Become.com to increase rates

Yes that's true, Become.com has announced that they will also increase their rates. Im still waiting to hear from Google Shopping that they will start charging per click, but that might never happen.

Here is the official announcement.

Dear Valued Partner,

In order to continue fulfilling our mission to deliver qualified customers to businesses, Become.com is making a change to our current rate card minimums. This change will go into effect on June 15th, 2011.

What will change?

Most category minimum rates are changing which will affect most of your listings with Become.com. We ask that you review our updated rate card.

What actions should I take?

Merchants are not required to take any actions. This change will automatically go into effect on June 15th, 2011. However, if you are currently leveraging our dynamic bidding platform to optimize the placement of your listings, please review these bids to ensure that you are still taking advantage of our FREE logo with five cent bid program (when bidding five cents above rate card minimums, your listings will receive FREE logo placement).
We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to drive high quality traffic to you. Should you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager or merchanthelp@become.com.

Amazon Product Ad Rate Increase

Amazon has joined the band wagon and will be raising their Product Ad rates.

Minimum Bids in 36 categories are changing.

On June 1, 2011 Amazon will be adjusting the minimum bid in 36 bidding categories. The minimum bid will decrease in 4 categories and increase in 32 categories. There will be no change to the minimum bid amount in the remaining 117 categories.

Want to see the new rate card click here -> Amazon Product Ads New Rate Card

Nextag Rate increase

Nextag announced a minimum CPC rate increase today. The new rates will be effective as of June 1, 2011. Here is the new rate card

Current Category	Current CPC	New CPC
Cribs	$0.40	$0.50
Clothing & Accessories/Accessories	$0.30	$0.35
Children	$0.30	$0.35
Handbags & Wallets	$0.30	$0.35
Watches	$0.65	$0.75
Kid's Shoes	$0.35	$0.40
Women's Shoes	$0.40	$0.42
Bed & Bath	$0.35	$0.37
Indoor & Outdoor Lighting	$0.40	$0.45
Sofas	$0.40	$0.45
Home Improvement	$0.40	$0.50
Bathroom Fixtures	$0.40	$0.50
Lawn & Garden	$0.40	$0.42
Small Appliances	$0.65	$0.75
Major Appliances	$0.40	$0.42
Food & Wine	$0.25	$0.30
Prescription Drugs	$0.50	$0.60
Sports & Outdoors	$0.35	$0.37

In response to many requests, Nextag will also be adding the following new categories:

Current Category	Current CPC	New Category	New CPC
Clothing & Accessories	$0.30	Activewear	$0.35
Clothing & Accessories	$0.30	Luggage	$0.35
Office/ Office Stationary	$0.55	Office Stationary	$0.40

Nextag also periodically updates product category classifications. As a result, there will be some CPC changes associated with these classification updates. The following sub-categories are currently being listed in

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Paper Rolls	$0.55	Computer Accessories/Paper Supplies	$0.65
Office/Printwheels	$0.55	Computer Accessories/Printer Accessories	$0.65
Office/Ribbons	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Copier Toner	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Fax Supplies	$0.55	Ink Toner and Cartridges	$1.05
Office/Microfiche	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75
Office/Laminators	$0.55	Office Equipment/Laminators	$0.75
Office/Computers Accessories &Supplies/Cleaning Products	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75
Office Equipment Supplies/Others	$0.55	Office Equipment/Equipment Supplies	$0.75

The following sub-categories are currently being listed in Office Products or Office Equipment but will now be listed under a new category in which the CPC is lower:

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Bookcases	$0.55	Furniture/Bookcases	$0.40
Office/Picture Frames	$0.55	Furniture/Home Decorating	$0.40
Office/Clothes/Coat	$0.55	Home Improvement/Organization & Storage	$0.50
Office/Plumbing	$0.55	Home Improvement/Plumbing Supplies	$0.50
Office/Electrical	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Flashlights	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Light Bulbs	$0.55	Home Improvement/Electrical	$0.50
Office/Safety & Security	$0.55	Home Improvement/Security	$0.50
Office/Thermostats	$0.55	Home Improvement/Others	$0.50
Office/Waste Containers	$0.55	Home Improvement/Organization & Storage	$0.50
Office/Paints	$0.55	Home Improvement/Wall Coverings	$0.50
Office/Lamps	$0.55	Indoor & Outdoor Lighting	$0.45
Office/Gloves	$0.55	Tools	$0.40
Office/Ladders	$0.55	Tools	$0.40
Office/Tools	$0.55	Tools	$0.40

The following sub-categories are listed in Office Products but will now be listed under another category name. The CPC will remain the same:

Current Category Classification	Current CPC	New Category Classification	New CPC
Office/Office Maintenance	$0.55	Office Products/Janitorial & Lunchroom/Maintenance Supplies	$0.55
Office Equipment/Fans	$0.75	Small Appliances/Fans	$0.75
Multimedia Projectors	$1.05	Electronics/MultimediaProjectors	$1.05

You do not need to do anything in connection with the CPC changes - any bids below these new minimum cost per click rates will be automatically adjusted on June 1; any bids already equal to or greater than these

Nextag is rated #2 as a revenue generator according to CPC Strategy Q4 2010 Ratings