MSE Discussion: MoneySavingExpert.com to join the MoneySupermarket.com group

aliasojo

Neptune wrote: »

It would be interesting for me and maybe others to know why you chose this 'business' over the many others out there? Is there something we should be looking for in an alternative.

As for my last comment. Inclusion in decision making is far superior to exclusion. If this is a 'business' I missed the AGM's where I could ensure I voted on directors renumeration and company strategy via a shareholding right. There is another post on this very subject. Why not do a share issue to raise capital with existing registered site users being offered first?

You are asking why I visit this site 'over' others? I visit other sites also. I stay here to 'chat' because I interact with other like minded souls.

If I want info on what tv to buy, I go to AVForums, if I'm looking for bargains I go to HotDeals etc etc. If I'm looking for gardening info, I chat here or go to another well known gardening forum etc etc.

Yes, I spend a lot of time on this site but I also spend time on other sites too. (Shameful admittance as that may be. )

I find your comment (that I bolded) a bit strange. Do you look to be invited to vote on other businesses too? Ones that you also just visit occasionally? What about CAB? Would people who visit CAB and discuss debt problems and gain advice from them, then feel they should be part of the business too?

I'm not trying to be facetious, I just don't understand your logic.

Cuidadosa

I'm torn about what to think.

On one hand, I give a pat on Martin's shoulder and say: well done, you deserve it. He's never hidden he was making money out of this place (the recruiting ads continuously appearing on the weekly e-mail are a good give-away that things are going well) we just hadn't realised how much!

I also believe he'll keep to the "editorial code". Maybe I'm not cynic enough, but if I've given him my trust for the past few years, why not anymore? Because he's rich?

On the other hand, seeing people's reaction and how personally they've taken it, it hurts to see them hurt. I'm sure the MSE team will feel the same. The fact that many have chosen to leave - for good - it's definitely negative and it WILL decrease the quality of this place. It's already doing it.

I haven't got all the figures (maybe they are hidden in the comments! I haven't read them all) but I wonder if the normal running of this website generates enough income nowadays for MonSup to get their money back soon enough? With projected growth and all that... (OK, it's obvious that I'm no economist here), so the idiosyncrasy of the site doesn't need to change A BIT in order to be a good investment.

Just my twopence.

jbarnett

Surprised? No... Disappointed... a bit.

Let me explain myself - Martin and the MoneySavingExpert website is effectively a "Socialpreneur" enterprise - i.e. a company that is interested in improving people's lives. However, that doesn't make them a charity. Like any business they aim to make a profit - stands to reason really.

I can't say I agree with the move - from an external point of view because it appears to undermine what the website was setup to achieve. However, from a business point of view it makes perfect sense - you partner-up with a bigger brother with a bigger budget and you effectively protect your company financially... even if you do appear to be "selling out."

Given the same situation would I do the same? Probably - it's a lot of money and you build a business to make a lot of money. The main difference between him and someone like me is - I don't lie to myself about what my objectives are. My aim is to make money.

zigzigzag

Just to add my thoughts - I am deeply saddened and disappointed by this 'ultimate sellout'. Sure Martin created the website and ran MSE, but the full value of the site and MSE is also the result of users' input - on the forums, tips, questions, their experience, advice etc. And all that user input is being sold to a private business, to profit Martin alone (I know, and some charities he gives to). Our supposedly independent consumer champion is no more, MSE is now owned by a private company. It may have been the right decision for Martin personally (ie financially), but really it goes against everything he ever claimed to have stood for - consumers and independence, essentially. So finding out that Martin has sold his integrity, and everything his reputation was built on, is very disappointing.

I hope Martin is reading these comments

John_Pierpoint

WISHIWASRICH wrote: »

Funny. I just subscribed to Which yesterday. I'd rather pay for real independent advice that get pretend "independent" advice I've decided.

Maybe in the future the site will be better as we will be able to say what we like about ML and the MSE team because they won't own it any more?

Even "Which?" has been forced by economics to compromise with commercialism, it now allows its advice to be used as advertising for a fee:
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/company/9266_20528.htm

setmefree2 wrote: »

I agree. The fact that MSE makes so much money costs us all as consumers. Now we know exactly how much it's costing us!!!!!!!!

All those clicks have added up to many many millions for ML. And ultimately we the consumers pay.

No consumer revenge here.:( Move along, nothing to see......

I had a long slightly drunken conversation with an East European - he had used his "initiative" under communism to offer his part time services as an electrician/heating engineer.
Capitalism came a something of a shock, when he discovered that competition meant continually creating estimates that never bore fruit, a constant struggle to get work that offered a profit. The sheer effort of getting work and cutting prices, while investing in public relations to get noticed, were costing him typically 25% of his efforts.
Welcome to the dog eat dog global economy - anyone want to go back to "the good old days" of
"When can I have my teeth filled?"
-- Monday after Christmas day next year!
"Oh I cannot manage that, it is the day when I'm getting the telephone installed!"

jimmywx11 wrote: »

I believe this is not about money at all. I would say its more about cutting off information from the general public... which in the long run is worth loads more than £87 million.
I mean how do we know that martin wasn't threatened in some way.. or even his family. this site has (had) the potential to tread on some VERY big toes.

certainly I would never believed martin would do this voluntarily.

OK flame me.... but the truth is scarier than fiction. Also i would bet dollars to donuts that this deal went through over a year ago. just because us plebs only hear of it now, means didely squat.

Did we ever identify the origin of the "denial of service" attacks that this site suffered a few years back?

I just can't see a live wire like Martin Lewis (and presumably Simon Nixon of Money Supermarket) being content to live a "celebrity" life style financed by "rentier" profits;
such a lifestyle tends to be debilitating to the initiative, especially that of the children, and can produce the "clogs to clogs" syndrome.

http://www.smarta.com/advice/general/simon-nixon-moneysupermarket-and-simonseeks

DeNeYeD

It's the first time I've ever known the weekly money saving tips page has not been updated on the Wednesday.

This news has changed this site for the worst.

I always looked forward to the new offers on a Wednesday.:(

barmonkey

DeNeYeD wrote: »

It's the first time I've ever known the weekly money saving tips page has not been updated on the Wednesday.

This news has changed this site for the worst.

I always looked forward to the new offers on a Wednesday.:(

for god sake, it was a double bank holiday what do you expect.

DelBoyPhil

barmonkey wrote: »

for god sake, it was a double bank holiday what do you expect.

or was it because the real posters that post deals stopped posting and martin found nothing to harvest from and make his own like he does week after week!

gavpowell

DelBoyPhil wrote: »

or was it because the real posters that post deals stopped posting and martin found nothing to harvest from and make his own like he does week after week!

Well if that's all he does, the sale to Moneysupermarket won't make any difference will it? Because so long as the people keep posting on the forums, we can all get the information from there.

I was quite surprised to discover I had an account here - I'll have to see if I've posted before.

I was shocked to see the sale news last week, but fair play to Mr Lewis, he seems to have worked incredibly hard.

I've used the site for a few years: when I styarted coming here, the advice on the site helped my then-girlfriend through bankruptcy proceedings, I was introduced to the joys of cashback sites and a couple of other goodies. I don't think I've ever clicked on a link from here to anywhere, but the rail fare splitter and the credit-card juggling charts have been extremely useful. Meanwhile, I've saved a fortune using Quidco and playing with balance transfers, while never really contributing in any way to the upkeep of the site.

So, frankly, if the site keeps going with the same amounts of advice, great. If it doesn't, I'm sure there are others, and I've still made a proft in the meantime.

If anyone feels aggrieved that "their tips" have been sold for profit, at least now they know they have a talent that could be worth millions...

mcgsp

Interesting that in the weekly MS email one of the "unaffiliated web-addresses" (no money goes to MSE if you click on it) is "moneysupermarket.com"!!

I will stick with MSE as long as it offers good offers and the people on the forums continue contributing as before. It has been a great site in the past and long may it continue as it was. I will just be a bit less trusting of its contents.