How would you define the commission at betfair?

commision = cut that the middleman takes.

The ad is completely misleading.

I don't know of any other middlemen that can get away with 22%+, risk free.

not to mention the lovely skimming bot which is a fkin huge scandal imo which gets conveniently overlooked

Amazes me how integrity gets bent when an ad campaign is presented.

I would describe it as "the most we can get away with as a virtual monopoly without pricing our customers out of our site"

Its only an advert. I mean did u believe that a mars a day helps u work, rest and play [;)]

People on here (especially winners) can be too critical of BF, imo. BF has so many enemies (BHA, bookmakers etc) we need to stand up for them occasionally and not knock them too much.

Maybe more people would stick up for them if they didn't keep ripping some of their clients off, and giving appalling customer service?

SHAPESHIFTER   
integrity gets bent
turtleshead   
ripping some of their clients off

Not sure how people can reach these conclusions.
Going back a few years i thought betfair was going to be a huge company with huge profits, as it turns out they make tiny profits.
I think the real winners long term could be an elite group of users. A couple have already bought themselves a football club.
Whether we look back on these days as the good old days or not remains to be seen.

I moved to the UK in 2000 and watched betfair evolve in a sector that hoovers millions of pounds through plexi-glass windows.

In 2004 (or 5?), I had a one year contract with six of the betting firms to consult them on their web-sites (efficiency, ability to place complex bets, etc) and, still, betfair site, through all the growing pains, still offered a better world to punters.

Betfair once had the slogan "sharp minds".  Soon after came the arcades, etc.  Anyone who has ventured into that forum will see person after person posting that they were getting excluded from the pixel-wallet vacuums.

It amazes me that a "world class" business that offers incredible depth has to dumb itself down with arcades and promotions that "sharp minds" can see through.

They don't have to do this.  The float will go well without Monopoly and digital horsey races.

Introduction agency fees, and lots of them as every bet is a blind date

Insidious

I

I think the commission structure before they introduced the Premium Charge was fine but taking 20 percent of people isn't fair.

Fred....oi.....betfair = speed dating

River Me     Joined: 21 Jun 04
Replies: 6 04 Oct 10 18:54 

I would describe it as "the most we can get away with as a virtual monopoly without pricing our customers out of our site"


So would I.  Take out the words "as a virtual monopoly" and you could be talking about any bookie.

Entirely agree with Heynoodles on this. Stop moaning and enjoy the only place you can win, everywhere else (including quack) is much worse.

Depends on what sports you do and your style of betting robot.

The 1% site is better than Betfair if you're betting american sports pre-off for instance, while regular bookies are better for american sports in running.

On the whole, Betfair's probably the best all rounder, but to say it's the only place you can win is ludicrous.

Where else can you win?

Plenty, Avocado.  Like the high street, shop around.  I only have a couple of shops close to me but will still walk down and give my dosh for the value if it is there. 

But the posting is more about why betfair sees the need to "dumb down" their promotion by using the "middleman" angle when clearly it is not the case. 

When they first started, they pushed that you could set your own odds (thus keying in on 'value').  Now with "keep" in football, horses, etc, you can take that one step further;  a horse is a 4/7.  You think that it is 4/5, you can place a back, click on keep and either it will (a) be matched pre-off, (b) have a chance to be matched during the race or (c) not matched but the value was not there and you let the horse win.

That, to me, is more intelligent marketing than "the middleman".  One man's opinion.

Then, again, what do I know.  I made around three schtupid moves yesterday that put a dent in my bank

What is this "value" that you speak of?

If a horse is on offer at 2/1 and you feel, based on your read (book) on the race, that should be priced at 5/2, you can place the bet at 5/2 and leave at a "keep" in-running incase it doesn't drift before the off.