Rising costs

Today I received an email from On The Oche, outlining the changes they were making to their fee structure for future subscriptions. This follows an email received a little while ago warning members that a price rise was imminent.

I have to admit to rather mixed feelings on this score. Nobody likes increases in the cost of anything they buy, and I'm no different to Joe Bloggs in that respect. But, I do realise that for a tipping service to be viable, it must make a decent profit for the people whose expertise it relies upon. And let's face it, in any walk of life, if somebody has a talent that can be marketed and can be utilised for others to benefit from, then that person has the right to exploit their talent and profit from it. It must be acknowledged too, that there is nothing at all wrong with that.

I can also recognise that for a service like On The Oche, there are a number of reasons why membership levels might be restricted, and that in itself will place an upward pressure on the costs of subscribing. I get the impression - although I could be wrong - that since it was dropped from the SBC's Hall of Fame, OTO has become a little unfashionable. Another guess, albeit an educated one, is that what the SBC says about a service and the status it affords it will exert a huge influence on the numbers of members that service will have and can attract. This is not a criticism of the SBC, but I do sometimes wonder whether they have an unhealthy level of power in that they can either make or break a service, but that's perhaps a discussion for another day.

Back to OTO. Another reason why the darts service cannot really carry a larger number of subscribers is the nature of the markets they play in. In his earlier email, Matt himself explained that in this regard, OTO is radically different from his own Football Elite. FE is able to carry more members and thus keep costs lower because the markets it specialises in can absorb a large amount of money being placed on the selections. A similar amount of money going into the darts markets would I'm sure, not so much have a negative impact upon the odds availability of the picks, than obliterate the markets completely.

In summary, the point I'm trying to make is that if a service is consistently profitable, and yet it cannot for whatever reason bear the weight of a heavy number of subscribers, then the only way it can make the profit it deserves to is to charge the members it does have that bit more. With this though, will come added pressure on those running the service. There will be less patience amongst subscribers during the unavoidable lean times, a higher expectation in terms of being able to secure odds close to those recommended, and I'm sure there will be members who when the time comes to renew their subscription, may well ponder just that little bit longer before doing so.

For what it's worth, my own belief is that as we stand today, the long term record and practicality of following the service is such that the increased cost still represents value and the price rise is justified. I really hope I can say the same in six months time when my own subs are due for renewal.


Sunday's Betting

Another blank day on the horses with no success from three bets - Northern Monkey 0/2 and The Sportsman Racing 0/1.

Footie was good though, with Strike Zone (homes) enjoying three winning selections from three and Matt's sole Football Elite bet a winner too.

Northern Monkey: Staked 1.25pts, -1.25pts.
The Sportsman Racing: Staked 0.5pts, -0.5pts.
Strike Zone: Staked 3pts, +3.07pts.
Football Elite: Staked 1pt, +1.15pts.

Sunday 15th January: Staked £317.50, +£158.


Today's Betting

Quiet today, but marginally profitable as The Market Examiner's only runner was a nice winner (Pretty Penny - Plumpton - 6/1). Winning Racing Tips went for an each way treble on three short priced favourites, a bet that came a cropper when the first selection to run crashed out at the last hurdle with the race in it's grasp! No joy either for Chasemaster's only bet.

The Market Examiner: Staked 1pt, +6pts.
Winning Racing Tips: Staked 0.6pts, -0.6pts.
Chasemaster: Staked 0.125pts, -0.125pts.

Monday 16th January: Staked £56, +£14.
Month to date: Staked £3,818, +£614.74, roi 16.1%.