Our relationship with retailers falls into the category of “affiliate marketing” or “performance marketing”. Amazon uses it (they call the folks who hawk Amazon on their sites “associates”). Rakuten (formerly eBates – which sold for over $400 per member) is in this market. Honey, which sold to Paypal for over $200 per member, is also an affiliate marketer. The NY Times is an affiliate marketer, via their Wirecutter site.
Please take note of the fact that the estimated value of the audience we’re building far exceeds the direct cost of building that audience
… with the exception of one small item, Walmart was the same price, and for most things, the same shipping schedule. Indeed, the lawnmower arrived a day early.
We’ve published our 2021 year-end financial statements – our SEC mandated 1-K. In the traditional public company world (if we were a “fully-reporting” company), this filing would be called a 10-K. The important difference between the two is the depth that we’re required to go into creating the statements, plus the level of audit required. … Continue reading 2021 1-K Filed – Annual Report
You would think that SEC qualification would become “old hat”, but each year brings some new joys (and moments of panic) with which to deal. Here’s the latest. As a quick refresher, while only an SEC attorney would actually know all this stuff, SEC Qualification is very, very important to iConsumer. This is the SEC … Continue reading SEC Qualification Again
Sure, you can use a competitor to get cash back. But that has no magic, no opportunity for an exponential return. Even if you turn around and invest that cash back into Microsoft stock. Microsoft’s stock price may go up (or down), but it’s unlikely to double, triple, or go up 400% in the near future. Or even the far future. It’s way too big for that to happen. The beauty of a start-up lies in the potential of exponentiality.
I’m sharing another letter (from Matt C. – thanks Matt!) and my answers. Hi Rob, Disappointed to hear about Amazon dropping iConsumer as an affiliate. Me too. I had always worried that it was a matter of time. Later would have been better, though. They apparently don’t see benefit in the loyalty / reward model. … Continue reading Questions from a shareholder
As you’ve probably noticed, Amazon is no longer paying us commissions when you shop there. We had been growing that revenue stream quite nicely, and my guess is that they decided they didn’t need us any longer. I’m very disappointed, but wasn’t surprised, since they aren’t doing business with folks like Rakuten anymore, either. It’ll … Continue reading Amazon vs. Walmart
I’m pleased to convey that, provisionally, our September cash gross profit (revenue minus the cash cost of revenue) looks to be 13X last September’s number.
Our Form 1-SA was filed with the SEC on Friday. It’s our financial recap of the first six months of 2021. In this posting I get to go into more detail about what we’ve experienced, why we’ve experienced it, and some thoughts on the balance of the year. All with a focus on cash.