LinkBourse vs a traditional agency retainer
The difference that decides a dispute is who counts the delivery. The agency reports on the campaigns it runs, from platforms it administers. The party measuring the outcome is the party being paid for it. On LinkBourse the platform measures it — impressions, clicks and a daily check that the placement is still live — and escrow releases against that measurement, refunding a shortfall pro rata. Everything else below follows from that one difference.
| a traditional agency retainer | LinkBourse | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A monthly fee to an agency of record covering strategy, media buying and reporting, usually with a notice period measured in months. | A marketplace for advertising services and placements where escrow releases against delivery the platform measured itself. |
| How the money is held | Invoiced monthly in arrears or in advance, often with media billed through the agency, and frequently with a percentage of spend inside the fee. | The buyer funds escrow before work starts. Money leaves escrow when the buyer accepts, when the auto-release window passes, or — for a measured placement — when the flight ends and the delivery figures are in. |
| Who counts the delivery | The agency reports on the campaigns it runs, from platforms it administers. The party measuring the outcome is the party being paid for it. | The platform. Impressions and clicks are counted by our own tracker, and a link or placement is fetched daily to check it is still live, still followed and still indexable. |
| What happens on a shortfall | A conversation, a make-good offered at the agency’s discretion, and in the worst case a contract termination with notice. | A pro rata refund, calculated from the measured delivery and paid without anyone opening a ticket. A placement pulled inside its retention window is reversed out of the seller’s balance. |
What a traditional agency retainer does better
- — One accountable team that learns your business over years rather than one engagement
- — Coverage across channels and continuity of staff on your account
- — Someone to call at eleven at night when a campaign is on fire
Buy there instead if: You need continuous ownership of several channels and would rather have one throat to choke than five contracts.
What is different here
- — The measurement sits with the marketplace rather than with the party being paid
- — Scope, cancellation notice and make-good terms are written on the listing before anyone signs
- — You can buy one engagement from a named practice without an annual commitment
- — Fees are visible per engagement rather than folded into a percentage of spend
Buy here if: You want senior work on a defined problem, priced per engagement, with delivery counted by someone who is not being paid for the result.
What is on sale here today
740 live services from 165 practices, from $5,000, median delivery 30 days. Counted from live listings when this page was last built, not from a press release.
Browse the catalogue →