11 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
11 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Am I being scammed?

by Matt Lee
9 replies
I have a PLR magazine that I've been promoting on JVzoo. Last week a new affiliate requested to promote it, and I thought nothing of it because he had over 50 sales already so I gave him instant commissions. (yes, my bad)

It's not normal for me to get refunds, I think there's only been 2 or 3 with over 1000 sales so was immediately concerned when his first sale ends up as a dispute 2 days later.

I went back to my jvzoo account and was going to ban the affiliate but when i went back to the transaction details, it only listed his name - and when i tried to find him in my list of affiliates he wasn't listed, which raises my suspicions even more.

I've already paid out commissions on this transaction, and i don't want to pay more than what I should rightfully have to. A refund is one thing, but paying more than I earned kinda sucks @ss

What is the best recourse I have at this point?
#scammed
  • Profile picture of the author gluckspilz
    1. Keep contacting the affiliate until you give up or they respond.

    2. Take this as a lesson and learn from it.
    Signature
    FREE COURSE: Discover How To Crush Affiliate Marketing The Ethical Way
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146688].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author startefl
    Sounds totally scammy, you're right to be so concerned.

    I can't offer any advice bro, I've never been in that situation but If he's not in your list of affiliates that's a technical problem right? Sort that and you'll be able to remove him at the same time.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146693].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
    What am I missing here...

    Originally Posted by Matt Lee View Post

    I have a PLR magazine that I've been promoting on JVzoo. Last week a new affiliate requested to promote it, and I thought nothing of it because he had over 50 sales already so I gave him instant commissions. (yes, my bad)

    It's not normal for me to get refunds, I think there's only been 2 or 3 with over 1000 sales so was immediately concerned when his first sale ends up as a dispute 2 days later.

    I went back to my jvzoo account and was going to ban the affiliate but when i went back to the transaction details, it only listed his name - and when i tried to find him in my list of affiliates he wasn't listed, which raises my suspicions even more.
    If it's only one sale it could be a coincidence, and not his fault, at all.

    But... how do you approve someone for instant commissions - if they are not already one of your affiliates? Surely he had to have been your affiliate for you to click the "approval" link in the first place????

    What is the best recourse I have at this point?
    You should probably contact jvZoo, fill them in on what happened, and see if they can explain how.
    Signature

    Sid Hale
    Coming Soon... Rapid Action Profits (Pro)

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146756].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Matt Lee
      Originally Posted by Sid Hale View Post

      What am I missing here...



      If it's only one sale it could be a coincidence, and not his fault, at all.

      But... how do you approve someone for instant commissions - if they are not already one of your affiliates? Surely he had to have been your affiliate for you to click the "approval" link in the first place????



      You should probably contact jvZoo, fill them in on what happened, and see if they can explain how.
      Hey Sid,

      You're right, it may be legit, the affiliate did have have around 50 sales, so it may in fact be legit. I'm still waiting to hear back from JVzoo, but some of this smells really fishy - the fact that it's his first sale, and he didn't sell the main product, rather just the OTO.

      I did find the PayPal transaction I paid the commission to, and the account that i paid commission to didn't' match the same name as the affiliate either.

      Both the buyers and the affiliates pp account are not verified either. Is there someplace where you can report or view banned affiliates? I know that I've read a thread here on the WF about something like this, where the product seller proved his case to paypal, and disputed the commissions he paid out and won, but I've searched for about 45 minutes and can't find it.
      Signature
      "One of the Most Successful Offline WSO's Ever!
      Get More High $$$ Clients with this Small Business Marketing PLR Magazine
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146879].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
      ???

      Originally Posted by Matt Lee View Post

      You're right, it may be legit, the affiliate did have have around 50 sales, so it may in fact be legit. I'm still waiting to hear back from JVzoo, but some of this smells really fishy - the fact that it's his first sale, and he didn't sell the main product, rather just the OTO.
      So 1 refund out of 50 referrals isn't really so bad, right? Since it was his first sale, maybe that was just him testing his affiliate link.

      But... the OTO is the back end of your funnel, right? Can he even get access to his affiliate link for the OTO? If so, why? I wouldn't think that affiliates would be able to promote just the back end offer unless there's some sort of "back door" work around in the jvZoo system or you've set that offer up as an exit offer.

      I did find the PayPal transaction I paid the commission to, and the account that i paid commission to didn't' match the same name as the affiliate either.
      Odd - but not really that uncommon. The name he used to join jvZoo could be totally bogus and not match his Paypal account name.

      Both the buyers and the affiliates pp account are not verified either.
      Since you mentioned that his Paypal account is not verified - that name could be bogus as well. Unverified Paypal accounts are essentially just email addresses and we all know those are often throwaways.

      As for the buyers Paypal account... it may not (and may never have) existed at all. If you allow credit card purchases, there is no need for the buyer to have a Paypal account at all.


      I still keep coming back to this...
      Originally Posted by Sid Hale View Post

      But... how do you approve someone for instant commissions - if they are not already one of your affiliates? Surely he had to have been your affiliate for you to click the "approval" link in the first place????
      Signature

      Sid Hale
      Coming Soon... Rapid Action Profits (Pro)

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10147774].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Matt Lee
        Originally Posted by Sid Hale View Post


        I still keep coming back to this...

        But... how do you approve someone for instant commissions - if they are not already one of your affiliates? Surely he had to have been your affiliate for you to click the "approval" link in the first place????
        Yeah I totally did approve him and give him instant payments (like a dumb@ss) but he did have 50 sales, so I thought I was in the clear. But then when i tried to find him in my affiliates I couldn't find him by the same name he used that's on the jvzoo transaction report automatically sent after a sale. I did end up finding him, and changed his status to denied. A bunch of this stuff just smells bad to me, I'm just fortunate he didn't do more than a couple transactions.

        I'm just wondering if I have any chance of winning the dispute since the buyer hasn't responded to any of my inquires about the dispute.
        Signature
        "One of the Most Successful Offline WSO's Ever!
        Get More High $$$ Clients with this Small Business Marketing PLR Magazine
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10147901].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kazim
    It seems to me that you have been scammed. I don't think they are going to response.
    Signature
    Increase Profit From Your Website Up to 107%
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10146771].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Brad Gosse
    Yeah affiliates like this run stolen cards to get instant payouts and liquidate their paypal account before you can refund.

    That's why instant payouts are for known trusted affiliates only. Anyone like that demanding instant is up to something bad.
    Signature
    Free Clip Art
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10147592].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Matt Lee
      Originally Posted by Brad Gosse View Post

      Yeah affiliates like this run stolen cards to get instant payouts and liquidate their paypal account before you can refund.

      That's why instant payouts are for known trusted affiliates only. Anyone like that demanding instant is up to something bad.
      Thanks Brad, yeah I hear that loud and clear - especially now. On a side note - I gave PayPal a call and explained what happened, and my support rep rocked.

      Like most of us already know, sellers have zero protection on digital products so I'll most likely loose the charge back dispute - but my rep credited me back for my commission $38.50 that I paid out on the sale. It's not about the money, it's the gesture that I appreciated. So instead of paying for this transaction, at most I"ll just have to forfeit the sale. Which is better than nothing!

      Oh, and for those of you who don't know yet, July 1st PayPal updated their policy on their digital products and non-tangible products. It's not perfect, but it's better than what they had in place before and at least now you have a shot at winning disputes.
      Signature
      "One of the Most Successful Offline WSO's Ever!
      Get More High $$$ Clients with this Small Business Marketing PLR Magazine
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10148256].message }}

Trending Topics