The Cashout Service

As you may already know, the Entrecard team is anticipating the launch of the new cash out system sometime this weekend (likely Saturday). This comes just one week after the launch of the advertising platform, which has earned Entrecard members (at 75% share) between $275 and $300 per day, with a total of nearly $1,400, less the 25% the administration keeps.

There has continued to be a lot of confusion between members and what the Entrecard team wants, ranging from credits to the advertising system and cash out. In the interests of the members, they want to keep as many as possible, making it more attractive down the road for advertisers and new members looking to advertise with them. On the other end, they want to make sure that they don't "overspend" or provide funding to members who don't really deserve it, not using the system the way it was meant to be.

Rejection of the paid ads have brought some members together, forming "Old School" lists of members who don't accept ads, to threads expressing problems/concerns, and others calling for an Entrecard Strike. Even though the new system is exposing dividing lines among members, it is, in some ways, bringing those together that really want to stay with the system and those that don't.

Back to the cash out service and what we know at this time. From best guesses, if you have a large number of credits, you probably won't be able to cash out for quite some time, as there isn't nearly enough funds to allow everyone to do so at this time.

Some people feel that the cash out service will devalue dropping credits and visiting other sites. Alternatively, there have been disputes about who gets to cash out first and how many can be cashed out at a time.

The Entrecard Equation

The method for determining who gets to cash out is as follows:

1. The number of cards you drop and/or how frequently.
2. The percentage of paid ads you approve.
3. The percent of Entrecard ads you approve.
4. Market listings and how many items you have sold.
5. Contests that you hold and how you generally participate with other members and the community.
6. The percent/number of credits you spend on other Entrecard blogs.

Some Limitations I Think Should be Enforced

1. Initially, up to 10,000 credits (or a set, similar amount) should be enforced, allowing the greatest number of people to cash out their credits for cash. This will prevent certain members from cashing out all their credits at once, leaving no funds for other members with much less credits to cash out.
2. Similar to number one, a set amount of "earnings" can be cashed out per week/per month, etc. until a solid revenue has been built from the advertising.
3. Even though a member drops 300 cards per day shouldn't necessarily entitle them to cash out first, as they are often people that don't spend as much time commenting and exploring other sites or communicating with other members - not a goal of Entrecard.
4. People who reject all advertisements should be limited in some ways to the amount they can earn through the cash out system. While they might still be supporting Entrecard through ad clicks (using the CPC rates of $0.02 to $0.04), they generally aren't adding to the "network" of blogs through additional impressions.

Other Thoughts

While I have to hope that the cash out service will work, only time will tell. Like other virtual services, it can be difficult to determine how successful it will be in the long-term, considering that only short-term results are available.

Introductory rates for credit cash out look to be much less than the half of the "retail" value of $6 per 1,000 credits. Assuming the advertising rates remain the same, with $300 of revenue per day, the rate will be $0.0003 per credit, much less than the $0.006 which is the current rate. This is also assuming they want to "delete" a million credits per day. Half that number and keep the current rate of advertising and rates will be $0.6 per thousand credits. Again, this is assuming everything remains the same, and very low rates are given to members to deplete credits.

Here's another situation. Let's assume that all ~30,000 or so members have 1,000 credits in their account, or 30 million total. The posts indicate that the rate for Entrecard credits may rise up to $15 retail/$7.50 cash out, although I don't find this feasible unless huge earnings can be brought in and advertising rates are increased dramatically. With the "millions of credits in the system," it would take nearly a quarter of a million dollars in the "chest" before members could earn anywhere near the $6/1,000 current rate.

Now, don't let all these figures and assumptions get to you, as other values come into play with the market and economy. If the number of credits can be reduced to a manageable level, and this could be as little as a million, the rates for credits will increase dramatically, the value of advertising through Entrecard will increase.

Your Thoughts - Please let me know what you think of the cashout system or any of the other recent changes at Entrecard.