I'm fairly into affiliate marketing, but I've never really understood the logic behind a minimum payout threshold. I've even contacted the vendor and asked them, but so far no replies - maybe the question is just too rude or too stupid? Personally I find it is demotivating. I am a member of one program with a threshold of $500 US. I am up to $170. This means I must make 330 more dollars before I know whether they will even pay me. (BTW this worries me a little) I would much rather see some dollars per sale , since I am putting the Time and Money into it and sometimes this cost is greater than the cost of one sale depending upon the program. It's pushing the boundaries of trust too much, since the program provider sometimes cannot even control their success, even if they are 100% ethical at the start. So my general policy is to not sign up for programs now with this type of restriction. Do you have any ideas why they really do it?
$500 is a VERY high treshold ... Usually they do it to minimize the cost for administration and sending the checks ... When the check has a value of $50 and it's $0.50 to mail it, that's a big cost. I have seen programs with a $100 minimum, but $500 is just too much. Google Adsense for example also has a $100 minimum. Some programs lower this treshold if they can pay with Paypal, it's cheaper for them.