Payout 411 – Questions – The Quirky Community. Quirky’s new payouts are starting to roll out, this means all quarterly payouts have 15% held against the payout for customer returns. Some community members are reporting negative balances. According to the forum post, Garthen, Aros inventor, lost $100k. The product page had the inventor earning $320k and his account may now be displaying $220k. Some members “owe” $1,200+. This is a interesting challenge for crowd-sourcing of ideas if there is payments involved, Quirky has led the way with experimenting what works and what does not – Folks are blaming the CEO Ben Kaufman for a series of decisions that led to a $100m loss.
…The products that have “negative reward amounts” are below:
Aros (by far the largest)
Space Bar
Pivot Power Mini
Pivot Power 2×3
Pod Power
Broom Groomer Pro
Prop Power Pro
Spotter
Pickup Power
Mantis
PowerCurl Mini
Egg Minder
Drift
Shake – Men’s Tote
Props
Bake Shapes + Pluck
Squeak
Loopits…
Ed’s team did a full audit on the previous several quarters of payouts and determined that we’ve overpaid the community roughly $1.9m. We absorbed that and have no intention of doing a claw back, as it was Quirky’s own financial incompetence that caused it. However, we’ll be doing the true up each quarter now. So, you’ll all feel the impact of Quirky’s true financial performance acutely. When it’s good, it’s good. When it stinks… boy will it stink. I certainly felt no joy in laying off half my team last week. But, it had to be done. Same with this true up. It’s an accurate reflection of the business, painful though it is.
There will be a Q&A segment on Tuesday at 5pm EST with CFO Ed Kremer and CEO Ben Kaufman live on Quirky.com. Previous coverage here.
Quirky limits the posts per day/thread so community members have started their own forums at http://quirky.freeforums.net/. MAKE Magazine has picked up the story.
Update: The payouts have been posted – About $41k .. “Aros -$157,996.75”
Here is the final payout/true up report for indirect sales on 2/27/15, which corresponds with Q4 of 2014:
5 DigiDudes 0.00
6 Split Stick Classic 0.00
9 Scratch-n-Scroll 0.00
11 Cordies Classic 0.00
15 PowerCurl 306.27
16 Bobble Brush 53.22
18 Beamer 0.00
22 Space Bar -35138.18
23 Travelstacks 0.00
25 Petal Drops 0.00
27 Pen Zen 5595.15
28 MugStir 0.00
30 Cloak 68.42
31 Wrapster 1829.33
33 Click n Cook 0.00
35 Switch 0.00
36 Broom Groomer 96.01
37 Digits 15.16
44 Pivot Power 1993.76
47 Kosoku 0.00
54 Unhampered 89.26
58 Shower Station 195.75
59 Contort 1144.50
60 Contour 161.69
64 Plug Hub 1494.31
69 Grip Grater 0.00
72 Thor 0.00
74 Verseur 653.29
77 Mantis -547.46
78 Mercado 96.65
81 Ohm 0.00
84 Cordies 7460.08
87 Stake 0.00
91 Mocubo 939.28
95 Portion Classic 0.00
97 Ventu 212.59
98 Scribe 0.00
101 Split Stick 0.00
105 Bandits 2300.96
108 Slimline 1051.52
111 Porter 148.72
113 Converge 267.23
114 Fender 0.00
121 Core 0.00
122 Tether 1918.64
125 Pivot Power Mini -9551.73
126 Cordlets 0.00
133 Solo 142.29
139 Sliders 54.18
143 Brim 0.00
151 Slice 8.83
156 Pod Power -4134.72
159 Totem 12.30
163 Flipside 0.00
164 Broom Stopper 0.00
166 Loop 2.97
187 Stem 1237.98
200 Groove Refills 0.08
202 Silo 736.67
204 Vessel 165.19
207 Metal Cordies 1583.74
209 Scoop 4.37
213 Squeak -4.04
217 Cargo 107.48
228 Bobble Brush Timer 344.43
231 Cipher 0.00
234 Port Power 1662.36
235 Space Bar 2473.99
251 Zeus 37.60
254 Props -4.43
255 Plug Power 130.03
268 Broom Groomer Mini 0.00
272 Vine 127.31
290 Broom Groomer Pro -3629.09
292 Loopits -2.99
309 Drift -26.87
310 Align 189.75
311 Carabandits 430.58
315 Crates 4763.54
343 Sheath 706.58
349 Prop Power 19195.42
358 Cubo 127.62
359 Shake – Womens Tote 0.00
370 Nibble 67.99
373 Branch 57.92
375 Rake ‘n’ Tamp 0.00
400 Poppit 102.01
401 Stowables 532.06
405 Pickup Power -571.85
415 Glide 2.84
418 Icecap 0.00
425 Cyclone 42.99
426 Pluck 246.41
442 Pli 0.00
445 Luminum 133.06
446 Pegit 0.00
447 Crossover for iPhone® 298.73
448 Keeper 3.11
449 Core 0.00
451 PowerCurl Mini -321.73
456 Folio 1.56
458 Twig 0.00
472 Upwrite 55.12
481 Portion 19.82
496 Cordies Executive 6840.99
497 Web 1.31
498 Crossover for iPad mini® 198.36
500 Fender 0.00
503 Pivot Power EU 0.00
504 Christmas Pivot Power 26.08
505 Pivot Power Junior 2065.68
515 Memo 0.00
517 Stickups 0.00
518 Raft 0.00
521 Beat Booster 64.44
537 Bake Shapes 90.02
564 Pivot Power 2×3 -4282.97
571 Stem Metal 162.99
572 Converge 8197.07
573 Contort Power 21904.44
574 Pivot Power Media 0.00
575 Grill Wrangler 5987.13
587 PowerCurl Mini 6798.10
596 Nimbus 166.85
598 Switch 249.98
607 Porkfolio 9663.85
609 Spotter -1007.69
619 Egg Minder -280.33
623 Prop Power Pro -2246.64
624 PowerCurl 2482.84
633 Pivot Power Genius 732.99
649 Shake – Men’s Tote -22.12
650 Shake – Kids’ Backpack 36.01
651 Shake – Clutch 2.91
657 Vine Stop 920.39
663 CitriTwist 51.79
671 Metal Sliders 130.81
672 Fender Smart Cover® 15.85
673 Pivot Power UK 0.00
702 Levier 60.27
704 PowerShell 0.00
706 Tripper 14.20
732 Refuel 11835.36
733 Broom Groomer W Broom 0.00
747 Stem Metal + CitriTwist 77.44
750 Verseur Metal + Levier 189.48
751 Le Rem’pote 67.66
752 Aros -157996.75
765 Zen Cosmetics 3876.77
774 Pawcet 0.00
782 Iso 130.66
808 Pivot Power Pop 37866.46
811 Pivot Power Desktop 1327.08
814 Pivot Power Pop Junior 60801.27
815 Thor + Zeus 67.13
830 Bake Shapes + Pluck -3.89
848 Pivot Power 9005.65
849 Pivot Power Jr. 5241.28
872 Shake – Women’s Tote 46.09
946 Charge 0.00Total: $41,524.90