Cancelled Contests

It is so very frustrating to work really hard on a contrast and have it cancelled further down the line.

I have a suggestion on these contests that are not guaranteed:

  1. SquadHelp refuse to accept them all together ( Think of the creatives. The energy and time spent on these, and it’s not always that one realises the contest isn’t guaranteed before participating in ) Or

  2. Charge a cancellation fee like we have in the hotel industry in case of cancellations within a specified period of time, or no-shows. This fee can go into splits once a contest is abandoned. And I think this is as win win situation all round.

What do you other creatives think?

Thank you for listening SquadHelp

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I have not had any luck with non-guaranteed contests and make it a point not to partake in them. I inadvertently entered one a few weeks ago and it too was cancelled. I’m curious to know if other creatives have actually won from non-guaranteed contests. My experience has been that most of them are cancelled. @Soni I personally like your suggestion of implementing a cancellation fee. In the meantime, I will just pass on them as there are so many guaranteed contests to choose from.

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I have won in a few, but the majority get cancelled. Even with Likes and Loves, they still cancel.

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I actually got a bonus in a non-guaranteed contest. If you see contest is not guaranteed, it’s your choice and your risk to participate, so you can’t complain about it.
Edit: it is clearly stated in every contest if it is guaranteed or not, you even have an option to disable non-guaranteed contests when you browse them.

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This has been requested several times in the past and SH has made it clear they have no intentions of changing it. They want skeptics to feel comfortable launching a contest in hopes they will be pleased vs cancelling and any sort of fee could drive them away. They suggest you just don’t participate.

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The way around this, is to only enter names in the marketplace into these contests.

At best, you might win, you’ve added some internal links to your marketplace listing (helps rankings), and you’ve protected any entries into that contest, because they can’t go and register them after cancelling the contest.

At worst, you’ve wasted a few minutes of your time.

I like the idea of a cancellation fee, even if SH take it (not distributed between Creatives), it helps cover some costs, which in turn helps us all.

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I have won with non-guaranteed contests. One upside with them is not as many people may enter them so when I was starting out I would look for them because I thought I might have a better chance :slight_smile: Sometimes they are guaranteed once they see the volume and quality of names coming in. But yes @Soni it is frustrating when you work really hard and it is canceled. Sorry, that happened to you.

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I have to been shortlisted and was expecting the reward by all means only to know it’s ‘cancelled’. I mean so much hard work gone to waste!
This is something SH should work on immediately.

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@Nick I am not sure if you are aware that they are listed as non-guaranteed contests, so you can just enter the guaranteed contests and not have to worry about them being canceled. My understanding is SH is planning on keeping these.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback.
This to me sounds like a Catch24 situation. If SquadHelp intends to keep these non guaranteed contest, that’s fine from a corporate perspective. But it is not fine or fair to the clients or to SH if all 80k of us creatives decide to boycott / not participate in these contest. ( Think of the PR and long run ripple effect etc ). And it is not fine that when we do participate, these contests are simply cancelled ( think of our time, intellect, etc )

I still think the Contest Holders should bear some responsibility / burden on these contests, if not by guaranteeing them, then, elsewise. Maybe still by way of a cancellation fee, ( that goes into splits or is kept by SH to cover cost ), or some other way. And eventually, this will reduce the number of unguaranteed / cancelled contests…and everyone benefits all round.

Thank you for listening.

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The client only gets a partial refund. SH keeps some for their costs.

Listing Fees are non-refundable. For example, if you purchase a Gold Package for $399 and do not guarantee the contest award, you will receive the $200 award amount as refund. Similarly, in case of platinum non-guaranteed contest, you will receive $300 as partial refund.

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Thanks for this info @jackieheraty. In this case, I figure the status quo stays, where Creatives may participate " at their own risk " kinda scenario., until and /or unless SH figures out some other way in the future; if.

I rarely participate in non guaranteed contests and when I do, it is to submit my owned domains or my marketplace names. I’ve been burned too much on those contests to take risks. There are a few times when I can see the CH is a repeat customer who always chooses winners and then I may participate if there weren’t registered domains from previous contests they ran. However, typically I am kept busy enough with guaranteed contests.

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Sorry I couldn’t help myself :joy:

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Ha ha hahahaha!!! Good one!!! :heart_eyes:

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@Chasity2ku Love It! LOL

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