PECash Online Stores (www.pecash.com) specialize in what their company has done for decades: distribute Adult merchandise, including DVDs, novelties, sex toys, magazines, and VHS videos.
Tracing its evolution from mail-order company to online Adult store and, finally, affiliate program (launched in 1996), PECash is now widely regarded as one of the Adult industry’s foremost affiliate programs, owned and operated by GVA-TWN, America’s oldest distributor of Adult merchandise, having distributed Adult products for 40 years.
Recounting his company’s lengthy history, CEO Don Buckley reveals, “We first had an online store back in 1999, and operated as a mail order business. I met a character in the Adult Web industry from Cleveland, an expert in Web marketing who introduced me to the idea of staring an affiliate program.
“Back then, there were not many players in the field; the market was dominated by the likes of Sextoy.com, owned by David Levine; Effex Media; and PronVideo.com, who were all just starting up. The idea was to have PECash operate as an Adult webmaster, whereby people could earn money from the affiliation.”
Direct-to-consumer mail order is now only a fraction of PECash’s business. The company has since grown from three to nine employees, with another five employees at the company’s call center. The PECash online affiliate program is now the company’s key source of revenue; representing 85 percent of all orders. Through the program, PECash gives webmasters the opportunity to add an online store, selling over 25,000 Adult products, to their sites. Webmasters earn 35 percent commission on the sales made through their online store and 5 percent commission on the sales made through the stores of the webmasters whom they refer. All PECash stores are brandible and fully customizable, with monthly payouts.
“We have the buying power to put more cash into our affiliates’ pockets than any other program,” Buckley says. “While the industry standard is 10-20 percent commission, we are able to offer our affiliates 35 percent off the top of every sale, including re-orders.”
PECash offer their affiliates several options. Plan A is the Competitive Retail Price Plan. Under this plan, an affiliate offers products to their customers at deeply discounted prices, with a 20 percent commission on each net sale. PECash says the highly competitive prices convert browsers into buyers and assist in customer retention. “Our affiliates consistently realize one sale per 100 visitors by simply providing a text link identified as 'Adult Shopping' or 'Adult Store,'” the company says.
Plan B is the Manufacturers' Suggested Retail Price Plan. Under this plan, affiliates offer products at the manufacturers' suggested retail price and earn a 35 percent commission on each net sale. The pricing of the products match what a consumer should expect to pay in a traditional Adult video store.
Multiple accounts allow affiliates to experiment with both plans. Affiliates can sign up twice (using a unique email address for each account) and place links to their store in different locations on their site; for instance, by adding a Discount Store to a Members Area as an incentive, but sending touring traffic to an MSRP store.
Buckley explains, “PECash online stores are fully customizable and brandible. This means you are not simply sending your traffic to a Web site and earning a commission, you are actually building brand awareness and a customer base. Since we pay commission on all orders and re-orders it is in your best interest to retain customers as long as possible to your own unique brand.
“We assist you to this end by providing your customers with email solicitations that prompt them to return to your branded store and by applying unique telephone contact information for each of our affiliate accounts – yes, our affiliates are paid commission for telephone orders and offline orders their customers place,” Buckley says.
“Once affiliates send a buying customer and that customer returns, whether through a bookmark or by a phone call, affiliates are paid commission on every sale,” Buckley says. “Since distribution online is not the only distribution method we employ – in fact, online sales are only about 10 percent of all the revenue generated – we can be more flexible with pricing and commissions. This means we can operate on a smaller profit margin and still deliver a top-quality program and high commissions.”
PECash statistics are in real-time, enabling affiliates to log into their PECash account at any time to see how well each link to their store is doing. If a link they're using for pay-per-click search engines isn't converting, the affiliate will know immediately. If an advertising campaign is responding well, the affiliate will know immediately. Real time stats also enable affiliates to monitor traffic more effectively.
Asked about his company’s key virtues, Buckley confides, “More than anything else, we value integrity and credibility. Our reputation is paramount to our success. We know that trust and honesty in business is the most important attribute. Our company has always conducted business in a reputable and business-like manner which includes paying our commissions on time, paying our vendors on time, prompt and courteous customer service, and fairness in use of privacy information and traffic.”
Despite the obvious benefits of online sales, the old fashioned realm of brick-and-mortar outlets are still a significant form of income for the company, a source PECash hope to preserve in the face of increasing online business.
“We were initially concerned that our involvement with the Internet would effect our brick-and-mortar outlets, but it has actually promoted them and brought about greater traffic in the stores,” Buckley says. “Customers are getting familiar with products online then visiting the stores to make purchases.”
Buckley adds, "The focus is definitely on the Web as being the growth market. We don’t have to cope with zoning issues online and there is existing legislation that could see [physical] Adult stores close at 1 a.m. It will be expensive to fight these laws, though that will not exist in the online world.
“There will always be brick-and-mortar entities. Even when video is distributed online and there is no such thing as a local video store, there will still need to be brick-and-mortar stores to market and sell novelties.”
“Still,” Buckley continues, “the Internet has issues of its own. The issue of age verification, for one. When you buy something online you have to give your ID, which in turns verifies your age, enabling you to view your intended purchase, whereas when you go to a real-world store it’s the reverse – hence the ID issue can be a barrier.”
Of the future, Buckley says his next project will be the deployment of a Video-on-Demand network. Compatibility with wireless devices and offline handheld devices will be built into this network. “The Video-on-Demand network will allow our DVD-buying customers to view the product online or to have the product electronically delivered via their Internet connection.
“The Adult industry is our home, and like any home it has its ups and downs. Negatives include legal battles, legal expenses, and the impact of negative press in our local community on our families and children’s lives. Positives include the victories achieved in courtrooms and the satisfaction of opening new businesses.”
