Referral Commissions...possibility?

Hey, out of curiosity would Envato consider a tiered referral program like they have for the author commissions?

Also, I think it’d be cool to see the leaders in referral commission like that of the author commission stats.

Good idea. Even if it’s a small percentage (1% or even less), it could really add up in time, and not take away too much from Envato’s share of the sales.

Probably not because:

1) It would be a pain to setup another tiered system

2) They would have to start at commission rates lower than 30% which could be a marketing turnoff. The reason they have to start below 30% is because once the big dog authors reach 70% and they have 30% referrals it poses a problem. I remember I think Collis mentioning something about it.

@xmdsys

Your right Collis mentioned this. However I am not quite sure what the logic is behind it. Let me explain.

“The reason they have to start below 30% is because once the big dog authors reach 70% and they have 30% referrals it poses a problem.”

Technically why would this matter? For example: A buyer signs up through an authors link. Say this author is already making 70% and the person that signs up through them deposits $50. The author would get $15 referral and then if that buyer goes on to buy a theme from them for $15 as well the author would get 70% of that sale too ($10.50). So technically the author would’ve made more than 100% of the sale anyways correct? ($10.50 from the sale and $15 referral?) Maybe I’m thinking about this the wrong way, that could be, but I’d love for Collis to come and explain it. He is a smart guy so I’m sure he probably could prove me wrong!

Anyone else have any ideas?

Lets say an author is at 70% commissions and has an item for sale at $15. The author could create a new account and deposit $30 then buy his/her own item twice. 30% referral commission on $30 is $9, plus $10.50 for sales commission rate twice. That means an author can go around setting up new accounts and buying his/her own files and getting 100% back. If referrals are above 30%, an author could make money off the system.

Make sense?

Now in a way the system can still be abused for ratings, popularity, etc. but I think if you’re an author who’s reached the 70% commissions rate, you’re not going to jeopardize that for more attention or better ratings.

I knew I was missing the point haha. Yes your correct that is important that the referrals are 30% to prevent fraud. Thanks for clearing that up.