(about sponsors) I thought I would transfer this to the main board.
 

There was a thread in the Newbies' Board that caught my attnetion. One thing in particular was mentioned and I figured it deserved to be said on the main page.

Here it is:
:adore: Whoa, that is a hell of a statement. From my understanding among more experienced webmasters it is widely believed and accepted that many sponsors do shave... and some of these shaving sponsors are large, established programs with many, many affiliates.

After I start using a program I look at the bottom line amount of money that the sponsor made me. If a sponsor shaves yet still makes me alot of money relative to how much I promote them then I'm nonetheless happy.

I don't want to sound like I'm doubting your statement but when you say "if there is a sponsor here, they are honest" does that mean that you are certain that the sponsors on GG and Jim do not shave at all?

If I can be sure that sponsors advertising on your board would never shave regardless of how well they convert then I'll definately start my sponsor search here....

Jim, please clarify the meaning of your statement for me if you could.

Kush - I wil say this:

I do personally use all the webmaster programs that are advertisers with us (there is one sponsor on here that I don;t use that is not a webmaster program & the reason has nothing at all to do with the sponsor)

Believe me when I say that I do trust our sponsors & that I am personal friends with most of them. To my knowledge, none of them shave.

Like Jim said, "shave" is almost a dirty word in the industry - I've only seen 1 shaving accusation that actually had proof behind it (I won't mention the sponsor, but I will say that you've probably never heard of them)

That's fair enough, thanks.

I believe that I have at least heard of most sponsors past and present, but the fact that you say that I probably never heard of the proven shaving sponsor makes me curious as hell as to who they are!

I use a lot of sponsors. If I see my sales drop with all my sponsors then I know sales are just off for that week. If I see my sales drop with just one sponsor then that sets off a red flag that something must be up with that sponsor. I can say that 99% of the time my sales with all the sponsors that I am actively promoting stay about the same.

Sponsors want you to promote their stuff so it is in their own best interest for you to do well with them. :)

I think that sponsors on the whole are ok (certainly a lot of the main ones) as its not always worth their while to have their names dragged through the mud, especially if they are in for the long term.

I did know of one where someone inside admitted they limited their stats at certain times, but I certainly wouldnt reveal it as I believe their business practice has drastically improved since then (it was ages ago). Also I look at the bottom line & if the $$ roll in then I am happy.

Ditto.

That's what's most important.

I don't really pay any attention to what I can't see and don't know about. As long as I get what I can see in my stats I'm happy.. :D