Wave Bye Bye To Upsells....

[Lee]

Later today Senator Rockefeller is holding a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation full committee hearing on Aggressive Sales Tactics on the Internet and their Impact on American Consumers. He released a report on his findings in advance of the hearing.

The documents contain a lot of previously unavailable information on the size of the market, and where the money is flowing.

Background: hundreds of well known ecommerce companies add post transaction marketing offers to consumers immediately after something is purchased on the site. Consumers are usually offered cash back if they just hit a confirmation button. But when they do, their credit card information is automatically passed through to a marketing company that signs them up for a credit card subscription to a package of useless services. The “rebate” is rarely paid.

Intelius is one company that is using these scams to go public. But scores of even more well known ecommerce companies use these scams as well, including: 1800flowers, Buy.com, Classmates.com, Columbia House, Expedia, Hotels.com, Fandango, FTD, Hotwire, MovieTickets.com, Orbitz, Priceline, Shutterfly, Travelocity, US Airways and Vista Print. Each of these companies has received over $10 million in PTM revenue, according to the report. Hundreds more received less.

Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty are the three largest companies partnering on these scams. The report states that these three companies have earned over $1.4 billion in revenue from 35 million transactions. 4 million people are currently enrolled in the plans.

450 or more ecommerce sites have added the scams, says the report, and 88 of them have earned at least $1 million. Sites can earn CPMs from the ads of up to $2,600, and the conversion rate is up to 4.5%

We’ve written that these PTM scams are kissing cousins to the Scamville social gaming scams we reported on earlier this month. As with Scamville, companies that don’t engage in these tactics are at a disadvantage. They earn less revenue, meaning they can’t be as aggressive on core pricing and on advertising. So without regulation, sites that don’t engage in scamming users are forced out into the practice, or out of business.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/17...g-wallofshame/

While this iss specifically dealing with already 'illegal' billing practices, this is going to have a huge effect on the adult industry, just wait and see, upsells and cross sells and any other type of transaction will soon be illegal once these money hungry scumbags get their hands on transaction processing on the interwebs

Regards,

Lee

[PUMPaul]

There are plenty enough scum bags doing it in adult as well...

• $1 trials that can't be cancelled and convert to a $90 or more membership to multiple sites with different processors
• Automatic enrolment into social networks unless cancelled in 3 days
• Prechecked boxes hidden on second page join forms
• Seas of never ending pop ups and consols

It's sad that a few companies can spoil it for the honest and hardworking webmasters out there.

Later today Senator Rockefeller is holding a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation full committee hearing on Aggressive Sales Tactics on the Internet and their Impact on American Consumers. He released a report on his findings in advance of the hearing.

The documents contain a lot of previously unavailable information on the size of the market, and where the money is flowing.

Background: hundreds of well known ecommerce companies add post transaction marketing offers to consumers immediately after something is purchased on the site. Consumers are usually offered cash back if they just hit a confirmation button. But when they do, their credit card information is automatically passed through to a marketing company that signs them up for a credit card subscription to a package of useless services. The “rebate” is rarely paid.

Intelius is one company that is using these scams to go public. But scores of even more well known ecommerce companies use these scams as well, including: 1800flowers, Buy.com, Classmates.com, Columbia House, Expedia, Hotels.com, Fandango, FTD, Hotwire, MovieTickets.com, Orbitz, Priceline, Shutterfly, Travelocity, US Airways and Vista Print. Each of these companies has received over $10 million in PTM revenue, according to the report. Hundreds more received less.

Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty are the three largest companies partnering on these scams. The report states that these three companies have earned over $1.4 billion in revenue from 35 million transactions. 4 million people are currently enrolled in the plans.

450 or more ecommerce sites have added the scams, says the report, and 88 of them have earned at least $1 million. Sites can earn CPMs from the ads of up to $2,600, and the conversion rate is up to 4.5%

We’ve written that these PTM scams are kissing cousins to the Scamville social gaming scams we reported on earlier this month. As with Scamville, companies that don’t engage in these tactics are at a disadvantage. They earn less revenue, meaning they can’t be as aggressive on core pricing and on advertising. So without regulation, sites that don’t engage in scamming users are forced out into the practice, or out of business.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/17...g-wallofshame/

While this iss specifically dealing with already 'illegal' billing practices, this is going to have a huge effect on the adult industry, just wait and see, upsells and cross sells and any other type of transaction will soon be illegal once these money hungry scumbags get their hands on transaction processing on the interwebs

Regards,

Lee

[PUMPaul]

sorry about that
didn't mean to quote the entire post.
My bad

[HunkyLuke]

good

maybe now us ethical companies will be able to fairly battle those scammers.

[Lee]

good

maybe now us ethical companies will be able to fairly battle those scammers.

Luke,

It has nothing to do with being 'ethical' basically, as it is written, if you have a SINGLE upsell in your members area, you are a target of this.

Regards,

Lee

[Matt 26z]

It has nothing to do with being 'ethical' basically, as it is written, if you have a SINGLE upsell in your members area, you are a target of this.

I'm pretty sure it has more to do with merchants passing around billing info to each other without the buyer fully understanding these charges are being made.

I am of a very firm belief that this practice has done more to harm adult than all of the free porn.

[Bec]

I'm pretty sure it has more to do with merchants passing around billing info to each other without the buyer fully understanding these charges are being made.

I am of a very firm belief that this practice has done more to harm adult than all of the free porn.

I'd have to agree with you. If I think I'm paying 25$ and get my card charged for a couple hundred, you can bet I'm not going to be quick about a repeat experience, even if it is with a different site/company.

[HunkyLuke]

Yeah, that's exactly how I read it too, I cannot see this applying to any casual members-area cross/upsells (like live chat or "friends" sites) where members have to pull out that cc and enter it again.