How we choose the vendors you see

Below it, vendors are ranked by how well they match your party: what you asked for, distance, reviews, sales record, answering on time and budget. If you have a voucher, members who take it come first (they pay us 5% of a booking you make with it, at most $100), then everyone else, each best match first.

A list holds one Ad for every 10 vendors on it, at least one: the top spot, then the best-ranked other members who pay us for ads, each marked Ad at exactly the place the ranking gives them. Below the top spot, paying never moves a vendor up or down.

Vendors marked "Not an InviteFromMe vendor" are on the list for the reasons on their card. They don't pay us, and you contact them yourself.

You can re-sort any time. Ads stay marked.

Who's included

Vendors who offer that kind of service, whose area reaches the party, whose party-size range fits, who haven't marked that date booked, and whose listing is live. A vendor behind on paying us isn't shown until it's paid. Paying for ads never decides whether a vendor is shown.

Vendors who haven't joined InviteFromMe are included the same way, from what their own website says, and marked "Not an InviteFromMe vendor". We list them for the reasons on their card; they don't pay us, and they're never an Ad or the top spot.

Vendors who ship or work online, members or not, are listed under "Ships to you or online", whatever the distance: we count them as 0 miles away. A vendor who ships is left out when your party is sooner than the notice they need, or in a state they don't ship to; their card shows what shipping costs, as they state it, and an "Order by" date when it's close. Shipping cost never changes the order. A vendor who comes to your town in person is under "Near you", at its real distance, even if it also ships.

How the order is worked out

Whether you're on the list: the kind of vendor the host asked for, the area you serve, the party sizes you take, and whether you're free on the date. Where you are on it: a score from these, each weighed as shown:

• What the host asked for (35%): how many of the specifics in their request (a theme, an age, a dietary need, other details) your business name and services mention (your first 30 services). Your description adds at most two more, each worth half. When the host asks for nothing specific, everyone counts as average.
• Distance (20%): nearer is better; 25 miles or more counts nothing. A vendor shown for shipping or working online counts as 0 miles.
• Reviews (15%): the share of good ratings from hosts who booked you, once you have 3; a few reviews can't outweigh many. Until then, average.
• Sales record (10%): how many of the requests you've answered became sales, once you've answered 3. Until then, average.
• Answering on time (10%): how many requests you answered on time, once one was due. Until then, average.
• Budget (10%): whether your lowest price fits the budget the host gave. Average when they gave none or you list no price.
• New vendors, with fewer than 3 requests so far, get a small lift.
• Vendors who haven't joined are scored the same way, from what their own website says: the facts on their card stand in for services. They have no record with us and no price guide, so reviews, sales record, answering on time and budget count as average, and they don't get the new-vendor lift.
• Ties: when two businesses match equally, the one on InviteFromMe comes first. A business that hasn't joined goes above a member only when it scores more than 2 points higher (of 100). Then, the nearer first.

Paying for ads is never part of the score. Your photos and offers show on your card, but they don't move you up or down.

How ads work

• The top spot goes to the best match for the host's request among vendors who pay the ad fee. When others who pay are nearly as good (within 10% of the best), they take turns, starting with whoever has had the top spot least this month. It's shown once, first.
• Below it, a list holds one Ad for every 10 vendors on it (at least one, the top spot): the best-ranked other vendors who pay for ads show with the Ad label, at the place the ranking gives them; any more show plain.
• Paid per tap, not per showing: Being shown as an Ad costs nothing. When a host taps your Ad (opens your card or sends you a request), you pay $2.50 if it was the top spot, or $1 in its place on the list: the first tap per party only, and never more in a month than the limit you set. Past the limit, or with no limit, a vendor is still shown, plain and free.
• Ads are shown only for a party whose invitations have gone out or whose guests have answered. Until then everyone is shown plain.
• Photos show on every member's card, paid or not.

What you see

Each month: how many hosts saw you, how many got in touch, how many became sales, and why you weren't shown to others (outside your area, party size, booked, and so on). Every host sees a short line saying why each vendor is on their list.