quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 A quilter is making a ruler and she wants quilters to test it. No problem..I get an email from her she wants $12.00 plus s&H plus sign a confidentiality agreement. I have no problem signing the paper. My question to all the experts...do you ask your testers to pay for the ruler or object that they are testing for you? I don't want to be a party pooper however $ are tight in these times and I don't know if this is the normal route. If it is,not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephannie Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I wouldn't think that you would have to pay for a tester ruler as you are doing a service for the maker. I guess it would depend on how much the item costs. For expample, I wouldn't expect to test a new CL product for free, but charging for a ruler seems strange. I mean, what if the ruler doesn't work, or doesn't last or something? I wouldn't want to shell out $ for something that was iffy, but that's just me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I have to agree with Persephannie on this one. Doesn't the quilter know enough people close that could try it out? Is it for longarming? Or quilting...or should I say piecing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspingler Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I agree......I've never asked my pattern tester to pay for the pattern she is testing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Thanks for the answers. I have never had my pattern testers pay for a pattern or fabric.. The size of her ruler is not that big and I can get one about her size from Gadget Girls for $16.50. I always understood that the inverntor pays for the product and gives it to the tester to keep. I will decline her offer. I just had a wierd feeling about this. Off the quilt my niece's wedding quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 In my mind it depends on how much the person is paying to have it laser cut. I work at a research center and I know that time on our laser is very expensive. Maybe that is why she is charging. My guess is the ruler will retail for more than $24 or even $30 depending on what it is. Just a thought. Depending on how many testers she has it could get expensive for her to just give them away. I'd make sure she has a buy back if you don't like the ruler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 There is no buy back. I have her contract here. I understand the cost of plastic and laser cost. However the point that one quilter made..what if it breaks or cracks,we are out the $. I have no idea how many testers she has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyA Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Pat, I inquired about testing also, and once I read her reply and contract just trashed the email. I'd return the product no problem after testing - but it seems to me this is a gimick to get people to buy? She spoke about the high demand for the ruler to test so I figured she didn't need my feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koala-T Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hey Pat. I read through her reply to me and her contract and I sent her a reply back as to why I would not be a tester. With no money back guarantee I won't do it. What if this does not pan out? Then the testers are with a prototype they don't like and they had to pay for. Just my 2 cents on the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I just sent her a reply to decline testing her ruler. I do hope she does well however,we quilters,have to do alittle research before sending out $ to a unknown person. I'm from Florida and you all have read about al the PONZI schemes. Gotta be careful. Glad I posted here. I know I will get great feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Pat, I thought this was somebody you knew. I don't think I'd just send $'s and not know who the person is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hi girls, I actually am in this testing group. I think she has 25, and wants 50. And I did pay her with PayPal. Also, she charges tax?? that threw me, but it was only $1. The total was $18.77 which was way more than I thought it was going to be, given she said the ruler was $12. So, I might be out $19.00. That doesn;t bother me so much as the fact that it might have been a scam to get into my PayPal account. Don't know how, but......hmmmm. Nothing wrong so far. I used to work for a bank, and believe me, the hackers are out there every second trying to get into your accounts. We had to change our passwords every 30 days and could not use the same letters or sequence of numbers. I think with the economy being so depressed the number of hackers will just try harder and there will be more of them. Not trying to put a bummer on anyone, just the facts, ma'm. And it is a good practice to change your passwords every so often. JMO, Linnea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraG Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 How did ya'll find out about the testing? Was it by email or a forum? Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 My friend belongs to a designer group and forwarded the request to me. I then gave it to Kelly. In the first email no $ is mentioned. After you reply to her. The $ comes out with the agreement that you have to sign. After I got the second info.my gut kicked in. That's why I posted here. For the size of her ruler,you can buy a Gadget Girl ruler,actually GG is cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Wow, this sounds like an interesting way to sell rulers by using the "hook" of being a tester. No one would need 50 testers! If it sounds too good to be true...well, you know the rest! If you do R&D for someone, there should always be a minimal charge (less than half of regular retail) or a buy-back clause. And why do you need a contract? Either buy it and it's yours, or it's free and you contract for feed-back in lieu of payment. I'm still thinking on this one!! We use PayPal to allow our customers to pay with a credit card. A recent customer called and said her credit card statement had an extra $20 and another $2.90 added as a Paypal payment with 4 legitimate charges to Paypal and the two bogus charges. The charges were not linked to any specific transaction, just posted with no explanation except "cash equivalence" and "finance charge", which sound official but mean nothing without further explanation. PayPal had no further info to offer. She disputed the charges with her CC company and they were removed. Please, everyone watch your credit/debit statements carefully and dispute as soon as you can. Just a heads-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 May I ask.....Was this question to test posted here on this chat somewhere?????? To test this ruler? Or, how/where did you all see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 This quilter posted on another forum asking for testers. I answered her email and then she asked for $. I felt it was totally not Kosher so I asked for feedback from the quilters here on this forum I went to the forum where she posted the orginal mess. I ? her about the $. Several quilters are not going to be her testers because of the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merryjo2003 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I saw a request for testers for this ruler on 2 different forums. I didn't contact her, but it seems that she should provide the rulers at no charge. If you like it and want to keep it, fine! Then you can buy it. Or send it back at the end of the testing if you don't like it. Sounds like a scam to me. If I wanted the feedback, I would provide the equipment, then give it to the testers for their participation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'm wondering if she's posted anywhere, about what is different about the ruler, or why we would be interested in it over another, what does it do that makes it unique, etc. in other words, given any info other than the fact that its' supposed to be a ruler. Just curious.. not going for it. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I tested/piloted a very costly longarming item not so long ago which was given for free in exchange for the time I gave giving information and results. A fair deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 I need pattern testers from time to time and I feel bad about not being able to pay them for their work. Of course they get the pattern and in many cases the fabric for free. This may not be a con but it sounds like she is asking an awful lot. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltnutt Posted February 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 FYI here is the quilters reponse to my questions to her about her rulers. i don't know how to change fonts but the bottom line is..she wanted us to be her 'seed' money. WOW. I apologize to anyone on this site that I may have offended, it was not my intention at all. I would, however, would like to defend myself before all of you. I have been a quilter for many years. I have had a small, local business and have developed many regular clientel. I have only just recently decided to take my quilting business to a new level to draw a larger clientel. I developed the Fine Line Quilters Ruler over a year ago to help myself become more efficient with my straight line design and stitch in the ditch applications. I had several of my local quilting friends use it and got some great feedback from them. I took it to a higher level when I decided to get a patent on what I believe to be a great design and tool for all quilters. The company I am working with to launch this ruler wanted a huge amount of money to market the product. Capital I just did not have, so I came to my fellow quilters and asked for help in testing my ruler. I am not in the big leagues of quilters. I have not been quilting for decades. I take every learning experience in my quilting business to heart and try to the best of my ability to grow my business to its fullest potential. Again, I only wanted to be able to cover the costs of producing the prototypes to test, nothing more. I was offended to read one poster who did the math! I can't complain about being hurt over comments being made over my ignorance to testing protocol. I guess I brought that on myself. I have never charged anyone for anything that I did not deliver. For those of you who have been invoiced and your ruler has shipped, please accept it with my thanks. Your funds are still in the PayPal account and can be withdrawn if you so choose. For those of you who wanted to help me in this testing process and feel that they cannot continue, I respect your decision. I only came to a group of fellow quilters where I have always felt comfortable. With a heavy heart, I sincerely apologize for not understanding how all this was done. As Janet-Lee told me, "I am cognizant of my reputation in the industry and I would never do anything to jepordize it", so I am too. Carol Olson, Accents In Design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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