Question about rewards points.

[hotchixs]

Posted in the rewards section as well.

What is the exact reason we need to send at least one sale to get all our old rewards points back. Seems somewhat underhanded. I earned those points why do I need to earn them again. I know that it's only one sale but that's not the point. I've been a loyal ARS webmaster for 3 years. I've sent millions of hits to you guys. I've made a lot of sales for you. Once you give someone something taking it back and saying "you don't get it until you do one more thing for me" is dirty and dishonest. What message are you really trying to send to your webmasters? I think it's bad enough that you've devalued the points by 10%. That I can take more readily then this "one more sale" crap.

And in your reply ARS please be thoughtful and respectful, I don't know if I can handle anymore glib answers.

Michael

[Cyphix]

Totally agree with you!!

I mean I thought it was very dirty & underhanded too... I mean, it may be a good way to "clean out the peoples" reward points that just sit there & don't send sales anymore to ARS... but that's hardly the way to do things.

I EARNED these points & for me & LOT of WM's part of the reason we chose to send traffic here was because of the great rewards system, so it's like saying.. "hey, if you don't make a sale to one of our new sites we want 10% of the money in your account or something".

I don't promote a lot of reality sites so I guess I'm just going to have to send atleast one sale to one to be able to keep my POINTS I rightfully earned.

If you're not careful ARS, you might have some lawsuits on your hands from unhappy WM's from taking away things they have EARNED.. they were never told when they signed up that these points you earn may be taken away from you for future non-achievements. :roll:

And in your reply ARS please be thoughtful and respectful, I don't know if I can handle anymore glib answers.

Here here!

[xxxbiz]

I too am not to thrilled about the new requirements to maintain our rewards balance. Not only are we losing points in the changeover, but now we risk losing everything we've accrued. I have only promoted HSN up to this point, guess I'll have to squeeze out an ARSI sale to save my points. I'm sure this was done to pump up the 4real sales and have everyone try the new sites. On a brighter note, the rewards page looks like its going to be much better than before and offer us a wider range of products.

[GatorB]

Grow up people. If you can't send in ONE measly sale in 30 days you probally don't even know you have rewards points or care to use them anyways. Also you can SUE so shut up abut that. How many sponosrs even give out rewards points? Are you going to sue them too because they don't? Of the few that do theri rewardsa re WAY WAY over priced and even with the lower reward valkue ARS rewards are far more valuable than the other porgrams. Don't believe me go look for yourself.

Over at Traffic Cash you can get a Corvette for 200,000 points. Of course you get only 3 points for every TWO sales. That means it takes 133,333 sales to earn that Corvette. You can get a Vette for under $60K so that would be less than 60,000 sales under ARS new rewards system. LAst time I checked 60K < 133K

[Bocelli]

Yeah this sucks. I've been saving points for a couple months now and had my eye on a new stainless steel refrigerator/freezer. I was hoping to get it next week. Now a) the reward store is closed, b) the points are worth 33% less, and c) you get 33% fewer points per sale. So instead of getting this next week I have to get another 550 sales.

Thanks alot ARS. You guys are the ones who decided 2 years ago to RAISE points from 10 per sale to 15. You are the ones who told us points were worth $0.165 per. At least you could have said, "hey if you want anything you have 30 days, after that everything changes." Instead you spring it on us when the store is closed. :(

[Saint]

This absolutely sucks. I no longer find this program trustworthy. :(

But, life goes on, live and learn and all that jazz. :roll:

[Spence]

Grow up people. If you can't send in ONE measly sale in 30 days you probally don't even know you have rewards points or care to use them anyways. Also you can SUE so shut up abut that. How many sponosrs even give out rewards points? Are you going to sue them too because they don't? Of the few that do theri rewardsa re WAY WAY over priced and even with the lower reward valkue ARS rewards are far more valuable than the other porgrams. Don't believe me go look for yourself.

Over at Traffic Cash you can get a Corvette for 200,000 points. Of course you get only 3 points for every TWO sales. That means it takes 133,333 sales to earn that Corvette. You can get a Vette for under $60K so that would be less than 60,000 sales under ARS new rewards system. LAst time I checked 60K < 133K

Um, who cares what other programs are doing? It seems to most getting one sale in 30 days isn't a problem, but the principle of forcing a sale to be able to get -what they have already earned- is the issue.
People make decisions on who to promote based on a lot of things, these perks are one of them. It was part of the program, taxes are payed on these points that were earned before the new program came to be. I think it says alot about a company to require this, even if it is just 1 sale.

Before you start telling people to shutup and growup maybe you ought to check your sig out.. :/ Aren't you the same guy that posted all those pics of your cornback rattlers? Who needs to grow up?

[GatorB]

Before you start telling people to shutup and growup maybe you ought to check your sig out.. :/ Aren't you the same guy that posted all those pics of your cornback rattlers? Who needs to grow up?

A) WTF is a cornback rattler?

B) WTF does cornback rattlers have to do with anything?

C) shut up!

D) grow up!

[Spence]

Before you start telling people to shutup and growup maybe you ought to check your sig out.. :/ Aren't you the same guy that posted all those pics of your cornback rattlers? Who needs to grow up?

A) WTF is a cornback rattler?

B) WTF does cornback rattlers have to do with anything?

C) shut up!

D) grow up!

Thanks for proving my point :) I'll let you figure out your questions on your own.

Ta ta

[GatorB]

Thanks alot ARS. You guys are the ones who decided 2 years ago to RAISE points from 10 per sale to 15. You are the ones who told us points were worth $0.165 per. At least you could have said, "hey if you want anything you have 30 days, after that everything changes." Instead you spring it on us when the store is closed. :(

A) ARS has the right to change or terminate anything they want at anytime without notice. Read the TOS when you signed up.

B) I did try to get the word out yesterday when I found out because it wasn't psoted. the Marc came on and said he did tell anyone because he didn't want to have 1000's of webmsters making order all at once while they are trying to get everything else set up. Which makes sense. Though say a 60 day notice probally would have avoided that type of a rush.

C) Your current reward points are going to get multiplied by 1.5 so you may not need as many extra points as you think.

[GatorB]

Before you start telling people to shutup and growup maybe you ought to check your sig out.. :/ Aren't you the same guy that posted all those pics of your cornback rattlers? Who needs to grow up?

A) WTF is a cornback rattler?

B) WTF does cornback rattlers have to do with anything?

C) shut up!

D) grow up!

Thanks for proving my point :) I'll let you figure out your questions on your own.

Ta ta

You're such a nimrod. Talk smack when you get up to at least tripple digits. The REGULARS here know what my point was.

[Cyphix]

GatorB.. you're one of the biggest whiners on this board when you have something to rant about, so plz let other people complain about issues they feel strongly about & stop being so hypcritical.


It seems to most getting one sale in 30 days isn't a problem, but the principle of forcing a sale to be able to get -what they have already earned- is the issue.
People make decisions on who to promote based on a lot of things, these perks are one of them. It was part of the program, taxes are payed on these points that were earned before the new program came to be. I think it says alot about a company to require this, even if it is just 1 sale.


^^^^^^^

I really don't think I'll have trouble getting 1 sale, that's my reasoning above for ranting about this.

[Saint]

Multiplied by 1.5 and worth .65 less.
1000 x .165=$165
(1000 x1.5) x .10=$150

Have I got that right?

[GatorB]

Multiplied by 1.5 and worth .65 less.
1000 x .165=$165
(1000 x1.5) x .10=$150

Have I got that right?

If you have 1000 rewards point RAS will turn that into 1500 X .10 =$150 so yes you are correct. I don't know when this conversion takes place.

[Saint]

So my reward points will be worth less, and I have to sell one of the not very impressive reality sites to even use them. (I honestly have doubts I could, perhaps by accident though)

Tell me again why this doesn't suck?

[Bocelli]

A) ARS has the right to change or terminate anything they want at anytime without notice. Read the TOS when you signed up.

I'm not arguing that they don't. Just that as a courtesy perhaps some notice would have been appreciated.

B) I did try to get the word out yesterday when I found out because it wasn't psoted. the Marc came on and said he did tell anyone because he didn't want to have 1000's of webmsters making order all at once while they are trying to get everything else set up. Which makes sense. Though say a 60 day notice probally would have avoided that type of a rush.

Notice is all I'm asking for. And with all due respect it's not your job to warn us of upcoming changes. Marc knew this was coming months ago. Why not phase it in? Say right after the Christmas rush tell us we have 60 days to cash in reward points using the old method? Or to keep from having everyone order at once maybe webmasters 0-150000 can cash in one week, 15000-20000 the next week, etc. At least give us a shot at getting the proper point value and getting that item we were waiting on.

C) Your current reward points are going to get multiplied by 1.5 so you may not need as many extra points as you think.

Thanks for the heads up on that. I read it wrong the first time. But I am still losing $100 in points. Plus if I decide I don't want to promote the ARS 4 Real sites I'm losing $1100 in points. The TOS that you want to quote says I get my points for the sales I make. It says nothing about having to promote certain sites to get points I've already earned.

[GatorB]

GatorB.. you're one of the biggest whiners on this board when you have something to rant about, so plz let other people complain about issues they feel strongly about & stop being so hypcritical.

Um no I'm not.

You can rant about whatever you want.

Weren't you one of those telling Platinum Latern to STFU the other day? Talk about hypocrite.

Big differnece about people here questioning whether sales are being counted or not( which is something ARS should make sure happens correctly ) vs complaining about a program ENDING( when in fact it is NOT ) or other erroneous info.

Also saying "You changed the rewards to you are RIPPING ME OFF" and saying "ARS IS NO LONGER TRUSTWORTHY" on a public messge board are harsh words and in fact one coud be sued for slander.

I don't agree with having to get the one sale thing in 30 days, but it's not a make or break issue with me. I'm 100 confident I'll get my one sale. When Marc actually gives out an explaination for this then I'll have my comment to make.

[Spence]

You're such a nimrod. Talk smack when you get up to at least tripple digits. The REGULARS here know what my point was.

Ooh, name calling, again I ask.. Who needs to grow up?

When you know my income, then you can tell me when to talk smack, until then, bow down sir, you have a lot to learn.

The point is, you need to respect your fellow webbies abit more, they have a right to rant, as well as you do. You should leave your name calling and such for the playground.

[GatorB]

So my reward points will be worth less, and I have to sell one of the not very impressive reality sites to even use them. (I honestly have doubts I could, perhaps by accident though)

Tell me again why this doesn't suck?

Well I'm waiting to see what this ARSChamps is going to be like. We get rewards point for those too.

Really you don't know the TRUE value of your poinst until the new store opens. If an item cost 1000 points in the old store but 850 in the new one, did your points lose value?

[Bocelli]

If an item cost 1000 points in the old store but 850 in the new one, did your points lose value?

This is another problem I have. Why are we closing things before we're ready to open their replacements? That makes no sense at all.

The hundreds of GIM tours are closing in 2 weeks to be initially replaced by 10 reality sites.

The BYOTs are closing to be replaced in 2 months with a new system.

The reward store is closing to be replaced in 2 months with a new one.

WTF?

Why not say, "listen we need to make money too so we're cutting payouts effective tomorrow. And while we're at it over the next 3 months we're going to be reworking our sites and reward store. But don't worry we're doing this one step at a time." Instead we get vague language on the board about big changes coming and then suddenly one morning everything that we knew is turned on its head and no suitable replacement is in place.

That's not the ARS I've been working with for 3 years.

[GatorB]

Thanks for the heads up on that. I read it wrong the first time. But I am still losing $100 in points.

I'm waiting for the new store to open before I determine how much if any value my points lost.

Plus if I decide I don't want to promote the ARS 4 Real sites I'm losing $1100 in points. The TOS that you want to quote says I get my points for the sales I make. It says nothing about having to promote certain sites to get points I've already earned.

Well you could use your points for content points to make ARSChamp sites. About the TOS thing, well I'd just PM Marc and ask him about that.

[Saint]

So my reward points will be worth less, and I have to sell one of the not very impressive reality sites to even use them. (I honestly have doubts I could, perhaps by accident though)

Tell me again why this doesn't suck?

Well I'm waiting to see what this ARSChamps is going to be like. We get rewards point for those too.

Really you don't know the TRUE value of your poinst until the new store opens. If an item cost 1000 points in the old store but 850 in the new one, did your points lose value?

No, I don't know, and for all I know they could be worth even less in the new store. For all I know, I could have no reward points at any point should the program decide that what they gave me, they're now going to take back. Which is the exactly the point.

[Cyphix]

Weren't you one of those telling Platinum Latern to STFU the other day? Talk about hypocrite.

LOL!!!! NO, I tend to stay out of PL's wacky threads (for the most part).. don't have time to get caught up in the drama!

I think it was LadyB that told him to STFU.. sorry if it wasn't you Lady! ;)

[GatorB]

Ooh, name calling, again I ask.. Who needs to grow up?



Once again try BEING here awhile before you judge people.

When you know my income, then you can tell me when to talk smack, until then, bow down sir, you have a lot to learn

I don't give fuck about your income. WTF does that matter? I've been with ARS for years. My account # in the the low 70000s.

The point is, you need to respect your fellow webbies abit more, they have a right to rant, as well as you do. You should leave your name calling and such for the playground.

I repect almost everyone here( except remis )No the point is you sound a lot like remis another douche bag with few posts that kept on about how much money he made and that's why people should listen to him. At least you don't write novel length explainations.

[rentafrend]

Gator,

you're an ass. You got some inside info on what was going on and now you feel the need to be loyal? How many times has your punk ass been on the other side!?! I earned the points. I should get my points!

[GatorB]

Weren't you one of those telling Platinum Latern to STFU the other day? Talk about hypocrite.

LOL!!!! NO, I tend to stay out of PL's wacky threads (for the most part).. don't have time to get caught up in the drama!

I think it was LadyB that told him to STFU.. sorry if it wasn't you Lady! ;)

I would have told him to STFU about "only" getting $42 a sale the other day, but others were doing a good job without me. I wonder how he feels now? And appearantly today is one of the days I feel like being a dick. So please don't take my "angry" posts to seriously.

[GatorB]

Gator,

you're an ass. You got some inside info on what was going on and now you feel the need to be loyal? How many times has your punk ass been on the other side!?! I earned the points. I should get my points!

A) I didn't receive any special treatment and I didn't get any "inside" info. I typed in http://arsri and I found out and at that time it wasn' t password protected. ANYONE could have figured it out and manu did. Sorry you weren't one of them. In fact I gave out clues to help people such as yourself and I PMed Anna the url because she asked for it. So yes I guess I'm an ass.

B) You will in fact get your rewards points. If I'm wrong feel free the throw it in my face and call me a fool.

[Porn Meister]

I mean really. The bottom line has got to be that it was determined that the system had to change, in the way it was changed. The TOS leaves it open to change at anytime, with no prior notice. Like most if not all programs do.
And now speculation..
If theres $3 million in outstanding rewards points, and someone says "Ok, spend them in 30 days or you'll have to send 1 join in the next month, after which there will be a 60 day delay while we stock our store", then people could break the bank out of panic. Dont want that to happen! (It's a Wonderful Life comes to mind, lol)
And I'm just speculating, but really the bottom line is what matters. It's a privately held company after all..
We gotta move forward is all, regardless. (excuse my optimism! lol ;) )

[Spence]

Ooh, name calling, again I ask.. Who needs to grow up?



Once again try BEING here awhile before you judge people.

When you know my income, then you can tell me when to talk smack, until then, bow down sir, you have a lot to learn

I don't give fuck about your income. WTF does that matter? I've been with ARS for years. My account # in the the low 70000s.

The point is, you need to respect your fellow webbies abit more, they have a right to rant, as well as you do. You should leave your name calling and such for the playground.

I repect almost everyone here( except remis )No the point is you sound a lot like remis another douche bag with few posts that kept on about how much money he made and that's why people should listen to him. At least you don't write novel length explainations.

You said "Talk smack when you get up to at least tripple digits"
I assumed you meant income in your usual demeaning manner. I guess you meant posts. Well I guess if posts make the man, you are much better man than I. You won't find a board on the web where I spout my income, or a spot where I am a known regular.
I too have an account in the low 70000's, so now what?
Anyways, I doubt we will chat again, I really hate having to come down to a 3rd grade level to speak with someone that is supposed to be a grown man.
Bye bye big talker, your name calling only gives me chuckles :)

[GatorB]

You won't find a board on the web where I spout my income,

Really?

When you know my income, then you can tell me when to talk smack, until then, bow down sir, you have a lot to learn

Nope you never brag about your income.

I really hate having to come down to a 3rd grade level to speak with someone that is supposed to be a grown man.
Bye bye big talker, your name calling only gives me chuckles :)

Whatever you say loser, or should I say remis jr. You do not know me in the slightest to even judge.

[Anna O]

In fact I gave out clues to help people such as yourself and I PMed Anna the url because she asked for it. So yes I guess I'm an ass.


No that was not being an ass, that was very nice of you :D

[Saint]

I mean really. The bottom line has got to be that it was determined that the system had to change, in the way it was changed. The TOS leaves it open to change at anytime, with no prior notice. Like most if not all programs do.
And now speculation..
If theres $3 million in outstanding rewards points, and someone says "Ok, spend them in 30 days or you'll have to send 1 join in the next month, after which there will be a 60 day delay while we stock our store", then people could break the bank out of panic. Dont want that to happen! (It's a Wonderful Life comes to mind, lol)
And I'm just speculating, but really the bottom line is what matters. It's a privately held company after all..
We gotta move forward is all, regardless. (excuse my optimism! lol ;) )

No one is arguing that terms of service can and do change, usually with some notice. I'm talking about trust. If the reward system had to change then it should have been effective from this day onward and on points earned from this day onward. Not on points earned to date...that is taking back something, not just changing the system. There would be no rush to cash in if people knew what they had was secure in the meantime.

It sucks, plain and simple. But as you say, move forward, and as I say, live and learn.

[Porn Meister]

Well, if yesterday came along and we were told all points were gone forever.... Well, all my links from the last 4 or 5 years or whatever, would be gone by now I think :)
I just look at this as a really hard choice for them to have made.. and I dont think they would have unless they actually, really really needed to.

[Saint]

I can't agree. Anyhow.. :)

[Porn Meister]

Whew.. got my first sale.. points are safe!
1:142

Saint, respect you alot. Can agree to disagree :)

[Saint]

Ditto. :-)

Glad you got your sale! I need 3, and it isn't looking too good. But then, I have a month, you never know. :D

[AAnnAArchy]

It's one sale per webmaster, not per account, correct?

[Porn Meister]

Excellent question! lol :)

[GatorB]

No one is arguing that terms of service can and do change, usually with some notice. I'm talking about trust. If the reward system had to change then it should have been effective from this day onward and on points earned from this day onward. Not on points earned to date

That is what IS happening. ARS is going to give you 50% MORE rewards points that you have so far to compensate. If you have 2000 rewards points you will have 3000. So ven if they are worth less they are still worth about the same. As far as rewards being wrth this mythical 16.5 cent each that BS. Most things I've bought and have priced in the store averaged out to be 14.3 cents per rewrds point. So actually when ARS incrase my point's I'llbe slightly better.

[hotchixs]

Would still like to hear ARS address the central issue here. I've been with you guys a long time and I think this deserves a response at least.

[Tommyknocker]

Hey, why not change the TOS again and only pay us the money earned with the last system if we can make a sale with the new sites.... :evil:
:sgun:

[LadyB]

Weren't you one of those telling Platinum Latern to STFU the other day? Talk about hypocrite.

LOL!!!! NO, I tend to stay out of PL's wacky threads (for the most part).. don't have time to get caught up in the drama!

I think it was LadyB that told him to STFU.. sorry if it wasn't you Lady! ;)

Yep, it was me. But only after he had told Pussywillow to STFU. In my opinion, he deserved it and I make no apologies. lol

Under "normal" circumstances though, I would never presumed to tell someone to stfu on a message board lol

We all have our own opinions and certainly are entitled to them. Simply because you may not agree with someone doesn't make the other person stupid (or any other name).. you just disagree,, and ya know what? That's ok! :)

[poorboy]

Gator,
I respect you alot, but I think you are looking at this whole change differently than alot of people here.
I noticed a like attitude by many of the ppcers here and understand why.
Much easier and faster to change all traffic.
Look at the poit of view of alot of people with 1000's of regular search engine pages and galleries ect. Going from 100's of niches to this is a bit much, you think? Even if they had 1 very good site per niche, I'd be much happier.
As far as the points, I aggree there, I am not worried. I will probably always use ARs in some form or another. Right now I am scrambling though for stuff to fit 100's of niche spots.


PoorBoy

[Saint]

No one is arguing that terms of service can and do change, usually with some notice. I'm talking about trust. If the reward system had to change then it should have been effective from this day onward and on points earned from this day onward. Not on points earned to date

That is what IS happening. ARS is going to give you 50% MORE rewards points that you have so far to compensate. If you have 2000 rewards points you will have 3000. So ven if they are worth less they are still worth about the same. As far as rewards being wrth this mythical 16.5 cent each that BS. Most things I've bought and have priced in the store averaged out to be 14.3 cents per rewrds point. So actually when ARS incrase my point's I'llbe slightly better.

Points weren't worth 16.5, it was .165. They will be worth .10 in future. (I know this isn't cash value per se, it's buying value) So your 2000 points had a buying value of $330. With a 50% increase in points, giving you 3000, they are worth less, $300. Hello.

[remis]

Spence,

GatorB is either a young insecure kid, or just behaves like one. His comments rarely have substance, so take them with a grain of salt. If you want to see what I mean, simply ask him to back up his assertions with facts. Here, I will give you an example...

GatorB,

You accused me of bragging about my income. Please cite just one example of where I did this. You can find times where I mentioned that I am successful because I work hard use logic to take decisions, and you can find instances where I responded to your false accusations with facts about myself, but at no time have I bragged.

By the way, have you made any progress in your efforts to learn about statistical significance? I recall that a few months ago you told us you were going to leave ARS because you were frustrated with your failures. It was clear to most of us that your failures were a result of your inability to understand that small data sets are not useful in optimization, so I am just curious if your continued presence is linked to a bolstered education on the topic.

[GatorB]

Points weren't worth 16.5, it was .165. They will be worth .10 in future. (I know this isn't cash value per se, it's buying value) So your 2000 points had a buying value of $330. With a 50% increase in points, giving you 3000, they are worth less, $300. Hello.

Um 16.5 CENTS = $0.165

And dropping form $330 to $300 in value is not getting all or even most of your points "taken away".

As I said I found points to be worth .143 or 14.3 CENTS. An example would be order a copy of Window XP. It's cost 693 points retail value $99.99. divide that and it's not .165 I'll tell you that. if point wer in fact worth that then Winodws XP would only cost 606 points not 693.

[AAnnAArchy]

GatorB,

I used my reward points for Amazon.com, so they were worth exactly .165 each.

Sure, someone who has 3000 points right now isn't going to lose a significant amount of money, but what about those who have saved 100,000 points to buy something special? That's a big chunk of money to lose (16.5k), money that they earned, as lots of webmasters specifically promoted ARS because of the points...not just because it was a nice little bonus. I know I changed all of my links for that reason.

[GatorB]

GatorB,

I used my reward points for Amazon.com, so they were worth exactly .165 each.

Sure, someone who has 3000 points right now isn't going to lose a significant amount of money, but what about those who have saved 100,000 points to buy something special? That's a big chunk of money to lose (16.5k), money that they earned, as lots of webmasters specifically promoted ARS because of the points...not just because it was a nice little bonus. I know I changed all of my links for that reason.

100K points at $.0165 is $16,500 now those points will be turned into 150K points at $0.1 which is $15,000 so it's a loss of $1500 not $16,500.

Also WTF can you buy at Amazon for $16,500? If it's in the rewards store those points are only worth $0.143 or $14,300. So it seems you come out ahead.

If you have 100,000 points you made at about 7000 sales or more. You made $250K so I think you can afford whatever it is you wanted.

[Marc De]

AAnn - for the 1000th time rewards points have ZERO value except what WE give it. Its been that way forever... Rewards points are a bonus, plain and simple!

[fazman]

Marc De, Im in AUS so this doesnt matter to me, but I wanted to point it out for the US based webmasters.

you said "AAnn - for the 1000th time rewards points have ZERO value except what WE give it. Its been that way forever... Rewards points are a bonus, plain and simple!"

If they have no value then why do the US webmasters have to pay taxes on anything they exchange for goods or services using the rewards points?

Oh also wanted to ask, if I have 3 accounts and all 3 have points, does that mean I have to make 1 sale on each account to keep those points?

faz

[Saint]

It's per webmaster. I was listening to Greenguy's radio show. And now I feel bad for bitching. :lol:

[JohnV]

fazman,

Make one sale per webmaster, not one per account. This should make it quite simple...

[GatorB]

Marc De, Im in AUS so this doesnt matter to me, but I wanted to point it out for the US based webmasters.

you said "AAnn - for the 1000th time rewards points have ZERO value except what WE give it. Its been that way forever... Rewards points are a bonus, plain and simple!"

If they have no value then why do the US webmasters have to pay taxes on anything they exchange for goods or services using the rewards points?


I don't pay tax on rewards points I earned but didn't cash in. If they had value I would have had to report them as income whether I cashed them in or not.

[AAnnAArchy]

AAnn - for the 1000th time rewards points have ZERO value except what WE give it. Its been that way forever... Rewards points are a bonus, plain and simple!

They're the reason MANY webmasters promote ARS over other companies. How would you like if the government tomorrow said all of the money in your bank account was suddenly worth 50% less. Oh well, it's the value *they* give it, huh? We promoted ARS for a certain amount of dollars per sale and a certain amount of points. Those points are calculated into the reasons lots of us promoted you over, say, MaxCash. Your sites were no better, your support was no better...your points made the difference.

Yeah, the rewards are a "bonus", a bonus we counted on in our promotion decisions and a bonus we didn't expect to be devalued. What we earned is what we should be able to keep...and then you could've made an announcement that starting on such & such date, only 10 bonus points would be rewarded per sale. Instead, it's like someone came into our bank accounts and took money.

I'm sorry you've lost money, but you've handled this transition very very poorly. Perhaps you should've hired an experienced PR person who knows how to spin things better, instead of saying, "Here, you have these ten sites that don't even touch most of your niches and by the way, your points are worth less than they were yesterday."

As for you, GatorB, what does it matter what I buy from Amazon.com, my points were still worth exactly what they were supposed to be worth. And by the way, Amazon sells a zillion different things - you know, computers, plasma tvs, books, cds, kitchen appliances, etc.

[fazman]

Marc De, Im in AUS so this doesnt matter to me, but I wanted to point it out for the US based webmasters.

you said "AAnn - for the 1000th time rewards points have ZERO value except what WE give it. Its been that way forever... Rewards points are a bonus, plain and simple!"

If they have no value then why do the US webmasters have to pay taxes on anything they exchange for goods or services using the rewards points?


I don't pay tax on rewards points I earned but didn't cash in. If they had value I would have had to report them as income whether I cashed them in or not.

That I already know, but as soon as you exchange them for a product they have a value that the US webmasters have to pay taxes on. Just because you havent claimed them yet, doesnt mean next year when you do, that you dont have to pay taxes on them then.



JohnV and Saint, thanx for that, I tried to access the radio show earlier but it wouldnt connect for me, so I gave up.

faz

[It's Me]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere but exactly WHY do we have to make another sale to keep the points we alread earned ?

[basschick]

a bonus has value. you give it to webmasters so they will have more incentive to work - not a paycheck, but something extra.

since reward points can make purchases, and are taxed when used, they do have a value. ars may assign the value, but many people i talk to use ars precisely because they did get paid that extra 2.47 per sale in reward points. to them, it was of value.