Update, 4/18 – 12:07am: A post on NetWinnerCentral that contained a link to this article was just deleted. They don’t want you to read it. That should tell you something.
In a press release on Tuesday, “Casual Games a Winner for Both Consumers and Advertisers,” NetWinner claims to have paid out over $1.6 million to members since the site’s inception. They say that in February, they served 50 million video ads to players of their games.
The press release states that “the company works hard to build the consumer connection by giving them what they want, not just in the games they play, but the prizes they win…” [emphasis mine]
Ask a long-time NetWinner player if they agree with this. First, gift cards and magazine subscription redemptions were taken away and replaced with Ecount gift cards, which was met with huge player resistance. Players were indifferent to the redemption of points for raffle entries, so the company “forced” the redemption by replacing ten point game wins with raffle entries. $25 Ecount redemptions were removed. As of this writing, no one has been paid for any prize redemptions made after November 5, 2007.
CompareRewards has learned that the same day that NetWinner took drastic measures to decrease the amount of member earnings and the frequency of their payouts, they gave their AdverGame Network partner websites a 50% raise.
Click here to see an excerpt of the email sent to their partners (cropped, and with the partner’s website name removed). The email cited “tremendous response” to the prize drawings, touting the fact that NW dropped the points required to buy an entry. It mentions the addition of the $100 Ecount redemption for 100,000 points…but neglects to mention the removal of the $25 Ecount redemption. And it spins the substitution of the ten point prize for a daily drawing entry as a positive.
Then comes the kicker: “Because of these changes [emphasis mine], we will now be able to offer all partners 15% [formerly 10%...a 50% raise]…”
I heard from two AdverGame Network partners in the past week who shared their viewpoints on the changes at NetWinner but asked to remain anonymous. One, echoing my own concerns when NW asked me if I wanted to be a partner site, said that he was worried that the frustration and outright anger many NW members are expressing because of last week’s changes would result in ill will toward him and his website. I asked him whether he was concerned about being paid and he said no…HIS payments were guaranteed by contract.
The other partner I talked with said, “This move is an attempt to reduce the amount of money spent on prizes and to increase their partner payout. They’ll get more traffic from partners since they are able to pay more – but they’ll lose a lot of dedicated members because of the changes.”
In other words, NW knows the changes will tick off existing players and that perhaps some of them will leave. While this is good for NW because those members won’t be around to cash out their earned points (keep in mind that points earned but not redeemed are considered a liability, accounting-wise, for any point site)… it’s bad for NW, too, because no members playing = no members watching ads = NO INCOME. When you’ve p*ssed off your existing membership, what else can ya do but find new members? And the newbies won’t know how good NW used to be…they may be content to play for raffle entries and for points that will take a year or more to accumulate to cashout minimums. NW obviously hopes to bring in new members by offering its partners more money to promote the program.
This AdverGame partner went on to say, “The REAL problem with netwinner is that they don’t have a strong business model. They drive traffic by partnering with sites on a rev-share basis, but the rev share is so small that many sites won’t give them much attention or placement, since there are more lucrative offers always floating around. I myself have made threats to reduce exposure because they just don’t pay enough for the traffic that they’re getting.” He said that the high-bandwidth video ads were a relatively new market and it’s not valuable enough (yet) to advertisers…so there’s not much money to be made right now.
So, what’s the next logical thing for NW to do? Get their affiliate partners to buy their own prizes! Which is exactly what they’re now trying to do.
In an email today titled, “A new opportunity with NetWinner,” (click here to see an excerpt) NetWinner urged its partner websites to buy their own prizes, in return for 20% of the ad revenue instead of the just-increased 15%. NW creates a page customized for the partner’s giveaway (which can be changed weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly), the partner provides the prize, and NW gives the partner site 20% of the ad revenue. The partner can put ads for their own main website into the ad rotation if they choose. You can see an example of these customized campaigns here — note that this is a raffle-only system, with NO points involved, only drawing entries.
This business model at least gets the prize burden off of NW’s back. Whether or not the partners get sufficient return on their investment (the prizes they’re ponying up) and whether NW can afford to customize campaigns and host the traffic while giving up 20% of their earnings remains to be seen.
Will NetWinner ever catch up with its outstanding redemptions? Who knows. But it’s my guess that a raffle-only model will be the way of the future for NW and their partner sites.
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In case anybody is interested, immediately after this article was posted and someone mentioned this site, Netwinner deleted an entire 40+ page thread about the recent changes. The thread contained protests from a majority of members. Netwinner is SIX months behind on payouts. Netwinner has been untruthful to their members on numerous occassions. Do not be led astray. They have hidden, buried and deleted many complaint threads and posts at their forum. What you see there is only what they want you to see. They’ve banned protesters and threatened others into silence. Do not be misled. They owe thousands of members hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I don’t have any solid information about how many members are awaiting cashouts or the total amount of those delayed payments.
But if you wanted to make an estimate — the press release from Tuesday said that they had paid out $1.6 million since they started (in 10/06). Payments to members are only current through 10/07. 10/06 through 10/07 = 13 months that they paid members.
$1.6 M paid out divided by 13 months = an average of $123,000 a month that they paid out.
Five months of redemptions haven’t been paid, so $123,000 x 5 = $615,000…over half a million dollars in unpaid debt.
Again, *I don’t know this for a fact* but if they’re telling the truth in their press release, this is the best estimate I could make.
This is all very disturbing. And yes, I was in the forums last night and read the post that contained the link to this site. Shortly after, the post was deleted, and the thread that contained several dozen pages of comments re: the latest changes also disappeared. I am in the same boat as many- owed $ that I am beginning to think I may never see. When NW is determined to censor/remove information that may shed some light on what is really going on with them, I am more inclined than ever to believe that they have been misleading their members, and will do all they can to keep us from discovering the truth- that they are in dire financial straits and they’re just stringing us along to get as much out of us as possible, for however much longer they can keep their heads above water.
Interesting article and their new cost cutting measures makes me think that they plan on being around for a long time. A lot of other gaming sites charge a membership fee or require a cash deposit. While the prizes might take a while to achieve it is FREE to play. I have no intention of leaving their site and have signed up a number of referrals regardless of the changes.
Some of us don’t buy into all the garbage they feed us….and apparently some of us do. Whatever floats your boat. I just feel bad for all the unsuspecting souls who get the site recommended to them by someone who refuses to accept and reveal the truth.
It is NOT a gaming site, therefore it cannot be compared to gaming sites. It is a “Paid-To” site where members are (or were) paid to view advertisements with earnings in the form of games of chance as opposed to a set “cost-per-click.” They know this and they know it would be absolutely absurd to charge a membership fee.
Unfortunately for newbies, there will always be those who continue to perpetuate scams. Without them the con artists would just have to do more work. As it is there appear to be quite a few people perfectly willing to lend a helping hand. It’s exactly why corruption is rampant, especially on the internet. The good thing is that sites like this exist where people have half a chance of breaking free when the vultures swarm overhead.
I have to agree with my fellow NW player above. This has gotten out of hand. Just last May I had found Netwinner and thought what a great site! There were no limited spins, tons of gift cards, and you used to actually get paid. Thus far I am STILL waiting for a giftcard I had cashed out for in the beginning of November. I haven’t played in months just for this reason. I do sign in every other day to see if my gift card or any of my prizes have been “approved” yet. Still a no go, what a big suprise there.
I used to be one of the NW members that stuck up for NW. But after all this crap and how they are treating thier members and keeping them in the dark I wouldn’t refer anyone to them. In fact I pretty much tell my referrals now to not even bother playing.
I’m glad you didn’t become one of the partner sites, because to tell you the truth, I do look down on those sites. So I’m glad you did your homework before just saying yes to them.
I don’t join or even visit thier sites because I think if they’re partnered with a site like this then this must be o.k. with them of how they are treating thier members. So in the long run those sites will be treating me the same way because they really don’t care about us, thier members, just filling thier wallets.
It has been some time since i have posted on this site.I am the member from Netwinner whom was spoken of before about having their account frozen for speaking out about netwinner in these threads. it is true that my account was re-instated i give that to the site, but do not allow this to fool anyone i am still waiting on payments from last november. the following is a email i have sent to netwinner requesting payment of funds past due
hi
i have sent various internal email to fulfillment about my account. to date i have heard nothing. why can i not get some sort of answer about why my account has not been fulfilled. i have seen in various other forums that netwinner is way past last november and yet still i am waiting on
Prize Redemption 03/02/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 02/16/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 02/08/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 02/05/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 01/29/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 01/20/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 01/06/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 12/15/2007 Circuit City ($100) Processing
Prize Redemption 12/06/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 11/25/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 11/15/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption 11/05/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
my account name is carlton123 and as you can see i have numerous prizes that have passed the 90 day fulfillment period as stated in your terms of service. at this point i am requesting some sort of reply about my account.
i am sure i will get the same response i have gotten the past 3 times and that would be none.
i agree with everyone this site has lost its perspective on how they make money.if you chase away your members then you will in the long run only cut your own throat( which is what has happened here ).
i would like to suggest to everyone who is still awaiting payment tho DO NOT STOP i am not saying to play as you did in the past but try and go in there at least 1 time a week even if it is to spin 1 time. do not allow this site to freeze your account for inactivity. sooner or later there will be enough people that will get mad enough and they will file charges. i know myself i use to use a few of the sites that are affiliated with netwinner but no longer. i would rather spend a few more dollars buying items from another online site than to spend less at a site that is affiliated with a site that has committed these types of scams on hundreds or even thousands of people. not only people but loyal members that had the sites back until recently.
i myself saw many negative post about the site way back and i would over look them. i felt that i would give the site the benefit of the doubt. i am not one to go buy word of mouth and i am sure that there are many like myself that feel the same way. to them i can only say good luck. to those whom can understand how many people can feel that they have been scammed from netwinner i say to them. most of all the post in this site are very accurate. you will see a few members/posters here that will state that netwinner is the best site they have ever been on( this may have been true 6-10 months ago ). i would almost bet you that in one way or another that these people are in one way or another affiliated with the site so yes they would give a good recommendation. but look at all the others. it is hard to state that a company has paid everyone up to a certain date when i can look at my prize page everyday and know this is a false statement. so you be the judge. netwinner says they pay members and has paid all their members i say they have not and here is my proof.
Prize Redemption03/02/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption02/16/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption02/08/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption02/05/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption01/29/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption01/20/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption01/06/2008 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption12/15/2007 Circuit City($100)Processing
Prize Redemption12/06/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption11/25/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption11/15/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
Prize Redemption11/05/2007 Ecount Cash ($25) Processing
That is hilarious, your posting about a site and want to agree, yet from what you posted above it seems your still playing that site. So, there must be a reason for that.
I saw the thread your trying to say was gone, they did not remove it. I saw it in announcements .
How did you get a e-mail from a partner. Did you have permission to post that since I assume your a partner on that site. Right? If not how can you post something not meant for your eyes. Or, will the partner be willing to come here and announce who they are and why they are letting you post a private e-mail. makes you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I don’t think its a bad site. I think they are just going through that time and I am gonna stick with em’ until I see fit. If not then I will venture on to something else as I always have.
I think your conflicting blogs make no sense if your still on the site and playing. Then you presenting others a lie because you fail to say your still playing the game. kind of like a dagger in the back to those your trying to get your point across while, your levying your opinion otherwise. BOOYYAHH! So, everyone has to use their own judgement, but lest ye’ not judge if ye’ is still on their playing, then your a hypocrit! and stirring up more post for your blog.
Howdy! Yep, there is a reason why I still play the site: to stay on top of the changes administration is making to it on an almost-daily basis in order to accurately report the facts.
The post in question WAS deleted — it was entitled “Changes” and was more than 40 pages long. After I updated my post here to mention that fact, someone posted a link to this article in a different thread… and this time, NW allowed the link to stand. NetWinner’s forum mods visit this site frequently and have posted comments here themselves. I’m sure they’re as hungry for information on the program as everyone else.
No, I am not and will not become a partner with NetWinner, as I said in my article reporting my discussion with NW’s VP. A partner website forwarded several emails he received from NetWinner and I posted excerpts with his permission. He is as disgusted with NetWinner as its members are.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I continue to play once in a while on NetWinner. The very fact that I do is what qualifies me to speak knowledgeably on the subject.
Appreciate your taking the time to comment, though, and I hope that your loyalty to NetWinner is, eventually, rewarded.
Best wishes,
Becky Ford
CompareRewards.com
Yes, they definately and completely removed the 40 page thread entitled “Changes”. Its a requirement in the Terms for members to remain active and anyone knows they have to click now and then if they want to be paid. You don’t see the Catch-22 in that, funny?
Nah I dont see it. I see this site getting a huge traffic boost though. Now what is the catch I ask? I spend more time on other games than I do there so reckon i should not put my 2 cents in. Just stuck out in my search and read to find HEYLO! I play there If this person is not a partner what is the concern seems to me the one here is getting a BIG boost from your pissed off natures. I will go be used somewhere else. You lovely folks have a great day. . This is politically speaking. Spend your time in a wiser way
Those of us who are familiar with this site know that the operator doesn’t pull the wool over our eyes just to get traffic or referrals. The reviews are accurate. We’d be blasted with ads, pop-ups and forced downloads if all the author wanted was to profit from our visits.
The concept of integrity is obviously lost on some, but others truly appreciate that it still exists online from places like this run by people like the author.
I have been around comparerewards.com for a long period of time. Becky checks her facts, double checks her facts and she does go to people and get their permission to post their e-mails and reponses.
And that is a fact. She on her own has taken on the job that each and every one of us should have done ourselves “EDUCATE our selves”, read FAQ and TOS, if you have question e-mail and ask the site, most (not all) webmasters want to help, on point sites they are there to make money as well as help us make money or earn gift cards. Do searchs on the sites to get background, ask your friends and other site members questions and opinions. Know what your getting into, in 10 years of doing point sites I have only been stiffed once, and I was accused of cheating!!! Needless to say I was ticked, I am a grandmother that does these sites to earn extras for my grandkids and family, I have never cheated, I have gotten more then enough playing honest and I’m proud of it , I know people do cheat, and I know it hurts us all, but I honestly don’t even know how to cheat these companies and have no desire to learn how either. I have helped many people with point sites and have always preached honesty and to learn as much about the site and rules as you can. Netwinner is becoming a whole new problem for many, yes I still play and I sit back and read and watch and listen, I will continue playing, I am in to deep to stop, they owe me alot (at least in my way of thinking its alot), I am not going to quit and have my account closed for one reason or another. So I continue playing and clicking on ads. I am lucky I play for extras, but I know many who play to have birthdays and christmas for their families, I have been told some play just to feed their families and put gas in their cars, its more then sad to see anyone who devotes the time we have and really needs this money not receive it, actually in my book its a crime. As for the Mods, I have one piece of advice, honesty is the best policy, don’t placate people, they just want the truth from you, if you don’t know say so. And tell your bosses to have the guts to speak the truth, a little honesty goes a long way. Its our money, we earned it and we have the right to know what is what. I am not a child and do not deserve to be talked down to or treated in this fashion. I know it is not a fun job when people are upset. I shall get off my soap box, but just take this with you, Becky is here to help us, to educate us with facts, she wants to see every site succeed and all of us to be paid, its a sad fact it doesn’t always happen, if
Netwinner fails and goes under it is not her fault, she is just reporting the facts as she gets them so we can make educated decisions… have a good sun filled day…
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