The End of ManicAds

January 29, 2007

You are probably aware that several days ago, the egold account of ManicAds was blocked. Mike has claimed that the reason behind this incident was some monitor admin that wanted to get his egold account number in ManicAds changed. This first true obstacle that faced Manic Ads will be the only one, as Mike has decided to close ManicAds, according to his latest update.
Mike has tried contacting egold both by email and by phone but egold did not respond. So, Mike did not have any time schedule of when the problem could have been solved. Mike admits that there was “a downward spiral starting”. He admits that keeping the program running would make him face several risks in addition to the following factors that should be considered:

• possibility of egold unblocking the account
• possibility of egold keeping the egold account blocked
• possibility of the lack of member support after several weeks without payouts

In his update, Mike has addressed these factors and explained how he reached this decision:

You all know I am a programmer, I am also an autosurfer.  I created this program with only other autosurfers in mind.  I wanted a place where we could all make money without worry of the admin changing this or that or running off with our money.  That is why from day one the program has been built, ran and powered by members.  If I was to continue ManicAds and egold didn’t release the funds I would be relying on new money and we all know that those programs only last up to 6 months, I could lower the return on the profit share but that would only discourage many.  I feel I have explored all options and the best option for the sake of the members is closing the program and issuing rebates so that everyone will be in profit or at least break even.  I don’t not want to run in the red and then in a few months run out of money and owing thousands of members.  I wouldn’t have a dime and I’d still be labeled a thief and a scammer and members would be out thousands of dollars.  It would be a bad situation for everyone.  And finally I am tired, it is exhausting being the admin and the programmer at the same time.  With this recent event I can not physically or mentally do it anymore.  That said, it is with deep regret that I must make this announcement, ManicAds will be closing and I will now begin issuing advertising rebates.

Concerning the refunds, this is what Mike has said:

My goal with the rebates is that I am trying to get everyone to a break even point, even though our terms clearly say that we are not responsible for payment processors holding our funds and that there are no guarantees that you will earn anything and that you may lose money, BUT I won’t feel right unless I try to get everyone at least to a break even point.
You may login to your ManicAds account, click on the giant ‘REBATE’ link.  This will subtract your total deposits from your total cashouts.  If you have received more cashouts then you’ve deposited then you are in profit and are not eligible for a rebate.    This will also tell you if and how much of a rebate you will receive to break even.
You will have the option to withdraw to any processor that you have on file.
This will be done in phases.
1-3 days from now, Phase 1, I will start making alertpay and tri-star payouts.  This will be completed within a few days.
1-7 days from now, phase 2, I have set up another egold account and I am wiring some money to that account.  I will payout as much as I have to those who requested to egold.
1-10 days from now, Phase 3, anyone left over after phase 2 (it will be only those that have ONLY an egold account on file and that didn’t receive a rebate to egold from phase 2) will then have the option to enter an alertpay or tri-star account, and I will pay to that account.

All refund requests must be submitted by Wednesday. The refund process might take up to 10 days depending on whether he will need to transfer money from his bank account to any of the processors or not. However, Mike did not mention if he will proceed with AffiliatePower or not, especially with the guarantee he had provided.
This is Mike’s update on what made him take the decision. Yet, what I find weird is that we had arranged for an interview with Mike and sent him the questions long before any problem occurred. But no answer was received from Mike.

Posted in Autosurf