Originally Posted by DamageX

Affiliates have only themselves to blame, honestly. The big guys got big not because they cunningly used affiliates to enrich themselves, but because affiliates LET THEM do so. The smart affiliates became sponsors themselves and now are driving traffic to their own sites. The ones thinking that status quo would be preserved forever are the ones now risking to be eliminated. It's simple, really. Either evolve or disappear.

Originally Posted by DamageX

Yep, can't have too many chiefs and not enough indians, that's for sure. However, I never stated that successful affiliates started their own programs (although many did). I said the smart affiliates became sponsors themselves, as in mostly THEIR OWN sponsors. There are tons of privately operated paysites around, even if you may only know the ones that the high-profile sponsors like to plaster across the boards. Those paysites are promoted via traffic generated by their operators and in some cases also a few hand-picked affiliates.

Now, to your statement about many people being happy with just being affiliates, it is true. But that in itself will not guarantee the long-term existance of affiliates. Look at all the paid spots on various high-traffic sites, fewer and fewer affiliates can afford to buy them and make a profit, simply because the sponsors themselves are buying them up. Sponsors make a bigger profit on those listings (no 50%+ paid to the affiliate) so they can afford to drive up the prices. Should every affiliate disappear unless they become paysite owners? No, they shouldn't, but that doesn't mean that it will not happen.