I'm about to post some things that aren't going to be popular but .......
(Almost) All programs shave (not saying all so I am not libel)
Look back at the history of the adult internet, Click through programs stated in 1996 - they were paying in the .03 per click range
The next wave of click through programs came along and raised the per click to .05, they wanted to get the traffic that was being sent to already existing programs so they offered a higher payout and shaving started . It was in the form of counting unique clicks instead of raw click or second page clicks - it was all smoke and mirrors, program A saying I'll pay you more than program B and then shaving to offset the difference
Other programs came along offering more per click (anyone remember Xpics and .30 per click Sundays) and shaving increased - Xpics shaved terrible but still was the highest earning program at the time
Webmasters want to earn as much money as possible and at times are drawn to what looks to be the highest paying offer - on the surface which deal are you going to take $80 per join or $35 per join?
The important thing is your (Per Click) earnings - that's obviously the way to measure Program A against Program B and see where you really earn the most - you send 10K clicks to program A and earn X, same 10K click to program B and earn Y
or what you earn per mailer (Program A earns 5K with this mailer and Program B earns 12K with the same mailer) or how much a particular spot on your site(s) earns - 1 week in the top banner slot of your XYZ sites earns X with Program A and Program B earns Z in the next week
I'm not saying shaving is right, I'm saying it is done every day in (almost) every program and it's done to attract webmasters like yourself to send traffic to that program - smoke and mirrors. Program A says we'll pay you $40 per join then program B comes along and says we'll pay you $50 per join and the shave happens
Do the math for yourself - Most sites convert about 30%-40% from trial to membership (sure I'll hear something about this) and the the average member only stays 3 months (or less) - so to make those competitive payouts of $40-$100 per join there has to be shaving, cross sells and up sells
The positive now is I'm starting to see more pay sites that are becoming concerned with the quality of the product they opffer
In fact I'll do something that I think no other sponsor will do here
I'm going to tell you my program Cloud 9 Cash
http://www.cloud9cash.com shaves and I'll explain how it's done
I use CCbill for the affiliate program - I use a cookie based tracking system- affiliates lose about 10% of joins due to cookies not being accepted - to offset that I pay 60% off all sales and Cloud 9 Cash pays the processing fees for all affiliates (the % you normally pay to the processing company Cloud 9 Cash pays for you) so after all is said and done you get 60% or more from Cloud 9 Cash and I pay for the entire lifetime of the subscriber. Affiliates who promote my sites have surfers who have been members for over a year
Also any affiliate in the Cloud 9 Cash program can get a free access to the sites so they can see what they are promoting
Flame away if you feel the need - I've laid out the big picture from 5 years in the business and from a the perspective of a paysite and affiliate program owner - will this hurt my business - maybe - did I pull back the curtain a little - I hope so
Best wishes to all
Vick