A rant on the subject of free content

[TMF Jeff]

Ok, last week I conducted a private little experiment. I released my new video ONLY on the TMF, and held back on doing any outside promotion, to see what the results would be.

To dramatically understate the situation, I was extremely disappointed. To be specific, there were NO sales from the TMF. Not one! This in the face of the dozens of people singing out about how much they love the video and how it's the best thing they've ever seen. I'm not talking about anyone specific here. I make a deliberate effort not to remember names. I’m talking about every single person who has ever emailed me asking for a clip and told me they wanted to check it out before buying it but was really scrounging for free content. I’m also talking about every person who’s ever said in a thread “I’m going to buy that video (or magazine),” and then didn’t. And all the people who have opinions about what I should do next but wouldn’t buy it even if I did.

I have always had a policy of being very generous with content, long clips and tons of images, because I felt that it was appreciated, and because I felt my efforts were being supported. But that has obviously gotten totally out of hand. I feel personally offended by the number of people who have the audacity to get into a thread about video clip length and say “I’ve never bought a video, but you should give away more free stuff.” I’m not going to say what that makes me think, but it’s not flattering.

Furthermore, this stuff isn’t even free! To say NOTHING of the cost of staying in business in order that there will be clips at all, it costs money to HOST clips, and the bigger the clip the higher the cost. And frankly, I am not going to absorb any more costs to feed people’s appetites. I’m not talking to everyone here, but more people than I would have thought nonetheless. And I know I’m not the only one feeling this way. I don’t want to mention any other names, but look around you at the actions of the other content producers in this supposed community. Ask yourself why these things are happening.

Magic Touch Productions is a business, and when business is good, I’m happy to give back, but if this is the way it’s going to be, it’s going to be that way for me too. From now on I will be emulating some other producers policies and producing video clips that show enough to make a reasoned decision about whether you want to buy the video, and nothing more. Also I will be reducing the number of vidcaps available per video.

I’m aware that I’m painting with a very broad brush here, which is why I called this a rant in the subject line. But I mean what I say, and before anyone gets in my face about it consider that the alternative to this decision was cutting the TMF out of my monthly bills to make room. It really makes me sad how little I would care if I had to do that.

 

[Longbaugh]

I try to buy videos when I can afford them. I stated in an earlier post I would be buying 'For You 14' in the near future and I still plan on buying it when the extra cash is avalible. If you decide to stop the vidcaps pictures ect.... to save money and time then by all means do this. A suggetion for you Jeff, I've only had internet access(in my home) for about a year and a half. During this time I found out about all the tickling sites on the net because I sure as hell wasn't going to look for it from work with a computer alot of people use. (plus the fact no one at work is aloud to use the net during work hours) I didn't even do a keyword search so I never knew what was availible in the tickling world untill about a year and a half ago. I discovered your site MTP in October. Since then, in a years time I've bought nine videos from you and alot of videos from other producers as well. I own alot of vids. I tallied up the amount of money I spent in this period of a year in a half and shocked myself. I've spent a shit-load. It disturbs me how much I've spent. My suggestion although it's more of a helpfull bit of info for you is this. Before I knew about the tmf, (I found it through your site back when psycho was running it on ezboard) I purchased videos from you because of the discriptions and pictures on your site alone. I didn't need a vidcap or anything else to sell me. I guess there are people who are going to buy, and those who are not no matter how much extra stuff you give them. Think about that before you waste anymore of your time. A good deed/nice gesture never goes unpunished. In the meantime pray to win the lotto or pray I win it then you would get $40.00 from me ever time you put a new vid out. I think Unfortunatelly alot of people do milk the tickle vid industry for freebies like its a billon dollor operation with no intention of buying. I also know Jeff you are not the only vid producer who feels this way. So do what works for you to save money and stay in business. I wouldn't hold it against you if you stopped posting freebies. Wouldn't affect my buying habits in the least. If you have something that interests me (hot model,cool bodage positions ect..) I'm going to buy the video regardless.

 

[realtickling]

Jeff. We back you up on this subject 100%.
Just like you, we like people. We like people who love tickling. We enjoy creating clips and videos for people. But we can't do it by using money from our pockets all the time. Everywhere we turn in our company there is money going out for this and that. We have contemplated not showing any video clips at all of our new releases, but for now decided that we will show short ones, just enough to show who's in them and how they are tied. That's about it. Do you know it take us 3 hours mininum just to create a 45 second video clip? Minimum! And its purpose is to give everyone a FREE look. Oh but then it has to be hosted on a server so everyone can download it at their leisure for free! More money involved there.

Please note. We're not bitter and hateful, as we're sure Jeff isn't either. It's a financial concern we're dealing with. And by financial we are not saying that we expect to become millionaires. We are saying that we'd like to at least break even and be able to have food, home and clothing. Businesses throughout time have come and gone. If no one buys their product, they go. So you people have to decide what is important to you. If you want MTP and RT to keep rounding up girls and tickling them, you'd better support us with your video orders. (orders not even necessary. some folks understandibly cannot order because they live with people who will find out when the mail arrives. so why not make a cash donation by mail for all the pics and clips you've seen and ask for nothing in return?) The "someone else will purchase, I don't have to" attitude is not acceptable. The "2 pizza's" point that Buscuit made is incredibly on target. Most anyone can afford a video. We've personally seen people claiming for 2 years that they don't have the money or they would certainly buy a video, and in the same breath giving custom requests and asking for clips emailed to them. If you prefer a night of drinking beer and pizza over buying a video, then thats your choice. But rest assured that you will see less and less free clips from all companies as time goes on if support is not made with actual purchases. Thats just economics in action.

We love the TK community. This is not a threat. This is not hostility. This is reality. If you only want free pictures and clips then your future tickling media world looks bleek. You'll put us all out of business. Also, where will you go if the TMF dissapears from existance? AMT? The local xxx video store?

Thank you for listening. These words are not intended for all of you out there. We have some great customers that order regularly and support us. You know who you are. And better yet, we know who you are, and we thank you. These words are not intended for you.

Sincerely,

 

[Longbaugh]

Hey Kathy, I 've been to the local XXXvideo store in my earlier days to get tickle videos. Those vids F***ING SUCKED. Not to mention the uncomfortable check out experience. But hey that fat biker dude had probably seen alot worse types of vids purchased.




P.S. for Kathy and Jeff to consider. I ordered 'Hotel Tickle' because of the pictures on FemFeet's site, before I down loaded the mpeg. Sometimes the enticing tease is a better marketing ploy than the mega free samples. "Why marry your girlfriend when she already is putting out and letting you tickle her" Just kidding about my quote don't hit me. LOL 🙂

 

[SuperTickler]

A suggestion...

Jeff,

Since the reason many people give for wanting a clip is "I want to see a preview before I make the decision to buy it" (which you accurately point out is mostly bs--they just want three minutes of a tickle vid for free), why not charge to download clips and then credit the customer for the $ spent for the clip when he buys the video? For example, you can charge $5 for a five-minute clip and, when the person orders the video, charge him $35 instead of $40. This way, if the person doesn't order the video, you cover some of your producing and hosting expense

Another way to do it--which might be easier than $5 micro-payments--is to sell annual MTP memberships, wherein only members can download clips. (You can charge $30 a year for membership, which comes out to $2.50 per month, and anyone who says they can't afford $2.50 per month is full of it.) This won't solve the problem of members e-mailing clips to other people, but one can assume that someone paying for a membership won't look kindly upon someone asking for free clips. Then you can offer a special member's price for videos--for example, 10% off--that's lower than your standard $40. 😎

 

[Neutron]

I Agree With Jeff And Kathy

I agree with Jeff and Kathy. It bugs me when I hear people have the nerve to bitch about free samples. I like the samples BUT I use them to determine which videos I'll buy. I've bought 1/2 dozen videos at least from each in the last 6 months or so. Give up a night of beer drinking and carousing. Buy the damn videos. If not don't bITCH about Jeff and Kathy. I find it SO odd they get bitched at for their generous nature. YET no one bitches about Paradise video. AND THEY REFUSE TO GIVE OUT FREEBIES!. These people are in a business where profit margin is low. Support them BUT stop bitching about them.

Hell they listen. I whined repeatedly to Jeff about Another Ember Video. And guess what? He had a choice about releasing her newsest video. OR other videos he had already made, AND he LISTENED!!

Kathy put Sara in the cage again. Something people in here who actually buy the videos asked for.

I do realize not everyone can order a video every month. I didn't buy a video this month because I had such a spectacular offer to buy a rare Battleship Book I've been looking for FOREVER. I usually try to do so. I know some others here do too. Here's a thought. Download a free server. Use it for two months and cancel your pay service. Use that money to support these good people!!. www.netzero.com has an excellent free server. 60 free hours a month. Either way, there are ways to save money to buy the videos. And I don't wanna hear you have to hide your fetish. Learn to stand up for yourselves!


Hey one minor bitch though. Well not a Bitch. I'm HOPING Jeff and Kathy saw my Video idea I posted in WHOA MTP WHOA. I'd really like to see it made!!!.

Tron

 

[Dave2112]

Right On!

Believe me, I understand. The best thing I ever created is in an E-Zine that's sold about 15 copies! There are a lot of people looking for free content, but don't forget those of us who DO buy your stuff and support the community as a whole. There will always be scroungers, and that's part of business, too. Hopefully, the more mainstream we become, the more product we can sell and bring to people.

Just my 2 credits.

 

[Ultratickler]

Hey Jeff,

In response to providing free content, I think you should do what Realtickling did with the vidclip they did for their 2nd to last video (the last clip I downloaded incidentally). It was short and seemed to have more cuts than a Michael Bay directed film, but it seems to give a fair sample of what's on the video. This may provide more incentive for customers to buy the actual video.

In response to costs and profits, you should factor in what you do as an extra "revenue". This is not good accounting procedures of course, but it should put things in better perspective and determine if you want to continue with the way you are conducting your business. I'm sure there are quite a few people here who wouldn't mind taking over your position, even if they had to operate the business in the red.

And of course, anyone who says, as you quoted "I’ve never bought a video, but you should give away more free stuff" should just be ignored, instead of being considered offensive. Unfortunately, your generosity won't be appreciated by everyone, but that's just the way things work.

UT (purchaser of one MT video)

 

[Haltickling]

Support Jeff!

I'd like to throw in my strongest support for Jeff's 'ranting' here. Nobody should forget that nowaday's version of the TMF is entirely financed by him; without him, the forum would have gone down long ago. Other websites charge for viewing just a few pics, and he provides a complete free home for all tickle fans! This fact can't be mentioned frequently enough.

BTW: I've probably got the biggest Magic Touch collection outside of Jeff's house (more than 40), and I don't regret the purchase of a single one of them!

Please continue your excellent work, Jeff. The important people appreciate it, forget about those who don't. They probably don't buy any of your competitors' vids either.

 

[dodger]

I dont even run an internet biz and I still can't stand freeloaders. Ha, when I was young we used to call them "Freddy Freeloaders." The net is full of the "gimme gimme gimme for free" a-holes.
Can you imagine them going into an adult video store and asking for free stuff? Just because Jeff's product is bought on the internet they think it should be free? Tardos!

 

[Mimi]

I think SuperTickler had some excellent ideas. I especially liked his suggestion about the yearly membership. A membership fee of $30.00 or even $40.00 a year would be imposed, and it would give you access to 5 minute media clips of every video available for purchase, perhaps a 5% to 10% discount on video's purchased, and possibly information on up coming video's that have yet to be released. Maybe as an incentive, only take video requests or suggestions from members. You could also possibly limit the access on your website for non-members.

EXAMPLE: Members - Get full access to everything on your website. All the pictures from the videos, all the model interviews, and all the media clips from the videos.

Non-Members - Only allowed to view 5 or 6 pictures from each video, only a few featured model interviews, and no access to downloadable media clips.

I know I certainly would be willing to pay the fee for unlimited access. Especially if a discount on the videos comes as an added bonus. You could make two segmets to the site. Put all the stuff for members on the site you pay for, and the non-member stuff on a free server. It would hopefully help with the burden of paying for everything.

Please remember that we all are very thankful for you and everything you have given to the tickling community. Your contributions have been outstanding, and the community probably would not be where it is today without your efforts. True ticklephiles know and respect that fact. Don't let a few cheap morons convince you otherwise.

Mimi 🙂

P.S. For the record, yes I do own a few tickling videos myself. Don't want to be accused of the pot calling the kettle black...lol

 

[shark]

I'm with you Jeff.I have videos from MTP and Paradise visions and never bothered to download clips.The pics and descriptions were enough.We can't forget who is paying for this site to remain open and free for use.The other options are closing it or charging a fee.

 

[Ticklish9's]

Re: Jeff,

I think people need to put out or shut up about the quality of the clips. Vote for quality with your checkbooks, people. I don't think that's unreasonable. And the poorest college student I know could afford to buy one of Jeff's older videos if they really wanted it (2 pizzas), or even one of his newer ones (beer night out).[/B]

Well, this poor college student can barely get gas for school...but then, I don't whine about the lack of free video content either. The work you folks have been doing is greatly appreciated. I have only just begun to download clips and, while I will not be buying videos (no TV and no VCR makes for a pretty tough viewing) I am certainly interested in obtaining some of these aforementioned magazines and/or text formats. I had no idea they were available, and I would be indebted to anyone who could direct me to them.
As for the videos, once I wind up with the means to view them, I will make certain to save up enough to buy one or two - I know they will be well worth it. As I said before, the effort you all have been making is appreciated, and the best way to show that appreciation is monetary.
And for all you folks who really don't think you can afford these - even I can set aside 5 dollars out of a paycheck each week for a month and a half from my barely above minimum wage job, I am QUITE certain you can too.

 

[SmileyTkls]

Have to agree with Mimi, and others, that it's not all THAT hard and/or expensive to save up for a tickle video. I know most of us are (apparantly) stingy or are just imtimidated about getting one for the first time, but these folks work hard and spend their money to make products that we can actually enjoy seeing. So, having purchased some videos before, and probably again, please help to compensate them, or else we may lose them all together!

Please resume tickling!

Smiley

 

[TMF Jeff]

I appreciate all the understanding and support here. I want to mention that while I do think people who know what side their bread is buttered on will support the companies that provide the things they want, I'm not pointing the finger at anyone specifically. All I'm saying is that this situation has to be looked at realisitically, and that the days of the free internet are over, if they ever really existed. So with that in mind, I think people should buy what they want to buy, and if that isnt enough to support small tickling industries, well it is what it is.

As for the ones who don't want to buy, or can't, that's of course fine. I've been there myself. But for the love of god, no-one should come around bitching about the quality or quanitity of whatever free content happens to be available.

 

[MTJpub]

I couldn't agree more with Jeff's comments.

Sometimes it is difficult not to be jaded by the prevalent attitude of the tickling internet community. Often times people think that companies like MTP, MTJ, and Real Tickling are Wal-Mart like commercial entities when in reality were more like the mom and pop neighborhood candy store. Because the community is so small and the consumer portion even smaller. Profit margins are not very high. Breaking even is our usual standard of success. So when times are tough it is easy for us to slip into the red.

Many of us involved in this community our generous to a fault. We actually support the freeloader mentality by often times providing too much FREE content. I have over 1300 members in my "TFTA" Yahoo fan club.

Now let me be brutally honest. The October issue of TFTA has a subscriber base of only 67 people which is an all time low. Frankly the last several issues have been the best issues we have ever done. Keep in mind that we are proud of all of them. But these last few have been particularly good and just filled with fantastic art and stories. On average these people pay $15.00 per issue. The average cost of an issue is $2500. 67 x $15 =1,005

The ONLY way we survive is through the sales of back issues and our retail locations. Without them we would be out of business. The retail sales are static but the back issue sales fluctuate dramatically and when they are low I am sweating it out and pitching to the community with advertisements for my very existence. Meanwhile 1200+ fans stand by. Better yet in the last six weeks we have come under fire TWICE by people that are under the impression that we are a vast evil money grubbing publishing empire! Irony does not get better than that folks!

I don't think people understand just how fragile the existence of the tickling industry is. One day they may log on to find that this content rich community has vanished without a trace.

Just as an experiment I would suggest that anyone who makes a purchase over the next few days from any of the tickling vendors. Please include a note that mentions this thread. I'd personally love to know if any of this talk is making an impact.

Finally I'd like to say that over the past few weeks you may have noticed me whining about the lack of appreciation and various authors and artist rallying to my support. Perhaps this will give you a better understanding of what that is all about. I'd like to see the 100th issue of "Tales from the Asylum" magazine. But I can't get there without your support.

 

[Dave2112]

Wanna Help

Keeping something like the TMF running must be an enormous task. Words cannot express my gratitude to those of you (especially Jeff) who make it possible. As a show of community solidarity, I will gladly donate any proceeds I make from the publication of my stories to the continuing support of the TMF. It may not be much, but I'd like to do something. This Forum is worth more to me than any amount of freebie clips. Jeff, get in touch with me if I can help. Thanks for all you do--Dave

 

[Barlow]

This thread really got me thinking

I know that I only recently joined the TMF, but I have been lurking around the community since Jan. of 1998. While I have been lurking, I have bought videos from several producers. But I have never actually gotten them out and counted how many I have. And I wondered if I had been doing my part for the community, of which I have not been a very vocal member. So I pulled them all out at one time, for the first time, and was shocked by what I found. I have 11 videos and 1 CD from Realtickling, 6 videos from Magic Touch, 5 videos from Paradise Vision, 4 videos from FM, 2 videos from Lojo, 2 videos from Harmony, 2 videos from Rock's Concepts, and an awesome CD of mainstream clips from Juggler. 😱

I'm not posting this to brag about how many I have or something juvenile like that. I am doing this not only to show my past support for Kathy, Jeff, and the others, but to also pledge my continued support. I really do not want to go back to what I call the "Dark Ages of Tickling", when I would rent Silence of the Hams over and over again for the 2 second shower foot tickling scene, or try desperately to find the Jim Varney movie I saw as a kid, in which a woman was tied and tickled. And if I do make a request (i.e. Kathy's participation in another video 😉 ) I will definitely buy it. Guaranteed. And I know in my heart that there are others that feel the same way.

I know that this will irritate some people, but I personally would not care at all if you guys stopped making the really nice video clips and started making shorter ones or discontinued them entirely. The preview pictures are enough for me; I will still buy the vids. One thing that I will say, though. I REALLY like it when one of you guys adds a preview or extra footage or something at the end of a video. I love little surprises like that. It really adds to my enjoyment of a video. And please don't discontinue the TMF. It's always good to know that there are others out there with the same interests that I have.

Well, that is the end of my little rant. Thank you very much for all you've done.

Barlow

 

[MTJpub]

Barlow

Well said!

 

[nontkl]

Hey Jeff-my time is running out on my free internet service (which will keep me off line for a couple of weeks until I get my new service up) so I haven't actually read all the posts on this thread and I want to type this up-I think if you go to the original post that started this whole controversy (in the Video section) you will see my feelings about this thread (which was basically "you're all getting something for free, now sit down and shut up!!"-I said it alot more eloquently there).

However, I just saw one line from your original post on THIS thread regarding how some were singing the praises of the new clip and yet did not order and just want to say....I believe I was the first to post a response to the new video clip and (though I know you said you weren't singling anybody out) I hope I wasn't the target of that comment. I have every intention of ordering this new video and want to point out that I have NEVER ordered any video from you or any other company within days of it's release. Maybe that's not the norm for the rest of your customers but that's the way it is for me. I usually try to order many videos at once and wait until I have the sufficient funds to do so...and I have been a repeat customer of yours and a defender of ALL the video companies from the grumblings of ungrateful customers....so all I can say is that I am sorry that you didn't get an email from me placing an order within days of this new release-I didn't know I had a deadline to meet! Most of all, I like to absorb the clip a bit so that it builds up this real excitement and anticipation (kind of like Christmas!!!) when I finally do place the order and wait for it's delivery.

I know this is a kind of esoteric thing to talk about but I just wanted to get that off my chest because the only reason why I bothered posting my comment in the first place (aside from it conveying my sincere sentiments and enthusiasm for the clip) is because I hadn't seen anyone ELSE post about it and I wanted to show you my support, appreciation and gratitude for yet another great (generous) clip from you and express my admiration for what is clearly good work from Magic Touch! And when I've got the dough to spend (say, next payday?), I'll be-a-orderin'!

Hope THIS doesn't ruffle any feathers....I've always been happy and grateful with ANY thing I've gotten for free on the internet (if, let's say, I had a breast fetish, I wouldn't have gotten a fraction of the free material that THIS proclivity has yielded in the time I've been online) and ESPECIALLY the mondo long Magic Touch clips and sneak peaks from Real Tickling. Like I once said, some companies that I love give even shorter clips (like ANA) or none at all (like Paradise Vision)so Jeff and Kathy, your genorosity is much appreciated in this neck of the woods (the very doomed New York City!).

Again, you won't be hearing from me in a couple of weeks-hope I don't miss too much!

 

[Boba]

Sorry

Hello Jeff, Kathy and everyone else who makes tickling videos. I live in England, with a lot of people in my house, which subsequently makes it impossible for me to buy tickling videos. I would, however, LOVE to. But because of my situation, it makes it very difficult for me to do so. I know you weren't having a go at people, but I just thought I'd tell you that I really appreciate and thank anybody who makes tickling videos AND produces clips, no matter the length or quality. So far, the clips are all I can get (boo-hoo). But, alas, until I move house, I cannot purchase any videos. DAMMITT.

 

[asutickler]

What can I say? As much as I enjoy all of the free content out there, I knew it couldn't last. You don't give out free Big Macs to sell extra value meals, you just toss the people a few fries. Seriously, could you imagine McDonald's profit margin on "Free Big Mac Day"? Not to mention the long lines of street people... They'd go through 100,000 tons of USDA Choice Grade "D" Pre-Formed Beef Patties, at least!

While the loss of all or most of the (henceforth produced) free stuff might seem like quite a bummer, it's probably better for the community in the long run. After all, limited freebies and several healthy companies beats no freebies due to no companies any day of the week. Not to mention the fact that it saves us from Kahuna Wong being the only game in town!

I saw Kathy mention that it takes 3 hours to put together a 45 second clip. Y'all might want to consider getting an el-cheapo digital video camera and setting it up on a tripod during your shoots. It would show what needed to be shown, yet be of a poor enough quality that people wouldn't be encouraged to keep it instead of buying the actual video. Best of all, with a decent DVS, you can edit and slap that stuff together in no time!
Just a thought... Also, if you guys ever need an intern, I work REALLY cheap! ;-)

Just my 2 cents. And not intended to sound like I'm some sort of frequent video buyer. I'm quite the Freddie Freeloader!


ASUTickler

BTW, just out of curiosity, how much does this place cost to run on a monthly basis?

 

[Longbaugh]

Barlow hit the nail on the head. That is what I'm saying. I buy vids based on the advertisements(pictures,discriptions) on the mother sites. I don't need the vidclips. Kathy stated how long it takes to make a short clip and in my opinion thats far too long. Kathy and Jeff don't even bother. If it's wasteing your time and money and not helping sales, don't do it. There is a severe problem going on. There are well over 2000 members on the TMF and God knows how many lurkers who download stuff. How many of these people buy videos? Obviosly not enough. Please don't waste your money on unnecessary extras and keep your bussinesses going. Jeff's right as well it's messed up to bitch about free samples. It's even more messed up to bitch when you buy nothing. Suggestion, if the companies grace the forum with another vidcap(if I were them I wouldn't),don't bitch, say thank you.

 

[SlaverTickler]

Why I don't buy

Just so you know, the reaso why I don't buy videos is because I have to pay in American funds on a Money Order. Thats .40 on the dollar plus the cost of chainging the money plus the cost of the money order itself. It's to much for me, otherwise I would.

 

[edv]

I agree with Jeff, there is WAY too much freeloading going on here (and in society in general). But Jeff, realize that the economy IS very tight right now. This in addition to the fact that many are freaked out about all this anthrax/bio/chem/nuclear talk has put the squeeze on a lot of companies and people, myself included. Things will bounce back though, this IS America! Hang in there.


Peace

Ed