TLA Video

[HooBoy]

I have been linking to TLA Video since the beginning of this site. And I have been a good customer as well.

 

If you use them, you know that you get weekly email from them promoting specials and general sales. I've purchased from their email because it is so easy to do and the advantage to them is the impulse buy and perhaps a loss leader.

 

This week I wrote to them asking if I get a commission from the email sales and the answer is NO. The only commission we receive (a very small one) comes from the direct links from this site.

 

As any salesperson would tell you, they are basically taking my leads and stealing them. I find this to be disingenuous to say the least. Thus I am looking for a new source for the readers here to use which will hopefully provide value for you and income for this site.

 

Meantime, please do not purchase anything from TLA's email. Go through the hassle of opening your browser, finding this site, clicking on their link --- blah blah.

 

Most importantly, if you know of a reputable video distributor or if you operate a mail order operation that does not steal leads and has customer service at the top of your organization's Mission Statement, then please email me at [email protected].

 

Thank you.

[IM_Moore]

That sucks, you send them X amount of hits per month and they steal X percentage of customer's from you. I would take the link down now .. I wouldn't give them another customer. This is the same brilliant group that tried to get you to become an affiliate even though you already were one. Obviously you're not important to them and even someone as greedy as you has to say fuck off once in a while .. and take their link down.

[JamesK840]

Ungrateful little...

 

>...and even someone as greedy as you has to say fuck off once in a >while...

 

Looks like somebody needs to be told to fuck off, anyway! Hooboy (and Daddy) have been very generous with their time, and have invested quite a bit in the success of this site. I'm glad for every cent Hooboy gets from this site and hope it gives him more time/resources to improve this great place.

 

Now if only we could get rid of the 3 or 4 shits in the message center! There is something to be said for ignoring them, but that does allow them to give the wrong impression of the place to newcomers and occasional lurkers.

[Guest Armand Tesla]

RE: Ungrateful little...

 

You could try linking to Atkol video. They have good customer service, and a selection that is as good as TLA's.

[LovesYng]

>I have been linking to TLA Video since the beginning of this

>site. And I have been a good customer as well.

>

>If you use them, you know that you get weekly email from them

>promoting specials and general sales. I've purchased from

>their email because it is so easy to do and the advantage to

>them is the impulse buy and perhaps a loss leader.

>

>This week I wrote to them asking if I get a commission from

>the email sales and the answer is NO. The only

>commission we receive (a very small one) comes from the direct

>links from this site.

>

>As any salesperson would tell you, they are basically taking

>my leads and stealing them. I find this to be disingenuous to

>say the least. Thus I am looking for a new source for the

>readers here to use which will hopefully provide value for you

>and income for this site.

>

>Meantime, please do not purchase anything from TLA's email.

>Go through the hassle of opening your browser, finding this

>site, clicking on their link --- blah blah.

>

>Most importantly, if you know of a reputable video distributor

>or if you operate a mail order operation that does not steal

>leads and has customer service at the top of your

>organization's Mission Statement, then please email me at

>[email protected].

>

>Thank you.

>

 

Go with you gut feeling Hoobaby, you own and run this site & a DAMN good one at that. FUCK THEM you don't need TLA so dump them.

 

When in doubt I whip it out:+

[+ deej]

RE: Ungrateful little...

 

Last I looked, ATKOL was porn-only. TLA carries a lot of porn, but they also carry more general-interest titles plus their own productions. For example I doubt ATKOL carries "Circuit", but TLA has it under their "TLA Releasing" label.

 

I really can't think of anyone who carries as broad a range of interests as TLA. It's a pity they're so snarky with their partners.

[bigguyinpasadena]

RE: Ungrateful little...

 

One of your sponsers,Advocate/out/liberty publications has a new concern called buygay.com-for queer films and porn and rainbow chotchkes etc....Hopefully they are more generous with their partnership programs.

[Guest alanm]

Defense of TLA Video

 

I need to defend TLA because of the great service they offer at its stores here in Philadelphia. Gay and lesbian videos and DVDs are always on sale, especially when they first come out. By the way, TLA started as the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia in 1960s. It was basically a revival house, which switched over to a extremely well stocked video store in the 1980s.

 

TLA sponsors Philadelphia's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival every summer, at a loss. It's the third largest festival in the country

and makes the middle weeks in July worth waiting for. I certainly

understand HooBoy's feelings about the discount situation, but there's more to TLA. (I have no connection with TLA, except as a customer).

[ddarko]

>I have been linking to TLA Video since the beginning of this

>site. And I have been a good customer as well.

>

>If you use them, you know that you get weekly email from them

>promoting specials and general sales. I've purchased from

>their email because it is so easy to do and the advantage to

>them is the impulse buy and perhaps a loss leader.

>

>This week I wrote to them asking if I get a commission from

>the email sales and the answer is NO. The only

>commission we receive (a very small one) comes from the direct

>links from this site.

>

>As any salesperson would tell you, they are basically taking

>my leads and stealing them. I find this to be disingenuous to

>say the least. Thus I am looking for a new source for the

>readers here to use which will hopefully provide value for you

>and income for this site.

>

 

I'm sympathetic to your need for revenue but I don't see what the problem is with TLA's policy. It's fair that you get a cut each time someone goes to TLA through your site. But if a customer subsequently chooses to respond to TLA emails - emails that are sent directly to the customer and do not go through your website in anyway - then that's between TLA and the customer. The customer supplied his email address to TLA, not to you, and it's TLA who's sending those email ads. With all do respect, I think your notion that you deserve a claim on the customer in perpetuity is a bit unrealistic.

[Huey]

>I'm sympathetic to your need for revenue but I don't see what

>the problem is with TLA's policy. It's fair that you get a

>cut each time someone goes to TLA through your site. But if a

>customer subsequently chooses to respond to TLA emails -

>emails that are sent directly to the customer and do not go

>through your website in anyway - then that's between TLA and

>the customer. The customer supplied his email address to TLA,

>not to you, and it's TLA who's sending those email ads. With

>all do respect, I think your notion that you deserve a claim

>on the customer in perpetuity is a bit unrealistic.

 

You're wrong on this one . The greater percentage of customer's that TLA receives due to this site are not customers that they devloped on their own.

 

HooBoy has invested to make this site a magnet for a specific demo and TLA has not invested a penny. When a HooBoy visitor's click on the link above to TLA they do so knowing A) that HoBoy will see a benefit from a purchase and/or B) bscause that had no knowledge of TLA prior to their visit to this site.

 

Therefore, like any referal within the business world HooBoy deserves to retain his affiliate percentage of all sales made to that customer unless a flat fee buyout option is appropriate.

 

In this case TLA simply gets around paying HooBoy by marketing to his customer directly ... not unlike a client who hires an escort via an adgency then gets around the agency fee by contacting the escort diretly.

 

Most people offer their email address with little question and that is the case here. They have no idea TLA will solicit their business directly to avoid paying HooBoy.

 

You probably by a CD then file share it thinking the artist already had been paid their royalty once, not aware that by sharing that CD the artist has missed out on X amount of royalty money .

[+ deej]

Believe it or not, Huey, I agree with you.

 

MOST affiliate programs on the net track follow-on sales back to the referrer and offer commissions on follow-on sales.

 

I can understand a site saying that their direct mail is responsible for the sale, but they're getting their targeted mailing list from HooBoy.

 

Now here's the other side of the coin.

 

Do you really want a merchant keeping so much information on file about you that they know exactly where you came from and what your habits are?

 

It's a real connundrum in e-commerce right now. Privacy rules RULE, but partnerships need to be respected, but it may be illegal to track the partnership and the origin of the contact with the customer.

[camshaft9]

HooBoy uses TLA as a sponsor. I assume that they pay a fee. If that is

true, then they owe you nothing.

P.S. If you offer them free advertising instead of a fee, they still have no responsiblity to you. Your site benefits from having so many links. That alone is payment.

I have never used TLA, but I read HooBoy every day. And love it.

[ddarko]

>You're wrong on this one . The greater percentage of

>customer's that TLA receives due to this site are not

>customers that they devloped on their own.

>

>HooBoy has invested to make this site a magnet for a specific

>demo and TLA has not invested a penny. When a HooBoy visitor's

>click on the link above to TLA they do so knowing A) that

>HoBoy will see a benefit from a purchase and/or B) bscause

>that had no knowledge of TLA prior to their visit to this

>site.

>

>Therefore, like any referal within the business world HooBoy

>deserves to retain his affiliate percentage of all sales made

>to that customer unless a flat fee buyout option is

>appropriate.

>

>In this case TLA simply gets around paying HooBoy by marketing

>to his customer directly ... not unlike a client who hires an

>escort via an adgency then gets around the agency fee by

>contacting the escort diretly.

>

>Most people offer their email address with little question and

>that is the case here. They have no idea TLA will solicit

>their business directly to avoid paying HooBoy.

>

>You probably by a CD then file share it thinking the artist

>already had been paid their royalty once, not aware that by

>sharing that CD the artist has missed out on X amount of

>royalty money .

 

I simply don't see how Hooboy, for all the commendable work that he does, is entitled to a commission for work he doesn't do. We're talking about sales generated by email solicitations that TLA, by itself and at its own expense, sends to its customers. Hooboy has nothing to do with these emails. He doesn't share the expense of sending them out, maintaining the customer database, the computers, everything that goes with running TLA's email operation.

 

No one is forced to respond to the TLA email solicitations. A supporter of Hooboy can easily and quickly return to his site and click on a TLA ad before buying from TLA again. That way, Hooboy continues to be a middleman. But just because I used a travel agent to book a flight on Continental yesterday doesn't mean that I or the airline owes anything to that agent if I buy another ticket from the airline's website tomorrow.

 

And please, don't put words in my mouth. Your file sharing example is completely off-base because I never said or implied that Hooboy shouldn't be compensated for his work and effort. If you want a music analogy, how about this: if I'm a musician who signs with Arista Records after my recording contract runs out at Warner, is Warner entitled to royalties for all the albums I make for Arista just because Warner discovered me first? I don't think so.

[ddarko]

>I can understand a site saying that their direct mail is

>responsible for the sale, but they're getting their targeted

>mailing list from HooBoy.

>

 

How is TLA "getting" its mailing list from Hooboy? Does he sell members' email address to TLA? I don't think so. Hooboy provides a targeted demographic or audience but the email addresses are collected, processed and stored by TLA. Hooboy has as much claim on those email addresses as the New York Times does on my credit card number after I see a movie ad in the paper and order tickets from Moviefone.

[Huey]

>

>And please, don't put words in my mouth. Your file sharing

>example is completely off-base because I never said or implied

>that Hooboy shouldn't be compensated for his work and effort.

>If you want a music analogy, how about this: if I'm a

>musician who signs with Arista Records after my recording

>contract runs out at Warner, is Warner entitled to royalties

>for all the albums I make for Arista just because Warner

>discovered me first? I don't think so.

 

You happened to touch on a subject that I actually know inside out considering I work in the music industry and have worked for labels, publishing companies and currently as a on air personality (though some might not think very personable .

 

Your question is very complex and your own answer to it can easily be wrong. It depends on the deal that was signed. It could be that neither label or the artist owns the rights to his songs, they can be owned by a publisher.

 

Some artists retain percentage of their songs as some labels do and some labels actually will purchase the rights to an artists back catalogue or license it for several years so they can take advantage of deep sales on any new release.

 

As for 'discovering" the artist that could have actually been a manager or an attorney who received a one off fee for doing so or an ongoing percentage of sales off of X amount of releases in some cases. Also advance and tour money comes intoplay here as does merchandising rights.

 

I could go on and on about your little example yet it doesn't change the fact that HooBoy allowed TLA to deveop their mailing list. If you notice many firms out there sell both postal and email lists and that is all they do. In this case HooBoy has given them a target audience and that audience wouldn't have signed up for a TLA mailing list without the use of this site. TGhe theory is this site led them to the TLA link. HooBoy should technically be paid X amount for eachperson that signed up to their mailing list or should be paid on a count per thousand basis to compensate him for directing so much traffic toward TLA.

 

You seem to want to argue about this and Huey doesn't argue . So you can post away as I will no longer reply, unless you want to talk music contracts . My point about TLA is pretty clear.

[Will]

It's obvious that M4M does not get as much out of the TLA link as TLA gets out of the M4M link. There should be parity. In any case, why should M4M provide a link to a website for general films that does not pass on a commission? Netflix is better for rentals. And it's hardly difficult to find porn on the web!

 

So I'm with everybody else who urges you to take down the TLA link right away. They should follow industry practice by giving a slight commission to every TLA order that comes to them by means of the M4M link, even if the order comes directly from a customer whose first contact with TLA was through M4M. And if they don't do that, then M4M should drop them.

[ddarko]

You should at least have the guts to owns up to your own words after making piss-poor arguments. My music industry example was very clear; all the stuff you throw out is irrelevant and intended to cloud the issue. I was only talking about the label, not the music publisher, not the retailer, not the songwriting royalties (you do realize that each song is a bundle of rights individually owned by multiple parties?). Someone, whether it is website or a music label, should be paid only for the work he had a hand in producing. A record label and store hold an artist in-store promotion that attracts fans. I don't know what bizarro music contract you've read but NO ONE expects or demands that the store pays the record label every time one of those fans comes back on his own and buys something else in the future.

 

They're called sales commissions, not customer commissions.

[HooBoy]

I am pleased to let you know I have been in discussions with Brian Sokel, the online marketing manager of TLA, and we are working on developing an entirely new model, an exclusive HooBoy Video Store, operated by TLA video, giving you access to the same huge database of product, fair prices, information and customer service, but eliminating the collection of your email address and the mailings.

(Naturally, if you wish to continue the mailings, you will have that prerogative, you are not required to support this website.)

 

We have not come to a final agreement, but I am hopeful this will work to everyone's satisfaction because as I have stated many times in the past I think they are an outstanding company which will help to keep M4M free for you and create value for all of us. Apparently I did not read the fine print about their email solicitation policy or I would never have signed the agreement in the first place, so ultimately it was my fault.

 

I appreciate all of your feedback and input, Frankly in my search, I found none better or more willing to work with us than TLA Video.

I apologize to Brian Sokel and all connected with TLA Video if they were offended by my remarks and I hope we can soon announce a new storefront where your privacy will be even more sacrosanct.

 

Have a great weekend, gents.

 

HooBoy

[LovesYng]

Keep up the good work Hoobaby, I know we can always count on you for the best

 

When in doubt I whip it out:+