Originally Posted by Craig T

AVS isn't dead, and for a lot of webmasters is a huge source of revenue!!!!

Here are the facts; good, bad and indifferent:

The AVS model got hit hard by Visa a few years ago, when Visa correctly mandated that anyone selling memberships to a site, take responsibility for the content on the site. No more stating, "It's not us, it's this other webmaster, while clearly they were making money on said content.

Visa's other issue, was that since it is ultimately planning on having underage kids with credit cards sponsored/co-signed by parents, it wanted nothing to do with the precedent of being an age verifier.

When the new visa regulations happened, it required several changes in some of the business models out there. Some webmasters who had 100's of sites didn't want to make changes to verbage, that was now required. (No use of the term AVS, change the term sites to site, and no reference to "we are asking for your credit card to verify your age.")

For large companies, it was easier to pull away for a time being than to stop what they were doing to make all the changes on 100's of sites. For those that took the time to make the changes, it was business as usual.

In the current world, AVS/AEN models can and do work. I don't need to convince those who don't believe, some will never learn. However, there are too many webmasters making money who also don't need this arguement as the weekly checks they receive is proof enough.

I do believe that the you need quality content to convert, and that the best systems, will provide that content in the coming weeks. I know we will be, and I'm sure others are, or will follow suit.

In lieu of quality content, I can also tell you that if you can present a quality tour in a niche category, or even a tour with a VERY personal appeal inviting them inside, you can convert anywhere!!!!!

For those that don't use at least one AVS/AEN, you are missing out on extra income. It's this simple, your surfers buy more than one site!!!

Are you really going to argue with me and tell me the surfers won't take an additional free site???? For those who have hung tough throughout the changes, we thank you, and for those who are interested in finding out what your peers already know, feel free to ask questions. For those that make un-informed statements, with no desire to continue to learn, well, I can't help you.

In any system that has been successful, the owners had to continually adapt. You as webmasters have to adapt as well. We've all had to get better at what we used to do, and along the way we continue to learn/improve. That is why a lot of you will still be able to be in the industry years from now if you choose.

But here are some facts for you to know. Our conversions haven't changed from pre 9/11 time to now. Webmasters have come and gone for various reasons, and our best webmasters have even stayed without skipping a beat. They will tell you they had to work harder than the easy days, but we all know that every other industry has had to as well.

If you added up even just the top 5 AVS systems, you will find out they are converting 1000's of sales a day. So they best question is why aren't you getting a peice of the pie.

Sorry for the long response, and I hope it helps answer some questions.