It's F the affiliate time: Thanks HostGator. NOT!

Yes, quite right Joe, it's (now?) there in black and white ...
Web Hosting Services, Reseller Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Servers by HostGator

Well, you really have no right to cherry pick like that and it IS pretty dumb. SOME BIG affiliates have laundered money, and the seller ends up in trouble.

Some TINY affiliates end up taking off.

Heck, it is like buying a stock. some stocks go sky high, people buy, and lose their shirts. Some drop a LOT, or seem stagnant, and suddenly take off.

Steve

Good for you. I can see a CERTAIN justification for wanting to deny affiliate commissions if the company feels that people are abusing the affiliate program by buying hosting for themselves through their affiliate program (yes, I've seen this done...)...which is why I suspect BH/HM states that in their terms as such.

IOW, I'm guessing they put that in their terms to have some discretion in scrubbing commissions. (Ah, just saw the other comments above that indicate that.) I have no problem with them wanting to scrub commissions...but to make it universal, eh, maybe not so much.

My business isn't primarily as an affiliate marketer -- but I do like to get compensated for recommending services and products when I do so. It helps (as I mention below) me to provide services to my clients at a more affordable rate. But not all of my clients are people who need new hosting.

So, in all seriousness ... how MANY times do you think people gain an affiliate commission for themselves in this way? I mean, how many hosting accounts does a person need?

I recently sent someone (just in the last two weeks) to HG both because they have a feature I appreciate -- and also because it was a partial compensation for work that I did for them. Now, I will unlikely see that. That was well over half my compensation (which had already been discounted to begin with)...but it was a win/win ... he didn't have to pay me more, and I got him on what I felt was a better hosting arrangement for him.

As for clickbank....yeah, I remember asking a client of mine to not pay with PayPal but with a credit card so I could get my money (after CB cancelled my previous account for lack of activity. For some reason, a few years later, they sent me some $500+ for affiliate commissions earned on that account. So much for lack of activity.)

Live JoyFully!

Judy

P.S. I happily paid for my own HG account, without wanting a commission rebate. But why punish honest folks along with the systems gamers. The system gamers will figure out some other way to game the system.

That's certainly how I read it - just a way of preventing people from "earning their own commission" on a single sale, by effectively having a requirement for two sales in 6-7 months to be paid the commission: is that so unreasonable? Maybe they could have worded it better/differently, to avoid people thinking it looks "shabby" when it perhaps isn't, really?

(It's really easy to cause resentment over the wording of clauses like this. Just look at the huge numbers of people who are convinced that ClickBank's trying to screw them out of their commissions just because of the Customer Distribution Requirement which - ironically! - actually exists in order to protect affiliates from others trying to steal their commissions and without which ClickBank's whole system wouldn't work.)

It matters how you explain these things to people.

Yeah, or find a good service with a good affiliate program. HG is scrubbing affiliates too much.

I have, Will ... often, and completely without compensation. Which makes me rue the fact they are removing the opportunity for the few commissions that I actively try to get. I can't count on them. That means I can't cut a better deal for my clients because I can't rely on it. And I will definitely seriously look at any provider I consider promoting in the future -- don't worry, I won't flake on that! That's part of my whole point, after all. I don't want to be pressured into HAVING to make another sale.

But...they have recently (in the last year) been sold...so I suspect there are also management changes going on, and this may just be the tip of the iceberg.

While they are a hosting company I've recommended, there are OTHER hosting providers out there (for instance, the multiply-mentioned BH/HM.) that I think provide good service as well.

They are making it easy for me to consider the options. And a little competition probably would help keep HG trying to provide better service, rather than being so big that they can mess with people and not worry too much.

Point is ... they've been quite viable in the past without having to do this.

@Alexa -- while I have 3 different hosting accounts...I'll emphasize the DIFFERENT...they are on 3 different hosting platforms. Yes, it's probably a good idea to have multiple hosting accounts...but on DIFFERENT platforms. (And most of my clients come from referrals anyway...if they look at my webpage at all, it's usually AFTER we're in contact -- meaning, I'm not a intensive user of hosting. However, I have had hosting accounts for over 10 years.)

And let's not forget ... once I bring a client to HostGator, I get ONE commission -- whether they sign up for a year, or two years or more; whether they sign up for the lowest paid plan, or go all out for a dedicated server ... SAME commission.

Read a little bit more about how I conduct business, and you'll see that, since my main purpose in life is NOT as an affiliate marketer, that doesn't work for me. Again, I do not want to feel like I'm being FORCED into making a sale. I do not want people who I recommend services to think that I am doing so because I *MUST*. It kinda ruins one's stance as a "trusted advisor" ... granted, I may not make a LOT of commissions...however, I probably make OTHER affiliates a lot more money because I bring an additional level of credence to the products I promote.

Thanks for the head's up. I knew HG had changed hands, and that the buyer didn't have a great rep when it came to things you mention above. I didn't realize that BH/HM were owned by the same company. Looks like a little monopoly action going on here ...

I was also recently asked about SiteLock, which I *thought* had been owned by the LifeLock folks (not a sterling recommendation on its own) ... so, hadn't recommended them (as of yet) ... doesn't look like I will be doing so, either.

Thanks again.

Yeah, this is popular with a LOT of hosts! some IDIOT figures they can be a host so they buy a company and basically people get paid less, there may be fewer of them, they hire people that can barely speak the native language and know NOTHING about the subject to do tech support, etc....

There is a GREAT disparity of information and more are trying to do things on the periphery of their skill set, so people need more techsupport and yet LESS is available.

HECK, I had the same problem with comcast when they took over from @home. I have seen several webhosts degrade.

Steve

LOL. What people don't understand is that Hostgator, is now owned by the same exact company that owns BlueHost and iPage.

I have an affiliate banner on one of my blogs(50% never clear), but for my actual clients, there is no reason to not host them yourselves and collect payment monthly or yearly using a reseller.