Is it ethical to buy affiliate products through your own affiliate link?

13 years ago

Does the affiliate network allow it? That's the bigger question. Some will not and doing so could result in your account being banned.

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Thomas Michal

13 years ago

Read the TOS for the site. If it's clickbank I believe thats fine, but I'd still read the terms

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entrepreneurjay

13 years ago

It is not ethical in my opinion I wish Clickbank would make it against their terms of service to tell you the truth.

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BillyPilgrim

13 years ago

Why ask a board of total strangers about YOUR ethics?

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Dan C. Rinnert 13 years ago

Originally Posted by BillyPilgrim

Why ask a board of total strangers about YOUR ethics?

Not everyone here is strange.
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- damongreene 13 years ago
  
  I would say depends on the TOS. And also WHY and HOW OFTEN you are buying from your link. If you become an affiliate to simply save a few bucks on the software.. that is kinda suspect. But if you actually make sales I dont see anything wrong with saving a few bucks.
  
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jasonmorgan

13 years ago

Not everyone here is strange.

Speak for yourself.

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Diane S

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iva

Just wanted to know what Warriors think about it. Is it acceptable? Please share your thoughts. Thanks.

Ethical and acceptable are often not the same.

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myob 13 years ago

If it's acceptable, would it be more ethical to give a stranger your earnings?
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- CrhisD 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by myob
  
  If it's acceptable, would it be more ethical to give a stranger your earnings?
  
  It's strange, but people do that all the time. Weird but true
  
  Thanks
  
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Darla

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iva

Just wanted to know what Warriors think about it. Is it acceptable? Please share your thoughts. Thanks.

I would say "no", but if its not against the TOS its up to your discretion. I would think that most sites would have clearly stated rules against this though, so if its not stated explicitly that is IS acceptable, you should presume that its not.

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Owen Smith

13 years ago

I have heard of others doing this and the result is gaining nothing into their account.

I dont think clickbank will have missed this! I am sure they must have a cookie on your PC, that remembers your PC and IP so what ever you do, it will result back to any account you have.

Regards
Owen

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CDarklock

13 years ago

The question isn't whether it's allowed, but whether it's ethical.

These are two different questions.

It's ethical to sell an MRR product, but in the WSO forum, it's not allowed.

Similarly, while it is (in my opinion) ethical to buy through your own affiliate link, on many affiliate networks this is not allowed.

And while it is allowed for someone to own two businesses, with one buying through the other's affiliate link, it is not (in my opinion) ethical to do so.

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iva

13 years ago

I guess, the title and the post were a bit discordant. I did indeed want to know opinion on whether it considered to be ethical and O.K. thing to do or not. Thanks.

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Owen Smith

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iva

I guess, the title and the post were a bit discordant. I did indeed want to know opinion on whether it considered to be ethical and O.K. thing to do or not. Thanks.

Ethics are created on an individual basis, it is your ethical principles not ours.

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CDarklock

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

Ethics are created on an individual basis, it is your ethical principles not ours.

That's morals you're thinking of. Ethics are established by general consensus within a community.

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Owen Smith

13 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

That's morals you're thinking of. Ethics are established by general consensus within a community.

It depends on which comminuty you are within and their ethics, so in this point it boils down to a cross between ethics and morals.

But based on this community, I suppose othes are allowed to earn through affiliate links, so why cant you through your own link.

Regards
Owen

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CDarklock

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

It depends on which comminuty you are within and their ethics

Yes, but ethics by definition are not entirely up to the individual. You cannot define your own personal ethics; they are defined by the consensus of a community, NOT by a single authority.

For example, we here at the Warrior Forum view backlinks differently than the folks at other forums do. Our ethics regarding backlinks are not the same ones you will find at those other forums. But Allen Says cannot come into the forum and say "these are the ethics of backlinks in this community." The policy regarding backlinks in this forum can be changed by Allen, but the ethics are not subject to his authority or anyone else's. They may be observed, but not controlled.

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iva

13 years ago

That's a great answer, it's more like an ethical code of the community. Thank you very much! I just wanted to know whether most Warriors are O.K. with it. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by CDarklock

Yes, but ethics by definition are not entirely up to the individual. You cannot define your own personal ethics; they are defined by the consensus of a community, NOT by a single authority.

For example, we here at the Warrior Forum view backlinks differently than the folks at other forums do. Our ethics regarding backlinks are not the same ones you will find at those other forums. But Allen Says cannot come into the forum and say "these are the ethics of backlinks in this community." The policy regarding backlinks in this forum can be changed by Allen, but the ethics are not subject to his authority or anyone else's. They may be observed, but not controlled.

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Gary King

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iva

I just wanted to know whether most Warriors are O.K. with it.

Why?

If you're going to do it, then it rests on your shoulders as to whether you think it's OK, along with the potential consequences if the affiliate network or the product owner doesn't allow it.

Have a great day!

Gary

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tpw

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Gary King

Why?

If you're going to do it, then it rests on your shoulders as to whether you think it's OK, along with the potential consequences if the affiliate network or the product owner doesn't allow it.

Have a great day!

Gary

There you go...

When it is your business on the line, you should know YOURSELF whether it is something that could get you in trouble or not.

If it is against the terms of the affiliate network, and someone here tells you it is okay, who are you going to listen to?

Are you going to listen to the guy in the forum and use that as an argument to suggest that is a reason you should not be banned?

Good luck with that approach...

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John Lenaghan 13 years ago

In my opinion, it depends.

First, what's the purpose for buying it? If you're buying it to review it before promoting it as an affiliate, I don't think there's anything wrong with using your own affiliate link to do so. So that would be ethical (IMO).

If you're buying it for your own consumption, the ethics become a little murkier.

If you happened upon it out of the blue, with no recommendations from anyone, I've got mixed feelings about using your own link to buy it. The vendor is obviously willing to give up a percentage of the sale price to affiliates, but should he/she be forced to do so when there was really no affiliate involved?

I don't think so, and I don't use my own link in cases like this.

If you found it because of someone else's recommendation, I think it's unethical to use your own affiliate link instead of theirs. You wouldn't have found it without their recommendation, so they deserve to get paid for the work they did.

John
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tandren544

13 years ago

Definitely ethical, why not? You are helping affiliate networks sell their products, and in a way you are getting a discount for being a preferred customer.

On the other hand, it might not be allowed in your specific affiliate network, so be careful.

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neodarth

13 years ago

Clickbank is not entirely OK with this, If you want to buy trhough your own affiliate link, you must be sure to have sales from other people as well...

Is this ethic? I don't know is such a gray line...

Extracted from Accounting Policy - ClickBank

"Customer Distribution RequirementClickBank will withhold payment of any account balance until the following criteria is met:

Sales made with 5 or more different credit card numbers; and,
Sales made with two different payment methods (either Visa, MasterCard, PayPal or European Direct Debit(ELV)). Note: PayPal purchases do not count toward the minimum 5 different credit card numbers.

This requirement is in place to help prevent Affiliates from abusing the ClickBank Affiliate program by using their accounts for the sole purpose of fraudulently collecting rebates and/or discounts on their own purchases."

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StephanieMojica

13 years ago

If you're planning to promote it to your list or by other means and the network allows it, then I think its ethical.

If you're trying to save a few bucks or "steal" someone else's commission (the person who recommended the product to you) then that's not ethical at all IMHO.

Stephanie

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Owen Smith

13 years ago

Originally Posted by StephanieMojica

If you're planning to promote it to your list or by other means and the network allows it, then I think its ethical.

If you're trying to save a few bucks or "steal" someone else's commission (the person who recommended the product to you) then that's not ethical at all IMHO.

Stephanie

I have to disagree, 90% of their sales woudl be indirect and through an affiliate anyway, why can an affiliate not signup as an affiliate. If his friend refered him through his link, the owner wiould still lose the same amount in commision.

Regards
Owen

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Robert Puddy

13 years ago

if i am sent an email promoting a product and i decide to buy it, i will always use the affiliate link sent to me in the email

If i search out a product on my own and it was on clickbank then i would be inclined to buy it with my own aff id

Though if it wasnt clickbank i wouldnt feel the need to join an affiliate program just to get the discount.

buying through your own id in the first example is not exceptable in my opinion

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Lucas Adamski

13 years ago

Some vendors actually endorse doing so, mostly in IM, so it's really depends.

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profit-systemx

13 years ago

Hi everyone, i bought a product through my Affiliate link once ( about three months ago) i wanted to see if my links where actually working as i had not had a sale in ages, i actually thought someone was stealing my commissions, i bought it, got the credit for the sale and then i asked for a refund as i didn't really want the product. Obviously, my commission was taken back ( as expected) and i never got found it, i wouldn't recommend this as it is against Policy and yes, you can get banned. I was just desperate to know if my links where working properly. Thank the lord i'm making more sales now as who knows, i'd have carried on testing them ha ha.

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sarahberra

13 years ago

I think it depends. Sometimes I buy through my own link, but sometimes I don't. I have heard about Micro Niche Finder on this forum, but I've never taken the time to read the sales page. I plan on buying it through my own link. However, if I watch a detailed video or read a long blog post aobut a product I will buy through the sellers link. The guilt kicks in.

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davidmeeonline 13 years ago

To me it's the same as owning a pet store. Would you buy your own dog from someone elses store, or from yourself?

If you owned a car yard. Would you buy your new car from someone else or from your own yard?

IM products are the same thing IMHO!

Clickbank don't mind, as long as you are actually selling to other people as well, they simply won't give you the money until you make 5 or more sales to other people.
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- Young Samurai 13 years ago
  
  Does anyone know what Amazon's view is?
  
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  cbrauer 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Young Samurai
  
  Does anyone know what Amazon's view is?
  
  Amazon will not pay you when you buy from yourself.
  
  Clickbank frowns on it very highly.
  
  Paydotcom will cancel your account.
  
  Not sure about others.
  
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  iva 13 years ago
  
  Thanks for everyone who commented.
  
  Looks like a mix of responses. Let's keep it going and I'll post a summary of the opinions when there are enough posts.
  
  Thanks
  
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Raja Kamil

13 years ago

I guess it's depend on you.
You can check the most accurate answer I found on Wiki

Ethics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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tpw

13 years ago

Originally Posted by iva

Edit1: I am more interested whether it is considered to be ethical or not. I did realize "acceptable" is not a right word in this post. Thanks.

Put yourself in the sellers' shoes.

Would it be acceptable or ethical for you to sign up as an affiliate, just so you could get the discount?

Once you answer that question, then all other opinions are mute.

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iva

13 years ago

I am not thinking about a discount here, I would never sign up as an affiliate just for that reason. I am more interested to understand other people's view on this issue. I realize that everybody's choice is a personal point of view.

Originally Posted by tpw

Put yourself in the sellers' shoes.

Would it be acceptable or ethical for you to sign up as an affiliate, just so you could get the discount?

Once you answer that question, then all other opinions are mute.

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davda202

13 years ago

to me, it is ethical to buy from the site that you are an affiliate with. at least clickbank does this and so should the others do it because affiliate promoting a product might want to buy the product so as to be able to effectively promote it.

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Palusko

13 years ago

If it is allowed, consider it a perk and enjoy it. If it is not, consider it a rule and follow it.

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BillyPilgrim 13 years ago

Ethical, Shmethical. I have children to feed.
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Is it ethical to buy affiliate products through your own affiliate link?

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