Sponsors Minimum Payouts

[koolkat]

I am just wondering if anyone else is experiencing similar situations regarding minimum payouts, sales, and traffic. I have noticed on several occasions that I will sign up for a new program and start promoting them. Very quickly I will receive get sale or two (typically within a few days). Then basically the bottom falls out. Hits sent are equal or greater to when I generated sales, but any other sales seem to become pretty much non-existent. Of course I am always just below the minimum payout threshold, so I don't get paid! I have also noticed that sponsors are raising the minimum payout thresholds. I guess pretty soon you will have to make over $1000 to get paid.
There is one sponsor that I generated a sale 3 years ago and hasn't generated anything since, so they have held on to my measly $30 or so for the last 3 years. I am sure this is the programs way of making money by holding on to it as long as they can (or even forever), but I believe that after a certain period of time (ex. 6 month) they should payout even if you haven't met the threshold. I may be unrealistic here since buyers are unpredictable people, but it just seems fishy that you do so well in the beginning, but then fall flat on your face just before it is time to be paid!

[ponygirl]

Originally Posted by koolkat

There is one sponsor that I generated a sale 3 years ago and hasn't generated anything since, so they have held on to my measly $30 or so for the last 3 years.

my very first sale in adult is still being held, and I'll probably never get it me lol

for me, minimum payout amounts are definitely one of the deciding factors on promoting a new sponsor. I haven't had any sponsors get close to the minimum then crap out, but I have had those magical 'welcome' signups at a few

[Useless]

The top reason, other than the trust factor, that I prefer CCBill programs is the fact that I will get paid within a week for any sale made.

[NY Jester]

For me, I try and set the payout as low as possible, as Im sure most do. Maybe I should start setting the payout to the highest, maybe its all charma and Im aiming too low. Does setting my payouts low mean I have no self esteem? Holy shit I may need a therapist!

[tickler]

"Honeymoon" sales have been around forever! The sponsors will tell you it's because you just added new banners or whatever.

Some people have even gone as far as creating a new account, and those first few sales show up again. Bitching on sponsor boards occasionally seems to bring out a few sales also.

[Fonz]

ePass: payout as low as possible
Check: minimum $100 (costs like $25 to cash a US check over here)

That's how I see it in my little minimum payout world.

[KG Gary]

Originally Posted by Fonz

Check: minimum $100 (costs like $25 to cash a US check over here)

Yeah, at my bank it costs me eight UK pounds for each cheque, or each transaction, (lots of cheques at once), so I set the minimum to $100 or higher whenever possible.
I do still have several sponsors under the minimum, and also I have seen the initial two-or-three-sales-flurry a few times.
It would be a nice gesture for a sponsor to payout those smaller amounts, but I can't see it happening.

[Simon]

If CashFetish wasn't a CCBill-based program, we'd still want the available minimum payout to be $25 or less. Since webmasters can merge affiliate accounts for the purpose of payment (and ease of stats checking) at CCBill, we know almost everyone will get paid for their work. But looking over the year-end stats from the sponsor side of the admin, I can see that there were plenty of webmasters who didn't make a lot of sales last year. Maybe they're new to the biz, or just don't have much fetish traffic yet, or maybe they're hobbyists or dabblers or whatever the reasons might be. But the bottom line is, if we had our minimum payouts set to $100 or more, then a lot of those webmasters would still be waiting for the checks they've already gotten.

I agree that it would be good for sponsors to pay webmasters who aren't reaching the minimum after a reasonable amount of time. It might even be done by sending an email to the unpaid webmasters at year-end asking if they prefer to keep the account open and wait for the commissions to build or close the account and have a check sent to them. It could actually result in some increased signups for the sponsors that way, from affiliates who do want to keep the account open and who then start promoting them more heavily. Probably get as much revenue in new signups as it would cost to pay out the commissions they'd be holding otherwise. Plus it would generate more goodwill, which some sponsors could really use.



.

[Greenguy]

It really depends on the program - I have seen some programs (even some using NATS) that will pay when you hit $25 - others when you hit $250

[JustRobert]

What Simon & UW stated is why I will only sign up under ccbill programs this year. CCbill checks have come in every week for 4+ years because of the ability to merge accounts. Some do not need merging at all but in combination with the ones that do just makes the checks bigger

Ridiculous minimum payouts for new untried programs are a huge deterent (almost always nats). It no longer makes sense, at least for me, to give them a try. Just my 2cents.

[tigermom]

Another vote for the almost only CCBill now for new sponsors for the reasons mentioned above, and also for the ability to check it all at one place with one user/password combo.

[LD]

Funny, I signed up several months ago with a sponsor who had a $50.00 min payout. I got a couple of sales and got all excited and promoted the crap out of it...but it hit $49.00 and stopped, and no amount of promoting has gotten it past the $49.00. Frustrating....

[Bobc01]

Makes you wonder as i've heard all this a fair few times here and there about reaching payout limits.
My main one is over 100 of whatever currency within a month which is easy but i'd question others.

As greedy as this industry is you have to be carefull i guess.

[NY Jester]

$50.00 min payout. I got a couple of sales ...but it hit $49.00 and stopped, and no amount of promoting has gotten it past the $49.00. Frustrating....

Damn that sucks. Thats like having an ATM card and $19

[koolkat]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

The top reason, other than the trust factor, that I prefer CCBill programs is the fact that I will get paid within a week for any sale made.

You know... that is a very good idea. I think I am going to start pushing the ccBill sites more, and the others less. Maybe if everyone does this then the affiliate programs will lower/stop their payout thresholds or cut out these "honeymoon" sales, and just pay us what we deserve.

[Mr Spock]

Originally Posted by Fonz

ePass: payout as low as possible
Check: minimum $100 (costs like $25 to cash a US check over here)

That's how I see it in my little minimum payout world.

Cost me about the same to cash a cheque, so I increased the minimum to $250 on my ccbill account and other sponsors paying by cheque. You gotta love sponsors like pimproll who pay out weekly with no minimums

[JustRobert]

Originally Posted by Mr Spock

You gotta love sponsors like pimproll who pay out weekly with no minimums

And no service fees

Seriously, there are so many sponsors out there now, which have very similar content, that affiliates are not stuck having to choose those that continue to push those stupid minimums.

[geirlur]

Adultplayersclub operates with $200 minimum payout for foreign webmasters, but I get paid via epassporte so I don't see why they can't lower it for me

[SirMoby]

Originally Posted by koolkat

You know... that is a very good idea. I think I am going to start pushing the ccBill sites more, and the others less. Maybe if everyone does this then the affiliate programs will lower/stop their payout thresholds or cut out these "honeymoon" sales, and just pay us what we deserve.

Never put too much through a single billing solution. That's just history talking.

[koolkat]

Originally Posted by SirMoby

Never put too much through a single billing solution. That's just history talking.

I guess I should have rephrased that... I need to start pushing the sites that do not have minimum payouts over the ones that do.

[The Ghost]

For us you can set your minimum to any amount over $25.

[aj]

Honeymoon sales

Oh, this practice even has a name...

I have started with one sponsor 1:18 and meanwhile we're 1:5978 *lol
Another started 1:32 and now it's 1:3897.
I guess I'll drop a bunch of sponsors.

[koolkat]

Originally Posted by The Ghost

For us you can set your minimum to any amount over $25.

OK... since you are the first sponsor I have seen post on here... would you ever consider paying an affiliate out even if they hadn't met the minimum after a certain amount of time (ie. 90 days, 6 months, etc.)

[UncutBucksMike]

Love this thread. The hubby and I were actually discussing this over the weekend, LOL. We picked up a couple new sponsors to promote and the sales rolled in and bam just before we hit the min payout (within a few cents on a couple) then nadda. Im just a small fry I can not even imagine what some of the big guys have floating around in different accounts that they didn't push. I could even understand a sponsor not issuing a check if you didnt hit the min payout but, they should pay it out after 6 months or so. Just too funny that we had been discussing this as well.
Sorry for the ramble (the late evening coffee kicking in, hehe)

Hugs,
Jen

[bluemoney]

Originally Posted by UncutBucksMike

We picked up a couple new sponsors to promote and the sales rolled in and bam just before we hit the min payout (within a few cents on a couple) then nadda.

Same here, that's why I'm dropping quite a few sponsors.