CJ.com and CPA Shaving?

Can't you find (or better yet, rotate) different merchants that have similar products/services & have an affiliate program? You can also present your results to other companies and ask them for a flat monthly fee, if they don't have an affiliate program.

Most shaving is done by the merchants, not the CPA networks, as the conversion pixel resides on the merchant's site. If they are shaving, going directly to them won't mean in most cases that you'd get a better deal and you also put your whole CJ account in jeopardy.

Gabriel

I doubt it's illegal, but only an attorney could answer that. Can't they really blame it on a technical error? Do you have proof of any ill doing on their part? Aren't there any other merchants to promote, it's not like you have a binding contract with their company.. and so on..

Here's the problem on the other side of affiliate marketing.. There are many fraud affiliates who would do anything to make a quick buck, including fake registrations and fake credit card sign-ups that will bounce when the free trial is over. That means the company has to pay for invalid leads, which means they actually lose a lot more money than they should by having affiliates. That's why they introduce shaving as a solution, skim a little extra from everybody until the numbers are in the green.

Shaving is part of the CPA game. But again, if you're with a reputable CPA company (which is the case for you), it's not them, it's the merchant. Even if they're aware of it, you can't really bite the hand that feeds you, right? That's my take on it...

There are options though.. you can sell your own stuff (I don't know what you're promoting, but can't you sell the same products? find dropshippers or import them from China.. or whatever). Or find someone else to promote. The internet is a big playground and it sounds like you have something that is worth a lot to someone.

-Gabriel

CJ is normally pretty good and I can't see them shaving, with that being said, could it be the merchant? The best thing to do IMO would be to split test offers and if you can find the same offer on another network or direct, split test with that as well

Shaving would be fraud. I don't know why anyone would question the legality of that. It's not legal . . . and it would be very difficult to prove.

But it may not be CJ - it could be the merchant. Or, it could just be coincidence and a change in the market.

If I were you I'd contact the merchant and let them know what's up, and that you're ready to promote other offers if the situation can't be improved.

And also . . . CJ is very costly to merchants. They pay a set monthly fee plus 30% of commissions - if you earn $1000 then CJ claims another $300. Not all, but many merchants are happy to bring you in-house and even bump your commissions up.

Way back I managed a CJ program and we had a separate, in-house tracking system for JV partners and top affiliates. Where we paid affiliates, through CJ, 12% we'd pay in-house partners 50% and more.

I'd be floored if CJ was shaving. When shaving happens, 9 times out of 10, it's done by the advertiser and the network in question is as much a victim as the affiliate. Networks only earn when the affiliate earns too.

Exception to this rule being the second and third tier networks who might shave you on their own, or in addition to the advertiser, but then that's your own fault for dealing with a second or third tier network instead of the top of the food chain.