Media gifts and where to draw the line

Here's a question for the peanut gallery:
I've never been one to turn down a free t-shirt but recently I covered an event that put my love of free swag at odds with the ethics of accepting gifts.
This event gave me a duffle bag that was filled with an assortment of goodies like memorabilia. Several of those items were also available from their concessions and ranged between the $20-50 range. After seeing everything that was in the bag, I didn't feel right and ended up trading it to a guy with a kid out on the patio for a cigarette. Most of my friends who also work in this industry said I should have kept it (but seriously, what was I going to do with a commemorative beanie baby?)

So at what point do you draw the line when it comes to media gifts?

 

I guess you are new here?

 

Full disclosure: I kept the t-shirt.

 

Hell, bowl games give out tons of crap. You'd have be fine to keep the bag.

 

Not this again. And it's not even bowl season yet.

 

But Hondo, bowl season is only five months away.

 

Personally, I draw the line at six threads per year on this topic.

 

T-shirt? Ok.

Hookers & blow? Probably not.

 

Hookers & Blow Bowl is located where?

 

The Happiest Place on Earth- Tijuana.

 

Talk about a swag bag!