Why does Regular Car Reviews really need money?

"JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7" (jayzayeighty) 02/05/2014 at 16:20 • Filed to: regular car reviews

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The YouTube revenues should do more than cover costs. An Echo is worth next to nothing. Honestly, this smells just a bit fishy to me. Not trying to be overly-skeptical or cynical, but there are too many unanswered questions. A decent $1500 car is not hard to come by, and if they still have the camera equipment and did not gamble away youtube profits, they are left with more than enough. How can the channel even exist in the first place? It's too easy to milk the internet for money.

Also if an ultimatum is made [i.e. give us money or we can't possibly keep making reviews], then there is some possibility fans are being a bit exploited. To butt in with my opinion, we need to keep level heads and come at this from a less emotional approach. Objectivity is key if you don't want to be duped.

thebigbossyboss > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:23

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I honestly believe he crashed his car. It happens. I just don`t get why everyone else is forced (edit not forced...asked, and that's a distinction worth making)... to pay for his new one. Yeah regular Car Reviews are awesome, but surely you used your car also for other uses. Noone else funds my hobbies but me. Am I wrong Oppo?

Brian Silvestro > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:24

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I'd still give some cash. They deserve it. If seeing more reviews = dropping like $20, then fuck yeah sign me up.

Textured Soy Protein > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:24

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I thought the donation page was set up by someone else, not the actual Regular Car Reviews guy.

Casper > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:25

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I agree, I don't see it. That's what insurance is for. If you didn't value the car enough to have insurance enough to pay for it, why should anyone else?

Besides, Echos are awful. He will probably end up better off in the long run.

Chris Clarke > thebigbossyboss 02/05/2014 at 16:25

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I agree. Nobody gives me money just cause shit hits the fan. Then again, I've never asked.

TheBaron2112 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:26

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If you had a platform to put out a message and you were put in recent financial straits, wouldn't you use said platform for any help you could get?

Also, how much profit can one make off Youtube? I doubt much.

CPT Speedbump > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:27

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No one said he'd get another Echo, and also, a 1000 dollar car won't get him accross the country to film peoples cars, not reliably at least. The page I've scene set up for donations so far seems fishy to me though, scenes as its a fan of his, not himself, not donating anything myself until I see one made official and that the man himself sais if official.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Textured Soy Protein 02/05/2014 at 16:28

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RCR asked for a donation program to be set up, so I would attribute it to them whether it was done by them or for them.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > TheBaron2112 02/05/2014 at 16:31

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I probably would, but I'm not going to give any money to someone I'm just assuming is in financial straits. I'm not saying he makes much, but it's more than enough to buy a new car and pay for production costs by others' calculations.

NoahthePorscheGuy > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:36

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Heres the thing. I talk to Mister Regular alot on facebook etc, and as far as I see it, its not like they are forcing you to pay for their new car etc, its just they are in no way wealthy or even comfortable, and he doesn't really have money on hand right now for a new car.. As it stands right now, they have not been able to receive any money in return for their videos from google adsense. They have not been able to profit or even break even in the slightest from these videos. As it stands he cannot continue to produce these videos because he doesn't have enough money to continue. Because he now needs to be able to afford a new car, he will have to work alot extra, and he already works a shit ton. In order for him to be able to continue making videos in the near future, we need to chip. If you don't want to, thats fine, but that is the only way he will be able to continue making these awesome videos for everyone to enjoy. Its not like he fucked up and we should just give him money, its if we want to continue enjoying what he does, we need to help him out or he won't be able to do it anymore.

JR1 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:40

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It seems a little fishy to me. Isn't insurance supposed to cover stuff like this? I just find it hard to believe that even if his insurance doesn't cover this I find it hard to believe he doesn't have 1000 dollars or so in his savings account for a new car.

NoahthePorscheGuy > thebigbossyboss 02/05/2014 at 16:41

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His point is, he is going to stop having to make these videos if he we can't help him. Yes shit hits the fan, and he isn't saying he is more important than anyone else, but if you enjoy his videos, he isn't going to be able to make any new ones unless we help.

NoahthePorscheGuy > TheBaron2112 02/05/2014 at 16:41

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He makes nothing yet.

NoahthePorscheGuy > JR1 02/05/2014 at 16:42

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He couldn't afford collision insurance, just liability.

Anima > TheBaron2112 02/05/2014 at 16:43

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Sure, he makes some money of of youtube, but it doubt it'll be much more than 200 bucks a month. He get's around 50 to 70 thousand views per video. Say (being generous here) $2,50 per 1000 views, of which youtube takes 45%, adblock viewers don't count. taking the 60k average that would mean at most $75 per video, more likely around $50. Which comes down to about $200 a month.

About the same he is probably out on gas money for making the videos. Let alone the time put into planning, filming and editing.

JR1 > NoahthePorscheGuy 02/05/2014 at 16:44

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Is there proof? Or is he just saying that? I just think to donate some money I would want proof before I got screwed over by a hoax.

GhostZ > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:45

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Well, he doesn't have a monetized account (no ads on his videos) so he isn't actually making any money from youtube most likely.

Monetized youtube is still only about $1 per 1000 views, and he has a total of 3 million views. So the most money he could have possibly made is around $3000. Therein lies the case for needing more money.

That being said, he said he got a bachelor degree ten years ago . From a university that isn't bad! That means he's had 10 years of above-average education during which to make himself financially secure and independent, but now he's at a point where a $5000 loss (10% of the average yearly income, cost of a new bare-bones car) is enough to prevent his primary form of recreation.

That being said, the heart of crowdfunding is that it offloads the necessary capital to be a patron of the arts and turns art into product . Whereas before you needed a third party (government grants, university, etc.) to grant you the ability to sell your art to enough people to pay for it, NOW crowdfunding lets you do it directly. This means that, by asking for funding for a new car, he is doing two things:

1. Committing that he is willing to make regular car reviews for money

2. Cashing in a time investment

So don't think about it as "he's now exploiting people by asking for money" but rather, if they give him money, the correct thing to say would be "he exploited people by making good videos for free, until they were convinced to give him more money".

That's how mercantilism works, and it's not bad, it's just the way it is. If he isn't good enough at it, he won't get enough money.

Jayhawk Jake > TheBaron2112 02/05/2014 at 16:45

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One can make a shitload of money off YouTube

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celeb…

YouTube has made a handful of people into multi-millionaires. Yes, multi .

Leadbull > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:46

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If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they're still losing money making videos. From what I understand, it takes A LOT of views to make any significant amount of cash. And it doesn't seem like they're well-off in the first place. I'm not skeptical.

NoahthePorscheGuy > JR1 02/05/2014 at 16:47

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I mean he commented on his thing if thats proof enough? From what i've gleaned from his podcasts and talking to him over fb, he is a recent college grad with little to no money, and was barley able to afford all the random camera equipment and gas to do shoots, let alone extra expensive insurance.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 16:49

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It might be insensitive...but it's a Echo. You could buy a comparable one in better condition with fewer miles for less than it would take to fix that one.

Leadbull > Leadbull 02/05/2014 at 16:50

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ALSO: Just watch. Matt Farah's going to buy him a 2008 Nissan Versa or something.

TheBaron2112 > Jayhawk Jake 02/05/2014 at 16:50

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None of this matters. These all have hundreds of millions of views on their channels.

RCR has 3 million.

Doing the math, it looks like the earnings are 0.6 CENTS per view. And that's for the biggest channels with the most views. I don't know how YT payback works for ads/views. Over the lifetime of RCR's channel, that's 18 grand, assuming 0.6 cents/view. It's been going for 2 years. So, at best, that's 750 a month he makes from this. MAYBE.

And like others have said, that probably goes straight back to production of these videos.

GhostZ > NoahthePorscheGuy 02/05/2014 at 16:55

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I said it in my other post, but what he's doing is perfectly acceptable and is, at its core, how most art is supposed to be conducted. It just seems abstract because instead of going to a third-party patron of the arts or video studio, he's asking for money from his 'customers' that he's already invested time into successfully. Something that people couldn't do 5 years ago. As it stands, he's in debt for the amount of time he's put in VS the amount of reward he's gotten for it, well before the crash.

That being said, 10 years and a bachelor's degree from an above-average school, but unable to absorb a few-thousand-dollar crisis without having to change your lifestyle seems to indicate fiscal irresponsibility or crushing debt (student loans?).

It is what it is though, and I think the spearpoint of your message is that people shouldn't judge him morally for doing this. With which, I completely agree.

JR1 > NoahthePorscheGuy 02/05/2014 at 16:58

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I am not saying he is a bad guy, but if I don't know them it's just good sense not to trust them in my personal opinion. I do hope him the best however

briannutter1 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:00

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yep, I really like his stuff. It's Art and I don't mind paying an artist for their work.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Leadbull 02/05/2014 at 17:09

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Good points. Still doesn't make too much sense to me, though.

magman007 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:18

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Just donate $5 already and quit worrying that he is scamming everyone for pocket change. I am notoriously tight with money and even I donated $5. give the guy a break, and hope he buys an e30.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > magman007 02/05/2014 at 17:25

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I just wanted to clear things up a bit for myself. It really isn't worth worrying about 5 bucks—I might as well give 5 or 10 bucks.

willkinton247 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:25

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Do you know why he's asking for help?

Because I told him to.

(Hopefully this doesn't get kinja'd)

willkinton247 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:27

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I'll tell you exactly why he's asking for help.

It's because I encouraged him to. Read the whole convo.

https://twitter.com/willkinton247/…

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > willkinton247 02/05/2014 at 17:30

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Cool! That's definitely reason not to be suspect, and the type of answer I was looking for. It's not that I cared where several dollars went, but the way in which this was presented spiked my curiosity a bit. Kinja comes through for a good cause, I guess. That was a pretty good suggestion.

magman007 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:39

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Yeah, thats all im saying, and thats all he is asking for. I mean, he graduated from Kutztown for god sakes, his degree is probably something unusable, and clearly his sense of humor might not fit with some "corporate cultures" he found a niche he likes, and he found people enjoy his sense of humor. /Drive bitches about money all the time (read, they mention it occasionally) and they produce some of, if not the best car porn on the market at the moment out side of Top Gear.

willkinton247 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 17:59

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Yeah, they way he responded seems to me like he hadn't considered asking.

He legitimately needs help getting a new car. We watch his content for free, that he started putting up for no other reason than because he wanted to. We enjoy a product that he puts a lot of work into with no real expectation of payment or profit. I think donating some money is a great way to pay him back for the entertainment he provides us.

If you don't like it, don't pay. But if you do, why not?

willkinton247 > JR1 02/05/2014 at 18:05

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This is your proof. I suggested it to him.
https://twitter.com/willkinton247/…

Jake, Yes, wearing khakis > NoahthePorscheGuy 02/05/2014 at 18:05

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I_AmDeath > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/05/2014 at 20:11

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They edit using like a $300 computer and shoot with Cameras they bought of craigslist. Youtube really doesn't pay you a lot of money. It's literally fucking pennys because youtube pays less then a dollar per 1000 views.

pfftballer > thebigbossyboss 02/05/2014 at 22:37

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So let me get this straight. Unless you pay him money he is going to sever a viable, consistent stream of revenue. Sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Also sounds like he wasn't properly insured which is just dumb. Here, let me pay you some of my monies since you don't have enough sense to buy sufficient insurance to replace the POS car you totalled. Reminds me of an old saying, "poor planning on your part doesn't necessarily constitute an emergency on my part."

pfftballer > TheBaron2112 02/05/2014 at 22:40

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Still, what kind of sense does it make to stop doing something that you like to do anyway that makes you money? None. Ask for money if you need it, but don't play the ultimatum card. Ask my ex girlfriend how that worked out for her.

pfftballer > willkinton247 02/05/2014 at 22:53

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Yeah, buying proper collision insurance is for suckers, especially when you can get a bunch of anonymous interneters to buy you a new car. Hardship spawns creativity so hopefully this will be a growing experience. If not, I can't wait to hear his youtube bicycle reviews.

willkinton247 > pfftballer 02/05/2014 at 23:23

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You totally missed the entire point didn't you? It wasn't his idea. He was encouraged to try it. He reluctantly tried it.
Also, he's raised several thousand over their goal, so they'll be doing more car reviews. People think their free stuff is good enough to be worth sending them a few bucks, even if it's beyond their goal.

TheBaron2112 > pfftballer 02/05/2014 at 23:57

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Why do you think this was his decision?

No car, no transport. No transport, no way to GET to the people with the cars. No access to the cars, no videos. It's not like this was a choice.

I don't see why you people don't understand this.

Stef Schrader > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 02/06/2014 at 02:22

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A few things to note:

1. Holy balls, these stupid collisions add up fast. You're not just looking at a cheap beater, you're probably also looking at medical costs for aches and pains. Medical anything—even just to get it checked out—makes Mitsubishi parts look cheap. I'm still short from my car's punt in August, and I not only had comprehensive, but it was the other party's fault. Which brings me to...

2. Holy balls, insurance moves at the speed of...old people gnawing their Luby's after forgetting where their teeth are or something. "Slower than molasses" would be an insult to the quickly-moving (and delicious ) substance that is molasses.

3. YouTube's really kind of fishy about sharing the love. If they feel like you're promoting yourself too much, they'll shut that stream of revenue off. I've had a couple friends get a "you're spammers!" hate-note from YouTube just for posting things around on their personal pages. It's not something I'd rely on, that's for sure.

4. If they're planning a cross-country trip, they're probably looking for a slightly more reliable regular car. Seems worth the extra budget/prep costs. I'm thinking they should get an 80s DeVille.

Judging by their camera equipment, no—they really aren't rolling in the dough. They're probably doing this for the lulz and hold down regular entry-level-pay 9-5 twentysomething jobs like the rest of us.