This thread is a MODERATOR APPROVED response and continuation of the thread that GoldenTiger started here regarding my new site FatCash.com.
For the sake of all involved, Please keep any further messages on topic. (For that matter, I would love it if any AnandTech/FatWallet bashing could just go away. FatWallet existed before the AnandTech "No Coupon policy" existed but I will admit that the policy did greatly increase traffic to FatWallet. Peace! Some of you may even remember my active participation here prior to the Coupon Policy)
I wanted the opportunity to respond to the questions and comments that came up in the previous thread, Thanks to the moderators for allowing it.
<< It strikes me as a conflict of interest for FatWallet to be milking their public even more now. It's going to lead them on a very different path than Anand, and they will continue to leach off Anand in order to survive. >>
There are a number of companies that are generating their income through cash back / miles / rewards direct to the customer. Because FatWallet relies upon affiliate revenues to keep the site going, It was important for FatWallet not to lose potential revenue in order to survive. In recent months it had become very obvious that FatWallet was driving traffic to a number of merchants that participated in this type of program, and I could see that the number of orders / click for these merchants were dropping off, where other merchants that do not participate in this type of program were staying the same or increasing. We had an asset - Traffic - that we were not properly monetizing because other companies had their hand in the equation.
<<
<< Yes, FatCash Dollars are worth money and are redeemable for cash. You can redeem 1 FatCash Dollar for $1 at the time of a future purchase or you can redeem them at any time with no purchase required for 70 cents per 1 FatCash Dollar. >>
Not too good, unless you plan on purchasing stuff with the Fatcash dollars. >>
I battled with this one a bit too, The intent is to have a system that allows a higher rebate percentage that loyal members will be able to take advantage of. We've all seen companies that show up on pud's F'edcompany site that fail to generate revenue to keep going. My gut tells me to make it $1=$1, but this may require the rebate percentages to change slightly. I need to spend some more time with the spreadsheet to determine the feasibility of doing so. My original thought is that the smart consumer would go for the $1=$1 and the higher rebate percentages. The intent is to create loyalty.
<< tim is sure a greedy little fart, sucking 30% of someones hard earned money while he sits on his ass. >>
See above.
<< He is just a copy cat. First he coppied anandtech and now he is copying ebates. I bet he even copied off the kid next to him in school. I guess the guy cant come up with anything by himself. >>
I selected the FuseTalk software that Anandtech uses because it is the best forum software I've ever used. When the coupon policy was changed here at AnandTech, it seemed a natural action to create a "comfortable" situation for users that were disgruntled. Call me a copy cat, call me an opportunist. I prefer "right place, right thing, right time". We've seen the big dot coms that have come and go. The little guys have a "second mover advantage" in this case. We can see the pitfalls, we can see what works, and realize that at the end of the day, revenue must outweigh expense. There are many things in this dot com world that aren't worth repeating... Picking out which ones is the fun part.
Thanks for reading my responses, and for your comments.
<putting on flame suit>
For the sake of all involved, Please keep any further messages on topic. (For that matter, I would love it if any AnandTech/FatWallet bashing could just go away. FatWallet existed before the AnandTech "No Coupon policy" existed but I will admit that the policy did greatly increase traffic to FatWallet. Peace! Some of you may even remember my active participation here prior to the Coupon Policy)
I wanted the opportunity to respond to the questions and comments that came up in the previous thread, Thanks to the moderators for allowing it.
<< It strikes me as a conflict of interest for FatWallet to be milking their public even more now. It's going to lead them on a very different path than Anand, and they will continue to leach off Anand in order to survive. >>
There are a number of companies that are generating their income through cash back / miles / rewards direct to the customer. Because FatWallet relies upon affiliate revenues to keep the site going, It was important for FatWallet not to lose potential revenue in order to survive. In recent months it had become very obvious that FatWallet was driving traffic to a number of merchants that participated in this type of program, and I could see that the number of orders / click for these merchants were dropping off, where other merchants that do not participate in this type of program were staying the same or increasing. We had an asset - Traffic - that we were not properly monetizing because other companies had their hand in the equation.
<<
<< Yes, FatCash Dollars are worth money and are redeemable for cash. You can redeem 1 FatCash Dollar for $1 at the time of a future purchase or you can redeem them at any time with no purchase required for 70 cents per 1 FatCash Dollar. >>
Not too good, unless you plan on purchasing stuff with the Fatcash dollars. >>
I battled with this one a bit too, The intent is to have a system that allows a higher rebate percentage that loyal members will be able to take advantage of. We've all seen companies that show up on pud's F'edcompany site that fail to generate revenue to keep going. My gut tells me to make it $1=$1, but this may require the rebate percentages to change slightly. I need to spend some more time with the spreadsheet to determine the feasibility of doing so. My original thought is that the smart consumer would go for the $1=$1 and the higher rebate percentages. The intent is to create loyalty.
<< tim is sure a greedy little fart, sucking 30% of someones hard earned money while he sits on his ass. >>
See above.
<< He is just a copy cat. First he coppied anandtech and now he is copying ebates. I bet he even copied off the kid next to him in school. I guess the guy cant come up with anything by himself. >>
I selected the FuseTalk software that Anandtech uses because it is the best forum software I've ever used. When the coupon policy was changed here at AnandTech, it seemed a natural action to create a "comfortable" situation for users that were disgruntled. Call me a copy cat, call me an opportunist. I prefer "right place, right thing, right time". We've seen the big dot coms that have come and go. The little guys have a "second mover advantage" in this case. We can see the pitfalls, we can see what works, and realize that at the end of the day, revenue must outweigh expense. There are many things in this dot com world that aren't worth repeating... Picking out which ones is the fun part.
Thanks for reading my responses, and for your comments.
<putting on flame suit>
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