Vossen Wheels rewarding cheaters? Vossen contest won by someone who purchased Facebook likes

[Sticky]

Many of you may be unaware of this but Vossen wheels had a contest recently where the person who posted a photo on their Facebook wall that got the most likes would win a free set of 20 inch wheels. When this came across our Twitter feed the first thought that came across our minds was that this was not going to be a fair contest. Facebook likes can simply be purchased and that is exactly what happened here.

As someone who deals in web develpment and purchasing web services I want to make it clear you can purchase just about anything. E-mail addresses, twitter followers, facebook likes, facebook accounts, hey, you name it. There are areas where you go to do this that are not prominent but where for the right price you can get about any web related task accomplished. These tactics are known as "Blackhat" so to speak but you need to know where to go.

Well, I know where to go and I looked to see how many people were asking for Facebook likes with threads created right after the contest was announced. And no surprise, about a half dozen people were asking for likes. Coincidence? I do not think so. I contacted many of the people who offered to give likes posing as someone who also wanted likes and here is what I found:

In light of this clear manipulation, as the contest winner purchased likes, we think Vossen should not reward someone cheating. Vossen is likely unaware this cheating took place and had the right intentions. However, the only way to reward those who participated honestly is to restructure the contest and redo it not giving wheels to someone who manipulated it.

GermanBoost and its network of sites exist to keep the industry honest. We are looking out for Vossen as well as all users who participated in this contest with honest intentions. We respectfully ask that Vossen stand up for what is right in light of this information.

[KB]

How much do these likes cost?

[Sticky]

How much do these likes cost?

You can get 1000 for like $30 bucks.

[DavidV]

So did you contact Vossen about this?

[Sticky]

So did you contact Vossen about this?

I did they do not seem to think this is proof or think I want to win the contest when I already have HRE's that cost 3x what these wheels do. I hope they do the right thing as when people are buying likes that makes for an unfair contest right?

[DavidV]

when people are buying likes that makes for an unfair contest right?

Yes it does.
How many votes were needed to win this contest?

[Sticky]

Yes it does.
How many votes were needed to win this contest?

Whomever had the most votes but when one guy wins by 2k+ and I find ppl cheating shouldnt that raise some eyebrows?

[Sorena]

You can't really tell that the winner cheated. Just check facebook profiles, You can only have 5000 friends i think, right? I know some people have 2 or even more pages.

[DavidV]

So he spent $60,- to gain $3000,- in wheels?
Well, cheating is never nice, but this Facebook contest was lame to begin with...
How is one ever to get 2000+ votes vor wheels?

[Sticky]

You can't really tell that the winner cheated. Just check facebook profiles, You can only have 5000 friends i think, right? I know some people have 2 or even more pages.

Dude, the guy selling likes included the winners photo link as proof of what he had done and second place i believe as well. Whomever bought the most likes won.

[Sorena]

Dude, the guy selling likes included the winners photo link as proof of what he had done and second place i believe as well. Whomever bought the most likes won.

I just saw them. pretty hilarious!

[Sticky]

I just saw them. pretty hilarious!

Easy contest to manipulate.