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CPA large minimum payment? Scam or legit?

by Lyanna
8 replies
Hey guys, I need some advice. I joined my first affiliate program three days ago. It's something I know a lot about so it was really easy for me to make 3 simple videos for one product.

Today I logged into my affiliate stats page and there were 2 signs ups which was.

3 videos, 152 views total, 17 clickthroughs, 2 conversions worth 1.07 euros (my first sales, ever! yay!)

Now, the next thing should be to ramp up my efforts and make money, right? But now I noticed some strange things.

- I was automatically accepted into the program. There was like no review, I filled in a form and I got my accepted right away. Is this even normal?

- I got the list of offers in a pdf file. The product I was promoting has payments of 1, 0.85, 0.90 in euros and 1.50 USD depending on the offer. Now I just don't see that the numbers add up correctly. Two signups but the payment is 1.07 euros? Erm, how?

- Most alarming is that they have a very high minimum payment - 200 euros. Their FAQ states that they will not pay if the affiliate does not reach this minimum amount. That's 284 USD/200 euros and their offers are only a few cents each. So I have to make 800+ sales before they even deign to pay me?

Is this a scam? Should I just stop my efforts and find another CPA network?
#cpa #large #legit #minimum #payment #scam
  • Profile picture of the author BacklinkExcellence
    Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

    - I was automatically accepted into the program. There was like no review, I filled in a form and I got my accepted right away. Is this even normal?
    Yes, there are lots of autoapprove programs out there, nothing to worry about.
    Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

    - I got the list of offers in a pdf file. The product I was promoting has payments of 1, 0.85, 0.90 in euros and 1.50 USD depending on the offer. Now I just don't see that the numbers add up correctly. Two signups but the payment is 1.07 euros? Erm, how?
    List of offers in a pdf file? Usually you should just see them in your network. Regarding the payment, you should contact your account manager and if you don't have one, the network itself. None of us will be able to tell you unless you reveal which program you use and maybe other people that have been affiliates there can give you more suggestions. It's never a wrong idea though to contact your aff manager/network.
    Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

    - Most alarming is that they have a very high minimum payment - 200 euros. Their FAQ states that they will not pay if the affiliate does not reach this minimum amount. That's 284 USD/200 euros and their offers are only a few cents each. So I have to make 800+ sales before they even deign to pay me?
    Payment tresholds are absolutely normal. It would be a mess for their accounting department, especially for low paying offers like that, to pay out every $10 or so. This is no scam but since you say they state this in their FAQ you should have thought about it before signing up.
    Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

    Is this a scam? Should I just stop my efforts and find another CPA network?
    I doubt it is a scam. Which network is this? If you think you won't be able to hit the 200€ payment treshold in any considerable amount of time you should look for other ventures.

    Check out offervault. Since you say you know a lot about your niche, just do a search there or similar sites for your niche keywords and see what kind of offers come up.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
      Originally Posted by BacklinkExcellence View Post

      Regarding the payment, you should contact your account manager and if you don't have one, the network itself.
      But why would I need to contact the network, if they say its $1.50 USD then it should be $3 USD for two sign ups. I'm not sure I want to partner with a network that has weird and changing offers.

      Payment tresholds are absolutely normal. It would be a mess for their accounting department, especially for low paying offers like that, to pay out every $10 or so.
      Okay, thanks. I realize they won't pay $1 per week but I am asking why he threshold is so high. I googled the other CPA networks and their minimum is like $50-100. I have not seen any $300 min and considering their payment is a only a few cents per person.

      I doubt it is a scam. Which network is this?
      I am not comfortable posting the name in public. I will if they can't explain the numbers but not yet.

      If you think you won't be able to hit the 200€ payment treshold in any considerable amount of time you should look for other ventures
      Hmmm yes that is the thing. I may be able to hit it if I work on the offers more but if its a scam then that's wasted time and effort.

      Would it be possible to ask for better payment terms? I could call my affiliate manager but this might be considered um newbie or something... please advise me. I think $50 is a reasonable enough payment threshold or even $100 but almost $300 s a bit much since the offers are cheap.

      It doesn't hurt to Google. If it is "scammy", I'm sure there will be plenty of negative reviews, complaints, etc.
      There is nothing about them except for their website and some basic links.
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      • Profile picture of the author BacklinkExcellence
        Lyanna,

        That's what an account manager is for, to help you with any kind of questions you might have. So it is not "newbie" to contact him and you should definitely do that when you see that your numbers don't add up (like that seems to be the case for your conversions).

        Asking for lowering the payment threshold is always worth a try and you have to ask yourself if you rather want to stick to your pride (because you could be considered newbie) or just ask him to work something out. If your AM says "no" you haven't lost anything but automatically by himself he won't set your threshold lower.

        If a google search didn't turn up any kind of results for their reputation, take their URL and do a whois lookup. If it's just been registered a while ago it means the network is new and could be a fly-by-night scheme (especially with a high payment treshold). Also see if any names or registrant info shows up so you can research further. We won't be able to help you as long as you don't tell us the name (perfectly understandable).

        If you know that other networks are around with a lower threshold, why not work with those first and see how you're doing? Better than working for $300 and not being sure if your work was wasted or not.

        Ask your AM to lower the threshold (I encourage you to do that). If he wants to know why you can always tell him something like "I think the offers don't pay a lot and it is going to take me a while to reach the threshold. I just want to make sure I'm getting paid so if you can't change the payment terms, I'll have to see what other networks have to offer."

        That will usually get them going and you're not directly saying "I'm leaving you in case you don't lower it".

        Hope that helps.
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        • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
          Thank you very much for the advice. I'm new to this so I am not sure what the deal is yet.

          P.S. I just made another sale, now the total is 1.57 euros. Wow, I am glad I found a niche I know about and can make money on! I am super excited. The numbers still don't add up but I will call my AM on Monday. I don't want to bother him during the weekend.

          Originally Posted by BacklinkExcellence View Post

          Lyanna,

          That's what an account manager is for, to help you with any kind of questions you might have. So it is not "newbie" to contact him and you should definitely do that when you see that your numbers don't add up (like that seems to be the case for your conversions).

          Asking for lowering the payment threshold is always worth a try and you have to ask yourself if you rather want to stick to your pride (because you could be considered newbie) or just ask him to work something out. If your AM says "no" you haven't lost anything but automatically by himself he won't set your threshold lower.

          If a google search didn't turn up any kind of results for their reputation, take their URL and do a whois lookup. If it's just been registered a while ago it means the network is new and could be a fly-by-night scheme (especially with a high payment treshold). Also see if any names or registrant info shows up so you can research further. We won't be able to help you as long as you don't tell us the name (perfectly understandable).

          If you know that other networks are around with a lower threshold, why not work with those first and see how you're doing? Better than working for $300 and not being sure if your work was wasted or not.

          Ask your AM to lower the threshold (I encourage you to do that). If he wants to know why you can always tell him something like "I think the offers don't pay a lot and it is going to take me a while to reach the threshold. I just want to make sure I'm getting paid so if you can't change the payment terms, I'll have to see what other networks have to offer."

          That will usually get them going and you're not directly saying "I'm leaving you in case you don't lower it".

          Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChadOath
    It doesn't hurt to Google. If it is "scammy", I'm sure there will be plenty of negative reviews, complaints, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author O0o0O
    You're probably getting those low numbers because the subscribers are not coming from the Big 3 - USA, CA and UK. Any other countries, your CPA lowers to only a few cents.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
      Originally Posted by O0o0O View Post

      You're probably getting those low numbers because the subscribers are not coming from the Big 3 - USA, CA and UK. Any other countries, your CPA lowers to only a few cents.
      That could be it, I guess.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
    Update: Yes! My AM has agreed to lower the minimum. It will still take at least two months to get the first payment but that is fine.

    He also explained that the affiliates only receive 50% and not the entire amount given in the offers list. Is this the normal practice?
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