OK guys, but have you thought of this. Most of the larger sites have 3 sometimes 4 processors which means 3 or 4 times $750 ???
And yes it may shut down some smaller guys, which i personally don't think is a good thing. But if the big guys like Dannies etc. are the only ones left, then there will be no need for IBILL, GloBILL CCBILL etc. because the bigger sites have there own merchant accounts. So this could be the beginning of the end for third party processing ????

Just my thoughts on this subject.
I would like to here other opinions, the only ones to profit from this fiasco as always will be Visa.
Maybe we should all band together and ask the processing companies to lower their rates 1 or 2 % to help us pay for the fees ?? After all if all the smaller guys go down, they will lose out , dont you think ?

That is true Petr -- we were facing that same issue with the German company I mentioned above.

There are still a lot of questions and clarifications to be made to this.

For instance if a US processor has a merchant acct in England, does that processor now have to go and get only US merch accts. Or if that US processor can keep that English acct, can that English acct be used to process for clients in the Visa Euro region?

Is this going to be regional divisions or true country divisions? If it's regional then it may be that those with Antigua, Aruba, etc corps could possibly continue with their current processors who are US, if those processors had merch accts in those regions...

How does something like NAFTA affect the Canadian and Mexican sites if it is done by country and not region? Can Visa override a US law basically with a regulation that inhibits free trade between the countries involved in NAFTA?

See what I mean, there are soooo many variables, and quite frankly I think the actual enforcement of these rulings is where the money will be made or lost.

Also, what will happen to a processor who violates the rules? Will they be fined, will they be terminated, what if they didn't realize that someone was not from the correct region because that person lied on their paperwork and produced bogus documentation to get an account?

The principle here is sound. After all you can't operate a retail store with someone else's merchant account, and especially not someone else who is in a different country entirely. This is just a matter of Visa deciding to enforce what they have not previously with the regions/countries divisions.

As to their collecting money, well you have to pay them to get your own merchant account, and it's more than 500 bucks.

hey - there's a CindyFF that's an escort in Winnipeg? you one and the same person?

http://www.cindyff.com/

I'm just wondering with all the talk about swapping to AVS systems, how this little rule in the new policy will effect them:

"IPSP?s are required to provide Visa with monthly sales, chargeback and credit data for their review, by Sponsored Merchant and down to the URL of each Sponsored Merchant site. Sponsored Merchants who are out of compliance on chargeback and / or credit ratios may be terminated at Visa?s discretion. Please Note: Your ratios at all IPSP?s will be evaluated by Visa."

Seems to me that one bad AVS site, could kill the whole master acct?

I am pretty sure ALL third billing companies will be affected.

For those of you that run small paysites, don't be discouraged. AVS sites are essentially a collaboration of pay sites. If you can't afford the new fees, find one of the many avs systems out there and compare payouts among them. AVS rebill programs should be able to pay you at least 60% of the sale. When you think about it, you could (and this has been done many times in the past) actually make more money using an avs because of a couple real important factors:
1) Your members have thousands of other sites they can enter with their password, which typically equates to much better rebills.
2) You can use the "multiple site theory" and if the avs provides "bonus content" you can also use that as two major selling points to your site, increasing your sales conversions (signups).

You don't have to go out of business with this change. Changing your site to an avs (for a list try www.megamasters.com/, I am not talking about just my system here, whatever you think fits your site) and you will probably make close to, if not more money than you already do.

If you have any questions about this feel free to post here or email me - [email protected]

I doubt that $750 will "thin the industry" very much. AVS is another way of making some money and if you make enough through that, then you use that cash to pay your own billing fees and go with your own startup company.

What this will do is push webmasters to look for alternatives. Web900 billing should get a boost by this. I know of a few billing solutions which should profit very well from this "scare" and they should. If $1500 is scaring someone into leaving the business, then I feel sorry for them.

It's funny how a bunch of people go from bragging about their cash and their toys, to crying for something that should be chump change for them!

I'm not making mass money, but in this case, I'll have to accept this deal as a bump in the road. I'll go over it, pass it and go on.

:2 cents:

??????????????????:321GFY

With 900 billing Ibill keeps a whopping 100%

..... At least they have for the last 4 MONTHS!

big companies who say its a good move obviously know they are losing more and more traffic to these guys every day and this new move by visa will ultimately give them more power (and traffic)

Think about when you first got into this game, did you have a $200,000 budget? most of us started with nothing and build up.

Is there an adult industry union? something like that might be a good idea to prevent more of these things from happening (ie: mc)

the only reason big companies should be losing traffic is if their resellers dont like them, or they dont convert surfers.

Our traffic is up over 1/3 in the last 60 days, and I would imagine several other large companies are seeing an increase in traffic as well...

Does anyone have a clue what this will do to PayPal????
If so, please post.

Time to give away more free porn

Agreed.. to both paragraphs.

to say that smaller paysites are taking business away from us is ridiculous.....

a $200,000 budget is required to spend $750 and $350 per year? holy cow.

i don't think you know what you're suggesting suggesting unionization. the corruption of regular unions plus the "it's just online porn, it's all a scam, might as well screw 'em all too" attitude a lot of people have = an incredible amount of doom.

there are very few businesses that you can start with under $1k. what's the problem with that?

slow down there cowboy

h,mmm.... a good time to sell my site :Graucho

One part I REALLY don't like .. is the sharing of my personal and private information and income.
The IRS used Visa to crack down on offshore accounts - now they can use these new regulations to take a closer look at adult companies and their income.
Bastards.
And of course - a few years ago we had to cough up $2500 to keep one company doing our transactions .. and now we have to cough up more $ to keep it going again. I just feel like I'm being blackmailed - or held for ransom sometimes. It's not the amount of $ they're charging us - it's just the fact they ARE charging us.

and of course - Big Brother will be watching.

You think the Visa people going to like looking at naked old women? I don't THINK so ...... I wonder who is going to get the job of checking adult URLS at Visa? Maybe there is a new occupation for defunct adult webmasters.

Hey Gramma, damn youre right.. We should apply? eh? I bet they pay good and I can do that from home

:Graucho

Something to think about...

Why is VISA going to charge ALL merchants? If they are worried about excessive chargebacks, should they just collect URL data, and only charge penalties or ban the sites that are excessive?

To say that VISA is doing this to recoop their losses over the past decade in the porn industry, would be ludicris. It is another way that VISA thinks they can make money, but, I think they will find out that when MC starts getting their business... they may change their tune.

Now, I understand why they are doing this, however, to recoop losses from charge backs via charging webmasters is off base. For 1, considering that the supposed "Offender" or paysite that has excessive chargebacks has been in the industry for a long time... I would almost bet that they have a specificly detailed Terms of Service section, that would provide the surfer with all of the information that they could ever want to know about how they are going to be charged... just to back themselves up in court (if it should come to that).

If a site has a well written terms of service stating all charges and durations that apply, and the surfer still feels "tricked" into signing up and disputes the charge... These charges should be put on the illiterate surfer, not the site/webmaster.

In any case, I agree w/ Grandma (in an earlier post)... I think it is just another way for Big Brother to get their hands further into our wallets, and control the industry.

Also, another point I wanted to make is this.... Surfers are not trust worthy. They will charge back almost anything, especially porn. Wife sees CC statement, and confronts Hubby with "What the hell is BUTTFUCK PLAZA doing on the credit card?"... Hubby says, "I don't know hon... It must be a mistake." and then the call to the CC company is made to dispute the charge. Once the charge has been disputed, hubby gets his personal card out, to go back to BUTTFUCKPLAZA.COM, as he knows that his bill for that card goes to the office, and not his home. Now he's set. He can jerk to all the ass slamming that he wants.

There are MANY situations that result in the unscrupulous surfer's decision to charge back. I don't believe that the sites should be fully accountable for this. However, I think VISA is looking for a punching bag, and they can't very well go after their customers, so they go after the merchants (Who are well established, and are worried about keeping a good credit rating, and keeping their businesses afloat).

But, what does it matter anyways?
The sun is going to explode in 6 years.
So, let's all put away our pornboxes, and have one big orgy. :)

I have NO ideal were you came up with this statement... Am not in the paysite Biz... so I really don't give a flying fuck.

This is what I do not understand...
( "Paysites should be left up to the professionals with experience. Free site and traffic guys should stick with that, they will probably make more $ long term.)" Now just were and how in the hell did you get all of this experience... Did you just wake up one morning and knew how to run a BIG paysite...

Some of you people make it $$ and really have NO ideal how you got there and were you are going... and some should just keep mouth closed... BradShaw I don't know you nor do I have a thing against you. I just think so far yours is the most stupid stamement I'v read.

2 fucking funny

I don't know...but you may have hit on something... Wonder if the IRS has anything to do with this?:Graucho

Too much drama! Visa has been charging the $750 a year fee for holders of their own merchant accounts for a while now. I paid fucking thousands of $$ every month in chargeback fees, credits, discount fees, reserves, etc! Visa is one fucked up company that doesn't give a fuck about the merchants that make it's shit go around. It's not just adult merchants that have problems with chargebacks, many mainstream companies have major chargeback issues also. It's just they don't have to pay the $750 fee because they are "acceptable" types of business. Fuck them. If that's not discrimination against our business, I don't know what is. The only way that VISA, MC and others are going to wake up is if merchants boycott them or a killer alternative payment system is born. Otherwise, we'll always be at the mercy of the cc companies. YEP, EVEN THE BIG DAWGS!

I think the big Casino's have come up with there own... FirePay I think is the name of it.. porn Biz will wake up... 1 day...or the big 3 or 4 big guys like ccbill...ibill and others will get together...if they don't someone else will....

Indeed, just what i was thinking.

I'm quite happy with this actually. Evolution and
regulation in the making.

still awaiting the climax of today's soap opera... :helpme

Right on! Good post!

the way everything stands so far, and based on whats been said here today, i am hoping/assuming we don't need to be worried about this at the moment... the fee is no big deal, we'll absorb that as the cost of doing business (yet another), and we already have an american LLC setup in the states, and make use of ccBill... we also rarely see any chargebacks, certainly nothing unusually high at all.

are we ok then? no worries, at least about this? thx all... lots to absorb in these threads today..!

Kimmy Kim,
if you are so smart,
why Brad doesn't marry you?

does he think you are a phony?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Chris Mallick


So "switch" if you will, but from what I hear, you may not be welcome when you HAVE to return.

Chris
CEO EPOCH / Paycom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In other words, what Chris is trying to say.

Epoch has more reasons to fuck up payments to Webmasters.

Way to go Epoch.



TFG... I use Jettis....
At least...they don't miss payments like some companies.

Get that hint Chris?
:321GFY

Kimmy...I agree with you.

Too many scammers, spammers and theives in this business trying to make a quick buck.

Granted, I don't agree with the privacy issue.
If I have to disclose that...fuck it..might as well get my own merchant account.
Folks...this will help weed out a few of the rotten apples, not all, but a few.
Kimmy is right. If you don't have $750 to pay your billing fees, your in the wrong business. In any business, you have bills and fees. In this business, you don't have expenses like most regular businesses do.

Bottom line is.
If you can't afford the $750 that you have to pay Epoch boys or whoever. McDonalds, I hear are hiring, with benifits too.

Clean up your act and look thru your paysites, if you own any, go thru your tours and make sure they are misinterpeting, terms and conditions, etc..etc.
Help Sponsors weed out spammers. (Sponsors, pay a bounty fee on any webmaster that catches spammers, cheaters. You'll find your shit is being cleaned up.

And instead of bitching about $750. If you want to continue to process with those 3 companies. Pay the friggin bill.

If not, find a solution to your problem and find a new processor to handle your needs.

Simple as that.

Don't like it...sell your site to me and get the fuck out.
If the site is good or the domain name is decent. I'll pay top dollar.

solution found.

Off the top of my head I can count ten companies in the last three years that have done nothing but rip the surfers for as much as they can, figuring they will deal with the chargebacks later.

They burn thru merchant accounts, they import databases into other merchant accounts and perhaps don't bother to clean the known cancels and cbs out of those dbs before the import, then the rack up another huge set of cb's and lose another merch acct and the vicious cycle keeps right on going.

Maybe you people don't quite understand it -- Visa is not a big bad wolf. Visa (and MC) is made up of groups of member banks. Banks which are sick and fucking tired, and rightfully so, of picking up the tab for bullshit that happens over and over. These accounts are like drug addicts -- they always claim they'll stop but then the lure of the dope is too much so they do it again.

Who suffers? Everyone in the end. It doesn't make fuck all at this point whether you did anything wrong or not -- you can thank some of your sponsors for your grief, since THEY are the ones that caused it.

Surfers suck too, but a guy who deceitfully charges back 8 months of a membership because his wife caught him is NOTHING compared to a scheming site owner who causes thousands of needless chargebacks and nothing but headaches for the banking system.

Another thing I don't think that people are considering is the effect this will also have on the hosting companies, who are going to lose a great deal of revenue as a result of this damaging proposal.

Not to mention that all this registering your Domains kind of makes it easy for the gov't to track us. Kind of reminds me of how the Jews were forced to register in Nazi Germany.


:ak47: :ak47:

Am I understasnding that those that process with globill do not have to worry about being affected by the new regs?
That doesn't seem possible. Can someone from Globill explain that? Why would ibill, ccbill, and epoch not move offshore? What reason would you have to stay with them?

YES, You pay $2250 or $750 for EACH processor you use PLUS all the fees x whatever number as well... according to a new CCBILL's ISPS-FAQ

Im new here so I apologize for the ingnorance. Are CCBill, Ibill and Epoch all owned by the smae corporation?

no

That's bullshit Brad. There are tons of great little paysites out there who aren't here to put up 50 sites and fish with big nets, they're just happy to make a bit of a profit and enjoy getting naked to fulfill their own desires. You are in a different business than they are. I agree there are too many crappy paysites, hell I review their innards, but it also hurts the mom and pop operations.

We all new the shakedown was coming. Same thing happend back in the audiotext days.
It was just a matter of time.

Get to know your sponsors up close and personal.

Surfers know what they are getting into.
They also know that they can Cancel and chargeback because of the 0 tolereance campaigns.

Visa and MC will protect the consumer before they protect us no matter what. So pick a Processor who has great customer support to keep the cancels and chargeback down.

Visa and MC don't care if they Chargeback because those consumers use there CC for everything in there day to day lives

Things will continue but many will drop off

KK,

that statement is wrong, a merchant account can be obtained for under $250-300.

Which is much less then $750.

Not to mention

a) with a merchant account your percentages are only 3% & SETUP FEE is only $300


IMHO, the 3rd party BUSINESS is dead, there is no reason to use 3rd parties anymore.

The usual reasons were:

a) $0 setup (for small sites)
b) Foreign business who can't obtain merchant accounts
c) Customer support ?

Now, both perks are gone.


EPOCH, CCBILL, IBILL:

You guys forgot to tell us webmasters that there is no reason to process with you guys anymore other then customer service.

You can get everything and more with a merchant account for less then $300 and only 3% instead of 15%


I'm no way affiliated but heres a few sites you guys can visit:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...chant+accounts
Or call netbilling.com

Most of them have adult merchant accounts and the percentage is only 3-4% and setup fee is ONLY $300.


#########
The real reason of these new policies were not to hurt the adult industry, but to KILL the 3rd party business. They do not want any 3rd parties in between. The only business 3rd parties are going to get now is OLD business who do not want to change.

The law has been laid down.