Neobux Experiment: Part 5

Status: Profitable
Deposited: $10
Current Balance: $49.014
Profit/Loss: $39.014 profit
Assets: 53 referrals, extended 240 days

It's been a while since my last post, mostly because I've been busy with other things, but also because there were no major changes to report.

Now I've got to the point where I can report that the experiment is a success.  You can actually make money out of Neobux.

Before I discuss the profitability, I'll address my concerns from part 4.

Average click rate

I was worried that my average was suspiciously high.  This has now settled down to something like the figures other people are reporting, 0.68 clicks per day average.  It seems that new people are enthusiastic but tend to tail off after a couple of weeks.  I'm seeing that with my automatic recycling, when the new minion comes in, they average 2 or 3 clicks a day for the first couple of weeks and then settle down the same as everyone else.

Adprize

The wins are rolling in now, I've had 2 x 25¢, 19 x 10 points and 1 x 100 points.  The average is still only 60% of what I'm expecting based on other people's experience, but that could be the low sample size.

Break Even Point (BEP) - the magic number of Neobux

Now to discuss the profit side.  When you read through the forums, everyone is obsessed with BEP.

Your BEP tells you what you need the average click rate of your minions to be in order to make a profit.  If they click higher than BEP, you win, if they click lower, you lose.  There's nothing you can do about the click rate; your minions are anonymous, so there's no carrots or sticks available to increase productivity.  This means that your fate lies entirely in manipulating your BEP.

There are three factors that effect BEP: Number of minions, level of membership and extension choices.

As a standard level member, extending for the maximum 240 days and not taking advantage of any promotional discounts, your BEP is 0.93, regardless of number of minions.  The actual cost per day is 0.0047¢, slightly less than the income you get for one click.

If you chose to extend for the minimum time possible, 15 days, your BEP shoots up to 1.33.

Taking advantage of the occasional 2% promotional discount can bring BEP as low as 0.91.

You will have noticed that all of these figures are above the average click rate of 0.68.  At standard level, you will always make a loss on your rented referrals.  The more you have, the more you lose.  My 53 minions currently lose me around 6¢ per day.  However this is made up by my own clicks and some mini-jobs, leaving a net profit.

When you upgrade to golden membership, your income per click doubles, which reduces the BEP, but you also have the $90 cost of the upgrade to divide between your minions, which pushes it back up again.  If you're lucky enough to win a free upgrade your BEP instantly drops to 0.47 and you're in profit immediately.

As a golden member, the more minions you have, the thinner the $90 gets spread and the lower your BEP.

This leads to two important tipping points.

The first is where I am now.  Somewhere between 53 and 54 minions is the point where buying golden membership makes absolutely no difference.  The extra income per click is precisely equal to the cost of the upgrade.  Any fewer than 53 and upgrading increases your BEP (and your losses), any more and the BEP starts to fall.  That's why I've chosen this point to stop renting for a while and save for an upgrade.

Once I have my golden membership, I need to keep plugging away at the mini jobs in order to rent more minions to break through the second tipping point.  At 115 minions, my BEP will hit 0.68, equal to the average click rate.  Any more I pick up after that push me into profit.  At that point, my rented referral income will be turning a profit on its own, with no need for subsidy from my clicks or mini jobs, after that it's all good news.

If I manage to take advantage of promotions, 2% more off of extensions and $10 off the price of golden membership, That tipping point comes down to 95 minions.

It's in reach and I'll get there soon, then I can really start building my account.

Want to join me on this journey?

I'd say give it a go.  The zero investment route is entirely feasibly, if you have the patience.  Work up your funds from personal clicks and mini jobs and you can buy straight in.

If you don't have the patience, it'll cost you $241.80 to get straight to the profit point, or $202.55 with the right timing.

Sign up here: NEOBUX