MyAds, a pay per click banner advertising system that enables you to advertise on MySpace, and potentially get your message in front of millions of MySpace users. With it, you can advertise with a budget of a mere $5 a day, and have a text ad set up to run within a few minutes using their ad building tool, or you can upload an image based ad.
Sounds great, right? Based upon the articles and blog posts I have read, you would think that MyAds by MySace would be the best thing since the invention of shoelaces. In fact, having another way to advetrtise your products or services would be the next best thing… that is if it does not cost you $25 to sign up.
I received a $50 credit coupon code from a partner website, so I thought I would create an account, and use up the $50 credit to see if MyAds was worth it. The initial sign-up process was easy. in Step 1, you start off by entering your name and email address, although you can skip that process. In Step 2, you enter your url, ad details [in my case I chose a 300x250 image I created], and choose your targeting options. Step 3 is where MySpace lost me. This was the step where they tell you they are going to place a $25 hold on your funds. I don’t think so!
I wonder how my hosting customers would feel if I added $25 to their monthly hosting fee when paying by credit card? I have a feeling I would lose customers faster than I can gain them. I never liked it when a company placed a hold for more than the price of the purchase – I don’t do business with any company that does for that reason. What is it a company that does that is trying to tell me? They don’t trust me? How can anyone I business with a company that esentially says, “We don’t trust you.”
Today, I received an email from MyAds reminding me that I had not finished the registration process. I emailed them back and said that I didn’t like being charged prior to making the sale and to remove me from their system. A representative emailed back and said, “No, its not a charge, its a eduction of your credit line. Huh? If I can’t spend it, its a charge no matter how temporary it is.
I checked out their web site and found this question in their FAQ:
“Why did you receive a charge for $25 and $1 on your credit card?”
The answer:
“We place a one-time authorization hold of $25 and $1 on any new credit card we receive in order to ensure that the card is valid. An authorization hold is not an actual charge. It is only a temporary reduction of your credit line while the hold remains in effect. An authorization hold may remain on your card for up to 30 days, but the actual time may vary depending upon the policy of the bank that issued your credit card. If this charge remains on your card for an extended period of time, we recommend that you contact your bank to have it removed, as any delays in removing the charge are likely due to your bank. We will only charge you for the actual cost of your advertising activity.”
Let’s break this down.
1. “We place a one-time authorization hold of $25 and $1 on any new credit card we receive in order to ensure that the card is valid.”
$26 to ensure the card is valid? Most companies place a hold of $1 to ensure validity. $26 is excessive.
2. “An authorization hold is not an actual charge. It is only a temporary reduction of your credit line while the hold remains in effect.”
Again, if I can’t spend it, its a charge.
3. “An authorization hold may remain on your card for up to 30 days, but the actual time may vary depending upon the policy of the bank that issued your credit card.”
Never heard that before. Any financial instituition I have dealt with, including PayPal, have stated that the length of time an authorization hold is in place depends on the merchants bank, not mine. That being said, I have never seen one stay in place for more than 30 days. Sounds like MyAds is actually charging you $26, and then refunding the charge at a later date, providing you do not incur any additional charges. If someone has had a temporary hold stay on that long, let me know and I will reflect that here.
There is no reason why MyAds has to take credit card details if you are using a credit code when registering. I would think that the coders over there can figure out how to deactivate an account when the $50 credit runs out, thus eliminating the risk of any overages, and the need for a credit card. Furthermore, what is wrong with the countless online payment solutions? Have they not heard of PayPal, RevolutionCard or PayMate?
MySpace is no longer the king of social networking – Facebook spanked their virtual heinie for that #1 slot. I don’t suspect that MySpace will get far with their MyAds venture if they continue to shut out customers.
