I gave you the time to read yours...
1) Funny that they complained about a programs warning page, a nats one at that.
I'm surprised you don't have more cross access links for your other sites.
2) 100 sales a day at 5% = 5 a day x 30 a month = 150 or 1825 people a year. per 100 sales, "that did not know about it"...
Now it's great you refund them or have kick ass support. But when you burn someone or when you get burnt, it only takes once and you don't return.
Have you ever tracked your "return signups" that are previous cancels? Just think, in-house, no payout, signups - worth 5x webmasters and what? 10x (prob 20) an Xsale?
I'm still trying to figure out why all these sites shooting any exclusive content have an xsale to anything other than something they own.
Your business, as you said in #1 - maybe you shouldn't copy what the other failing morons are doing.
3) This confused me just a little, so here goes. It's your business, you can choose to run it into the ground or you can lift it above the trash and set an example.
What processor is doing this? If it's Epoch or CCbill, ICQ me and I will get it to stop processing illegal sites.
DRM protect your content. It can still be downloaded, used, no problems.. seamless. Educate yourself, it works and can send sales back.
4) I'm not going to bash you, just state the truth. Greed... You wanted to be bigger, you didn't like your numbers, so you changed. I know, it almost happened to me.
My PPS was private, programs and larger webmasters only. That allowed me to pay in a range
You don't have to pay $35 to get webmasters to use you. And you don't have to have xsales to pay $35 per signup.
The tube argument is an excuse, and it's bullshit. Piracy has been around far before tubes, and the real piracy ring, is still larger than tubes.
Tubes provide something surfers didn't have before, saying you need to adapt isn't about dealing with tube piracy. It's about learning....
Have you not noticed these programs pushing hard xsales, lots of upsells, really don't offer one-on-one member love, most have crap support.
These are the programs trying everything right now before they finally shit out.
If you do hidden xsales, all the review sites with comments, have visitors that have slammed you - this happens on forums too. You people are killing your own business, not tubes or piracy.
It's your business as you said.. it's your choice if you want to stay on the same path as these other fools and lead your company to its death.