Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do you have a Blog?

Q: How are members chosen to Get Shwaag'd?

A: For those giveaways that are using a sweepstakes method and rules (e.g. it's not skill based, or you're not anointed) then our resident geek says: "Our embedded software orders the entries randomly and chooses the top one(s). Then we verify eligibility according to the giveaway rules (e.g. are you old enough, did you have to tweet or post, etc?) and our linked-to Terms and Conditions." There. That's how ;)

Q: Can I really receive high quality products absolutely free?

A: Absolutely! Shwaag™ is the cool stuff that celebrities tote away from red carpet events by the truckload. Manufacturers and businesses are very willing to give away products and services for the chance to get brand exposure and street cred. At Shwaag, we believe that social media celebrities are where it's at! These days anyone can be a celebrity in his or her own right. If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, you are definitely Shwaagworthy™.

Q: What's the Local Shwaag™ stuff and how does that work?

A: Shwaag is rolling out on a market by market basis the ability for companies to do at a regional, state or even local level what Shwaag was originally doing for the entire country - giving premium stuff away to influencers. Our initial test is in Arizona (where we're headquartered), but we'll look to roll Local Shwaag capabilities out to other cities as we learn from our initial testing. This is an ideal solution for premium restaurants, services and experiences that don't make sense to market across the country, and it means *more* chances at Shwaag for members! For clarity of where something is being offered, we'll use local hashtags (i.e. #AZ or #NYC) on all twitter and facebook posts to show members and non-members the geographic limitations of all tweets, posts and Shwaag offerings.

Q: Why does it say, “Get it. Give it.™”, under your logo?

A: We believe that there is a drive inside of each of us to create joy in others through the act of giving. For that reason, we encourage everyone in the Shwaag community to enjoy those things that they are given, but to also spread that joy by giving to others. Giving Shwaag™ is meant to be an open expression of generosity. Our system will ultimately allow you to give Shwaag in a variety of ways: to friends and family, to random strangers or to charities.

At times, you may even be given the option to keep Shwaag for yourself, AND give Shwaag away to someone else! The possibilities are endless, and we aim to make giving Shwaag easy.

Q: How much will my private and personal information be abused, and how many spam lists will I end up on?

A: We are people with privacy concerns just like you. We detest companies and individuals that take liberties with our personal information. We may not know you personally yet, but we have great respect for you and your right to control and protect your personal information. If at any point during your interaction with Shwaag.com we require access to your personal data outside of our normal course of giving away Shwaag, we will ask you for your permission and fully disclose our intentions. If you ever choose to end your relationship with Shwaag™, your personal data will be available to you and/or forever wiped from our system, at your request. Please feel free to review our S.T.O.P Policy for more information.

Q: What kind of products and services should I expect to see at Shwaag.com?

A: It is our goal to introduce products that we, as the Shwaag™ community, feel are of high quality, are highly desirable and are unique in their offering. We also feel it is important to represent products and services from companies that aim to do good in the world, and equally, do good by their customers. We may miss from time to time, and look to you to help us continually get better at showcasing great Shwaag and great companies.

Q: Do I have to pay taxes on my Shwaag?

A: We have a sneaky suspicion that the government decides tax liability based on a definition that goes something like: “..anything you have now, that you didn’t have before, that has any kind of value.”

Shwaag is therefore, taxable. However, we will be working diligently with our corporate sponsors to see if we are able to offer our members ways to reduce or even eliminate their tax burden. In the meantime, federal law requires us to file a 1099 form for any Shwaag given out to any one individual over the course of our tax year, if the combined retail value of that Shwaag exceeds $600. We do not intend to file 1099 forms on Shwaag received by you that is less than $600, or Shwaag you’ve received from others.

Q: When someone tweets or post with #Shwaag or says in a review they got this from "Shwaag", what does that really mean?

A:First it means Shwaag members may already have, or may possibly soon receive, something premium for free to taste, test, try or whatever. While these are not paid endorsements in the traditional sense (we don't pay cash, and members are never under any obligation to do external posts) we believe using the #Shwaag (aka 'hashtag') or making sure to mention you "got this product as Shwaag" right up front in any review makes all your dealings with any free stuff, appropriately transparent. It's also the right thing to do. Secondly, it's a term for you to follow back to it's source. It means there is something of real value that you just might be able to share in as well!

Shwaag also embeds a #shwaag, Shwaag.me or Shwaag.com note in every url and post initiated by our members, through our site, in order to *ensure* there is always total transparency regarding involvement with a service that focuses on products, services and experiences given for free.

We strongly urge all blog posts and reviews done at other sites, that are based on products actually received for free through Shwaag (yes even with our "no strings attached, no requirements to post" policy), to mention up front "I got this as #Shwaag" or "from @Shwaag" or "from Shwaag.com". While not lawyers (although we've got a pretty cool one who advises us) it would be most prudent to link directly to the actual product giveaway in question on the Shwaag site. Contact us at Info@Shwaag.com for any further help or questions you may have on this.

Q: You guys there at Shwaag seem to be in a pretty good spot to receive a lot of Shwaag for yourselves, right?

A: Yes! We mean “no”! We mean “yes and no”! Sure, we are in a great position to get our hands on some pretty cool stuff, but we decided long ago that we would only accept Shwaag that we could then give away to others. The exceptions to this rule: for products we personally demo to provide feedback for our members in reviews; and for events we need to attend in support of our marketing partners. Otherwise these products will ultimately make their way into the Shwaag™ network, get sold on Ebay with 100% of proceeds to Charitable causes or get returned to the vendor..

Q: How do I change the present twitter account I am authenticated through to another one?

Go to the twitter.com/ account in question that you don't want connected;
Make sure your logged into it;
Then within twitter go to 'Profile' then 'Edit Profile' (below your picture) then to the very right the 'Connections' tab; then
Scroll down, find the 'Shwaag' application and 'revoke access' to it;
Log out;
Log IN to the twitter account you DO want on Shwaag;
Go back to Shwaag.com and try to do a tweet for live Shwaag, by following the 'Get Shwaag'd' and the 'Shwaag Me' buttons then the 'Bonus Entries' tab where there is a 'Twitter' button to push ...

... this should start the new Twitter authentication process with the right account ...

Q: What's the entourage?

A: Shwaag membership is by invitation only. Now YOU can invite your friends and start building your Entourage through the unique URLs created every time you tweet or post about a Shwaag Experience you’d like to win!

Q: How do I build my Entourage?

A: Every time you use a bonus entry to enter a Shwaag giveaway, a unique URL is created just for you and that specific product. This URL leads your friends and connections to an exclusive invitation from you. When they accept the invitation and join Shwaag, you are credited with a new member of your entourage!

Q: About the Entourage

A: A way to add fun and value to your social networking, Shwaag is giving YOU the ability to invite others to our exclusive, invitation only site. We'll be keeping track of your entourage, including the kind of influencers invited in ! Which will mean something cool in the near future, when we roll out our Shwaag-Style VIP program. Your influence on how many members join because of your links (aka entourage) will lead to higher status as a VIP. The bigger your entourage, and the more influential, the better the Shwaag experience becomes.