Bjorn3D Needs A Few Good Men

[Miles]

Job: Bjorn3D Staff Reviewer (1 or possibly 2 positions)

Expectations: One or two completed/published reviews a month

Compensation: In almost all cases you will be allowed to keep the product you review

Requirements:

1. Should have reasonable command of the English language as that is the language of choice for all our reviews

2. Prior experience in writing computer products reviews and conducting benchmarks is preferred but not required. Good grammar skills are a must.

3. You should own or have access to a 4.0 MP or higher digital camera

4. You should have several hours a week of free time as writing a quality review takes time

5. You should have a reasonably powerful computer system. Preferably either AMD X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo based system. Having more than one system is a definite plus.

5. You should have an overall above average aptitude for computer systems and enjoy changing and testing components on a regular basis

6. You should be a responsible individual who has the ability to work under a deadline and follow a predetermined format.

7. A working knowledge of HTML and XHTML is a definite plus but not a necessity

8. You should own or have access to a photo editing program and be reasonably knowledgeable of its use

9. You should live in the continental United States

If interested please send your resume and/or questions to Miles via PM or Email

Serious inquiries only

[sushrukh]

:-D :icon_tiphat: I would loved to do it but ur rule number 5 & 9 made me feel sad.Only those 2 rules didn't apply to me . Anyway, i hope somebody will come up for this soon.So, many good people here & the Compensation part is awesome too.

[werty316]

No kidding as who doesn't like free reviews samples that you could possibly keep :thumleft:

[DragonMaster]

9. You should live in the continental United States
Doh!

[darkorb]

Darn

[peti1212]

Man I would love to do this forever, but there two things that does not apply to me in the rules. Basicly number 5, (the first one), and number 4, since I am just a student at a High School. :redface:

[Schwarz]

There's a few canadian people around here that might want to write for bjorn.
I myself am canadian.
I would be interested but maybe for a future time.
Let us know if you would be willing to make it so that canadians could take part in this.

[Miles]

Guys we'd love to have people from all over the world writing for us, but getting products shipped outside of the US is very difficult. The companies would probably not like having to pay the tariff to get it into Canada. We have four writers outside the US now and it's very difficult to get them product.

[Schwarz]

You think they woud still make you pay duty fees if its declared has "no value" review article...?
Anyways you probably know more then I do :p

[Scott]

Yeah they still charge duty taxes, I tried that with contest prizes.

[mousiness]

i match all the criteria except im in canada and the fact that im only 14:ahhhhh:

[Kougar]

There's a few canadian people around here that might want to write for bjorn.
I myself am canadian.
I would be interested but maybe for a future time.
Let us know if you would be willing to make it so that canadians could take part in this.

Miles already replied, but I'd like to add something.

Unforunately the majority of companies that send products for review are based out of the US. While some of these same companies sell their hardware to Canada or other countries... keep in mind that in most cases each company has set up a separate division per country.

This means the US division gets X amount of hardware to send out as samples, and (For example) the Canadian division gets X amount of hardware to send out. It is simply just not in the US division's interest to send any of their limited # of samples to Canada when there is already a Canadian division set up to do that. This goes for other countries too, not just North America. Granted this is not always the case, but it is part of the situation.

[Xero (1)ne]

If only I had more time :P

[werty316]

Even if I lived in the US I have a health condition called "laziness" which affects me greatly :dielaffin:

Only way I really get things done is to buckly down and force myself to do the task at hand.

[peti1212]

I would do this for sure, if somebody would donate a core 2 duo processor to me. :) haha. Does anybody want to?

[werty316]

Sure, if you pay for it :dielaffin:

[dasbin]

Due to NAFTA there should be no duties on US-based goods entering Canada (a generalization, but one that applies here). If the item has a declared retail value then Canada will charge GST (our federal sales tax which gets added on to every product here anyway at point-of-sale) and possibly a provincial tax (same deal).
The RECEIVER is responsible for all these fees, not the sender; it is charged when they come to pick it up.
I live in Canada and personally would be interested in doing the reviews and certainly wouldn't mind coughing up the $20 or so in taxes whenever an item comes my way.

Also I'm not 100% sure but I'm fairly certain that if an item is marked as a sample for review, i.e. it is legally clear that it was not sold to the receiver, then the taxes should be waived anyway.

[Gray]

Due to NAFTA there should be no duties on US-based goods entering Canada

Actually Dasbin the item needs to manufactured in Canada U.S.A. or Mexico for NAFTA's rules to apply. Most cards are made in Taiwan.

[werty316]

Heres a hint: apparently for electronics if the value is $20 or less, there will be less of a chance that the package will be charged duty but then again the key words here are "less of a chance".

[DragonMaster]

You think they woud still make you pay duty fees if its declared has "no value" review article...?Heres a hint: apparently for electronics if the value is $20 or less, there will be less of a chance that the package will be charged duty but then again the key words here are "less of a chance".

If the value is $20 or less, no shipping companies charge fees. If the thing looks like it's worth $300 and is marked for $20, they will charge you for $300. It just happened to me and the IBM Thinkpad T22 (Half broken P3 900). It was worth $140 USD, I got the guy to write $60 gift(no fees), and they reevaluated the thing to $300. I should go to a "Casual Refund Center" with the bill before repairing it to get half of the $45 (quebec tax+canadian tax+$5 duty fees) back.

[PP Mguire]

I would do it cept i dont have an AM2 or Core2 equivalent machine.

[Victor]

I would do it cept i dont have an AM2 or Core2 equivalent machine.

it doesn't have to be am2 or core 2 duo, as long as you are interested, contact Miles and maybe we can get you started by something small. What you really need to be is able to write and follow the schedule and willing to work and love computer and technology.:help:

[PP Mguire]

I love computers, and computer hardware. Its my passion besides music. Just idk if im that great of a writer, and what kinda schedule are we talking about?

[Rafal]

Companies send samples with declared value of $5-20 (with a special note) so why are we even talking about custom fees? With that amount there aren't any at all. Any charges that apply are paid by the sender.

[Victor]

if you are really interested PP Mguire, PM Miles and see whether or not he thinks you maybe a good candidate, it never hurts to try out.

Anyone is interested, just PM Miles and see if you maybe qualify for the job. You maybe surprised as how your opinion can make an impact.

[borschtBomber[SS]]

I would be interested if I didn't just take a reviewer role at another site. Good luck guys.

[PP Mguire]

if you are really interested PP Mguire, PM Miles and see whether or not he thinks you maybe a good candidate, it never hurts to try out.Hehe i did right after i made that post last night. Now the suspense for a reply :help:

[dasbin]

Actually Dasbin the item needs to manufactured in Canada U.S.A. or Mexico for NAFTA's rules to apply. Most cards are made in Taiwan.

This makes sense, but for whatever reason I've never been charged duty on computer equipment imported from the USA regardless of where it was manufactured. Just taxes.
Perhaps there is no duty on computer equipment in the first place, regardless of NAFTA.

[Bio-Hazard]

I just sent some used water cooling gear to Canada via US Mail and when the guy went to pick it up he said he was charged some sort of fee.........and it was sent as a gift.............:(

[werty316]

I find it doesn't matter what you declare a package as like a "Gift", "Commercial sample", "Documents" or "Other"; it depends on the declared value and description and if the customs agent had a bad day, you are most likely screwed.

Its a gamble really and the only way of having a better chance is sending a package using an express method like two day shipping.

[skootyloops]

I meet all the criteria besides the living in the US part.

Still if you do consider people from outside the US I am very interested.

Hmm it also seems my pc specs need updating from my sig ;-)

[DragonMaster]

Companies send samples with declared value of $5-20 (with a special note) so why are we even talking about custom fees? With that amount there aren't any at all. Any charges that apply are paid by the sender.
That is probably true, when I won my TJ-08S case, they put $5, customs opened the package, but I paid nothing. It was told that it was a case for review.

This makes sense, but for whatever reason I've never been charged duty on computer equipment imported from the USA regardless of where it was manufactured. Just taxes.
Perhaps there is no duty on computer equipment in the first place, regardless of NAFTA.
Perhaps, but the used/to repair laptop I bought from the US was reevaluated for $300 and I paid $50 of fees, even if it was a computer. Maybe computer hardware has no fees, but I'm not sure. I bought stuff from geeks.com once, and I had no fees, but there was no value at all written on the customs documentation.

I just sent some used water cooling gear to Canada via US Mail and when the guy went to pick it up he said he was charged some sort of fee.........and it was sent as a gift.............
Maybe there are fees to whatever is imported as a gift.

[tomato]

It's the value that is important. I asked a FedEx delivery guy, and he told me that regardless of whether the item is marked as a "gift", it's the value that matters to the customs agents. Anything declared over $20 can (and usually is) charged duty and/or taxes :(

[sushrukh]

Yes, that's right.They don't even look at how the item has been described on the papers.They only count values & prepare duty papers accoding to that value.So, it'll be easier for us that if anyone sending us prizes,gifts or any other things by courier don't write the actual value on the shipping documents & if possible try to write the value as low as possible so that we won't have to pay huge custom duties.

[PP Mguire]

Cant you get charged for that though?

[Rafal]

From now on I'll be deleting off topic posts. I've asked earlier to leave this matter alone.

[sushrukh]

Cant you get charged for that though?

Ya, i'll be charged but that will be small/easy to pay coz the full values r not there on the papers.

[DragonMaster]

It's the value that is important. I asked a FedEx delivery guy, and he told me that regardless of whether the item is marked as a "gift", it's the value that matters to the customs agents. Anything declared over $20 can (and usually is) charged duty and/or taxes That's with FedEx, UPS, etc. using USPS/Canada Post will let you go up to $60 for a gift.

Ya, i'll be charged but that will be small/easy to pay coz the full values r not there on the papers.Depends of how they evaluate it.

There are ways of getting no fees, but companies know it. When I order free semiconductor samples from Texas Instruments through FedEx, I don't pay a single cent for them or shipping, they're commercial samples. (Product reviews are probably the same thing)

[Miles]

Guys this thread needs to get back on track, we listed the criteria in the individual we are looking for. I promise we didn't exclude those outside of the US on a whim, there are other reasons, namely we deal with the US contingent of most companies and they want to ship to US reviewers...I'm terribly sorry but those are the facts.

[werty316]

I was about to mention this :offtopic:

[sushrukh]

Sorry.We can understand Miles.:offtopic:

[AlabamaCajun]

PM Sent!

A few questions I have are, do you select a category to review or brand. I've been building my own systems for since 1998. Back then you could get buy with a major update after 3 years. Now I'm buying new hardware every month just to keep something fresh on the test bench. I'm a software developer and it's important to us to get our hands on the latest toys. I'm already doing most of the benching and testing that reviewers do so it's just one extra step to formalize my procedure and document it.
I see this as an oppertunity to provide information back to the community that I normally horde to myself or share in non-formal forums.

[Kougar]

You calling this a formal forum? :tongue:

[s_gibson]

Careful what you ask for guys. A good comprehensive review can take a lot more work than you would think.

[werty316]

Careful what you ask for guys. A good comprehensive review can take a lot more work than you would think.
One reason why I didn't apply as I don't think I would have the determination to do a hardware review but I do still think about applying once and a while.

[Chakka]

Careful what you ask for guys. A good comprehensive review can take a lot more work than you would think.

Agreed! It's a major responsibility because many people could buy the wrong product off of a review if the review wasnt comprehensive enough!

[Miles]

All positions have been filled, you guys will be reading some cool new perspectives by our new reviewers ... We were very lucky in finding some excellent quality candidates and as always our readers will benefit from our being picky.

I'll post more when everyone is setup and the process completed ... Thanks for everyone's interest and participation!

[Schwarz]

Nice Miles looking foward in seeing those new writers !

[werty316]

Nice Miles looking foward in seeing those new writers !
:yes: Ditto :thumleft:

[AlabamaCajun]

Be sure to get some AMD/ATI (DAAMIT) stuff to, the Intel stuff is getting boring.

[tyle6]

well if its a gift. there is no terrifs. found a way around that one with over a grande in leather for bullriding(COUZINS A LIL LOOPY) anyways i would love to right some reviews for you guys plus i already work for myself LOL time is of no issue. just where i live:frown: ... AND I SEE THERE FILLED!