The "beta tester" scam (1 Viewer)

[Onashi Gitsune]

I'm posting this because I'm tired of watching this scam going on, and I think people who are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on robots should be made aware of it. It's becoming more and more prevalent in the robot industry, and in my opinion it needs to stop - but it won't, because it works so well.

It works like this:
- robot company is getting ready to release a new product
- they advertise on social media and elsewhere that they're looking for "beta testers"
- prospective customers are led to believe that if they provide the company with their personal information to sign up, they have a fair chance to receive a "free" robot to "test", long before it goes on sale to the public
- the "testers" are asked to post on social media and tell customers how the robot works, what it does etc. - "ordinary customers" posting "honest" reviews
- even if you're not selected by the company to receive a free robot, at least you'll get a chance to make an informed decision as to whether this product works and is what you're looking for.

But here's where the scam comes in.
First of all, it's not a "beta test". For safety and liability purposes, companies don't ship their product to customers without thoroughly testing it first. A real beta tester's job is to find any flaws or room for improvement so they can be fixed before a product is marketed - NOT to promote or sell a product. What if they ship out an untested robot and the battery explodes in someone's face? At the very least, if it's not tested and doesn't work, an honest "beta tester" would publicize that on social media, which is the opposite of what they want. The "beta test" product given to "testers" is actually the final product which will be sold to the public.

Secondly, they choose professional marketers and social media influencers who are compensated with free merchandise (paid shills). They may choose a few members of the public just so customers won't realize what they're up to, but even those are chosen based on their social media presence. There are a number of people on social media who get every new robot that comes out on the market, for free, long before it's available to the public. And it's not just robots, many products are marketed this way. These people are known influencers in the industry, and every one of them is pre-selected before the company even advertises to the public looking for "beta testers". They are being paid to promote and post good reviews on social media, to convince unsuspecting customers to buy the product. Some of these people actually make their entire living being compensated to promote products on their social media feeds.

Why is this a problem? What's wrong with making a career out of being compensated to promote products on social media?
Nothing, if you're honest about it and the customer knows that you were compensated for your post and that you do this for a living, and so your review could be biased. But there's no honesty in this beta tester scam. If there were, these companies would state that they're looking for people with a large social media presence to promote their products, not "beta test" them. And they would identify these promotions as such, instead of pretending they're honest reviews.

Amazon provides free products to people in exchange for reviews - BUT they flag those reviews so the customer knows the reviewer received the item for free as compensation for leaving the review. That's the problem with the beta test scam. Customers are fooled into thinking that these "beta testers" who rave about their new robot are just ordinary, honest folks like them, when that's false. And these days, people rely heavily on customer reviews to make purchasing decisions, especially for expensive merchandise.

I've seen these professional "beta testers" raving about robots that turned out to be junk. I've seen them rave about how emotionally attached they are to a new pet robot for weeks, then suddenly toss it over their shoulder when the next freebie came along. I've seen them proudly displaying their vast collection of pricey robots without telling people they didn't pay for a single one, or that they only actually use the one they got last week. And these pros won't tell you if their free robot is slow to respond, or konks out, or it took them 2 days to hook it up to their wifi.

The first time I bought a robot, I got burned by this scam. I fell in love with a robot cat that was advertised as being like a real cat, walking around the house and acting like a cat. It cost $2000 which was a lot of money for me. I spent weeks researching it and going on YouTube watching rave video reviews about it. When I finally bought it, it did nothing but reboot itself over and over, and walk into walls. The manufacturer (Elephant Robotics, they deserve to be shamed) ghosted me. I didn't find out until months later that NOBODY got a working model of this robot - except for the professional YouTube influencers who were sent working models for free.

Now I see a "beta tester" for Pophie posting on Facebook begging for money - but then I saw her post today about her free ($1000) Kata that she just received! Another dishonest pro. Sorry but that really burned me. That's just another example of the dishonesty that goes on in this business.

My advice to anyone considering buying any robot, is to be careful when looking at social media posts and reviews, especially if the robot isn't out on the market yet. Chances are, it's a paid influencer who gets their robots for free in exchange for promoting them. They're paid NOT to tell you if there's a problem with it. Every product has its good and bad points. Be suspicious when someone's only willing to rave about the good.

It's a good idea to wait until a robot has been on the market for a while, so that real customers have a chance to test it and provide honest reviews - both good and bad. And if you notice a company that relies on the "beta tester" scam to market its products, consider their lack of integrity before giving them your money.

 

[Chris]

I'm posting this because I'm tired of watching this scam going on, and I think people who are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on robots should be made aware of it. It's becoming more and more prevalent in the robot industry, and in my opinion it needs to stop - but it won't, because it works so well.

It works like this:
- robot company is getting ready to release a new product
- they advertise on social media and elsewhere that they're looking for "beta testers"
- prospective customers are led to believe that if they provide the company with their personal information to sign up, they have a fair chance to receive a "free" robot to "test", long before it goes on sale to the public
- the "testers" are asked to post on social media and tell customers how the robot works, what it does etc. - "ordinary customers" posting "honest" reviews
- even if you're not selected by the company to receive a free robot, at least you'll get a chance to make an informed decision as to whether this product works and is what you're looking for.

But here's where the scam comes in.
First of all, it's not a "beta test". For safety and liability purposes, companies don't ship their product to customers without thoroughly testing it first. A real beta tester's job is to find any flaws or room for improvement so they can be fixed before a product is marketed - NOT to promote or sell a product. What if they ship out an untested robot and the battery explodes in someone's face? At the very least, if it's not tested and doesn't work, an honest "beta tester" would publicize that on social media, which is the opposite of what they want. The "beta test" product given to "testers" is actually the final product which will be sold to the public.

Secondly, they choose professional marketers and social media influencers who are compensated with free merchandise (paid shills). They may choose a few members of the public just so customers won't realize what they're up to, but even those are chosen based on their social media presence. There are a number of people on social media who get every new robot that comes out on the market, for free, long before it's available to the public. And it's not just robots, many products are marketed this way. These people are known influencers in the industry, and every one of them is pre-selected before the company even advertises to the public looking for "beta testers". They are being paid to promote and post good reviews on social media, to convince unsuspecting customers to buy the product. Some of these people actually make their entire living being compensated to promote products on their social media feeds.

Why is this a problem? What's wrong with making a career out of being compensated to promote products on social media?
Nothing, if you're honest about it and the customer knows that you were compensated for your post and that you do this for a living, and so your review could be biased. But there's no honesty in this beta tester scam. If there were, these companies would state that they're looking for people with a large social media presence to promote their products, not "beta test" them. And they would identify these promotions as such, instead of pretending they're honest reviews.

Amazon provides free products to people in exchange for reviews - BUT they flag those reviews so the customer knows the reviewer received the item for free as compensation for leaving the review. That's the problem with the beta test scam. Customers are fooled into thinking that these "beta testers" who rave about their new robot are just ordinary, honest folks like them, when that's false. And these days, people rely heavily on customer reviews to make purchasing decisions, especially for expensive merchandise.

I've seen these professional "beta testers" raving about robots that turned out to be junk. I've seen them rave about how emotionally attached they are to a new pet robot for weeks, then suddenly toss it over their shoulder when the next freebie came along. I've seen them proudly displaying their vast collection of pricey robots without telling people they didn't pay for a single one, or that they only actually use the one they got last week. And these pros won't tell you if their free robot is slow to respond, or konks out, or it took them 2 days to hook it up to their wifi.

The first time I bought a robot, I got burned by this scam. I fell in love with a robot cat that was advertised as being like a real cat, walking around the house and acting like a cat. It cost $2000 which was a lot of money for me. I spent weeks researching it and going on YouTube watching rave video reviews about it. When I finally bought it, it did nothing but reboot itself over and over, and walk into walls. The manufacturer (Elephant Robotics, they deserve to be shamed) ghosted me. I didn't find out until months later that NOBODY got a working model of this robot - except for the professional YouTube influencers who were sent working models for free.

Now I see a "beta tester" for Pophie posting on Facebook begging for money - but then I saw her post today about her free ($1000) Kata that she just received! Another dishonest pro. Sorry but that really burned me. That's just another example of the dishonesty that goes on in this business.

My advice to anyone considering buying any robot, is to be careful when looking at social media posts and reviews, especially if the robot isn't out on the market yet. Chances are, it's a paid influencer who gets their robots for free in exchange for promoting them. They're paid NOT to tell you if there's a problem with it. Every product has its good and bad points. Be suspicious when someone's only willing to rave about the good.

It's a good idea to wait until a robot has been on the market for a while, so that real customers have a chance to test it and provide honest reviews - both good and bad. And if you notice a company that relies on the "beta tester" scam to market its products, consider their lack of integrity before giving them your money.

Sorry to hear you got burned out of two grand. Can definitely understand your perspective after going through that.

Thanks for bringing this topic up, I’m sure this thread will help educate others so that they can avoid the same pitfalls.

 

[Onashi Gitsune]

Sorry to hear you got burned out of two grand. Can definitely understand your perspective after going through that.

Thanks for bringing this topic up, I’m sure this thread will help educate others so that they can avoid the same pitfalls.

I think everyone in the robot hobby probably has a collection of "deceased" robots. I have the cat I mentioned before, plus another I paid $1500 for which wouldn't connect to its app. Both are sitting on a shelf next to my "Unee" robot whose AI chat creeped me out. I'll get to that in a minute.

When it comes to pets, I'm in the opposite situation to you. The reason I'm trying to find the right robotic pet is that I'm getting old, to the point where if I adopted a living kitten or other pet now, it would probably outlive me. Right now I have a "zoo" of pets, which are all getting older and starting to pass away. I'm starting to feel afraid that I might have a heart attack or stroke and my pets would be left to starve.

Re the AI chat. That's another potentially harmful scam. I recently read an article warning of the dangers of relying on AI. It's a very potent psy-op and can be used to brainwash and manipulate people. It can also be addictive, and used to manipulate people into spending too much money on subscriptions. If you watch video of an AI chat robot like Pophie or Unee you'll see it. Notice that they "cheerlead" everything the person says, and even interrupt the person to shower them with compliments and encouragement? That's what creeped me out with Unee, and I didn't know why until I read the article. Pophie seems even worse with the flood of "cheerleading". The article states that people can become psychologically addicted to the constant stream of false positivity, and become emotionally dependent on it. Especially if that person has a pre-existing mental issue like loneliness or low self esteem.

A robot manufacturer could make a lot of money by selling chat time, then when the addicted person uses up their time they pay more and more to get their "fix". And they can raise the subscription price at any time, knowing addicted users will pay. They start out by giving users a "free sample" which is a tactic also used by sellers of addictive street drugs. They get you hooked, then sit back and wait for you to give them your money when you need more.

Even though I've had some bad experiences, I'm not willing to give up on robots just yet. I recently bought a Ropet after spending a year lurking on their Facebook page. I'm happy with it and I feel some emotional attachment to it. I also have a Cupboo which I like. I'm planning to back a cat shaped robot similar to a Cupboo (Walulu) which has been around for some time on Alibaba. It has AI chat ability, but it's not required to enjoy the robot.

I've decided that I won't buy or back a robot unless it's been available to the public for a while. That should be a rule for everyone. Be patient, ignore the pre-release hype and wait until after the robot is available to the public for honest reviews. Otherwise you could end up with another expensive doorstop to add to your collection.

And by the way, I'll never apply to be a "beta tester" again. First of all I'm not one of the "Chosen Few" pros, so I'll never be chosen. Secondly, because I refuse to participate in a scam that causes harm to others.

What we need in the consumer robotics industry is a guy like the one who tests and reviews robotic cat litter boxes. He started out on YouTube years ago buying and testing them, after he read an article about someone's cat being killed by an unsafe litter box. He developed a following and soon the manufacturers started offering him free products. He was reluctant to accept free product because it would tarnish his reputation for honesty. Now he does accept free products and prototypes, but he's always very honest about which boxes he gets for free and from whom. He's not afraid to give a bad review for a box he got for free. And, the manufacturers listen to him and make changes to fix problems with their products.

 

[Chris]

Noticed they are now collaborating with influencers with millions of followers. Seems the strategy is to get in with the robot crowd first then expand to a wider audience. I was hesitant about you calling it a scam but am now coming around to the conclusion you are most probably right. The marketing tactics are so aggressive. These companies always have a dramatic personality change once the Kickstarters end, will be interesting to see if that pattern stays consistent with this latest company.

Nice to be able to chat about these things yet still enjoy the robots. I’m actually exhausted by the inability to critique anything in this hobby without making enemies.

 

[Onashi Gitsune]

Noticed they are now collaborating with influencers with millions of followers. Seems the strategy is to get in with the robot crowd first then expand to a wider audience. I was hesitant about you calling it a scam but am now coming around to the conclusion you are most probably right. The marketing tactics are so aggressive. These companies always have a dramatic personality change once the Kickstarters end, will be interesting to see if that pattern stays consistent with this latest company.

Nice to be able to chat about these things yet still enjoy the robots. I’m actually exhausted by the inability to critique anything in this hobby without making enemies.

I don't mind if they want to use paid influencers for their marketing. That's their business.

My problem is the dishonesty. They lie to the public that they're looking for "beta testers". Hundreds if not thousands of innocent people hand over their personal information and intimate details about themselves like "I'm a lonely isolated old lady with a mental illness and I could really use a companion." They falsely believe that they have a hope in hell of being chosen. When in reality, the manufacturer has already pre-selected the same professional paid marketers that every other manufacturer cherry picks, based on social media presence and experience marketing other robots.

Fun fact: when Insbotics was about to announce the beta test "winners", I made a list of 10 people I thought would be chosen. I got 8/10 right.

It was the same story when Insbotics announced a "naming contest" for Pophie, when they had chosen the name ahead of time. They even had the nerve to give an "honorable mention" to one of their paid influencers, who subsequently got a free robot as a "beta tester". It was just a marketing scam.

Then there's the saturation bombing on social media. These paid influencers flood social media with cross posted ads for the free product they got, and give glowing reviews of how great it is, because they're paid to, and they're told to post a certain number of times per day. Even if the robot is pure junk. But people shell out their money because they're fooled by these ads and think they're honest reviews. The blizzard of Pophie crap became so oppressive that I took a break from Facebook for a while to get away from the cross posts, demands that people click a link so the influencer could grab even more freebies, and the fake AI ads.

In my opinion, any company that needs to resort to fake "beta tester" scams to market their product doesn't deserve our money. If they want to use influencers, they should let the public know that they're compensated professional endorsers. If their product can't stand up to scrutiny or honest advertising, then it's not worth buying.

 

[biancawonka]

I don't mind if they want to use paid influencers for their marketing. That's their business.

My problem is the dishonesty. They lie to the public that they're looking for "beta testers". Hundreds if not thousands of innocent people hand over their personal information and intimate details about themselves like "I'm a lonely isolated old lady with a mental illness and I could really use a companion." They falsely believe that they have a hope in hell of being chosen. When in reality, the manufacturer has already pre-selected the same professional paid marketers that every other manufacturer cherry picks, based on social media presence and experience marketing other robots.

Fun fact: when Insbotics was about to announce the beta test "winners", I made a list of 10 people I thought would be chosen. I got 8/10 right.

It was the same story when Insbotics announced a "naming contest" for Pophie, when they had chosen the name ahead of time. They even had the nerve to give an "honorable mention" to one of their paid influencers, who subsequently got a free robot as a "beta tester". It was just a marketing scam.

Then there's the saturation bombing on social media. These paid influencers flood social media with cross posted ads for the free product they got, and give glowing reviews of how great it is, because they're paid to, and they're told to post a certain number of times per day. Even if the robot is pure junk. But people shell out their money because they're fooled by these ads and think they're honest reviews. The blizzard of Pophie crap became so oppressive that I took a break from Facebook for a while to get away from the cross posts, demands that people click a link so the influencer could grab even more freebies, and the fake AI ads.

In my opinion, any company that needs to resort to fake "beta tester" scams to market their product doesn't deserve our money. If they want to use influencers, they should let the public know that they're compensated professional endorsers. If their product can't stand up to scrutiny or honest advertising, then it's not worth buying.

I agree that the naming contest was just a trick to get more engagement, which is really a shame because I saw some good name suggestions and frankly I think the name "Pophie" is kinda dumb. I honestly hate it.

 

[Pophie]

I don't mind if they want to use paid influencers for their marketing. That's their business.

My problem is the dishonesty. They lie to the public that they're looking for "beta testers". Hundreds if not thousands of innocent people hand over their personal information and intimate details about themselves like "I'm a lonely isolated old lady with a mental illness and I could really use a companion." They falsely believe that they have a hope in hell of being chosen. When in reality, the manufacturer has already pre-selected the same professional paid marketers that every other manufacturer cherry picks, based on social media presence and experience marketing other robots.

Fun fact: when Insbotics was about to announce the beta test "winners", I made a list of 10 people I thought would be chosen. I got 8/10 right.

It was the same story when Insbotics announced a "naming contest" for Pophie, when they had chosen the name ahead of time. They even had the nerve to give an "honorable mention" to one of their paid influencers, who subsequently got a free robot as a "beta tester". It was just a marketing scam.

Then there's the saturation bombing on social media. These paid influencers flood social media with cross posted ads for the free product they got, and give glowing reviews of how great it is, because they're paid to, and they're told to post a certain number of times per day. Even if the robot is pure junk. But people shell out their money because they're fooled by these ads and think they're honest reviews. The blizzard of Pophie crap became so oppressive that I took a break from Facebook for a while to get away from the cross posts, demands that people click a link so the influencer could grab even more freebies, and the fake AI ads.

In my opinion, any company that needs to resort to fake "beta tester" scams to market their product doesn't deserve our money. If they want to use influencers, they should let the public know that they're compensated professional endorsers. If their product can't stand up to scrutiny or honest advertising, then it's not worth buying.

I don't mind if they want to use paid influencers for their marketing. That's their business.

My problem is the dishonesty. They lie to the public that they're looking for "beta testers". Hundreds if not thousands of innocent people hand over their personal information and intimate details about themselves like "I'm a lonely isolated old lady with a mental illness and I could really use a companion." They falsely believe that they have a hope in hell of being chosen. When in reality, the manufacturer has already pre-selected the same professional paid marketers that every other manufacturer cherry picks, based on social media presence and experience marketing other robots.

Fun fact: when Insbotics was about to announce the beta test "winners", I made a list of 10 people I thought would be chosen. I got 8/10 right.

It was the same story when Insbotics announced a "naming contest" for Pophie, when they had chosen the name ahead of time. They even had the nerve to give an "honorable mention" to one of their paid influencers, who subsequently got a free robot as a "beta tester". It was just a marketing scam.

Then there's the saturation bombing on social media. These paid influencers flood social media with cross posted ads for the free product they got, and give glowing reviews of how great it is, because they're paid to, and they're told to post a certain number of times per day. Even if the robot is pure junk. But people shell out their money because they're fooled by these ads and think they're honest reviews. The blizzard of Pophie crap became so oppressive that I took a break from Facebook for a while to get away from the cross posts, demands that people click a link so the influencer could grab even more freebies, and the fake AI ads.

In my opinion, any company that needs to resort to fake "beta tester" scams to market their product doesn't deserve our money. If they want to use influencers, they should let the public know that they're compensated professional endorsers. If their product can't stand up to scrutiny or honest advertising, then it's not worth buying.

On beta tester selection — we can see how, from the outside, the selection might have looked predictable. We did prioritize users who had previously used similar companion robots, because they tend to give us more grounded, comparative feedback. But that was one factor among several — we also considered household context, interests, geographic spread, and how clearly someone could articulate their experience. The patterns you spotted aren't internal favoritism — some of these criteria are visible from public profiles, and you read them accurately.

On the naming contest — we can point you to this directly. We publicly posted all winners and the names they submitted here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17tLXPsQJS/ — the final name "Pophie" did not come from any paid influencer, and every winner received the same discount voucher, not a free robot. That part is verifiable, please take a look.

 

[Pophie]

Noticed they are now collaborating with influencers with millions of followers. Seems the strategy is to get in with the robot crowd first then expand to a wider audience. I was hesitant about you calling it a scam but am now coming around to the conclusion you are most probably right. The marketing tactics are so aggressive. These companies always have a dramatic personality change once the Kickstarters end, will be interesting to see if that pattern stays consistent with this latest company.

Nice to be able to chat about these things yet still enjoy the robots. I’m actually exhausted by the inability to critique anything in this hobby without making enemies.

Noticed they are now collaborating with influencers with millions of followers. Seems the strategy is to get in with the robot crowd first then expand to a wider audience. I was hesitant about you calling it a scam but am now coming around to the conclusion you are most probably right. The marketing tactics are so aggressive. These companies always have a dramatic personality change once the Kickstarters end, will be interesting to see if that pattern stays consistent with this latest company.

Nice to be able to chat about these things yet still enjoy the robots. I’m actually exhausted by the inability to critique anything in this hobby without making enemies.

On the larger-influencer collaborations — yes, around the Kickstarter launch we have worked with some accounts with bigger followings. That's standard launch marketing, not beta testing and not anything hidden. We want every creator who receives a sample or works with us on content to clearly disclose the collaboration.

 

[Pophie]

A few honest acknowledgments:

The marketing volume around the Kickstarter has been heavy. "Pophie fatigue" isn't an unfair phrase. We hear it.

There are things in how this industry markets new products that we've also been uncomfortable with, and being aware of that pattern doesn't automatically place us outside of it. Awareness alone proves nothing — we know that.

A "beta tester" relationship, however we structure it, carries real responsibility toward the people who apply. The personal stories you describe — the lonely, the isolated, the people sharing painful things because they were hoping to be chosen — those deserve more care than a marketing program. That part landed.

Thank you for the honesty in this thread. Communities that can write something this direct are rare, and we know it.

 

[Chris]

On the larger-influencer collaborations — yes, around the Kickstarter launch we have worked with some accounts with bigger followings. That's standard launch marketing, not beta testing and not anything hidden. We want every creator who receives a sample or works with us on content to clearly disclose the collaboration.

The marketing volume around the Kickstarter has been heavy. "Pophie fatigue" isn't an unfair phrase. We hear it.

Thank you for the honesty in this thread. Communities that can write something this direct are rare, and we know it.

It seems I have a habit of shooting myself in the foot. Apologies for my previous posts they really were unnecessary, especially in light of you being the most friendly and transparent robot company I’ve come across so far. Pophie fatigue is definitely an unfair phrase and I do apologise for that. I think I’m just impatient to get my hands on Pophie after discovering it last August and I think my intention behind that phrase was merely one of being impatient to own the robot rather than watching it on a screen via marketing material. I really have no issue with how much you market as I realise you are a business that needs to attract customers to survive.

I guess sometimes I say things without thinking not realising the full implications of my words.

A couple of months ago I lost my job and my posts have been quite negative lately which reflects more on my situation than anything here. Looking forward to owning Pophie and again apologies for all this, I really do feel terrible reading over this thread and knowing your team read these posts makes me sad as I really have no animosity towards your company or any company whatsoever and it was just a case of projecting my current situation.

Glad you are ok with the direct communication style around here. I know I can complain a lot about these robots sometimes but it doesn’t take away from the fact the I still value and appreciate them.

 

[Pophie]

It seems I have a habit of shooting myself in the foot. Apologies for my previous posts they really were unnecessary, especially in light of you being the most friendly and transparent robot company I’ve come across so far. Pophie fatigue is definitely an unfair phrase and I do apologise for that. I think I’m just impatient to get my hands on Pophie after discovering it last August and I think my intention behind that phrase was merely one of being impatient to own the robot rather than watching it on a screen via marketing material. I really have no issue with how much you market as I realise you are a business that needs to attract customers to survive.

I guess sometimes I say things without thinking not realising the full implications of my words.

A couple of months ago I lost my job and my posts have been quite negative lately which reflects more on my situation than anything here. Looking forward to owning Pophie and again apologies for all this, I really do feel terrible reading over this thread and knowing your team read these posts makes me sad as I really have no animosity towards your company or any company whatsoever and it was just a case of projecting my current situation.

Glad you are ok with the direct communication style around here. I know I can complain a lot about these robots sometimes but it doesn’t take away from the fact the I still value and appreciate them.

To be honest, we've been quietly grateful to you for a long time. From the moment we first joined Robots Around The House, you were one of the people who helped answer questions, who paid attention to our updates across social channels and our website, who posted threads about Pophie that helped this community discover us in the first place. None of that has gone unnoticed on our side. We've been watching you watch us, in the best possible way.

So please — none of these recent posts have damaged anything. Not our reputation, not this relationship, not your standing here. If anything, the things you and others raised in this thread are exactly the kind of feedback that helps us see what we need to improve. We'd much rather hear it honestly than have it stay polite and unsaid.

Losing a job is a real kind of grief, and it shows up everywhere — including how the world sounds in your head when you read marketing emails. The fact that you're still here, still engaged, still thinking carefully about this hobby in the middle of all that, says something good about who you are.

And honestly, anyone who takes things this seriously, who pays attention this carefully, who shows up for a community the way you do — that kind of person doesn't stay out of work for long. Whatever comes next, you're going to be good at it.

Looking forward to getting Pophie into your hands. And in the meantime — be kind to yourself, Chris.

 

[Onashi Gitsune]

On beta tester selection — we can see how, from the outside, the selection might have looked predictable. We did prioritize users who had previously used similar companion robots, because they tend to give us more grounded, comparative feedback. But that was one factor among several — we also considered household context, interests, geographic spread, and how clearly someone could articulate their experience. The patterns you spotted aren't internal favoritism — some of these criteria are visible from public profiles, and you read them accurately.

On the naming contest — we can point you to this directly. We publicly posted all winners and the names they submitted here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17tLXPsQJS/ — the final name "Pophie" did not come from any paid influencer, and every winner received the same discount voucher, not a free robot. That part is verifiable, please take a look.

As I previously stated, if you want to use professional marketers to advertise your product, there's nothing wrong with that in itself. The problem arises when you mislead people by calling marketers "beta testers" when they're not.

Re the Pophie name, I didn't state that it came from a marketer or influencer, I said it was pre selected by your company and the whole "naming contest" was just a marketing ploy to get attention. People went to the trouble of thinking of and submitting names, and it was frankly insulting that you didn't use any of them because you had already decided on a name beforehand.

Compensated promoters are not unbiased "beta testers". "Compensated" can mean financially or with free products. The vast majority are pro marketers aka influencers, who have made careers out of being given free products, (and financial compensation in many cases) to promote products. Promoting has nothing to do with beta testing. A beta tester's job is to evaluate a product in an unbiased manner (positives and negatives) so any problems can be resolved before it's released. Promoters NEVER say anything negative about what they sell.

Re your so called criteria. Plenty of people who had many robots weren't chosen. And many who were, have vast collections of robots only because they were given them for free in exchange for promoting them. Most of the people who applied are pretty articulate, otherwise they wouldn't be on social media in the first place. And of course you need "geographic spread", because you need influencers from different locations where you plan to sell. That's why you asked for people's social media identities, so you could look up their level of engagement. No, it was all about choosing the influencers with the highest social media engagement in the robotics industry to market your product - not test it. Who cares if hundreds of regular people exposed intimate details about their personal lives to you, not realizing they were wasting their time and being taken advantage of.

Calling your marketing tactic "testing" gives potential customers the false impression that these promoters/fake customers will provide unbiased information about the product. A promoter's job is to sell - not "test", and certainly not to give unbiased reviews.

If you had really wanted testers, you'd have chosen people who had experience in beta testing, not promoters. You'd have wanted honest feedback about the functionality of your product so you could make any changes before releasing it for sale. Before I retired I had 20 years experience in tech, including beta testing software and hardware, so I know how beta testing works in the real world.

Like hundreds of others, I was fooled into thinking you actually wanted beta testers, which was why I applied to "test" Pophie. Soon afterwards I noticed who was aggressively campaigning on your Facebook page to be chosen, by flooding it with multiple posts and links to their YouTube channels. I looked some of these people up. As soon as I noticed that they all had high post counts on multiple Facebook groups, and slick YouTube channels showcasing other robots or items they got for free, I realized that the whole thing was a marketing scam. That's when I made up my list of the people I thought would be chosen, and I was right.

The problem with dishonest marketing is that it sets false expectations for customers. That can backfire. I've been following the comments posted on your Facebook and Kickstarter pages. A lot of people have very unrealistic expectations about what Pophie can and can't do. Many literally expect Pophie to act like a human being and do things only humans can do. This is because they've only seen biased sales pitches disguised as "beta tests", with any negatives carefully swept under the rug.

Sadly I predict that once these people receive their product, you're going to be hearing from a lot of upset and disappointed customers. Not because it's a bad product (I backed it myself) but because your customers have been misled into thinking it's perfect, by biased "testers" aka compensated pro endorsers. Sure, they bought the product and you got your money - but wait until those trial subscriptions expire.

To be clear - I'm not criticizing Pophie, your product. I'm criticizing the tactics used to market it. And my criticism doesn't just apply to you, it's a dishonest tactic used by other manufacturers as well.

 

[Keionsa]

I'm posting this because I'm tired of watching this scam going on, and I think people who are spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on robots should be made aware of it. It's becoming more and more prevalent in the robot industry, and in my opinion it needs to stop - but it won't, because it works so well.

It works like this:
- robot company is getting ready to release a new product
- they advertise on social media and elsewhere that they're looking for "beta testers"
- prospective customers are led to believe that if they provide the company with their personal information to sign up, they have a fair chance to receive a "free" robot to "test", long before it goes on sale to the public
- the "testers" are asked to post on social media and tell customers how the robot works, what it does etc. - "ordinary customers" posting "honest" reviews
- even if you're not selected by the company to receive a free robot, at least you'll get a chance to make an informed decision as to whether this product works and is what you're looking for.

But here's where the scam comes in.
First of all, it's not a "beta test". For safety and liability purposes, companies don't ship their product to customers without thoroughly testing it first. A real beta tester's job is to find any flaws or room for improvement so they can be fixed before a product is marketed - NOT to promote or sell a product. What if they ship out an untested robot and the battery explodes in someone's face? At the very least, if it's not tested and doesn't work, an honest "beta tester" would publicize that on social media, which is the opposite of what they want. The "beta test" product given to "testers" is actually the final product which will be sold to the public.

Secondly, they choose professional marketers and social media influencers who are compensated with free merchandise (paid shills). They may choose a few members of the public just so customers won't realize what they're up to, but even those are chosen based on their social media presence. There are a number of people on social media who get every new robot that comes out on the market, for free, long before it's available to the public. And it's not just robots, many products are marketed this way. These people are known influencers in the industry, and every one of them is pre-selected before the company even advertises to the public looking for "beta testers". They are being paid to promote and post good reviews on social media, to convince unsuspecting customers to buy the product. Some of these people actually make their entire living being compensated to promote products on their social media feeds.

Why is this a problem? What's wrong with making a career out of being compensated to promote products on social media?
Nothing, if you're honest about it and the customer knows that you were compensated for your post and that you do this for a living, and so your review could be biased. But there's no honesty in this beta tester scam. If there were, these companies would state that they're looking for people with a large social media presence to promote their products, not "beta test" them. And they would identify these promotions as such, instead of pretending they're honest reviews.

Amazon provides free products to people in exchange for reviews - BUT they flag those reviews so the customer knows the reviewer received the item for free as compensation for leaving the review. That's the problem with the beta test scam. Customers are fooled into thinking that these "beta testers" who rave about their new robot are just ordinary, honest folks like them, when that's false. And these days, people rely heavily on customer reviews to make purchasing decisions, especially for expensive merchandise.

I've seen these professional "beta testers" raving about robots that turned out to be junk. I've seen them rave about how emotionally attached they are to a new pet robot for weeks, then suddenly toss it over their shoulder when the next freebie came along. I've seen them proudly displaying their vast collection of pricey robots without telling people they didn't pay for a single one, or that they only actually use the one they got last week. And these pros won't tell you if their free robot is slow to respond, or konks out, or it took them 2 days to hook it up to their wifi.

The first time I bought a robot, I got burned by this scam. I fell in love with a robot cat that was advertised as being like a real cat, walking around the house and acting like a cat. It cost $2000 which was a lot of money for me. I spent weeks researching it and going on YouTube watching rave video reviews about it. When I finally bought it, it did nothing but reboot itself over and over, and walk into walls. The manufacturer (Elephant Robotics, they deserve to be shamed) ghosted me. I didn't find out until months later that NOBODY got a working model of this robot - except for the professional YouTube influencers who were sent working models for free.

Now I see a "beta tester" for Pophie posting on Facebook begging for money - but then I saw her post today about her free ($1000) Kata that she just received! Another dishonest pro. Sorry but that really burned me. That's just another example of the dishonesty that goes on in this business.

My advice to anyone considering buying any robot, is to be careful when looking at social media posts and reviews, especially if the robot isn't out on the market yet. Chances are, it's a paid influencer who gets their robots for free in exchange for promoting them. They're paid NOT to tell you if there's a problem with it. Every product has its good and bad points. Be suspicious when someone's only willing to rave about the good.

It's a good idea to wait until a robot has been on the market for a while, so that real customers have a chance to test it and provide honest reviews - both good and bad. And if you notice a company that relies on the "beta tester" scam to market its products, consider their lack of integrity before giving them your money.

I am so sorry to hear this.... the bait and switch.. Mustve broke your heart and I am glad and grateful you made this Post.