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Clickbank's New Policy

by Sangfroid
27 replies
Hi Guys,

I got put on the "Yellow" list for Clickbank because I had one
Refund. I am new and therefore have had just a few sales.

What do you guys thinks about the additional fees? I think it
smells like something that Google would do?

Be Well
Sangfroid
#clickbank #policy
  • Profile picture of the author JohnPeters1983
    If You're NOT making money they're NOT either.
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    • Profile picture of the author talfighel
      Originally Posted by JohnPeters1983 View Post

      If You're NOT making money they're NOT either.
      I don't think that it is OK for them to start charging additional fees to those affiliates and even vendors who are not making any money or sales.

      They are doing pretty good from many niche sales that are probably grossing in the $100's of $$millions$$ per year.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
        Originally Posted by talfighel View Post

        I don't think that it is OK for them to start charging additional fees to those affiliates and even vendors who are not making any money or sales.

        They are doing pretty good from many niche sales that are probably grossing in the $100's of $$$ per year.
        Hi talfighel,

        I signed up with JVzoo and am a member of EWA. Do you have an opinion
        on these networks? Or do you have another that you like?

        Regards
        Sangfroid
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  • Profile picture of the author glhorsegal
    It depends on your niche if Clickbank will work for you or not. Sadly, it does not work for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author GarrieWilson
    I was on green with one account then the next day, yellow. That account had no additional activity.

    *shrugs*

    -g
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    • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
      Originally Posted by GarrieWilson View Post

      I was on green with one account then the next day, yellow. That account had no additional activity.

      *shrugs*

      -g
      Hi Garrie,

      Welcome to the Yellow Club. I don't like it................

      Regards
      Sangfroid
      Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author tjaysen70
    yeah I think that cb new rating is totally lame. It's another way of charging more fees to the vendor, that's all.
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  • Profile picture of the author TiffTips
    I'm not a fan of this. I'm considering leaving Clickbank alone, period. It is starting to look like Google. It seems they are getting prepared to only keep the top affiliate marketers.

    I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, because I've been experiencing all sorts of oddness lately.

    I'm sending more targeted traffic yet sales have went from daily to 1 sale every 7/8 or so days. When I do get a sale, strangely, I have ZERO order form server calls. The days I have order form servers calls, I do not receive even one sale.

    Back to your topic:

    The following is what my account states:

    Your account performance rating is: BLUE. Great work! Improving your refund and chargeback performance may elevate your account up to a VIOLET rating, which would lower chargeback fees.

    So, no problem, right? Wrong! I do not have any refunds and chargebacks, so if the above is correct, my account should be violet already. Go figure...
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    • Profile picture of the author wordwizard
      Here's something I haven't read in any of the recent Clickbank Policy Changes threads (though I might have missed the one that talked about it):

      I suspect that you would harm your rating if you refund items you bought through your own affiliate link!

      Which means you either will be stuck with duds you bought to check out for possible promotion, OR you have to buy them through someone else's link (or Clickbank's straight link) and pay full price if you aren't sure you'd want to keep the product.

      A related issue...

      If you want to cancel a recurring billing item, will that always count as a refund? Or only if you refund the last payment...

      That would be VERY important to know! Anyone have an idea?

      I guess that's another way for CB to reduce refunds and keep those recurring payments coming...
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      • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
        Originally Posted by wordwizard View Post

        Here's something I haven't read in any of the recent Clickbank Policy Changes threads (though I might have missed the one that talked about it):

        I suspect that you would harm your rating if you refund items you bought through your own affiliate link!

        Which means you either will be stuck with duds you bought to check out for possible promotion, OR you have to buy them through someone else's link (or Clickbank's straight link) and pay full price if you aren't sure you'd want to keep the product.



        A related issue...

        If you want to cancel a recurring billing item, will that always count as a refund? Or only if you refund the last payment...

        That would be VERY important to know! Anyone have an idea?

        I guess that's another way for CB to reduce refunds and keep those recurring payments coming...
        Hi wordwizard,

        Exactly what happened to me............I wanted to test a product for
        Currency Trading that was fairly expensive. The Tech Support was
        awful and I cancelled. That made a Yellow List Member because I am
        new.

        I also believe that a recurring Membership Cancellation will go against
        you too.

        Regards
        Sangfroid
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        • Profile picture of the author wordwizard
          Originally Posted by Sangfroid View Post

          Hi wordwizard,

          Exactly what happened to me............I wanted to test a product for
          Currency Trading that was fairly expensive. The Tech Support was
          awful and I cancelled. That made a Yellow List Member because I am
          new.

          I also believe that a recurring Membership Cancellation will go against
          you too.

          Regards
          Sangfroid
          Thanks, Sangfroid. Sorry to hear you got burned.

          I suppose if I want out of a membership I better do that now rather than after Jan 2 so I have a way to fix the blemish.

          And I better stop promoting membership sites... because they're basically guaranteed refund creators since most people don't stay with them forever.

          Sigh...
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          • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
            Originally Posted by wordwizard View Post

            If you want to cancel a recurring billing item, will that always count as a refund?
            Originally Posted by Sangfroid View Post

            I also believe that a recurring Membership Cancellation will go against you too.
            A cancellation is not a refund and will have no effect on your score.


            .
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          • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
            Originally Posted by wordwizard View Post

            Thanks, Sangfroid. Sorry to hear you got burned.

            I suppose if I want out of a membership I better do that now rather than after Jan 2 so I have a way to fix the blemish.

            And I better stop promoting membership sites... because they're basically guaranteed refund creators since most people don't stay with them forever.

            Sigh...
            Hi wordwizard,

            I dunno'.............Membership Sites are good. You could call Clickbank
            (800-390-6035) to make sure about Membership Sites. I was just
            reaching a logical conclusion but hopefully I am wrong!


            Be Well
            Sangfroid
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            • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
              Originally Posted by Sangfroid View Post

              I was just
              reaching a logical conclusion but hopefully I am wrong!
              It's actually illogical.

              When someone cancels a membership they are saying they do not want to purchase your product next month (period). It's no different from someone visiting a site and deciding not to purchase.

              .
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              • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
                Originally Posted by Harvey Segal View Post

                It's actually illogical.

                When someone cancels a membership they are saying they do not want to purchase your product next month (period). It's no different from someone visiting a site and deciding not to purchase.

                .
                Hi Harvey,

                Thanks for corrected my ILLOGICAL assertion.

                Be Well
                Don Berg
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  • Profile picture of the author TrafficBot
    I went from "Unacceptable" to "Borderline". Prior to this I fired off a missive to Clickbank support and they told me one way to improve my risk category was to increase sales. Amazing! Clickbank has been on a slow downward spiral over the past 6 months+. They took a major hit when Google's updates were executed on thin affiliate sites that were a huge source of their affiliate sales income. Add to this the crackdowns by the FTC over scammy sales letters and vendors, liberal refund policy(Clickbank's known as a place you can get free stuff now) and Clickbank's had to create a new business model: profits from refunds, chargebacks and account terminations(they keep the cash in your account as liquidated damages).
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
    I personally like the direction they're heading.

    Now maybe vendors will stop overselling their products and they'll actually take care of their customers.

    I don't think ClickBank will be unfair about it... I think they'll make adjustments.

    But a step in the right direction I think...
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    • Profile picture of the author Sangfroid
      Originally Posted by JasonParker View Post

      I personally like the direction they're heading.

      Now maybe vendors will stop overselling their products and they'll actually take care of their customers.

      I don't think ClickBank will be unfair about it... I think they'll make adjustments.

      But a step in the right direction I think...
      Hi Jason,

      Maybe Clickbank will be reasonable but this is like an Obama policy.

      I prefer less government not more.

      What does Charles think about this policy?

      Be Well
      Don Berg
      PS
      Thanks for the email referral of Devon Brown.
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      • Profile picture of the author myob
        To put some perspective into this for affiliates, my risk tier is currently "orange", most likely due to calculated risk factors of products and vendors. However, since my refunds are negligible (2 for the year), the risk of refund/chargeback exposure is minimal and will have no impact on marketing or product selection criteria.

        Refunds are simply the cost of doing business. As a successful marketer of over 300 Clickbank products, it seems to me reaction to this new policy is much ado about nothing. Effective insulating factors against high-risk products include using due diligence in selecting marketable products and sound marketing practices.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
    I find Clickbank hard to engage with. They just don't bother to reply to some messages. Didn't have so many issues in past years.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    I've stopped promoting most of their products as an affiliate 'cause I didn't think it was fair I was gonna get punished with additional charges etc.

    Shame really as I was making Clickbank multiple sales daily.

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author Hani D
    So, what if someone paid $1 for a 10 days trial then he canceled his subscription before the end of trial period, so does the affiliate get a commission for the trial order and does CB penalize the affiliate for cancelling the subscription and the commission will be charged back?
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Don't really care. I don't depend on Clickbank anymore and haven't in a long time.
      The few products I do sell have excellent refund rates (almost non existent) so
      I'm not worried.

      Tip - Stay away from selling "how to make money" crap on Clickbank. Stick to
      things like health and entertainment. You know, real products that actually do
      something.

      (Man am I gonna get a lotta slack for that one. )

      Point is, pick your products carefully and you'll be fine. My one account (my
      main one) is marked as Very Good.

      But like I said, I don't depend on Clickbank and if I make 4 sales a month through
      them, that's a lot.
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    • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
      Originally Posted by Profit Wizard View Post

      So, what if someone paid $1 for a 10 days trial then he canceled his subscription before the end of trial period, so does the affiliate get a commission for the trial order and does CB penalize the affiliate for cancelling the subscription and the commission will be charged back?
      There is no commission given on a one dollar trial

      .
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    If you're a vendor, you should still be happy despite the fees because you get a new customer that you can make backend money from for years to come... totally surpassing that small fee that Clickbank will charge you due to your "rating".
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