Novermber 5th, 2006 |
the Good Karma Project:
Asking companies to send me products
just because they feel like being nice.
the Good Karma project is that companies were generous enough to me that I'm be able to give out prizes! Seriously...prizes!
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I set out to see if companies really can be randomly nice and generous to consumers, hence the Good Karma Project. I contacted a few hundred companies asking them to send me stuff. (If you're interested, here's the letter I sent out.)
Most ignored me. But some sent out some truly fantastic stuff!
So here at theWAREHOUSE I'd like to recognize how great these participating companies are. I really encourage you guys to use these companies if you're in the market for the products they're offering. By participating in the Good Karma project they've shown that they really do care about consumers. And if you get the chance, please let them know you saw this article!
Oh and don't forget to enter the contests!
Don't forget to check out the bottom of the page for more info.
the Good Karma project results | |||||||||||
& Package |
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WOWWWWEEEEEE!!! Are you kidding? You're kidding. I'm dreaming. This can't be real. Allen Brothers has just sent me nearly three pounds of some of the best steak I've had in my entire life. The night the package arrived (cold packed in insulated foam with frozen packs) I was drooling and chuckling with unbridled joy over my freshly grilled juicy, buttery 14oz strip steak. WOW. I kept muttering to myself "this is so good" in a dazed trance. If you have ever considered ordering steaks online, get it from these guys. They have everything from buffalo and duck to Kobe style beef, sausages, seafood, and appetizers. Wow. Now that is the giving spirit! I don't want to put the prices of the steaks here but I just looked them up on their website and all I can say is WOW Allen Brothers is generous Trust me, guys, if you order from them you will not be disappointed. I'm salivating just writing about them. |
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Oh this is great. The guys over at Amazing Magnets are so cool! They sent me a ton of little magnets. Little spheres, little tubes, little pawn-shaped ones, and a big fat super-powered sphere. And if you know anything about Amazing Magnets (I've been hearing about them on the internet for a while now) you know that their magnets are seriously powerful. These aren't dinky little fridge magnets you get from garage sales or anything. These magnets are so powerful that they come with warnings. Seriously, playing with these things almost ensures you're going to get a hard, sharp pinch from magnets jumping together if you're not careful. They are the place to purchase magnets, hands down. Expect some magnet-based articles here in the future because, dangit, I just love this stuff! Thanks Amazing Magnets! |
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A good majority of my handyman expertise comes from spraypainting over stuff I don't like any more. That's why I was so thrilled when I saw that Krylon had sent me a case of six cans of black spray paint. Bonus: they're in the shiniest packaging I think I may have ever seen. I don't really know what H20 Latex means, as far as differentiating it from other spray paint, but it sure seems awesome. And packages that shiny can't be wrong. This is way cool, and extremely useful. Krylon must love theWAREHOUSE! | |||||||||
and Awards 
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Wow. Wow. Sweet. K2 Trophies and Awards not only has amazingly detailed trophies for great prices, but they've also got a huge heart. Not like a whale heart in a tank in a back room or something; I mean they're really generous. They sent me three very cool trophies and earnestly encouraged me to give them out to people so that the joy of winning a trophy could be spread. Really! How cool is that? Check out their site - they have a wide selection of meticulously detailed trophies and great customer service too. Thanks to these guys, you have the opportunity to win one of these fantastic trophies. Check out theWAREHOUSE Good Karma Contests! K2 thank you! |
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Band Together rocks! They were so psyched about the Good Karma project that they sent me a case of assorted wrist bands. What on earth am I going to do with so many? Give them out to you guys! See the links at the top of the page for contest details. In the mean time, check out Band Together because if you're in the market for this stuff, they will hook you up. Just some of the ones they sent me? Everything from "Carrie is my idol" to "Boyz 2 Men" to ones that were just a mix of textures and patterns and colors. And get this...they have glow in the dark stuff too. Opening this package actually made me giddy. |
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Hordes 
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If you're in the market for dice of any kind (gambling, board games, dungeons & dragons, etc) order them from Advancing Hordes! These guys are great. They sent me this totally sweet assortment of dice. Check out the picture. I'll wait! - beautiful swirly d6 with gold pips - fantasic set of Gamescience dice (sharp edges mean better rolls) - sweet and funky new take on a pill-shaped d10 - neat little zodiac die But - and this is so cool - they also included a maddeningly rad d20 within a d20. Yeah, that's right. How freaking ingenious is that? Seriously, buy all your dice from Advancing Hordes. And yes, I did break out the 3rd Edition Player's Handbook to take these pictures. |
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I LOVE IT! Finally someone agrees with what I've been saying for years....thank you Neighborhoodies! They're built on a great idea: "we customize clothing and accessories to say anything you'd like" - they have a bunch of templates and a ton of products and you can put pretty much whatever you want on it. But it's not crummy like CafePress; these guys are high class. They also sew on real fabric letters. Oh and no, I didn't ask them to make the shirt like that...they're just rad. | |||||||||
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Well now it's official; there's an award and everything! Quick Trophy sent me this rad fellow. Their site's really nice and looks pretty user friendly, so they're a great place for all your trophy needs. You know, if you need trophies and stuff. They have medals and whatnot, all sorts of neat things. | |||||||||
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OHHH HOH HOH HOH, you guys are funny. Apparently the parent company that owns Just for Men also owns Vagisil. This was great, because I got to come home to a big box of Vagisil sitting on my doorstep. And I thought to myself, "BWAH?" - but no, they were rad enough to send out four packages of their product - which I will either figure out some use for or donate to old people I know. Apparently they also have a great sense of humor, too....heh. Okay, yeah, it was pretty darn funny. | |||||||||
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This stuff is great. Goop is a thick, clear glue that really does a fine job adhering panes of lexan together, amongst many other things. They sent me a free tube, which is perfect timing, because I just about used up my last tube on the Bacon Tomb project (the theWAREHOUSE main page for a list of articles). Thanks Amazing Goop! | |||||||||
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Eight cans of tuna in varying flavors and three coupons for money off some of their other products! Awesome! But more than that, Starkist suggested that I donate the tuna to a food pantry. How cool is that? It's like saying "Yeah, your project sounds cool. We'll send you stuff, but we'd like you to consider donating it locally" - very classy move guys. So I did! Donate the cans, that is. | |||||||||
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Kettle Chips! Kettle Chips! They make what is probably the best potato chip out there. And what did they send me for the Good Karma project? SIX coupons for free bags. Six! Love it. I will enjoy, Janet from Kettle Chips. I will. | |||||||||
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Oh sweet....craft supplies! Jarden Home Brands (Diamond) sent me out seven coupons for free stuff. Everything from matches and lighters to clothespins and straws. That is way cool. Guess what most of my upcoming projects will be built with? Diamond brand supplies! Woo! | |||||||||
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Neat. Astroturf (yes, the Astroturf) sent me a couple, er, grass swatches. Four samples of different turf and a bag of infill, which I assume is stuff that goes down underneath the astroturf. I was kind of hoping they'd send a roll big enough for me to recarpet our balcony, but this is still rad too. I'll figure out some way to use this stuff. Honest. Thanks Astroturf! | |||||||||
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Sweet! Anyone who knows me knows I love coffee. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters must have heard too because they sent me FOUR sample packs. French Vanilla, Organic House Blend, Silver Celebration, and something weird called Pumpkin Spice. Thanks! | |||||||||
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Pilot was rad enough to send me three pens. I really dig the one on the left; the fine point "precise zing" - it's got really great ink flow and surprisingly doesn't smear at all. | |||||||||
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I just picked up a package of their Stadium Brats with one of the three great coupons Johnsonville sent me. Dang they're good. I want to try one of their beer brat packages next... Thanks guys! | |||||||||
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Reminderband is a great company for those oh-so-popoluar rubbery "Livestrong-esque" bracelets, but they've got a ton more options, including bands with great textures, insane colors, and really highly visible writing. Nice. I got a few color samples that match theWAREHOUSE theme, and a couple other bands too. | |||||||||
Energy Drink 
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Monster, my favorite energy drink (because it doesn't taste awful like Red Bull), sent me a neat package with a bunch of stickers, window decals, and bumper stickers. Now if only I had a car that people looked at without recoiling in horror. Oh, AND three coupons for a free can of the stuff. I go with Monster Lo-Carb because I'm watching my girlish figure. | |||||||||
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This is a really full service trophy and promotion shop. They sent me lanyards, coins, chocolate, change purses, pins, pens, pads - all customized! They really know their stuff. By the way...the chocolate? It's really good, not that cheap junk that other places stick in promotions. | |||||||||
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Sweeeeeet. Wonder bread. Good times. I used the coupon they sent me to score a huge loaf of Wonderbread. Unfortunately they didn't have any Wonder Light at my grocery store - I usually eat wheat bread. | ||||||||||
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Energizer was cool enough to send out two coupons, each for $1 off any package of Energizer batteries. Which is great, because batteries tend to be pretty expensive. | |||||||||
Yeast 
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Fleischmann's is actually owned by some conglomerate called ACH, but that's fine anyway because their yeast has really risen above (sorry) their competitors. Heck, even I've made a loaf of wheat bread with their yeast a few weeks ago. Thanks to them for this $1 coupon. | |||||||||
Online 
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Poker Chips Online sent me out a couple chips I thought were neat. This place is great - they offer a ton of options from a myriad of custom combined colors, imprints, etc to custom graphics. The chips are really great quality too and have a good weight and feel. They'd be a great gift for a poker buddy or promo item for your company. | |||||||||
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I was surprised Hot Topic sent me anything, but the guy I talked with was really cool. I got a handful of Atreyu stickers, some multimedia DVDs and three screamo (screaming emo) type CDs. And Heavens: Patent Pending was signed! Cool! Heavens is apparently one of the guys from the Alkaline Trio plus one of the guys from F-Minus. Dude. I've actually heard of them. | |||||||||
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Splenda sent me a whole big welcome kit that included...one packet of Splenda. Oh there was also a coupon for a Dasani "sensations" bottle, which they don't seem to sell in my area. | |||||||||
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In case you were wondering who the trophy brothers were, it's these guys. If you were wondering who won a blue ribbon and a little gold dancer pin, it's me. | |||||||||
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CONCLUSIONS: That was a huge variety of really great stuff! I'm really thankful for all the contributions that are going to be affecting my life for months and years to come. Between a ton of magnets, several good meals worth of amazing food, spraypaint and everything else that was delivered to my doorstep this Good Karma project has really proved the generosity of many companies. the FUTURE: I'm thrilled at how this project turned out. So thrilled in fact that I'm considering doing it again later just to see what turns up. If you work for (or own) a company and would like the opportunity to show your generosity, get in touch with me! In return, you get the exposure of being mentioned in a future article like this. Please mail me and we can talk. Because let's face it; it's really cool seeing how generous places can be, and I really like getting cool stuff for free. WISHLIST: Here are a few things that I was really hoping a company would want to send out but just didn't work: - Mannequin parts (heads, hands, etc) - Ferrofluid - Laser pointers - Target dummy parts (ie; plastic deer head) - Strange meat (ie; snake jerky, ground emu) - Gemstones (one place considered, then disappeared) - Perfume or Cologne - Scale models (tanks, gundam, etc) - Books - Tools | |||||||||
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