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Ronaldo · 07-14-2003, 12:50 PM

Yikes, so much to say, so little time.

This industry has brought this upon itself, sorry to say.

The prechecked cross sales boxes, shitty content areas etc.

I purchased a membership to an independent site a few months ago. (What can I say, I like good porn and yes, I'll still pay to see it). The tour showed all of these sets of Kylie Wild that I wanted to check out. Well, I'll be damned if when I got in there, there were two or three sets. The OTHER sets were "In the archives" or something like that. But, the "archives" were not accesible. WTF??

They did however state that these sets would be viewable again "In the upcoming months". So, they wanted me to continue to pay to access their site, in the HOPE that these sets would be available next month. If not, then next month, and so on.

So, I contacted the webmaster and told him to refund my card or I'd charge it back.

They contacted me a few days later and refunded my card. No problem.

THAT was very professional. The whole thing could have been avoided however, if they didn't mislead potential members on their tour.

Things like this are why we're under attack. How many people wouldn't have contacted the webmaster, they would have just charged it back? My guess would be under 25% would ask for a refund because they'd be too embarrassed. For that matter, how many webmasters would say "Fuck you, charge it back". Ah yes, that was then, this is now.

Now, how do I think this is going to affect our industry? Too soon to say.

I think there will be two very different reactions.

The first reaction will be to cut back costs (staff, affiliate payouts, content etc.) and lower their prices.

The other reaction will be to increase staff for better customer service. Pay more for content that will better satisfy their members. Perhaps a decrease in payouts WILL be necessary to maintain a healthy bottom line.

As an affiliate, I already promote sites with a lower payout. They have exclusive content, but they convert like a motherfucker. Their chargebacks are next to nothing because everything their affiliates AND THEIR TOUR promise, are on the inside for all to see.

My belief is that those reacting with cutbacks will soon find out that spending money is the way to go. This is like any business. Spend money to make money.

P.S. I had CNN on while I was working the other day and they were babbling on about this very issue. I didn't realize this but there are ONLY 3 banks in North America that process ALL of the internet adult charges. The fellow was talking that it's possible that even these 3 might find that the hassles might outweigh the benefits and these 3 banks might stop processing as well. THAT is a scary thought.

Oh, and blame the lawyers.

07-14-2003, 12:50 PM	#12
Ronaldo Ronaldo is only editing this because Chris is a jackass Xnations Voice of Reason Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Manitoba, Canada Posts: 1,124 xBucks: 16,955	Yikes, so much to say, so little time. This industry has brought this upon itself, sorry to say. The prechecked cross sales boxes, shitty content areas etc. I purchased a membership to an independent site a few months ago. (What can I say, I like good porn and yes, I'll still pay to see it). The tour showed all of these sets of Kylie Wild that I wanted to check out. Well, I'll be damned if when I got in there, there were two or three sets. The OTHER sets were "In the archives" or something like that. But, the "archives" were not accesible. WTF?? They did however state that these sets would be viewable again "In the upcoming months". So, they wanted me to continue to pay to access their site, in the HOPE that these sets would be available next month. If not, then next month, and so on. So, I contacted the webmaster and told him to refund my card or I'd charge it back. They contacted me a few days later and refunded my card. No problem. THAT was very professional. The whole thing could have been avoided however, if they didn't mislead potential members on their tour. Things like this are why we're under attack. How many people wouldn't have contacted the webmaster, they would have just charged it back? My guess would be under 25% would ask for a refund because they'd be too embarrassed. For that matter, how many webmasters would say "Fuck you, charge it back". Ah yes, that was then, this is now. Now, how do I think this is going to affect our industry? Too soon to say. I think there will be two very different reactions. The first reaction will be to cut back costs (staff, affiliate payouts, content etc.) and lower their prices. The other reaction will be to increase staff for better customer service. Pay more for content that will better satisfy their members. Perhaps a decrease in payouts WILL be necessary to maintain a healthy bottom line. As an affiliate, I already promote sites with a lower payout. They have exclusive content, but they convert like a motherfucker. Their chargebacks are next to nothing because everything their affiliates AND THEIR TOUR promise, are on the inside for all to see. My belief is that those reacting with cutbacks will soon find out that spending money is the way to go. This is like any business. Spend money to make money. P.S. I had CNN on while I was working the other day and they were babbling on about this very issue. I didn't realize this but there are ONLY 3 banks in North America that process ALL of the internet adult charges. The fellow was talking that it's possible that even these 3 might find that the hassles might outweigh the benefits and these 3 banks might stop processing as well. THAT is a scary thought. Oh, and blame the lawyers.