ok so a tiktok user posted the progress of his puzzle and he explained how he thinks his qr code is different than the .25 winners that hes seen. Im fairly certain that if my puzzle was not a .25 cent puzzle, my code would not have worked, so i still think my unfinished puzzle was .25. Here is his tiktok vm.tiktok.com/ZMeNnGnFu/
My best guess would be that it’s an extra security stage for higher value winners. There worst nightmare would be to accidentally tell too many people they won money and risk lawsuits. So, I’m guessing the high value winner’s have this alternate link that’s programmed to go down as soon as X number of prizes have been collected.
well actually as someone who works with similar stuff (CS major, software company) what they're probably doing is using the QR code to tell you what your prize is (ie 25 cents- $100,000) and then the code you have is more of a key that signs your request showing the system that it's valid because you actually purchased something. a pretty crappy validation system. but that would make sense why you puzzle looked different but you were still able to redeem w/ your code. if you think about it this is pretty clever for them too. if someone like you gets frustrated then they never complete and therefore never get the higher value QR code. but I could be wrong, it would be pretty dumb as if the big prize was won and they posted others could use their code to sign that QR and get the money potentially if their backend isn't properly secured. but bad programmers are everywhere so I wouldn't be surprised.
definitely what I thought - he can't say QR codes are different if they weren't. My guess is there are matching QR codes with matching codes to get into the site. Potentially different hosted sites with the same look to them. My guess is all "mail to win" codes are set aside with $0.25 winners and the unique ones are tied to higher amount. Unless his explicit omission of mail to win means 1 code from there is the real winner, but he could blame mail/shipping times on why it never reached the winner by Mar 31 (which is an exceptionally short window). I'll take the tin foil hat off now. In the end he's making beaucoup dollars per puzzle with this - imo a scam.
so i'm looking into the mail in option and it seems to be unnecessarily complicated also. it asks for a Supported Payment Account Username but doesn't list what payment accounts are supported. the closest i could find is "WHICH PAYOUT METHODS DO YOU OFFER? YOU’LL BE ABLE TO BE PAID OUT VIA A DIRECT DEPOSIT TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT." ok, so you want my bank info? on a postcard. not in an envelope. and when trying to message via their contact link, you're asked to confirm you aren't a robot before it ultimately just times you out and you're told your captcha has expired
From an avid jigsaw puzzler, “puzzle dust” is normal in new puzzles! Puzzles are made by printing the full puzzle, cutting it, dumping it in a bag, and then the pieces are scrambled once it’s in the bag. Thus the dust comes from the pieces being separated/shaken inside the bag. Kinda annoying but normal! Though this puzzle looks like a fresh hell so i salute you for trying
When I’m stuck with a puzzle 🧩 I just do the edges then try each individual piece till something fits particularly when I do not have a completed picture
As someone who likes puzzles, the least they could’ve done is made it an enjoyable design! I know they wanted the QR code thing but.... that wasn’t necessary
Ya I was thinking they could have done an actually image with the mixed in. people do some crazy cool works that work as codes as well. Sooo definitely bad choice and bad faith gambling
The mail in option was likely only included because a lot of areas require you to have a no purchase necessary way of entry or it becomes gambling. It irks me that people are acting like he included this method out of the good of his heart and not because his puzzle wouldn't be legal for sale everywhere in the United States if he didn't.
This is actually a country-wide law. You must have a free option in order for it to be considered a sweepstakes and not a lottery. Running a lottery is pricey with a lot of legal stipulations.
I haven't seen anyone claim he included the mail in just to be nice. Most people don't even know about the mail in option, and from what I've seen the people that know about it know why it had to be included.
So... he’s “giving away money”, but he’s making twice as much as he’s “giving”, and most of the prizes don’t cover even the price of the puzzle... yeah, that’s not really giving your followers money, seeing as most of them are still losing money on their investment, while he’s gaining money. Not sure if that technically counts as a scam, but it’s sketchy as hell, that’s for sure.
Congratulations, you described lottery scratchers. They have a 1:7 chance of winning decent money and I'm sure DD calculated that he would profit off of this puzzle. Keep in mind that $100k in sales doesn't mean he gets $100k in his pocket. Lots more would have gone to the process including app firmware, distribution, manufacturing, and more players.
The one think I would add here is that there's the cost of the actual puzzle. I have no idea the overhead of building and boxing a puzzle, but that will be at least a portion of the $30. Maybe only $5, I'd guess, so he's still probably making a net profit, but it's not as cut and dry as it seems.
@@cs5250 Sure, it's similar to lottery scratchers, but scratchers only cost a a tiny amount and aren't marketed as philanthropy. That's more what I take issue with.
@@Rognik That is a good point, I didn't take into account production costs. However, it still seems a bit scummy to me to make a profit off of something marketed as something to give back to his viewers with 'everyone winning', even though the majority of participants would still be losing money. If it was just a sweepstakes/contest type thing, that wouldn't be so bad, but it's that he framed it as generosity that seems off.
@@AkumakoCross I wouldn't say his promo video is philanthropic. "I'm giving out money, and all you need to do is assemble this puzzle!" It definitely sounds like a contest to me, sort of like a scavenger hunt except not going anywhere. If people think he's just giving away money (especially after looking at the prize breakdown), then they are naïve to how the world works.
Something about a rich person using a lottery loophole to get even richer and exploit poor people in the process just doesn't sit right with me, even if the rich person in question is a cute little boy with a contagious laugh pretending to be your average online friend :) that doesn't fool meee
I’ve been waiting so long for a comment like this. You’re absolutely right. He’s good looking and famous so he’s basically immune from criticism by sucking money out of unsuspecting fans. Kinda dirty.
exactly what i’m saying. this was clearly a marketing scheme, and he prob pocketing close to 3 million off of it. it’s not “trying to give all my fans money” 🙄
@@jamix8889 I do nonprofit fundraising/marketing, so I have to know the laws for this. Legally, this is a sweepstakes. Not a lottery. No gambling license required.
@@kjo1849 A) marketing a sketchy puzzle sweepstakes to your underaged fans for the explicit intent of exploiting them B) Claiming you’re doing this to give your fans money, which makes it seem as though the odds aren’t completely rigged (which they are) C) Not promoting a key aspect of the sweepstake (mailing in entry’s) He didn’t do anything ILLEGAL is more like it. Still exploiting his underaged viewers for a monetary gain, which is pretty shitty.
I feel like UA-camrs that make products that are morally in the gray-area for selling automatically should loose respect as a creator because that shows me you don't really respect your audiences (money, intelligence, time- for these kind of schemes). ESPECIALLY if that audience mainly makes up of kids that don't know better. Pretty scummy tbh.
i love puzzles and would love to put together a QR code puzzle for the sole sake of the challenge but i’m not about to give david dobrik $36 with my broke ass lmfao
It would have been so much more worth it if it were like an actual picture Like toss the code in the corner or something but the whole puzzle being a QR code is soooo boring especially for $30
"I finally figured out a way to give you guys money! It's by making you all give me a bunch of money so I can keep most of it and then 'give back' a small fraction of that! Preorder today!"
I just did the math and not including the probably pretty minimal cost of producing the puzzles, if all the puzzles available were purchased, David would net $2,774,892.50
@@kapsican I went on the website and for each prize section like the grand prize, second l, etc. I took the amount of puzzles times $30 subtracted by the amount of puzzles times the prize amount and added them all up. Sorry I explained that very poorly
A puzzle with only two colors and no discernable image would drive me as insane as it did you. I could have had the one hundred thousand dollar winner and it would be collecting dust in my closet.
I once saw a puzzle in a toy store that was one single colour, that's it. One shade of gold and 1000 pieces. I was very tempted to buy it but thought it would eventually drive me crazy and decided against it
I almost wish he'd made the background more varied to make it easier to assemble. Cause like green and black is so difficult. Like a simple rainbow gradient or some pretty stripes as a background would've been great.
Seriously! People would be less skeptical of the whole project if the puzzle represented any value at all as a fun or fulfilling or even bearable activity.
I doubt a QR code would work if it was presented on a background that's more than one color. If I'm not mistaken, QR codes work just like barcodes. Meaning they work by reading the spaces between the black lines (or black blocks) and having the empty space be of multiple colors would probably cause the code to not work
@556johny556 That's an excellent point. I did some googling, you're right that they work by looking at the white spots. But you can make the parts that are usually black colorful as long as they're sufficiently solid and dark. So perhaps rainbow qr code with a rainbow frame around it. I just think the product is so lazy.
@@sofiasofia-em no because then the puzzle would become easy as one could just use the gradient lines of the code and figure out which colours come first or make it in a sequence I guess 🤷♀️
So I know nothing about this puzzle, but every lottery-style system like this has the alternative write-in option and I've never seen anybody advertise it, it just exists for legal reasons. So I guess you can say it's bad form, but 100% of lotteries are this way.
Actual legal lotteries don't have free entries but they also are held to a much higher level of scrutiny and are only run by approved entities such as the state and some non-profits. Giveaways and sweepstakes have to have free entries. Had this not had the mail-in option it would have been considered a lottery and, since it would have not been approved since it is a private enterprise, been illegal.
I'm sorry but EXACTLY! I've never seen it highly publicized in ANY sweepstakes. It's not lottery bc that is legaling gambling, this is more chill, but I don't really think he should be catching drama for this
I can only imagine they have such a hard on for the "no reference, you have to earn it" thing along with having to link your literal bank account is because they want as few people as possible to actually redeem their prize. I can barely handle cartoon puzzles made for 10 year olds, this would make me have an aneurysm but maybe that $.25 could go towards my hospital bills.
i did a few big puzzles (1000 pieces, the pictures were Vermeer paintings), and the best advice i have is to put together the frame and then, if you cannot find pieces that fit, put them in line and try, one by one, to see if they fit against another one. but, yeah, the "no reference" thing is bullshit.
@@maijashea but the punishment for not putting the puzzle should be not having something to put up on your wall, but you don't get you have your $.25. No one's buying this because it's a puzzle, they're buying it for the giveaway. That's my opinion at least, I didn't buy it either way.
Karen is a puzzle queen, and the puzzle reviews I've seen from her are always fair and kind. Really goes to show how poor the puzzle is if Karen is saying that about it.
@@floraleia yeah she said it's doable, just not very beginner friendly, and also that she didn't like the premise either, so she didn't make an actual video for it
While this isn’t QUITE as scammy as Jake Paul/Ricegum promoting that gambling website to a probably younger fan base, this is pretty close 🥴 I won’t believe someone won $100,000 until I see pics
They genuinely seem just as scammy to me. I don't see how this is better in any way. Every time amanda repeated the "im giving away money to you guys" clip from that asshole my veins popped up. Dude is straight up tricking people.he is making more than he is giving away and people are paying more than they are getting. A lot more. In fact 1200 times moreif i didnt mess up the calculations. How is this giving away money. Why are we treating this any different than the mystery box shit
@@Meeeeewweeeeeep his friends definitely did, I remember watching a video (back when I watched them) of Zane, Scotty and I think Heath playing and promoting the site
@@Enel97 $30 is 120 times more than the 25 cents most people win. Of course there's other prizes too. There are 100,151 puzzles with a total prize pool of $251,125 or $2.51 average per person. The winner of $100k wins over 4 times as much as all the people (95,500) who win 25 cents combined ($23,875). The puzzle costs 12 times as much as the average prize. He could have been honest about it being a way to earn a lot of money instead of telling people it's a way to give back. He's not MrBeast. MrBeast actually gives people thousands of dollars and doesn't want anything back.
I’m Canadian so I’m not even eligible to buy or get this puzzle but the first time I heard about the puzzle was a TikTok of someone completing it and getting 25 cents. I realized that the QR code only directs you to the over all website and then the code is needed to claim your prize. So you don’t actually even need to cheat by using a picture of someone else’s puzzle. I just put in the website URL and it took me to the site
I don't know anything about David but advertising this as "a way to give away money" has big "I made this over priced merch line for YOU GuYS BEcaUSe wERe a FamILY ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" vibes
Sure, it's technically a sweepstakes but making it out that it's about giving money away when its essentially a money making venture is pretty scummy. Might as well have left a reference picture if all of the codes are the same.
I have never really watched David Dobrik, but my friend sent me a screenshot of the puzzle when it first came out because she knows I love puzzles. Just for fun, we each bought one, but on one order to save with shipping. I finally got them in the mail yesterday, and we will be getting together in a couple weeks to put them together. I knew from the very beginning that the odds are incredibly slim that we will make a profit. I just enjoy puzzles and had the extra money to spend, so I figured why not? When the controversy first came out, I thought people were being ridiculous because the website clearly states your odds of winning. But when I really thought about it, I am 23 years old. A young David Dobrik stan probably isn’t going to be able to see as easily that they most likely aren’t going to get anything more than 25 cents. His audience is largely made up of minors. With that in mind, it definitely does seem a bit sleazy.
Bruh mine didn't even show up. It was supposed to get here 3 weeks ago. I thought it would be fun even if I didn't win anything. The tracking app for the puzzle says it made it to my city, and then UPS "couldn't deliver it" so they sent it back to NY!! When I contacted the company for the puzzle, they said I had to contact UPS. I call UPS and they tell me there's nothing they can do. So not only did I not get to do the puzzle, but no one can even figure out where it is or why it never got sent to me..
I dont interact with david's content at all i've only heard about him from other people but i feel like everything he does has JUST the right amount of legally allowed sketch to it .. like the burger thing.. I hope he gets out of this weird gimmicky phase that seems like it's laser focused to profit off of young fans.
Him and mr beast are the most genuinely disgusting popular people on this site taking advantage of younger people with their fake personas when they are just profiting. Yet people give thos etwo a pass for some reason
It's 100% legal as a sweepstakes. It's just sketchy because sweepstakes are usually tied to an existing product, not a new product you wouldn't otherwise buy. And usually you're buying like a lunchable, not an overpriced $30 puzzle
If he really wanted to give away money, he could've sold this for, like, $15 and then guarantee that every one of them drops you between $100 and $200 or some. Charity, rich people's ultimate loophole.
It's only a scam if absolutely no one finds any of the higher-tier prizes. I won't be holding my breath to hear them chime in, but a scam implies there's no real way to win.
I'm more annoyed at the idea of buying a $30+ puzzle that doesn't even look pretty or enjoyable enough to put together more than once. That's the real crime.
Unrelated to the topic of the video, but thank you so much for adding closed captioning to your video! Not all UA-camrs do it, but it is so helpful for folks with hearing loss or folks who are ESL/EFL.
theres 25 cent prize and he stop talking about it? definitelly a scam if the minimum prize amount is the puzzle price plus 1$ or more then hes actually honest
From what I've seen not every puzzle is the same, but every puzzle for each prize amount is the same. The vast majority of prizes are 25¢ , but if you had a 50 cent puzzle and verification code, scanned a picture of a 25¢ puzzle and entered your code, it would have said that your code was incorrect.
I've participated in a lot of sponsored giveaways/sweepstakes, so I can say from experience that even if it's advertised as you have to buy a product and scan a code on it to enter, giveaways and sweepstakes in the U.S. are LEGALLY required to provide a free way to enter (otherwise it's gambling, which I'm sure has a ton of other regulations that go along with it). Sometimes it's online forms that give you a free entry, other times it's similar to this puzzle, where you mail in an index card to receive your entry code.
i was very confused at first and thought the puzzle cost 100,000 dollars and spent the first minutes wondering how Amanda was able to afford the puzzle...oops?
This reminds me of the Da Vinci Code prize, and the Advent Rising Prize, and the ol Pepsi Apache helicopter. The real prize were the friends we made along the way; it doesn't exist.
Was it an Apache? I thought it was a Harrier jet? Either way, by the time he got it - with the amount of interest he theoretically built up in all the time waiting for it - he was probably actually owed an F22 - Raptor.
Thank you for giving this puzzle the fair criticism it deserves. Many people are going with the "lottery for children" and "scam" arguments when that's all false. It's perfectly legal, it complies with the definition of sweepstakes the chances of winning are clearly laid out and public for anyone to check out and know exactly what you're getting for the money you spent, so definitely not a scam. However, as you pointed out it was very calculated how he never promoted the mail in option, how he couldn't even put $30 as a minimum prize (so the wording "everybody wins" is somewhat not entirely true), how unnecessarily complicated and "ugly" this puzzle is (like you wouldn't even want to display it in your house once you've solved it). From a business standpoint is very smart because he made a ton of money, but coming from a content creator whose audience consist mainly of young people, it's a very dodgy and kind of scummy practice... So, in conclusion, people need to stop with the fake news, and if you want to criticize something, do it based on real reasons.
If it makes you feel better, my coworkers and I bought an all-white puzzle. After 1.5 years, we still hadn't completed the edge. We had three pieces left, and they did not fit in the remaining spaces. Not only was the puzzle white, it was 1000 pieces, the pieces were very small, and the pieces were very similarly shaped. We had a magnifying glass and a straight edge to try to see which pieces actually fit together (since some pieces seemed like they fit, but they did not actually fit). It was insane, and we gave up. 😅
While watching this video I searched for the puzzle on Twitter, found a completed one, scanned, and won 25 cents smh. Glad I didn't waste my time because the puzzle is still in the packaging and I got it a month ago
I'm only a little way in but with the redundancy built into qr codes, I would try to scan every time I put a new piece in after I got the control squares in place.
I think this would have been worth it if it was an actual puzzle. Completing a 500 piece "puzzle" of a disgusting neon green QR code is not at all worth it. If he had different options for pictures or something, then I think it would've been a good deal because you'll have a puzzle that you like with a chance to win money.
@@lol-ot4pn It is more for his fans, but I still think he should care at least a little about them and give them something worth while. Plus if he did add a design to it, I'm sure he would've gotten WAY more sales because then casual puzzle people might actually buy one, rather than just his fans.
@@Murder.Of.Crows. Gurl if anything i think we should know by now that they know what they want and are doing. They probably have teams for that and i doubt david has control because i feel like h3 doesnt care lol.
Puzzle dust is normal! I do puzzles often and all of them have an amount of puzzle dust, sometimes even actual handfuls! It's not broken or badly manufactured or anything :)
I think one of the shadiest things about this is that he sent a whole bunch of puzzles out as PR. Why the hell would you send a lottery ticket as PR? That's such a crap move. And I really hate to be this person, but I am going to assume that people who are on David's PR probably are already very well off. So basically there's a very good chance that we're just going to witness some other millionaire influencer add yet another $100,000 to his growing pile of money. Not that I'm salty about this or anything...
It’s like the McDonald’s Monopoly game. It was exposed that the entire game was rigged, with a majority of the winning pieces going to affluent people close to the game makers at McDonald’s.
@@loveland852 Precisely, I was thinking about that as well. Though I will say that periodically getting a free fry or drink was at least a little satisfying.
Puzzles like this are extremely difficult. When all the pieces look identical it makes it so much harder than a normal puzzle. That's definitely not a 5.
Of course he stopped promoting it. Best case scenario for him, he sold a bunch of puzzles and nobody has cashed in for the big prize. At this point, each additional sale is a game of diminishing returns for him. Each time someone buys a puzzle, it's still $30 for Dobrik, but an ever-growing chance that it contains the 100.000 code. 100% that's a sentence that was said during the marketing pitch for this, "Worst case, somebody wins big and it's great promo for you! Best case, nobody wins and you get to keep the money for the puzzles AND save yourself $100.000!"
Even if the $100,000 puzzle has been sent already, the winner would have to complete the puzzle with no reference (there's only 1 puzzle and each tier has a different QR code) and claim their prize before midnight eastern of March 31st, 2021. Unless that person has the willpower of a God, it's unlikely anyone would actually win the $100,000 and he can legally get away with it because all of this was on the website.
@@TuesdaysArt As someone who works in Marketing AND loves puzzles AND designs escape room-like challenges (having used QR codes in a similar manner before - minus the gambling bit) I'm actually kind of loving this.
I'm not defending the puzzle, but I will say that the write in option was no more or less hidden then it ever is. Every single time any fast food place has given away prizes there was a way to write in to enter. McDonald's monopoly, has a write in. They don't advertise it, because from McDonald's perspective the reason for the sweepstakes is to sell more, but its in the fine print. Not saying it's not scummy, just the requirement is for legal reasons, but selling the puzzles is their goal.
I am finding this puzzle to be impossible. I am usually so quick with puzzles but my brain just can't seem to get this. Relieved to hear I'm not alone.
It is not a scam. If you scheared on the website. You can find how high a chance you have of winning. If no one got the highest prize. Than it is a scam
The write in option and it being hidden in small text and never publicized is totally normal actually. Yeah it’s shady, but it’s also been a thing for decades. McDonalds’ monopoly is a good example of this. Legally, all sweepstakes need a mail in option.
I worked in social advertising for a while and we did monthly sweepstakes for one of our brands, and this is definitely shady! At least the way that David promoted it, the rules themselves actually seem sound. Our giveaways were in Canada (excluding Quebec because their rules are strict), so I’m sure the laws are different, but we rarely did sweepstakes with a purchase option because it’s a lot more work, and when we did it was something they were probably going to buy anyway (a bottle of wine, a ticket to a music festival) and I think that’s the really gross part here. People bought this puzzle to win money, not to enjoy the puzzle. I know that’s not a legal issue, but I do think it’s an ethical one.
I mean, this sounds like it could be a cool fundraiser for a charity, but the way this dude handled it it's clearly just unregulated gambling meant to make himself richer.
As a sweepstakes connoisseur of 40 years I can tell you those odds are VERY shitty for one thing. Another EVERY SINGLE reputable buisness offers a free alternative method of entry because some states require it.
The "alternate entry" not being promoted is nothing new. In fact, I've never seen any contests say outright, "Oh by the way, you can also avoid paying and just send in a postcard." It's always in the fine print and is a requirement for contests. But it's never promoted at the forefront.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the puzzle wasn’t so expensive or if the prizes were better, how hard is it to hand out a few dozen 10, 20, 50 dollar winners?
ok so a tiktok user posted the progress of his puzzle and he explained how he thinks his qr code is different than the .25 winners that hes seen. Im fairly certain that if my puzzle was not a .25 cent puzzle, my code would not have worked, so i still think my unfinished puzzle was .25.
Here is his tiktok vm.tiktok.com/ZMeNnGnFu/
My best guess would be that it’s an extra security stage for higher value winners. There worst nightmare would be to accidentally tell too many people they won money and risk lawsuits. So, I’m guessing the high value winner’s have this alternate link that’s programmed to go down as soon as X number of prizes have been collected.
well actually as someone who works with similar stuff (CS major, software company) what they're probably doing is using the QR code to tell you what your prize is (ie 25 cents- $100,000) and then the code you have is more of a key that signs your request showing the system that it's valid because you actually purchased something. a pretty crappy validation system. but that would make sense why you puzzle looked different but you were still able to redeem w/ your code. if you think about it this is pretty clever for them too. if someone like you gets frustrated then they never complete and therefore never get the higher value QR code. but I could be wrong, it would be pretty dumb as if the big prize was won and they posted others could use their code to sign that QR and get the money potentially if their backend isn't properly secured. but bad programmers are everywhere so I wouldn't be surprised.
definitely what I thought - he can't say QR codes are different if they weren't. My guess is there are matching QR codes with matching codes to get into the site. Potentially different hosted sites with the same look to them.
My guess is all "mail to win" codes are set aside with $0.25 winners and the unique ones are tied to higher amount. Unless his explicit omission of mail to win means 1 code from there is the real winner, but he could blame mail/shipping times on why it never reached the winner by Mar 31 (which is an exceptionally short window).
I'll take the tin foil hat off now. In the end he's making beaucoup dollars per puzzle with this - imo a scam.
so i'm looking into the mail in option and it seems to be unnecessarily complicated also. it asks for a Supported Payment Account Username but doesn't list what payment accounts are supported. the closest i could find is "WHICH PAYOUT METHODS DO YOU OFFER? YOU’LL BE ABLE TO BE PAID OUT VIA A DIRECT DEPOSIT TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT." ok, so you want my bank info? on a postcard. not in an envelope.
and when trying to message via their contact link, you're asked to confirm you aren't a robot before it ultimately just times you out and you're told your captcha has expired
Aye it’s rusty van ranch!
That’s a fun tiktok account
He legit said "I'm practically GIVING away money! Just pay me 30 bucks." Rich people are wild
From an avid jigsaw puzzler, “puzzle dust” is normal in new puzzles!
Puzzles are made by printing the full puzzle, cutting it, dumping it in a bag, and then the pieces are scrambled once it’s in the bag. Thus the dust comes from the pieces being separated/shaken inside the bag. Kinda annoying but normal!
Though this puzzle looks like a fresh hell so i salute you for trying
When I’m stuck with a puzzle 🧩 I just do the edges then try each individual piece till something fits particularly when I do not have a completed picture
Puzzle fandom turn up
i was gonna say seems like she’s not an avid puzzler. makes the difficulty of it way worse
thank you Bernie Sanders
I literally just came here to comment this lol. Thank you for beating me to it.
As someone who likes puzzles, the least they could’ve done is made it an enjoyable design! I know they wanted the QR code thing but.... that wasn’t necessary
they could have put the QR code in the corner or like integrate it as a part of a larger design that would have looked way cooler for sure
@@Weebslayer13 and easier to actually do
Ya I was thinking they could have done an actually image with the mixed in. people do some crazy cool works that work as codes as well. Sooo definitely bad choice and bad faith gambling
they could have done it on the back!
and make the 35 dollars worth it but you are $30 broker and stuck w an ugly ass puzzle, as a puzzle lover i think this is disgusting from him.
Ready for, “I Sued David Dobrik So You Dont’t Have To”
😂😂
😂😂😂
The mail in option was likely only included because a lot of areas require you to have a no purchase necessary way of entry or it becomes gambling. It irks me that people are acting like he included this method out of the good of his heart and not because his puzzle wouldn't be legal for sale everywhere in the United States if he didn't.
This is actually a country-wide law. You must have a free option in order for it to be considered a sweepstakes and not a lottery. Running a lottery is pricey with a lot of legal stipulations.
Wait, people are saying he put the mail-in option because he's nice? What?
Explains why he didn’t promote it that much. Reluctantly added that option to make it legal.
Yeah, I'm a little surprised at the surprise here. I learned about this as a kid when it came to fast food joints doing sweepstakes and stuff.
I haven't seen anyone claim he included the mail in just to be nice. Most people don't even know about the mail in option, and from what I've seen the people that know about it know why it had to be included.
So... he’s “giving away money”, but he’s making twice as much as he’s “giving”, and most of the prizes don’t cover even the price of the puzzle... yeah, that’s not really giving your followers money, seeing as most of them are still losing money on their investment, while he’s gaining money.
Not sure if that technically counts as a scam, but it’s sketchy as hell, that’s for sure.
Congratulations, you described lottery scratchers. They have a 1:7 chance of winning decent money and I'm sure DD calculated that he would profit off of this puzzle. Keep in mind that $100k in sales doesn't mean he gets $100k in his pocket. Lots more would have gone to the process including app firmware, distribution, manufacturing, and more players.
The one think I would add here is that there's the cost of the actual puzzle. I have no idea the overhead of building and boxing a puzzle, but that will be at least a portion of the $30. Maybe only $5, I'd guess, so he's still probably making a net profit, but it's not as cut and dry as it seems.
@@cs5250 Sure, it's similar to lottery scratchers, but scratchers only cost a a tiny amount and aren't marketed as philanthropy. That's more what I take issue with.
@@Rognik That is a good point, I didn't take into account production costs. However, it still seems a bit scummy to me to make a profit off of something marketed as something to give back to his viewers with 'everyone winning', even though the majority of participants would still be losing money. If it was just a sweepstakes/contest type thing, that wouldn't be so bad, but it's that he framed it as generosity that seems off.
@@AkumakoCross I wouldn't say his promo video is philanthropic. "I'm giving out money, and all you need to do is assemble this puzzle!" It definitely sounds like a contest to me, sort of like a scavenger hunt except not going anywhere. If people think he's just giving away money (especially after looking at the prize breakdown), then they are naïve to how the world works.
Something about a rich person using a lottery loophole to get even richer and exploit poor people in the process just doesn't sit right with me, even if the rich person in question is a cute little boy with a contagious laugh pretending to be your average online friend :) that doesn't fool meee
I’ve been waiting so long for a comment like this. You’re absolutely right. He’s good looking and famous so he’s basically immune from criticism by sucking money out of unsuspecting fans. Kinda dirty.
HA
He’s also a cute little boy that SA his friends.
This is funny bc he's ugly
exactly what i’m saying. this was clearly a marketing scheme, and he prob pocketing close to 3 million off of it. it’s not “trying to give all my fans money” 🙄
Scam, no. Unregulated lottery for children, yes.
Well you can't even win unless you are over 18
Not a lottery 🤷🏼♀️
@@jessonken2863 it is tho u get anywhere from 25 cents to 100 grand
@@jamix8889 I do nonprofit fundraising/marketing, so I have to know the laws for this. Legally, this is a sweepstakes. Not a lottery. No gambling license required.
@@jessonken2863 Legally and actually-clearly-common-sense are different things.
i need d’angelo to do an expose on david because he is such a snake on a level that goes beyond this scam and needs to be called out
or a collab of him and Tiffany ferg!
Honestlyyyyy
God YES I hope he’ll make a video about him one day
No one has the balls to go attack David cause of his large fan base
@@ytle5284 I don’t think d’angelo cares
“You have to earn it.” Ahh yes, the Daddy puzzle.
FUCK I JUST SPAT
AHAHAHA
nonono why did you have to phrase it like that
Damnn😂😂
@Idk_Reveluv oh nooo😂
I hate that it’s so easy for him to get away with anything. He just deletes the thing and stops talking about it and that’s it...
Cause hes doing nothing wrong here
@@kjo1849 he’s selling lottery tickets to his children fans basically
@@kjo1849 A) marketing a sketchy puzzle sweepstakes to your underaged fans for the explicit intent of exploiting them
B) Claiming you’re doing this to give your fans money, which makes it seem as though the odds aren’t completely rigged (which they are)
C) Not promoting a key aspect of the sweepstake (mailing in entry’s)
He didn’t do anything ILLEGAL is more like it. Still exploiting his underaged viewers for a monetary gain, which is pretty shitty.
If the entire puzzle is just two colors with no other visual indicators I doubt it’s only a 5/10 difficulty
The ethics of this is so shady
Ikrr
I feel like UA-camrs that make products that are morally in the gray-area for selling automatically should loose respect as a creator because that shows me you don't really respect your audiences (money, intelligence, time- for these kind of schemes). ESPECIALLY if that audience mainly makes up of kids that don't know better. Pretty scummy tbh.
Right... when he said .25 I DIED
"I don't know if it's my dyslexia or not" is the most valid excuse any dyslexic person can use
i love puzzles and would love to put together a QR code puzzle for the sole sake of the challenge but i’m not about to give david dobrik $36 with my broke ass lmfao
I'll wait for people to resell them once the lottery is over and then I can make it just because it's a cool puzzle
Lol literally me too
Exactly lol
It would have been so much more worth it if it were like an actual picture Like toss the code in the corner or something but the whole puzzle being a QR code is soooo boring especially for $30
I was thinking the same thing. I like the challenge it has but I’m not paying that for a puzzle
Puzzle dust is completely normal, especially in lower-quality puzzles like this one. The pieces look awfully thin too.
me: a person who likes to watch ppl complete puzzles
amanda: that would be boring
me: clutches my pearls
*audible gasp*
hahaha yes me too
"no seriously you can't lose" uhmmmm if I pay 30+ dollars for a puzzle that most likely will get me 0.25 cents then I am indeed losing.
Than your also always losing in theme parks (fairs gripping machine) (if you don't get a phone ect)
@@zorkija4376 yeah I'm not stupid and I don't waste my money on scams like this and all those other things you just listed lmao
"I finally figured out a way to give you guys money! It's by making you all give me a bunch of money so I can keep most of it and then 'give back' a small fraction of that! Preorder today!"
I just did the math and not including the probably pretty minimal cost of producing the puzzles, if all the puzzles available were purchased, David would net $2,774,892.50
Shitty annoying influencer voice : "I found a way to give away money to you guys" . What a fucking asshole
@@Enel97 "I found a way to give negative money to you guys." 🙃
How did you calculate this? I’m curious
@@kapsican I went on the website and for each prize section like the grand prize, second l, etc. I took the amount of puzzles times $30 subtracted by the amount of puzzles times the prize amount and added them all up. Sorry I explained that very poorly
knock off however much he’s paying his team and the puzzle suppliers and it’d still be easily over 2mil
A puzzle with only two colors and no discernable image would drive me as insane as it did you. I could have had the one hundred thousand dollar winner and it would be collecting dust in my closet.
I know there's a puzzle out there that is just white tiles, and it has no edges. Those are for real puzzle enthusiasts.
@@Rognik oh fuck that shit. satan made a puzzle. news to me
well you don't even need to assemble the puzzle since they're all the same. you just need the code that's on the instructions lol
@@azlxns Has that been confirmed, though? It's possible some of the codes are slightly different.
I once saw a puzzle in a toy store that was one single colour, that's it. One shade of gold and 1000 pieces. I was very tempted to buy it but thought it would eventually drive me crazy and decided against it
Me: "How this not a lottery?"
Amanda: "Write in option."
Me: "Yeah, that'll do it."
I almost wish he'd made the background more varied to make it easier to assemble. Cause like green and black is so difficult. Like a simple rainbow gradient or some pretty stripes as a background would've been great.
Seriously! People would be less skeptical of the whole project if the puzzle represented any value at all as a fun or fulfilling or even bearable activity.
I doubt a QR code would work if it was presented on a background that's more than one color. If I'm not mistaken, QR codes work just like barcodes. Meaning they work by reading the spaces between the black lines (or black blocks) and having the empty space be of multiple colors would probably cause the code to not work
@@556johny556 Then make the backgound white and the black lines rainbow stripes
@556johny556 That's an excellent point. I did some googling, you're right that they work by looking at the white spots. But you can make the parts that are usually black colorful as long as they're sufficiently solid and dark. So perhaps rainbow qr code with a rainbow frame around it. I just think the product is so lazy.
@@sofiasofia-em no because then the puzzle would become easy as one could just use the gradient lines of the code and figure out which colours come first or make it in a sequence I guess 🤷♀️
So I know nothing about this puzzle, but every lottery-style system like this has the alternative write-in option and I've never seen anybody advertise it, it just exists for legal reasons. So I guess you can say it's bad form, but 100% of lotteries are this way.
Actual legal lotteries don't have free entries but they also are held to a much higher level of scrutiny and are only run by approved entities such as the state and some non-profits. Giveaways and sweepstakes have to have free entries. Had this not had the mail-in option it would have been considered a lottery and, since it would have not been approved since it is a private enterprise, been illegal.
Usually at the end of an ad people say "no purchase necessary"
I'm sorry but EXACTLY! I've never seen it highly publicized in ANY sweepstakes. It's not lottery bc that is legaling gambling, this is more chill, but I don't really think he should be catching drama for this
I can only imagine they have such a hard on for the "no reference, you have to earn it" thing along with having to link your literal bank account is because they want as few people as possible to actually redeem their prize. I can barely handle cartoon puzzles made for 10 year olds, this would make me have an aneurysm but maybe that $.25 could go towards my hospital bills.
i did a few big puzzles (1000 pieces, the pictures were Vermeer paintings), and the best advice i have is to put together the frame and then, if you cannot find pieces that fit, put them in line and try, one by one, to see if they fit against another one. but, yeah, the "no reference" thing is bullshit.
If they gave you a reference then you could just scan that. It’s supposed to be a challenge
@@maijashea you already bought the 30 dollar puzzle, why then should you still have to "earn it"? If it was free then I could understand.
@@Liz_ArdE because… it’s a product
@@maijashea but the punishment for not putting the puzzle should be not having something to put up on your wall, but you don't get you have your $.25. No one's buying this because it's a puzzle, they're buying it for the giveaway. That's my opinion at least, I didn't buy it either way.
If the puzzle itself is $30, the minimum prize should be like $32. I’d be PISSED if I spent $30 just to “win” .25¢. That’s still losing.
"I found a way to give you guys money" David Dobrik
If they did that then there would be no profit which is basically the only reason the puzzles were made
@@siobhanconnolly1839 then don't call it "giving away money" if your goal is to profit
Nah, minimum prize should be double the amount of how much the puzzle costs.
@@Enel97 !!! This.
Scratch and Wins at the gas station have better odds than this, and they're like $3.
Karen puzzles made an instagram post about this puzzle and she said it is a terrible puzzle to actually put together
Karen is a puzzle queen, and the puzzle reviews I've seen from her are always fair and kind. Really goes to show how poor the puzzle is if Karen is saying that about it.
@@floraleia yeah she said it's doable, just not very beginner friendly, and also that she didn't like the premise either, so she didn't make an actual video for it
Well no duh. It'd be like putting together a pure white puzzle
@@funlover163 That's just dissing milk white puzzles man
While this isn’t QUITE as scammy as Jake Paul/Ricegum promoting that gambling website to a probably younger fan base, this is pretty close 🥴 I won’t believe someone won $100,000 until I see pics
They genuinely seem just as scammy to me. I don't see how this is better in any way. Every time amanda repeated the "im giving away money to you guys" clip from that asshole my veins popped up. Dude is straight up tricking people.he is making more than he is giving away and people are paying more than they are getting. A lot more. In fact 1200 times moreif i didnt mess up the calculations. How is this giving away money. Why are we treating this any different than the mystery box shit
pretty sure david promoted that a few years ago as well lmao
@@Meeeeewweeeeeep his friends definitely did, I remember watching a video (back when I watched them) of Zane, Scotty and I think Heath playing and promoting the site
@@Enel97 $30 is 120 times more than the 25 cents most people win. Of course there's other prizes too. There are 100,151 puzzles with a total prize pool of $251,125 or $2.51 average per person. The winner of $100k wins over 4 times as much as all the people (95,500) who win 25 cents combined ($23,875). The puzzle costs 12 times as much as the average prize. He could have been honest about it being a way to earn a lot of money instead of telling people it's a way to give back. He's not MrBeast. MrBeast actually gives people thousands of dollars and doesn't want anything back.
David promoted the same website 😂
I’m Canadian so I’m not even eligible to buy or get this puzzle but the first time I heard about the puzzle was a TikTok of someone completing it and getting 25 cents. I realized that the QR code only directs you to the over all website and then the code is needed to claim your prize. So you don’t actually even need to cheat by using a picture of someone else’s puzzle. I just put in the website URL and it took me to the site
yea it'd only be impressive if they created each puzzle a different qr code
A good hacker might be able to reverse engineer the winning code
@@naomibarnes44 if the website is the same for everyone you may be able to brute force the codes
@@Yurio that's probably along the lines of how they'd go about it
I don't know anything about David but advertising this as "a way to give away money" has big "I made this over priced merch line for YOU GuYS BEcaUSe wERe a FamILY ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" vibes
It’s pretty shady that he stopped promoting it... giving me Jake Paul team 1000 vibes
I initially thought you paid 100K for this puzzle and was VERY concerned.
Worked with a guy with dyslexia. His superpower was reading things upside down or any orientation. Cool side-effect of how he learned to read.
Yup. Let me just say... Spelling tests were a cruel joke for dyslexia students.
but but if David promoted writing in how would he buy that mansion he shown on his channel 🥺
Omg you’re right we have to think of rich people’s welfare 🥺🥺
tsumugi speaking fax
Lmaoooo
Sure, it's technically a sweepstakes but making it out that it's about giving money away when its essentially a money making venture is pretty scummy. Might as well have left a reference picture if all of the codes are the same.
I have never really watched David Dobrik, but my friend sent me a screenshot of the puzzle when it first came out because she knows I love puzzles. Just for fun, we each bought one, but on one order to save with shipping. I finally got them in the mail yesterday, and we will be getting together in a couple weeks to put them together. I knew from the very beginning that the odds are incredibly slim that we will make a profit. I just enjoy puzzles and had the extra money to spend, so I figured why not? When the controversy first came out, I thought people were being ridiculous because the website clearly states your odds of winning. But when I really thought about it, I am 23 years old. A young David Dobrik stan probably isn’t going to be able to see as easily that they most likely aren’t going to get anything more than 25 cents. His audience is largely made up of minors. With that in mind, it definitely does seem a bit sleazy.
The details say u have to complete by 3.31 ti claim the bullshit 25c price. Good luck
Bruh mine didn't even show up. It was supposed to get here 3 weeks ago. I thought it would be fun even if I didn't win anything. The tracking app for the puzzle says it made it to my city, and then UPS "couldn't deliver it" so they sent it back to NY!! When I contacted the company for the puzzle, they said I had to contact UPS. I call UPS and they tell me there's nothing they can do. So not only did I not get to do the puzzle, but no one can even figure out where it is or why it never got sent to me..
You also have to share your bank information and most of his underage kids wouldn’t even attempt to claim their money
Just thinking about the possibility of some already rich influencer winning the money makes me aggy
yea what even is the point of doing pr packages for something like this?? like is he not enough to promote this thing
I dont interact with david's content at all i've only heard about him from other people but i feel like everything he does has JUST the right amount of legally allowed sketch to it .. like the burger thing.. I hope he gets out of this weird gimmicky phase that seems like it's laser focused to profit off of young fans.
Him and mr beast are the most genuinely disgusting popular people on this site taking advantage of younger people with their fake personas when they are just profiting. Yet people give thos etwo a pass for some reason
@@Enel97 I thought MrBeast was better :S
@@JamesLawner mrbeast is tbh. He is good. For sure. I don't see a sign why he wouldn't. The burger thing is totally different
@@Enel97 mrbeast is good
Wait, what burger thing? I stopped watching his content months ago
Yeah puzzle dust is a thing in lower quality puzzles. Some “premium” puzzle brands even advertise no puzzle dust
yea, just seems like a scam but the prizes should have been $100 or more... especially if you paid $30-$40 for the puzzle
or at least 10$ so the people at least got something for their pain
But then he wouldn't make money.
@@stolenbyfairiesmorrigan5085 he has the money
@@b0bduncan I know. But this whole thing was to get more money. He wouldn't give everyone 100 dollars cause he wouldn't profit.
Getting your money back for completion is fun, and then there’s one big prize
Ofc he’d lose money but that’s the point right 😅
It's 100% legal as a sweepstakes. It's just sketchy because sweepstakes are usually tied to an existing product, not a new product you wouldn't otherwise buy. And usually you're buying like a lunchable, not an overpriced $30 puzzle
If he really wanted to give away money, he could've sold this for, like, $15 and then guarantee that every one of them drops you between $100 and $200 or some. Charity, rich people's ultimate loophole.
David Dobrik giveaway is pretty much spend $40 and make 25 cents. Kinda sounds like a scam.
Not to mention waste many hours of your life putting together a god-awful ugly-ass puzzle. This reeks of taking advantage of children
You get an actual product also.
@@christmastiger "ugly" is subjective. As a puzzle enthusiast, I enjoy such puzzles a lot.
Quick answer: Yes, but I'll let my Queen right here speak about it. Over to you Amanda!!!!!
id simp fr her anyday
Petition to make Amanda official simp ambassador
It's only a scam if absolutely no one finds any of the higher-tier prizes. I won't be holding my breath to hear them chime in, but a scam implies there's no real way to win.
Congratulations on your big $.25 win!! 🙆♀️
Just wanted to say your hair looks really really nice today. :)
I'm more annoyed at the idea of buying a $30+ puzzle that doesn't even look pretty or enjoyable enough to put together more than once. That's the real crime.
That is your opinion
if I was living in the US I would have ordered the free postcard to piss off the people that paid $30+ to get 25¢
With postcard postage costing 0.36, we still are in the hole with no profit. Lol
He stopped promoting it because people had such an issue with it.
Scamming folks in the middle of a pandemic, what an upright lad 😒
Unrelated to the topic of the video, but thank you so much for adding closed captioning to your video! Not all UA-camrs do it, but it is so helpful for folks with hearing loss or folks who are ESL/EFL.
Can we take a moment to appreciate Amanda spending 2 days over a puzzle? Mad respect.
100,151 entries and only 651 people will actually make a profit.
Lmao at Jason jumping up and down over losing $20
theres 25 cent prize and he stop talking about it? definitelly a scam
if the minimum prize amount is the puzzle price plus 1$ or more then hes actually honest
From what I've seen not every puzzle is the same, but every puzzle for each prize amount is the same. The vast majority of prizes are 25¢ , but if you had a 50 cent puzzle and verification code, scanned a picture of a 25¢ puzzle and entered your code, it would have said that your code was incorrect.
in the end, he's the one making more money out of all of this
@@azlxns good business smart guy
@@azlxns that is how al bussiness work.
How many digits is the verification code? Might just try to brute force this shit
even at 9 digits it would be almost uncrackable.
@@shamblestheclown you’d be surprised there’s a pattern to basically everything
I've participated in a lot of sponsored giveaways/sweepstakes, so I can say from experience that even if it's advertised as you have to buy a product and scan a code on it to enter, giveaways and sweepstakes in the U.S. are LEGALLY required to provide a free way to enter (otherwise it's gambling, which I'm sure has a ton of other regulations that go along with it). Sometimes it's online forms that give you a free entry, other times it's similar to this puzzle, where you mail in an index card to receive your entry code.
i was very confused at first and thought the puzzle cost 100,000 dollars and spent the first minutes wondering how Amanda was able to afford the puzzle...oops?
Puzzle dust is super common so I wouldn’t say that’s a problem...just saying as a puzzler....also it looks like shit quality.
This reminds me of the Da Vinci Code prize, and the Advent Rising Prize, and the ol Pepsi Apache helicopter. The real prize were the friends we made along the way; it doesn't exist.
Was it an Apache? I thought it was a Harrier jet? Either way, by the time he got it - with the amount of interest he theoretically built up in all the time waiting for it - he was probably actually owed an F22 - Raptor.
rewatching your old videos, but today happens to be Puzzle Day, so Happy Puzzle Day 🎉
I hate puzzles so much that I'm getting secondhand pain watching you assemble this
Thank you for giving this puzzle the fair criticism it deserves. Many people are going with the "lottery for children" and "scam" arguments when that's all false. It's perfectly legal, it complies with the definition of sweepstakes the chances of winning are clearly laid out and public for anyone to check out and know exactly what you're getting for the money you spent, so definitely not a scam.
However, as you pointed out it was very calculated how he never promoted the mail in option, how he couldn't even put $30 as a minimum prize (so the wording "everybody wins" is somewhat not entirely true), how unnecessarily complicated and "ugly" this puzzle is (like you wouldn't even want to display it in your house once you've solved it).
From a business standpoint is very smart because he made a ton of money, but coming from a content creator whose audience consist mainly of young people, it's a very dodgy and kind of scummy practice...
So, in conclusion, people need to stop with the fake news, and if you want to criticize something, do it based on real reasons.
Seeing the way they get hyped up for 10$ i don't think many people are going to win more than thay
If it makes you feel better, my coworkers and I bought an all-white puzzle. After 1.5 years, we still hadn't completed the edge. We had three pieces left, and they did not fit in the remaining spaces. Not only was the puzzle white, it was 1000 pieces, the pieces were very small, and the pieces were very similarly shaped. We had a magnifying glass and a straight edge to try to see which pieces actually fit together (since some pieces seemed like they fit, but they did not actually fit). It was insane, and we gave up. 😅
I wouldn't matter if a piece were missing. QR standard includes the ability to read a partial code.
Leave it to an influencer to make a puzzle controversial...
I don’t think anyone has won more than 25¢
At this point can't we just agree that David dobrik is not the person everyone thought he was....
While watching this video I searched for the puzzle on Twitter, found a completed one, scanned, and won 25 cents smh. Glad I didn't waste my time because the puzzle is still in the packaging and I got it a month ago
Hold onto it and sell it down the line while still packaged. I'm sure you could make a profit that way
It’s the UA-cam equivalent of the McDonald’s monopoly game
at least you won something of value with Mcdonalds
I'm only a little way in but with the redundancy built into qr codes, I would try to scan every time I put a new piece in after I got the control squares in place.
New camera?? It looks awesome!!!! Super professional looking between that and the mic!
I think this would have been worth it if it was an actual puzzle. Completing a 500 piece "puzzle" of a disgusting neon green QR code is not at all worth it. If he had different options for pictures or something, then I think it would've been a good deal because you'll have a puzzle that you like with a chance to win money.
Could be fun if it was two sided, you make a picture and then struggle flip it for the code
@@martha7157 that’s actually a good idea!
Its probably more for his fans than casual puzzle people.
He does like to induce pain on them.
@@lol-ot4pn It is more for his fans, but I still think he should care at least a little about them and give them something worth while. Plus if he did add a design to it, I'm sure he would've gotten WAY more sales because then casual puzzle people might actually buy one, rather than just his fans.
@@Murder.Of.Crows.
Gurl if anything i think we should know by now that they know what they want and are doing.
They probably have teams for that and i doubt david has control because i feel like h3 doesnt care lol.
He really thought being self-aware and saying "I sound like a scam" would make the puzzle not a scam 🤷♀️
Puzzle dust is normal! I do puzzles often and all of them have an amount of puzzle dust, sometimes even actual handfuls! It's not broken or badly manufactured or anything :)
"everyone wants me to give away money... so lemme just make 5 millions dollars while 95% of people only make 25 cents" LMAO
most puzzles come with that "puzzle dust" - I'm a puzzle person :)
I think one of the shadiest things about this is that he sent a whole bunch of puzzles out as PR. Why the hell would you send a lottery ticket as PR? That's such a crap move.
And I really hate to be this person, but I am going to assume that people who are on David's PR probably are already very well off. So basically there's a very good chance that we're just going to witness some other millionaire influencer add yet another $100,000 to his growing pile of money.
Not that I'm salty about this or anything...
It’s like the McDonald’s Monopoly game. It was exposed that the entire game was rigged, with a majority of the winning pieces going to affluent people close to the game makers at McDonald’s.
@@loveland852 Precisely, I was thinking about that as well. Though I will say that periodically getting a free fry or drink was at least a little satisfying.
Puzzles like this are extremely difficult. When all the pieces look identical it makes it so much harder than a normal puzzle.
That's definitely not a 5.
Of course he stopped promoting it. Best case scenario for him, he sold a bunch of puzzles and nobody has cashed in for the big prize. At this point, each additional sale is a game of diminishing returns for him. Each time someone buys a puzzle, it's still $30 for Dobrik, but an ever-growing chance that it contains the 100.000 code.
100% that's a sentence that was said during the marketing pitch for this, "Worst case, somebody wins big and it's great promo for you! Best case, nobody wins and you get to keep the money for the puzzles AND save yourself $100.000!"
Even if the $100,000 puzzle has been sent already, the winner would have to complete the puzzle with no reference (there's only 1 puzzle and each tier has a different QR code) and claim their prize before midnight eastern of March 31st, 2021. Unless that person has the willpower of a God, it's unlikely anyone would actually win the $100,000 and he can legally get away with it because all of this was on the website.
@@TuesdaysArt As someone who works in Marketing AND loves puzzles AND designs escape room-like challenges (having used QR codes in a similar manner before - minus the gambling bit) I'm actually kind of loving this.
I hate how when he first introduced it he said “so I finally figured out a way to give you guys all money”, like he was being generous... 🐍
I'm not defending the puzzle, but I will say that the write in option was no more or less hidden then it ever is. Every single time any fast food place has given away prizes there was a way to write in to enter. McDonald's monopoly, has a write in. They don't advertise it, because from McDonald's perspective the reason for the sweepstakes is to sell more, but its in the fine print.
Not saying it's not scummy, just the requirement is for legal reasons, but selling the puzzles is their goal.
I am finding this puzzle to be impossible. I am usually so quick with puzzles but my brain just can't seem to get this. Relieved to hear I'm not alone.
Dobrik: "I sound like a scam! BUT THIS ISN'T A SCAM, LISTEN!"
Me: 🤨
It is not a scam. If you scheared on the website. You can find how high a chance you have of winning. If no one got the highest prize. Than it is a scam
Maybe the marketing was though
You are super underrated! Always have the Most detailed description of the facts on any topic.
If this was honest instead of saying "you've won x$" the app would have said "you've lost x$", when x= 29.75$ for most people.
The write in option and it being hidden in small text and never publicized is totally normal actually. Yeah it’s shady, but it’s also been a thing for decades. McDonalds’ monopoly is a good example of this. Legally, all sweepstakes need a mail in option.
I worked in social advertising for a while and we did monthly sweepstakes for one of our brands, and this is definitely shady! At least the way that David promoted it, the rules themselves actually seem sound. Our giveaways were in Canada (excluding Quebec because their rules are strict), so I’m sure the laws are different, but we rarely did sweepstakes with a purchase option because it’s a lot more work, and when we did it was something they were probably going to buy anyway (a bottle of wine, a ticket to a music festival) and I think that’s the really gross part here. People bought this puzzle to win money, not to enjoy the puzzle. I know that’s not a legal issue, but I do think it’s an ethical one.
He also has a majority underage fan base which makes things way worse
I mean, this sounds like it could be a cool fundraiser for a charity, but the way this dude handled it it's clearly just unregulated gambling meant to make himself richer.
You really need to move the mothman plushie around slowly so it looks like a babadook
As a sweepstakes connoisseur of 40 years I can tell you those odds are VERY shitty for one thing. Another EVERY SINGLE reputable buisness offers a free alternative method of entry because some states require it.
The "alternate entry" not being promoted is nothing new. In fact, I've never seen any contests say outright, "Oh by the way, you can also avoid paying and just send in a postcard." It's always in the fine print and is a requirement for contests. But it's never promoted at the forefront.
Usually someone saying “i sound like a scam but i promise this isn’t a scam” is in fact running a scam
It wouldn’t be so bad if the puzzle wasn’t so expensive or if the prizes were better, how hard is it to hand out a few dozen 10, 20, 50 dollar winners?
Fun fact: Since it's a sweepstakes and not a lottery, David Dobrik MUST give you a free entry without you having to do any work to 'earn' it.
This is much worse odds than almost any scratch off or lottery
"David Dobrik is now enemy number one"
Wow.
That statement held up.