Clickbanks new terms... oh dear...

[askloz]

Looks like Clickbank is kicking in FTC regs'
=======
You will not offer, suggest or imply the availability of any rebates, coupons, tickets, vouchers or similar incentives to induce or encourage the purchase of a Product.
======

So that looks like we can't offer coupons, etc now.

BTW, new terms ya all need to agree to before loggin in.

[Taylor French]

Ouch. That's going to throw a monkey wrench into a lot of promotions.

[majidmaskat]

are the new terms going to affect sales ??

[Christophe Young]

Just saw the rules page when I logged in. I can't really tell which of them is new as I don't remember what all the rules were before.

[Emmanuel Betinis]

Nice catch, Loz.

This now eliminates one effective technique we can use to "stand out from the rest" and give the prospect a reason to buy from us instead of "the other guy" but on a positive note there are many other effective things we can do in order to stand out from the rest in order to make a sale as well.

[askloz]

Most of the stuff about FTC is new, and this coupon thing seems to be new too, cos I don't recall that being there before about creating incentives...

Looks like peeps are gonna have to come up with better marketing practices to entice peeps to pay.

I can't wait until my version of clickbank is ready, sod all this FTC crap, let them try and rule an Offshore company and our own Credit Clearing House

[jaggyjay]

I remember the wording about the rebates being there for some time. However, I'm not sure about the wording about "coupons, tickets, vouchers, or similar incentives".

Nonetheless, I don't think it's something to worry about. Unless you're actually using those things to push sales.

[stream2]

Does this include offering other free products included with the original product?
like giving away free ebooks?

[askloz]

Good question, cos that falls under "incentive"... gee, just like the FTC, CB are being just as vague...

I mean, for crying out loud, if we want to give them bonuses on top, why not? I just got back from the shops, guess what? Buy 1 get 1 free, now if that's not an incentive to buy, why not place those restrictions on the big stores? or any store for that matter.

hmm.

I might get in contact with CB to ask them to clarify on that.

Originally Posted by stream2

Does this include offering other free products included with the original product?
like giving away free ebooks?

[dlm]

people are making a really big deal out of the whole FTC issue...but it wont change anything for 99% of HONEST internet marketers...

[askloz]

so you're saying offering a discount, or a bonus are ppl who are dishonest? hmm.

[askloz]

Call the police

[Amitywill]

Actually Loz those terms have been in Clickbanks TOC for a long time.
So it has nothing to do with the new FTC rules.

Will

[Ashley Wright]

I knew it would be only time until clickbank brought about some new rules to do with the new FTC rules

[askloz]

Glad someone has a photographic memory

Originally Posted by Amitywill

Actually Loz those terms have been in Clickbanks TOC for a long time.
So it has nothing to do with the new FTC rules.

Will

So if those are the terms, why aren't they putting their terms into action then?

[Amitywill]

Originally Posted by askloz

Glad someone has a photographic memory



So if those are the terms, why aren't they putting their terms into action then?

Click bank are very lenient. They're not going to enforce those rules
unless they have to. I.e. someone 'grasses' on someone else and they
have no choice to enforce it to uphold their reputation.

Think about it. if they go banning all their affiliates for silly things like offering a
bonus they're not going to make any money.

Will

[Andrew Maule]

Anyone else notice you can no longer access the "old analytics" either? I can't find the link that used to be there, you have to use the "new analytics" now...

[samstephens]

Here's Clickbank's reply/clarification on the incentives from when this last popped up, back in March:

GuardHQ - Digital Sales Security for Internet Businesses Blog Archive Clarification on Clickbank’s New TOS

Hope this helps!

cheers
Sam

[askloz]

Cool that clears that up then Thx Sam

[Zach Booker]

So has anything else been added to their TOS? Or are they simply "reminding" everyone of what their TOS is?

Zach

[samstephens]

No worries, Loz!

I'm going to go login to my CB account soon, and check out the rest of the TOS!

cheers
Sam

[Frank Donovan]

Originally Posted by Ashley Wright

I knew it would be only time until clickbank brought about some new rules to do with the new FTC rules

Just to be clear..

There's nothing in the new FTC guidelines about rebates, coupons, tickets or similar incentives. This is simply a clarification of Clickbank's TOS.


Frank

[entrepreneurjay]

That is stupid rule, just making it harder to make sales. Not that it's not hard enough already in this bad economy. Old analytics is gone which really sucks. New analytics sucks, hop count is way off. My hop count is always about 3 times more than what it says on new analytics page. So now can't even get a good estimate of where, and how many hops im actually getting. Hoo Haaaw lol...

[SirHandsome]

they did add some stuff about the new FTC guidelines on testimonials under the promoting and selling sections of their revised contract, including a link to the new regulations

[AffiliateInABox1]

AskLoz: Did you notice any other significant differences other than that, between CB\'s prior agreement and current one?

[askloz]

only the FTC stuff, and the coupons, but Wiill corrected me on that, said it was there before (coupons).

Woulda been nice if CB itemed the areas they did change though.

Originally Posted by AffiliateInABox1

AskLoz: Did you notice any other significant differences other than that, between CB\'s prior agreement and current one?

[ed41143]

CB like all the other huge internet companies has gotten to big for its britches and knows it can set any rules it wants without any back lash, as they feel like they are the only game in town, lets hope that there are companies that come along that puts a stop and the hurt on all these, ruling class, style companies, or the net is headed the same direction that TV has gotten to, which is to expensive for the average joe to make a buck and basically is fixed, so that only the big "Corporations" have a chance of success.

Have you actually tried to get a loan from the SBA as an individual, that is, without a Masters Degree in whatever it is you are interested in starting your business up as?

No, probably not! Well, just check it out. Unless you have a degree or something to that effect, or are in one of the, so called "Protected Classes" good luck.

Just my 2 cents worth and my rant together.

[mikemcmillan]

The changes (clarifications) prohibit the use of vouchers, coupons, rebates, but do not--as I read them prohibit the use of bonuses such as ebooks or videos to encourage visitors to buy from you. Indeed, in the vendors "do's and don'ts" section it states...

Don’t offer bonuses of cash or cash equivalents (such as gift cards) for customers who purchase a product through your HopLink. This is not allowed in ClickBank’s Client Contract. You can, however, offer other types of bonuses, such as additional ebooks or related products, to customers who purchase through your HopLink.

So, as I see it, the zillions of affiliates who offer bonus ebooks to encourage visitors to buy through their links are not affected by this. --Mike

[Quentin]

Loz that is funny offshore to escape the FTC.

Maybe you won't be offering Credit Cards because a lot of this stuff comes from them.

Whoever underwrites you will expect many of the same things.

Q

[Pat Jackson]

Originally Posted by Andrew Maule

Anyone else notice you can no longer access the "old analytics" either? I can't find the link that used to be there, you have to use the "new analytics" now...

It's a good thing. The old analytics used to inflate my hops by about ten times what they actually were.

[admiral]

it will be interesting to see how the super affiliates get around the latest terms in cb.

[nichu89]

gonna affect in a bad way...?
hope it doesnt..

[Si_P]

Has anyone actually got a link to the FTC rulings??

[techinik]

This is IM world. Things changes every second.

[rajuthan]

what are the main points

[ramone_johnny]

Logging in on the master account doesnt show this new guideline.

[seasoned]

Last I knew, clickbank did NOT offer any

rebates <<<OBVIOUSLY a hit against affiliates doing something that isn't really supported

coupons
tickets , vouchers <<could be aliases for coupons or the SCAMS offered

or similar incentives <<< Remember what I said about the FTC codifying things? It is because of things that induce the necessity for THIS!

to induce or encourage the purchase of a Product. <<< FTC MISSION STATEMENT! This is the reason they exist!

Frankly, I don't see ANYTHING new here!

Steve

[samstephens]

I wonder if not allowing rebates, coupons or vouchers is a way to help stop money laundering?

If you think about it, it'd be a quick way to "clean" money....

cheers
Sam

[Tony Dean]

Originally Posted by samstephens

I wonder if not allowing rebates, coupons or vouchers is a way to help stop money laundering?

If you think about it, it'd be a quick way to "clean" money....

cheers
Sam

What a devious mind you've got!

[samstephens]

Originally Posted by Tony Dean

What a devious mind you've got!

Haha, sometimes I scare myself

[Rohit Shah]

I am lucky it didn't affect me that much.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Son: Mommy the sky is falling.

Mom: Shut up and eat your dinner

[Gary Smith]

The other fairly major point I saw in the TOS was that they prohibit you from using scans of their cheques. There are a lot of sales pages out there that use images of CB cheques as proof of income.

Mind you, the new FTC rules would, I suspect, prohibit you from displaying those cheques in any case, unless it's what your purchasers can all reasonably expect to see in their mailboxes.

[Paul Schlegel]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Son: Mommy the sky is falling.

Mom: Shut up and eat your dinner

Hmm. I'm not getting this one, Steven.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by markquinn

Hmm. I'm not getting this one, Steven.

Wagenheim humor...not every gets it.

[timpears]

So is this an attempt to stop affiliates from offering bonuses for buying through their link? That is what it looks like to me, the way I read this. But as far as I can tell, it also restricts the vendor from offering the bonuses that seem to be thrown in with almost all Clickbank products.

I am not a lawyer, and I don't even play one on TV. But that is what it looks like to me.

[Paul Schlegel]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Wagenheim humor...not every gets it.

LOL. Fair enough.