Not sending checks on time anymore
Written: Jul 12 '00
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I have been using AllAdvantage since the beginning, joining in May 1999 and using the viewbar since July 1999. I've built a nice size network and was happy to see the money rolling in, slowly climbing to about $100 a month! But there's some problems lately.
[I'm not going to go into details of how the program works, since there are hundreds of review here that explain that, and you basically already know the basics. :) Instead, I'll discuss the new payment practices and the health of the company. ]
I spent considerable time and effort helping this company become the number one Paid-To-Surf program, so it troubles me that I might give a tepid review here.
The Promise
Last year, AA promised to pay $.50/hr, for up to 40 hours a month. This would give someone with no referrals the potential to make $20/mo. A great paying proposition. Millions join.
Then, as the viewbar was released, they started out with a 15 hour limit, promising to increase as their network grew. This upset many, but overall was accepted as growing pains. In Sept. they increased it to 20, and then eventually we got to a 25 hours a month maximum.
Though 25 hours a month is less than what they originally promised, it was a sufficient amount to allow for the single user to get a payout every other month of $25. For those with a network, the pay outs were growing. I was up to $100/mo.
The Updates
The viewbar went through serveral updates throughout the year. I held onto the old ones as long as possible because of some of the changes in the new bars. The old ones allowed you to be away from your computer for about 3-5 minutes before turning off, while the newer ones were cutting back on the idle time, to under 2 minutes.
Eventually, they disabled the old viewbars, requiring the new bars. The new bars I now actually prefer, especially with the search engine built right in it. I use the search engine a lot. But with the upgrades, there seemed to come some bugs.
The Bugs
The software started to become buggy. I don't know whether it was the software installed on my computer, or their server. I tend to think it was the latter, because of the inability to access my account info ( a daily visit ). I figure that the viewbar had to have contact with AA's servers, and since the servers seemed to be going down often, the bar was giving error messages.
With the problems, I started noticing that usage was going down. Not by me... I was still using it the max 25 hours. But my referral network. Less people were using it for less time. This indicated that many people were becoming frustrated with the viewbar and weren't using it anymore. This is lost money to them, and me. ;)
Payout changes and alienation
So, now it's March, and my checks seem to be delayed. I get an email saying there is a processing error and it will come shortly. A month later it arrives, but I have concern. Then another check is delayed. This gives the feeling that there are financial problems.
And then the change. AA changes their payment practice. They raise the hourly rate a whole 3 cents to $.53, but they lower the number of hours allowed to only 15 hours. And they change the minimum payout check to $30 (from $20). This causes a big drop off in usage, as the single users (no network under them) find it is not worth it to be annoyed with a screen stealing ad bar for about $7.50 a month, where you only get a check every 4 months.
I always thought the best way to 'remind' people to use the view bar was to send the check within the first 2 weeks of the end of the month. That way, when the check arrives, they are reminded that "it works" and they start using the viewbar again for the rest of the month. But now, the checks sending policy was changing to 45 days after the month. That means that you don't see a check for a LONG time. If you are a single user, it will take 4 months to build up to the $30, and then you'll get your check 2 months after that. 6 months for first payout. I think that's unacceptable.
Financial Problems
Then I read in some financial websites that my fears are confirmed. AllAdvantage is having financial difficulties. By one estimate, they only have enough money to last to the end of the year. They were planning an IPO for an influx of new money, but that seems to be cancelled due to the current mood of the markets toward Internet IPOs.
Overview
AllAdvantage is the Grand-daddy of them all. They are the only one I pushed started back in May 1999. And I can only hope that somehow they can last. As you can tell from all of these other reviews, AA seems to be the most liked.
But, I would start looking for other ships in the sea as a backup. So far, I'm liking epipo, spedia, and mvalue and utopiad. I don't know enough about them yet to review them, but I am started to try to build my networks with them. Hopefully they fair better than AA. And hopefully, AllAdvantage can win back the lost members. Usage under me has dropped to about 10% of what if used to be.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hedgerow
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
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