… not tryna be hostile actually just wondering
That’s a question a discord user approached me with. I’m happy when people question what we say and do here, especially when it comes to affiliate money. So I’ll happily provide the answer and make it public for everyone to see, especially after writing all of this.
I’ll actually give you a longer answer, because it’s been a while since someone questioned this. I do get money from Wegobuy, but I’m partnered and get money from all other agents too, so if another agent was better I would recommend them. Wegobuy (and most other agents) approached me with a deal to exclusively work with them, for more money. I said no and actually told them that I’m gonna quit working with them if they don’t allow me to criticize them or talk about other agents.
That’s because my vision for RepArchive/TaoBot.io has always been creating professional and “scientific” platform, that’s all about giving the users the knowledge and tools to help them. To be scientific you have to be neutral and independent. The best way to stay independent is by not taking money from anyone. The problem with that is, I have bills to pay, we’re talking about a higher 3 digit amount each month for hosting and licenses alone, not even including man hours. So if I would’ve gone that way I’d have to charge membership fees. So the better option in my case was to just accept every agent and reach independence by including everyone. I can guarantee you that without “the bag” RepArchive wouldn’t be around and I could invest a lot less time into development.
With that being said, I also think that my community has a more mature and scientific approach, and that they will question my conclusions. Just like you did. I actually wish more people would challenge me, I am prepared, do my research and know I have nothing to hide.
Another thing I want to mention in the regard of “exclusivity deals” is that I think it’s fair to say that I’m the only one that didn’t take it. If you think about YouTubers, TikTokers and many sub owners, they are clearly pushing one agent and one agent alone. Criticism is deleted.
Talking about criticism, I was probably the loudest voice criticizing Wegobuy when they got hacked, warning users to stay off the platform, to the point where they contacted me and got mad at me. Throughout my 4.5 years of doing this I also published countless comparison’s where Wegobuy didn’t come out on top. (Hint: You’re gonna see more independent comparisons this or next week). So you can’t say I’m blindly promoting them, and only them. There are so many more examples that make it obvious I give all agents an equal chance: I have fully featured guides for all other agents on RepArchive.com and Taobot.io. RepArchive TOP has item links to all agents, the side bar on the main site links to all agents, etc.
Now, to finally answer your question, because you probably just wanted a short answer: I actually got a parcel from Wegobuy that I paid $12/kg for. To reach this price I used the shipping expert service as described in one of my YouTube videos and on taobot.io – that’s not fake and I still think it is the cheapest price ever reported. But I also paid higher prices with Wegobuy before, so this one single event isn’t what I base my whole opinion on. I actually tried and documented using every single agent. The reason I’d still choose Wegobuy is that in the end price differences are small (they get you with hidden fees). A small difference doesn’t mean none, it’s true that other agents can be cheaper. The thing is, Wegobuy has by far the best service quality, and I’m at a stage in my life where I’ll happily pay an extra buck to know everything is done professionally and I don’t have to worry. Depending on where you are placed on the comfort/price scale, a budget agent might be better in your situation. Sugargoo is a good alternative in the middle of that scale. It also depends on where you are located, you can actually just ask Taobot ask-the-bot🤖 “What’s the best agent to my country”, if you want to hear the public opinion. So I think I got all bases covered, and I stand behind my posts.
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