toys are excellent quality and very pretty, but they are luxury products and not in a price range for everyone despite being advertised as a giveaway and with the tagline “orgasms are for everyone”.
When I tried to cancel my second order that wasn’t even fulfilled and shipped yet (it was still processing) they said that orders cannot be canceled once they’re placed. That’s shady. I could understand if they have no return policy since they are adult toys or if the order was already shipped, but in this case, it was not processed yet and I contacted them within 2 hours. Nope, no refund and a generic “we’re really sorry” response.
I don’t know if I would recommend the company since the toys are so expensive and are definitely deceptive in their marketing tactics and their (non-existing) cancellation policy. No matter if it’s the prettiest toy with the clearly above-average quality!
Skillshare
First of all, I really want to say that I like Skillshare. However, they are annoying with their sponsorships with almost every YouTuber I follow, and they are over-prized since you can’t pay monthly. You have to pay over $100 all at once, which gives you access for a year, which is not the most financially comfortable option for many people.
The content is fine though. I have learned a lot.
Squarespace
Oooooooh, they are pricy! And the question is if it’s worth its price even? I had Squarespace for a while but decided - since I’m knowledgeable in coding - to boycott and code myself instead. It’s way cheaper.
However, it’s a fine product for anyone who isn’t a coder. But I still think it’s on the more expensive end of the spectrum and it gets annoying at this point. To be a member of the Squarespace circle to create websites for others you must own 3 (!) websites for about $300 each. That’s ridiculous because it has nothing to do with your web design skills and everything to do with them earning money. A small and inexperienced, yet skilled designer won’t be able to join their program. That tells me everything I need to know about where their hearts lie.
You can’t get a website with proper functionality for under $250 per year on Squarespace. That’s an insane amount of money and some “extra” functions like sending newsletters and e-mail inboxes are not even included. They also take a part of your sales themselves (3% transaction fee) if you don’t pay for one of the highest plans. Their regular business plan is what I had and they had a 3% transaction fee + the fee from PayPal. I don’t get why since I’ve already paid them for my website/shop, it’s just a silly way to get people to pay far more than they should…
Conclusion
Just like everything else, don’t trust everything, and don’t purchase everything YouTubers promote just because you’re a fan of their channels. I know they’re saying “Please support our partners because it supports my channel”, but please remember that they are still compensated for the sponsorship regardless of your contribution.
Personally, I sometimes see things YouTubers promote and I’m genuinely interested, and then I support the sponsorships. I would never support a YouTuber sponsorship just because I want to support the YouTuber. It’s their responsibility to monitor their sponsorships and get properly compensated because it is their job. It’s not the viewer’s responsibility.
xx
Trix.