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

gavpowell

mcgsp wrote: »

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"!!.

That's entirely accurate - they've given every penny of it to Martin last week so there's no more to give

will-in-estoril

Nice little earner for Mr Lewis, 'earned' on the back of this forum and its contributors, who are its greatest asset.

One of the reasons I so enjoyed contributing over the last eight years was the unfettered independence of the forum and the main site. This is sadly no longer the case and therefore the moment I bow out.

bob_blah

I just want to say thanks to Martin for the excellent work he has done for me personally over the past 5 years. His website completely changed the way I looked at my money, and I (and my wife) will shortly be debt-free as a result of this site.

I also want to say congratulations to Martin because I know how much time, effort and stress is involved in setting up and maintaining a website, and I haven't worked on anyhing on the scale of MSE. I can only imagine the trials he and his team have faced over the years, and they deserve every penny of the money coming to them. I can well imagine that even if they achieve the full £87m sale price, that will be only a small fraction of the money that people have saved through this site. Personally I've saved over £5,000 since joining this site, and that's only the hard figures I can put my finger on. I can't tell you how much I've actually saved, given the change of mindset about money that Martin instilled in me.

For all the people who feel betrayed/disappointed/accusing Martin of selling out, I would say this: when you build a company from scratch and work your guts out for 7 years doing so, and then someone offers you £87million to buy that company from you, and you say no, then you have the right to call Martin a sell out. Otherwise, graciously accept all the free advice that you've enjoyed up to this point, and if you want to move on, please do so quietly. Martin doesn't owe you anything, but you probably owe him something. I know I do.

Thanks and congratulations again Martin.

Slowdown

I also feel Martin has 'sold out'. Those people who are patting him on the back and saying he deserves it are slightly misguided. He has facilitated change for the man on the street by highlighting many issues surrounding debt and money management, facilitated the exchange of views and mutual support of users and, in some cases, facilitated the financial, mental and potentially physical survival of some. But please note the word facilitate. It is the users who have done the truly great work.
He has provided a network for us to help each other in a seemingly safe, supportive, independent way. This will now change.
I have never really felt that anyone is 'watching me' on this site. I have never felt anyone has monitored my interests or opinions and targeted marketing/invasive selling techniques at me. But I will now. How long until my love of vegetable growing will elicit a pop up trying to sell me seeds, my interest in saving money through cooking home made meals land me with unwanted emails from supermarket giants? Not long I fear.
Martin Lewis is not a poor man. He is probably richer and more financially stable than any poster that has ever flicked through these pages.
We discuss how to feed a family for £50 a week, how to give free gifts at Christmas and how many meals you can make from a single chicken.
Don't for one minute think Martin Lewis has to make any of these choices, even before his millions.
The most precious thing about this site was its independence. People who believe this won't change are either in denial because thay are so scared of losing what they love so much, or have total empathy with money making sell outs that benefit greatly only a very small number of people. In this case......one.

PaulJM

Patr100 wrote: »

Jeez. Boo Hoo. Some people. I just can't wade through this entire thread.
If you want to stop using the site or forum . Spare us the moral indignation.
Two words.
Just go.
And that MSE tattoo you got will have to be surgically removed as you realise he is a journalist who runs a sometimes useful site , not some deity.
-

Good one.

He IS seen as a deity by some people, you're dead right.
Maybe he cultivates that himself somewhat, and I think it's him that'll see a bit of a change of attitude towards him.

Personally, I don't care. It's a little bit of the internet that seemed none commercial, but now might be slightly commercial.
But that's it - a guy has cashed in on some good work on the he did. All these indignant fan boys or jealous haters would have done the same.

JimmyTheWig

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Can you confirm, in terms of the no special treatment, that assuming all other things stayed equal that Go Compare would still remain the top choice for car insurance, with Money Supermarket second?

MSE_Dan wrote: »

Absolutely correct.

Dan / Martin / whoever,

Can I approach this from the other angle?

Currently MoneySupermarket provides 60% of the revenue for this site. What would have happened if, instead of doing the deal they have done, MoneySupermarket turned round and said they weren't going to pay out for any more MSE links?
Would MSE be left dead in the water?


What then would have happened if MoneySupermarket had demanded to be top choice for car insurance, otherwise they will pull all their links with MSE? Martin would have been caught between a rock and a hard place.

Or if the boss of MoneySupermarket took Martin out for lunch and "suggested" he didn't plug the car insurance article in the weekly email as they aren't top pick but they plug something else where they are top pick. With the suggestion being that if they don't do this then the MoneySupermarket links might need to be renegotiated.


Now, I'm not saying that MoneySupermarket would have done this. But my point is that even without this deal, it seems that MSE are pretty much tied to MoneySupermarket.
In some ways, it seems, that in doing this deal MSE will be more protected from interference than they are at the moment, as with the deal MoneySupermarket have a vested interest in keeping MSE genuine.

faineant

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.:(

barmonkey wrote: »

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

As the saying goes a good time to bury bad news. Like many others I suspect, I only found out about this today.

ladyinteal

The gripes about "selling out" on here are rather pathetic. Martin started the idea from scratch and has been helping people with their money problems for almost a decade. it was his idea, he did the work and it is his to sell as he pleases. The fact that he is giving a chunk to charity and will continue campaigning shows he is still a top bloke.

Congratulations Martin!

Former_MSE_Dan

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Dan / Martin / whoever,

Can I approach this from the other angle?

Currently MoneySupermarket provides 60% of the revenue for this site. What would have happened if, instead of doing the deal they have done, MoneySupermarket turned round and said they weren't going to pay out for any more MSE links?
Would MSE be left dead in the water?


What then would have happened if MoneySupermarket had demanded to be top choice for car insurance, otherwise they will pull all their links with MSE? Martin would have been caught between a rock and a hard place.

Or if the boss of MoneySupermarket took Martin out for lunch and "suggested" he didn't plug the car insurance article in the weekly email as they aren't top pick but they plug something else where they are top pick. With the suggestion being that if they don't do this then the MoneySupermarket links might need to be renegotiated.


Now, I'm not saying that MoneySupermarket would have done this. But my point is that even without this deal, it seems that MSE are pretty much tied to MoneySupermarket.
In some ways, it seems, that in doing this deal MSE will be more protected from interference than they are at the moment, as with the deal MoneySupermarket have a vested interest in keeping MSE genuine.

Hi Jimmy,

As you say, these situations are pure speculation, but one that MSE has always had protocol for in the 8 years I have worked here.

Whether or not a link pays has never affected where it is listed in the best buys running order, or how it is described on the site or in the weekly email.

We clearly wouldn't want the situation you describe to have happened, but the editorial team would just keep on working the same way, while we'd hope the small commercial team would find other paying links. Of course, if they didn't, nothing would change.

Dan

Former_MSE_Dan

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.:(

Hi, I posted the following about this earlier on yesterday

---

There is nothing nearly so sinister going on. We have just had a double bank holiday, during the same time of week we would normally be finding, researching and writing the tip content.

The whole office is working on it full steam ahead as I type, and we'll be sending it out overnight tonight and into tomorrow - just 24 hours later than normal. This is exactly what we do around Christmas, and during the Royal Wedding last year.

Next week has no bank hols, so the normal timings will resume.

Thanks

Dan