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When I was sending out bikes, pedals, apparel, etc..to magazines and websites I would let them keep (or pass on to a buddy) everything but complete bikes. Those they had for a predetermined time and had to send back.
Even though I had advertising contracts with some of them (not all) it did not guarantee a favorable review. It was tough to get magazine cover's, and that was always the goal. I was always pitching head-to-head contests with Specialized and Trek and Cannondale and so on. I was always told that bigger ad budgets do not guarantee covers, but the writing was on the wall. I had it out with RBA once over this issue.
The worst part of this process is that once you are known as "that guy" for a particular company...everyone with their cobbled together website would show up at Interbike pretending to be media in order to get free gear.
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