Originally Posted by Libertine

Most of them would not buy, some would. The 99 guys that wouldn't buy anyway aren't the problem, the one guy that would is. That guy gets the same free stuff the others do, and as soon as free sites meet his demands, he turns from a buyer into a non-buyer.



All these things play a part. That's why the drop in conversions over the years is so interesting.

Back when CJs and linklists were king, if you wanted easy, quick access to porn pics, you pretty much needed a membership.

The rise of fairly clean TGPs meant that easy, quick access to pics became free. So, the people who wanted that stopped being buyers. Those who wanted vids or full sets of pics still needed to buy.

The rise of MGPs meant that easy, quick access to short vids became free. So, the people who just needed that stopped being buyers. Those who wanted full vids or full sets of pics still needed to buy.

And now, the current situation:

The rise of tubes means that easy, quick access to full scenes is now free. Only those who want high quality need to buy.

The rise of filesharing sites means that high quality scenes are now free. Only those who want ease of use and fast, unlimited downloads need to buy.

The rise of torrent sites means that high quality, unlimited downloads are now free. Only those without technical knowledge and those who want ease of need to buy.

So, essentially, only those without technical knowledge, who want high quality, and aren't willing to put up with the hassle of tube sites or filesharing forums need to buy. Basically, the pool of people with a reason to buy has lost much of its size.

Once tube sites start providing higher quality, conversion rates will go down even further. At some point in the future, only very specific fetishes, extremely exclusive content and extremely high quality content will have a selling point, which will appeal to a very limited audience.

Compare it to a store giving everything away for free next to a Walmart. At first, they only give away breathmints, but every week, they add a new product to their inventory. After a while, the Walmart will be in trouble. Because while free breathmints won't dissuade people from buying pizzas, free sandwiches will dissuade some, and free pizzas will dissuade most.