Your problem is that we are discussing what relates to Steemit and you want examples outside Steemit.
Let me ask you, at what cost do bid bots upvote post? Zero cost, of course, apart from investment in Steem power, which can also be liquidated. Now show me anywhere else where this is obtainable (outside Steemit, of course.) I perceive you are one of the owners of this money-milking bots - your passion for argument being a testament.
Bots are promotion and advertising. It is only common sense it would be compared.
It costs $100,000 USD /week. You are free to pay that to get the Steem Power and just give the votes away for free if you think you can do better.
I run @buildawhale as well as @upmyvote and @ipromote. @buildawhale gives a lot of votes that don't show up on the bid tracker.
Money milking? This is the last round of one of my bots.
The round after that.
Anyway, enjoy your post, and your opinions. You are free not to use any of the bots, that is the great thing about life.
It is really nice to have these figures and to draw the attention of a VIP Steemian, as it turns out you are, on this post.
If the figures you have provided here were all to be seen in your voting rounds, this article would have been unnecessary. Of course, it is to my delight that those who bid during the fine rounds here made profit, if you like, a value for their money.
I wrote this article because of my concern for negative ROIs I've severally seen on https://steembottracker.com. I have nothing against bid bots and their owners. Like @yabapmatt, I just want people to get value for their money in every bid rounds such as the ones you've shown us here. At least, I suspect, you should also be happy that your bidders got positive ROI. That's win/win.
In the coming weeks, I will be using your bot @buildawhale or @upme to promote some already written posts I will like to put before a large audience. But, trust me, I will monitor them closely on https://steembottracker.com before sending my bids, so that I get +85% ROI after curation. Lol.
Lastly, I appreciate your counter perspectives and the figures you presented. Regards.