In mid-February, I had a couple of interesting conversations with folks over at NetWinner.com, which I put together into a post here on CompareRewards. One of the program’s VPs was kind enough to address some of the concerns I’d been hearing about the program, and I found the exchange enlightening and reassuring.
However, it’s been about 8 weeks since then, and some things have changed, and at this point I’d say NetWinner is facing the beginning of the end…unless they do something and fast.
1. Despite NetWinner’s insistence to the contrary, it does appear that criticizing NetWinner, even on outside websites, can get your account frozen. Three weeks ago, a member was told that his NW account would be frozen if he didn’t remove posts critical of NW on outside websites by a certain date and time. The only website this member had posted on was mine, and my site settings don’t permit commenters to delete their own comments. The member’s account, as a result, was frozen. I interceded on his behalf, appealing to the folks I had spoken with at NW in February to investigate, and the member did eventually get his account back. What if I hadn’t stepped in? Would the member have been out of all of his points and all of the redemptions he’s been patiently waiting for? How many other people has this happened to? I’ve heard the complaints before and believed NetWinner when they said they were untrue, but now… I don’t know.
2. When NetWinner eliminated all redemptions but raffle entries and Ecount certificates, the rationale given to me was that Ecount certificates would help reduce fraud, would help better use NW staff since it was outsourced, and that it would help speed up redemptions. This is not the case either. Eight weeks have passed since I spoke with NW and the site is only five weeks further along in their redemption backlog. In other words, they’re not catching up at all…the backlog is actually growing.
3. Today, NetWinner eliminated its 10 point prizes on their games and put in their place a raffle entry, for one of ten $100 Ecount GCs (and with surely tens of thousands of players, those odds are rather paltry). While 10 points was the smallest points prize a player could win, before, with the occasional points multipliers it could add up to 250 points. Now, regardless of any multiplier in place, it amounts to just one raffle entry. Because your odds were better at winning the 10 points (now the raffle entry) than anything else, this GREATLY limits the number of points a member can expect to earn in a day. And this, obviously, impacts your earnings from referrals as well.
4. Which brings us to the biggest, reddest flag of ‘em all: NetWinner eliminated its 25,000 point ($25) Ecount redemption and all that remains is 100,000 points ($100 Ecount) and raffle entries. This will in essence make the program raffle-entry only because, with odds of winning 25 points 1 in 29, the average member will earn 75 points per day — okay, give them the benefit of the doubt and say 100, which would require 1,000 days, or almost 3 years, in order for a member to reach cashout.
Now, consider all these points along with the fact that NW first limited players’ daily wheel spins, THEN they increased the length of time in the Terms of Service that they had to pay people when they cash out (not that they’re actually paying them in that time frame)… Well, you don’t have to have an MBA to read the writing on the wall.
NetWinner has fun games and a great user interface, but if the site isn’t properly monetized, doesn’t pay on time, isn’t properly staffed, has lousy customer service, freezes accounts on a whim, and changes the redemptions and TOS when they can’t keep up… what’s it matter?
Sorry, NW members. I’m as disappointed as you are; I feel just as much deceived as you do. 
I hope you can find some other places to spend your time and hopefully earn a little something in the process. Check out other programs mentioned here on CompareRewards, or shoot me an email if you’d like personalized recommendations.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, this post has been up for two days and no one has commented? I’m just curious, CompareRewards seems to have quite a bit of clout on the web, have you contacted the owners again to see if they’d care to respond? The reason I ask is because even while pandomonium occurs on the forum, we’re still being told to hang in there, that everyone will be paid and that NetWinner will be around for many years.
I’m afraid to leave my email, because I don’t want to be banned! I agree that the writing is on the wall. I cashed out at the end of last year and am still waiting. I never expect to be paid. I don’t think there’s any reason to waste any more time on this site. They can’t be generating much cash, and the points to be redeemed are growing very rapidly. NW, you were good while you lasted.
Mike
I heard they made the new changes so they could pay the partner sites more.
Let me run this theory past you and see what you think.
In the past year they were supposed to have moved to larger quarters and, I assume, buy new equipment. During the same period, they did hire some high priced help, this I do know. As the year wore on they discovered that they were top heavy and started making changes to the way they paid out, so that it would lessen their cash flow (Got to pay the help and morgage, ya know. The players they can wait.)
Here’s the theory part, as they have now reduced the payout on the Winners Only Club to 2 payouts of $250;
I think that they are going to keep running it down so that more and more players will quit playing and that will give the excuse to inactivate their accounts. Therefore, they lose any points they have aquired but, more importantly, they will lose the the e-count cards that they have redeemed. And I think this is the key, they know that they owe out thousands of dollars and cann’t cover it.
If you look at their winners list were they list the top point leads (some with over 1,000,000 pts, although the amounts that I see players holding are going down) the amount owed out run to the thousands.
I’m afraid that I’m with Mike when it comes to leaving my e-mail address as they owe me serveral hundred in redeemed points (not that I really expect to get the dough) but just in case. And, yes they are like that. They would ban me in a New York minute with lose of what might end up being my dough.
I knew one of the owners from years back in the porno business!! And now he resorts to screwing the public!!!
i just stumbled on this site and its great.i have 8 family members who are nw players. we have almost given up on the site for “better things to come”we play less and less,except my husband. he has always been a die hard at anything he does,but even he has about given up.well it was sooooooooooo nice before changing things for the good.
First, I would like to comment on Mr. Larry Flynt. If you have this much time to post here on a mere small cookie website, then I am positive you are not WHOM you posted, and I am sure you don’t want to be sued for making a false statement using a false name that is not entitled to you.tsk…tsk….tsk. Correct? What it all boils down to is timing. Game sites revenue a cash flow and sometimes they have to make draw backs to keep alive. that it any site on the web these days. I think we all have seen this happen more than once. I am die hard player @ pogo. I played on Netwinner some, but I am more interested in a larger payout. Here is how it will playouy. People who like the site will remian loyal and those who wish to go elsewhere will. This is called normal flow of the web
In the beginning there was Netwinner, now there is Nowinners. I’ve been waiting on money owed by Netwinner for over 5 months now. Seems they made a few token payments back in March, but have paid no one since. Another 6 weeks and nothing. Stating the obvious, they have no money to meet their prior obligations, and probably have no intention of trying to get the money. However, it seems that the owners are profiting simply by continuing the site, revenue from ads is I’m sure still streaming in. Unfortunately for their players they seem to have chosen to leave them out in the cold.
To say they are “screwing the public” is grossly understating what is happening. It’s a shame that internet companies such as this are able to act this way and face no consequences for their actions. Perhaps it’s time to legislate internet companies. I for one am contacting our state’s attorney general to find if there is indeed any recourse for all of us who got “screwed”
today 5/12/2008 i had 8 25 e cash cards turned into 400,000 points, these ecards they owe me are from nov, now i get worthless points i dont want, im a senoir who played for hours and hours to give the money to my niece for college, i know it was only 200$ but its alot to me, this is sad and shocking they do this to money they owe, can you tell me if there is anything i can do
I knew things were shady when after six months of winning a $25 debit card and it still in process that I would never see any winnings. What I want to know is how can you commit fraud with them when the site chooses your cards? I remember when they posted the winners and I was always amazed that the same person always won a lot of money odd amounts that meant they won several times.
I have been hanging on to my points hoping that they might really give away winnings in form of gift cards.
Till then I will pay to play on Winster, a lot of fun actually win prizes that they pay out right away.