Gifted, paid, or both: which one fits?
Muchsy offers have three types. The chip on every offer shows which one it is.
| - | Gifted | Gifted + Paid | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| The creator receives | Your product or service | Your product or service, plus a cash fee | A cash fee |
| Stated value | Required before the offer can publish | Required, plus the fee | The fee |
| A typical ask | One post, or a few content files | More than one piece, or files for ads | Whatever the fee covers |
| Fits best when | It's a local visit or a first collab | The ask is bigger than the product is worth | You have nothing to give in kind |
Any cash goes straight from the business to the creator. Muchsy never handles, holds or processes money.
What the business gives, and what the creator owes back
The business states four things in the offer:
- what it offers, and what that's worth;
- what it wants back: a post on the creator's channels, content files for its own use (UGC), or both;
- the deadline, from 3 to 60 days;
- how the creator gets the product: in person, shipped, or remote.
The creator delivers the agreed content on time, with the disclosure in the caption when it's a post.
A PR package or "product seeding" is different: the brand sends something and hopes. Nothing is owed. A gifted collab is a deal, and both sides know what it is before they agree.
How do you match the value to the work?
Nobody has a fixed rate, but published advice agrees on a few principles.
- State the value honestly. On Muchsy a gifted offer can't publish without one, so a creator can weigh it against the time the work takes before applying.
- Ask for one thing first. One deliverable, not a package.
- When the ask grows, add a fee. A small gifted collab fits a small ask, like one post or one story. When you want several pieces of content, or the right to run them as ads, the deal is turning into a paid campaign: offer Gifted + Paid instead. A CA$60 dinner for one reel is an ordinary local trade.
- Ads need their own agreement. Using a creator's content in ads is a separate permission. Make it Gifted + Paid and set the usage rights on the files.
Creators turn down lopsided asks, like several videos for a small product.
How a gifted collab works on Muchsy
1. The business posts an offer.
Value, deliverables, deadline, visit mode, and any usage rights for files, all on one page.
2. Creators apply.
The business reads each profile and picks who it wants. It isn't answering cold messages.
3. Acceptance freezes the terms.
Deliverables, deadline, value, any fee, currency, title and city are copied onto the collab. Editing the offer later can't change a live deal.
4. The product reaches the creator, and the clock starts.
- In person: the creator shows a QR voucher and the business scans it at the counter. The deadline starts at the scan. See how the counter code works.
- Shipped: the creator shares an address privately. The deadline starts when they press "Yes, I've received it".
- Remote: the deadline starts at acceptance.
5. The creator hands in the work.
Up to five live post links, or the content files.
6. The business confirms.
Or it asks for changes, twice at most. After that it approves or cancels. If the business stays silent, a submitted proof can complete on its own once seven days have passed.
7. Both sides review each other.
The full walkthrough, with screenshots, is in a collab from start to finish.
When it goes wrong: no-shows, ghost posts, parcels that never arrive
Ghosting is one of the most common complaints about gifted deals: the product goes out and the post never comes.
| - | A deal agreed in DMs | A gifted collab on Muchsy |
|---|---|---|
| The terms | Somewhere in a chat thread | Written in the offer, frozen at acceptance |
| Changes after "yes" | Either side can remember it differently | Editing the offer can't change it |
| The visit | Who is this at the door? | A voucher scanned at the counter |
| When the clock starts | Unclear | At the scan, at receipt, or at acceptance |
| What counts as done | Whatever someone says | A live post link, or approved files |
| Nobody turns up | You lose the slot and hear nothing | After the voucher's date, the business may mark a no-show, which counts against the creator |
| No post by the deadline | Silence | After a 3-day grace, the collab can expire, and that counts against the creator |
| The business never confirms | The creator gets no credit | The proof can complete on its own after 7 days |
| A record others can see | None | A completion score, shown from 3 outcomes; reviews both ways |
A few more rules work in both directions:
- Cancelling before the scan, or before the work is handed in when there's no visit, counts against nobody.
- A parcel that never ships can't hurt the creator, because their clock hasn't started.
- The business can give more time: 3, 7 or 14 days.
- Below three finished outcomes, a creator shows "—" rather than a score. A dash means "not enough collabs yet", and a 0 means a counted zero.
- Businesses don't get a score. They show their finished collabs and the reviews creators leave them.
Muchsy can't make anyone turn up, ship or post. What it does is keep an honest record, and email the person concerned at each step. Details: no-shows and parcels that never arrive.
Do you have to disclose a gifted collab?
Yes. Canada's Competition Bureau counts free products and services as a connection to disclose, and Ad Standards' 2025 guidelines make brands share that responsibility.
Use #Ad, #Pub or #Partenariat, not #Gifted on its own. Ad Standards' 2025 guidelines keep #Gifted for a product received with no obligation to post. On Muchsy the post is owed, so it's an ad. Put the tag in the caption where people can see it, not buried among other hashtags or in the comments. And the word "collab" on its own doesn't tell anyone it's an ad.
When creators submit a post on Muchsy, they confirm it carries the disclosure, and the business checks the live post. Nobody scans captions automatically. This is general information, not legal advice.
Content files a business uses itself, and the creator doesn't post, need no hashtag. If the business runs them as ads, it discloses in its own ad.
For businesses: a good first gifted offer
- One clear offer: what's on the table, what it's worth, and one thing you want back.
- A deadline that fits the work. Fourteen days is the default.
- Creators whose audience lives near you. See how to find creators near you.
- Files for ads? Make it Gifted + Paid and set the usage rights.
- Want to know which creator actually brought customers through the door? Add a word-of-mouth discount to the offer.
Before you publish, read the gifted collab agreement: seven lines to settle first. When you're ready, post a gifted offer.
For creators: before you apply
- Read the deliverables, the value and the deadline, and check when the clock starts.
- If the ask looks bigger than what's offered, skip it. A fair offer says what it's worth up front.
- If your plans change, cancel early. Going quiet is what turns into an expiry.
- Keep your own record of what you received.
You don't need a big following, and how to land your first local collab explains why. Asked for files rather than a post? Read what UGC is. When you're ready, browse open gifted offers. Gifted + Paid offers have their own filter on the same page.
Post a gifted offer
State what you give, what it's worth and the one thing you want back. Creators apply, and you choose.
Free to post. Muchsy never handles your money.
Questions
›What does "gifted collab" mean?
A business gives a product or service, and a creator makes the content they agreed on. The content is owed. That's the difference from a PR package.
›Is it the same as product seeding?
No. Seeding sends a product with no obligation to post. A gifted collab is a deal with agreed deliverables and a deadline.
›Is a gifted collab worth it?
When what's offered is worth the time the work takes, yes. For a creator, a first local collab is often how a public record starts. For a business, it's a low-cost way to learn what working with creators is like. If the ask is bigger than the product, add a fee, or skip it.
›How many posts is fair for a free meal?
Usually one. A CA$60 dinner for one reel is a normal local trade. If you want several pieces or files for ads, add a fee.
›Is #gifted enough?
Not when the post is owed. Use #Ad, #Pub or #Partenariat in the caption.
›Can the business use my photos in its ads?
Only if the offer says so. On Muchsy, usage rights apply to content files only: organic or ads too, for 30, 60 or 90 days, 6 or 12 months, unlimited, or another term you agree. They're recorded on the collab but not enforced, so read them before you apply. More in UGC usage rights.
›What if the creator never posts?
After the deadline and a 3-day grace period, the collab can expire, and that counts against the creator's public record. In person, an unscanned voucher can be marked as a no-show after its date.
›What if the business never confirms my post?
A submitted proof can complete on its own after seven days of silence.
›What if the parcel never arrives?
The deadline only starts when you press "Yes, I've received it", so a parcel that never ships counts against nobody.
›Does Muchsy take a cut or hold any money?
No. Muchsy never touches money. Any cash goes directly between the two of you.
›Is a free product taxable?
That depends on where you live. Keep a record of what you received and its stated value, and ask a local professional.
Free to post. Muchsy never handles your money.