Are they stealing my commissions?

[KatyaSenina]

How can I make sure that I will get my commissions? Is there a way to check it?

Right now I'm using Pretty Link to cloak my affiliate links, but I've noticed that when I click on my cloaked affiliatelink, it shows my affiliatelink for a sec in the browser and then it lands on the actual url of the merchants landing page, without my affiliatelink still showing.

I thought that was normal, until I've read a thread on stealing commissions and how cloaking links can cause you to lose your commission. Someone mentioned in a thread that when the affiliate link provides redirects, logs the cookie, and then lands on the actual url landing page of the merchant's site without your affiliate link still showing, it could be very well that I'm losing commissions.

Is that true?

I don't think it has something to do with Pretty Link. I did a test and removed a few cloaked links and replaced them by those ugly affiliate links and the same thing happens.

Am I stressing over nothing or are they really stealing my commissions?

[RobinSkeen]

Try using the "buy" button on the site after you click your affiliate link. At the very bottom is should say affiliate = youraffiliateID. I do that whenever I set up a new affiliate page just to make sure it's working properly. You don't actually have to buy the item to see that your affiliate ID is there.

[SageSound]

You need to be more specific.

In general, the affID is used to drop the cookie. Once the cookie has been dropped, there's no real need for the affID.

Since different affiliate scripts use different ways to signify the affiliate, if it's left in the URL then that gives some clues to anybody who might want to hijack it.

@Robin - you're assuming Katya was talking about Clickbank. She didn't say.

-David

[seasoned]

KatyaSenina,

Based on the method you use to cloak, the programming of the URL you call, and the visitors browser settings, your affiliate code CAN be dropped! FOR EXAMPLE, if the cloak uses iframe, and the URL doesn't have P3P, and.or the visitors browser doesn't allow 3rd party cookies, and the url doesn't provide for IP tracking, you JUST LOST A SALE! If ALL that is true, but they DO provide for IP tracking, and the customer takes 45 minutes to buy, you probably lost the sale anyway.

Steve

[Catalyst eMarketing]

I don't think the type of affiliate commission stealing where they replace your affiliate id with theirs is really all that common except with make money online products or mainly with CB links.

Link cloaking won't really help with the biggest form of commission theft which is
CPV (PPV) (Cost per view or pay per view). This problem happens when affiliates
use adware to target other affiliate's sites and steal their commission.

Look at the "Ad Networks - CPA, CPM, CPL - Millionaire Makers" forum
and see how many affiliates here at Wicked Fire are talking about and using CPV.
I'm not saying all of them are purposely trying to steal your commission but many of them do, for sure.