Clickbank Refunds Are Getting Ridiculous Lately!

14 years ago

Clickbank has, uhm, 12k-ish products....i dont think clickbank is the reason for refunds but rather the product.

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entrepreneurjay

14 years ago

Yeah I am well aware of how many products they have thank you. Maybe it is just my niche I am in the Internet marketing make money online niches. It just seems higher than normal lately in general.

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Margaret Arumugam 14 years ago

I'm seeing a couple refunds as well... but I'm also seeing an unusual number of niches where the sites themselves are no longer active.

It's like the person buys, but the product isn't delivered. I get a refund, and check to see what's wrong... I see the site is inactive (or barely loads) and the vendor is selling Amazon items there.

Of course, this is my own case, and yours would be different.
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kindsvater

14 years ago

Originally Posted by entrepreneurjay

I am in the Internet marketing make money online niches.

Clickbank refund rates for the make money online niche are notoriously ridiculous. Probably even worse now with the bad economy.

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Boricua

14 years ago

I'm releasing a product soon and this makes some us remind the realities.

A quickie...

In one of the bonus offers in your sales pitch, offer a free download to a $17-$47 product/software/service ONLY and ONLY after the dude/mam stays loyal for a minimum of 30 days. That even makes me think twice before swinging the refund mentality. Economy will keep being the same for a while longer, so this is to expect with common salesmanship indeed.

Will test this soon and see how this works on my next clickbank offer. Thxs

Good luck@

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TimG

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Boricua

I'm releasing a product soon and this makes some us remind the realities.

A quickie...

In one of the bonus offers in your sales pitch, offer a free download to a $17-$47 product/software/service ONLY and ONLY after the dude/mam stays loyal for a minimum of 30 days. That even makes me think twice before swinging the refund mentality. Economy will keep being the same for a while longer, so this is to expect with common salesmanship indeed.

Will test this soon and see how this works on my next clickbank offer. Thxs

Good luck@

I've seen this done quite a bit. A bonus offer is provided at the 30 day mark followed by a second bonus offered at the 60 day mark...believe the intent is to keep the refund rate low.

Tim

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Cash37

14 years ago

Originally Posted by entrepreneurjay

Yeah I am well aware of how many products they have thank you. Maybe it is just my niche I am in the Internet marketing make money online niches. It just seems higher than normal lately in general.

Well since it seems like you're selling IM products. Maybe that's why.

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TheNewGuy2010

14 years ago

A lot of IM stuff is crap, seriously. Who cares about testimonials.

I don't think people place a high value of IM ebooks. Especially crappy
ones.

I am sure people are buying the books and just asking for a refund because they can without any hassle. The downside of selling crap.......heck people do it for high value stuff. Selling ebooks is a Double Edged Sword.

Sure you only have to create 1 master copy and the rest get downloaded and that saves costs but damn; you gotta reduce refunds to make a profit. How many actual books do you think people return to Amazon?

Originally Posted by entrepreneurjay

Clickbank Refunds Are Getting Ridiculous Lately!

Anyone else experiencing higher than norm return rates? Are there any good alternatives where their is a low return rate, and good commissions? Looking for an alternative to Clickbank that I can add to my programs.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

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Roy Carter

14 years ago

Well, you will find that if you are promoting CB products as an affiliate in the IM niche and/or make money online niche that your refunds will be greater as unfortunately you are dealing with people who will often know that they just need to find the product on CB and buy via their own affiliate link (so you'd get NO commission) or they will be aware that they can just buy and request a refund.

That's why it is often far better to promote none IM/make money online products as in other niches the buyers will mostly know nothing about CB or affiliate marketing, or the fact that they can easily refund etc.

Try PayDotCom.com for other products to promote as well.

Hope that helps.

Roy

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b2bzone

14 years ago

I know of one CB product, Roubot, automated Roulette software, that had a sky-high rate of something like 75%. I just checked today and it's at 9.75%. I was actually thinking of buying it but with such a high refund rate I just couldn't pull the trigger, even knowing I could get a refund, if necessary. I just start imagining all of the problems that might occur, or even if the software worked or is legal to use. Anyone with insight into Roubout, please let me know. Thanks.

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Harvey Segal

14 years ago

Originally Posted by b2bzone

I know of one CB product, Roubot, automated Roulette software, that had a sky-high rate of something like 75%. I just checked today and it's at 9.75%.

Where are you getting those figures from ?

It's not possible to accurately calculate refund rates.

Harvey

.

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Dennis Gaskill

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel Brock

Clickbank made it too easy for people to get a refund. Literally it takes 30 seconds from the time they receive their receipt after purchase.

Perhaps that's the problem, too many people know a refund is there for the taking. Clickbank really should make an attempt to balance protection for the buyer and seller, rather than having it slant completely in favor of the buyer.

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

I have a solution to getting refunds for my digital products its an extra step but well worth it. Plus I can charge a little more!

I just deliver the book in CD form and now I have just delivered a physical product so it reduces refunds. Merchants who deliver physical products get more protection against invalid refunds.

That works with some other payment processors, but I'm pretty sure Clickbank only deals with digital products.

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Shaun Lee

14 years ago

Are you misleading your targeted visitors about the product(s) and/or misinterpreting it?

I certainly don't have any problems with refunds.

-Shaun

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TimG

14 years ago

Many of the posible reasons why refunds are high have already been listed in the previous postings:

1 - Bad product
2 - Buyer realizes they can buy through their own link (not saying I advocate that)
3 - Buyer's remorse
4 - Wrong product for their needs (different from bad product)
5 - They found the product elsewhere for cheaper - Saw this myself when I purchased a product for $77 but then found it several days later as a WSO for $37.

Respectfully,
Tim

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Ross Vegas 14 years ago

People can say it's a product problem but I'm not convinced.

I sold a ton of this one product with zero refunds... put it on clickbank and started getting every other sale refunded. It's quite ridiculous.

People just know they can work the system...especially in IM.

And the refunders almost always use their own AFF link for some reason and they'll request refunds within two minutes of ordering...

I've sold a metric ton of stuff online and have never experienced anything like when I started using clickbank.

I'm strongly considering never using clickbank again as a vendor.
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seasoned

14 years ago

Originally Posted by TimG

Many of the posible reasons why refunds are high have already been listed in the previous postings:

1 - Bad product
2 - Buyer realizes they can buy through their own link (not saying I advocate that)
3 - Buyer's remorse
4 - Wrong product for their needs (different from bad product)
5 - They found the product elsewhere for cheaper - Saw this myself when I purchased a product for $77 but then found it several days later as a WSO for $37.

Respectfully,
Tim

******AND******

6. many IM products are JUNK!
7. many can NOT sell on their own merits, so they sell on HYPED UP PROMISES!
8. MORE people may buy products, due to the current economy.
9. They are more desperate/demanding based on IMMEDIATE need due to the economy.
10. They are more likely to want their money back, due to the economy.
11. ALSO, DUE TO THE ECONOMY, the price may be more than they expected!

Steve

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JackPowers

14 years ago

Well yeah,

The two last $80+ sales I've made have been almost instantly refunded. I think it's a problem with this vendor though, I don't think customers receive the product.

Hard to say, my other sales are almost never refunded.

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Daniel Brock

14 years ago

Yes - extremely high refund rates over here as well.

It's because people in the IM niche know how to abuse the system.

I have been selling the same product on Paypal and Clickbank.

My paypal refund rate is almost non existent, meanwhile my CB refund rate is somewhere around 15%.

And of all the orders that went through, 25% of them were affiliate theft.

Clickbank made it too easy for people to get a refund. Literally it takes 30 seconds from the time they receive their receipt after purchase.

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Steve Peters Benn

14 years ago

Ouch Daniel - that is not good! Affiliate theft - isn't there a way we can stop that?

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Rus Sells

14 years ago

I have a solution to getting refunds for my digital products its an extra step but well worth it. Plus I can charge a little more!

I just deliver the book in CD form and now I have just delivered a physical product so it reduces refunds. Merchants who deliver physical products get more protection against invalid refunds.

Not sure how I am going to overcome this problem once affiliates begin to promote though. I use an instant commission system.

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Brad Gosse

14 years ago

I have a meditation product on CB that gets 0% refunds. My Make Money stuff gets about 20% now.

I wouldn't sell any MMO niche stuff on CB these days. Time to move that stuff to physical delivery.

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TimG

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Brad Gosse

I have a meditation product on CB that gets 0% refunds. My Make Money stuff gets about 20% now.

I wouldn't sell any MMO niche stuff on CB these days. Time to move that stuff to physical delivery.

Brad,
Not wanting to hijack the thread but are you having any issues in finding affiliates to promote your meditation product? I only ask because of your price point which is lower then many other products (assuming it is the product in your signature file).

Thanks,
Tim

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Brad Gosse

14 years ago

Originally Posted by TimG

Brad,
Not wanting to hijack the thread but are you having any issues in finding affiliates to promote your meditation product? I only ask because of your price point which is lower then many other products (assuming it is the product in your signature file).

Thanks,
Tim

I have no issues finding affiliates because I am my own best affiliate

Affiliates are a bit of a heard mentality. They want top commissions on top priced products. I am converting this little puppy @ 4% on a $16 price point. Guess what? Nobody buys it for $47 so promoting it at that price is a dud

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TimG

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Brad Gosse

I have no issues finding affiliates because I am my own best affiliate

Affiliates are a bit of a heard mentality. They want top commissions on top priced products. I am converting this little puppy @ 4% on a $16 price point. Guess what? Nobody buys it for $47 so promoting it at that price is a dud

Brad,
Appreciate the response. I know you can sell products (I own some of your stuff

) which is why I was interested in the affiliate side of the house.

I have a few products that I know probably can't sell at $37 or higher but will do quite well at $17 which is why I was asking the question.

I'll setup the option for affiliates but most likely sell more copies myself due to the low price point much in the same manner you do.

Respectfully,
Tim

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LB

14 years ago

And of all the orders that went through, 25% of them were affiliate theft.

CB permits people to buy through their own link as of now, so it's just part of the price to pay to work with them. Assume many of those people buy simply BECAUSE they can get a "discount" by using their own link. More sales either way...

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Biggy Fat

14 years ago

Another reason why Clickbank is crap. They aren't trusted as much as Amazon and the refund rate is through the roof. Especially when customers can request a refund and get it no questions asked, even when the e-mail to their refund department is something like "refund my $ plz thanx". Oh yeah, and Clickbank, NOT the product owner, is in charge of the refunds.

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Gail Sober

14 years ago

My last 21 clickbank sales resulted in 9 refunds from 4 different products.

It's not just Clickbank though. A few other programs I use are worse than that lately.

Only way to combat that? Make more sales! The more spaghetti you throw against the wall, the more that will stick.

Thanks

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rft123

14 years ago

I have a couple of products on CB that I am promoting, and they are in the IM category. I have had a few refunds as well. I have been thinking about trying other niches, and I am definitely going to after reading through all of the posts.

Thanks all!

Thanks

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Margaret Arumugam

14 years ago

With Clickbank, not only are the refunds high, but conversely, the conversions are low.

I have two products in the technical niche (same price points, good monthly searches, buying audience) one sold on CB and the other through Paypal.

For every sale this product has on Clickbank, I have almost 30-40 sales on Paypal. I guess it's as much a trust factor as the pathetic tracking that CB is dubious for.

Thanks
2 replies

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Anonymous Affiliate

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Margaret Arumugam

With Clickbank, not only are the refunds high, but conversely, the conversions are low.

I have two products in the technical niche (same price points, good monthly searches, buying audience) one sold on CB and the other through Paypal.

For every sale this product has on Clickbank, I have almost 30-40 sales on Paypal. I guess it's as much a trust factor as the pathetic tracking that CB is dubious for.

Holy crap, that's insane... can you confirm that? is the one hosted at paypal getting higher traffic or something?

Thanks

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Silas Hart

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Margaret Arumugam

With Clickbank, not only are the refunds high, but conversely, the conversions are low.

I have two products in the technical niche (same price points, good monthly searches, buying audience) one sold on CB and the other through Paypal.

For every sale this product has on Clickbank, I have almost 30-40 sales on Paypal. I guess it's as much a trust factor as the pathetic tracking that CB is dubious for.

Careful here.

I posted the same thing ago about three months ago, people went bananas.

My ideas on CB are probably the same as yours.

Do I believe that CB has an algorithm that is used to unethically make money from vendors and affiliates selling eBooks? Absolutely. Nobody could really prove otherwise... not even CB.

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Rajan Cajan

14 years ago

Basically everyone in this thread is concerned about the amount of refunds from clickbank products. If you are an affiliate why not buy through your own link so you can determine if the product is "crappy". Who wants to promote a "crappy" product. Just my 2 cents

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tdbrown

14 years ago

I am amazed to read that anyone here is making money with Clickbank. I have been an affiliate now for 3 months and haven't made a single dime. Some ads for Clickbank products I had on my website and removed them. I have posted ads everywhere, but, have not used Pay per click or anything like that. How are you here making sales? Some tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Kay King 14 years ago

If you are promoting products connected to IM or MMO - those are the same people coming to forums and learning how easy it is to get a CB refund.

The only way you get sales through CB is through affiliate links and sales pages of your own. CB is not a site that customers visit for "shopping" and buy from like ebay or amazon.

If someone buys through their own link - sellers may not like that but the seller still gets his share of the sales price just as if the person purchased through another affiliate's link.

kay
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Silas Hart

14 years ago

Originally Posted by tdbrown

I am amazed to read that anyone here is making money with Clickbank. I have been an affiliate now for 3 months and haven't made a single dime. Some ads for Clickbank products I had on my website and removed them. I have posted ads everywhere, but, have not used Pay per click or anything like that. How are you here making sales? Some tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I advertise with Bing and Yahoo and Facebook Ads. Never had a good experience with Google Adwords.

My best advertising method is without a doubt Facebook.

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4morereferrals

14 years ago

Originally Posted by cjmo75

Since migrating from the IM/MMO niches, I have experienced practically no refunds. I've seen thousands of IM ebooks and 95% of them don't deliver what they promise on their sales page. Most of them are basically tutorial about how to set up a blog or how to submit articles. They are basically just re-hashes of another IM ebook. Very rarely does a good IM product come around. I think the last one I saw came with 3-30 page ebooks and 12 video modules. That one was actually worth $50.

I have moved to different niches now and get maybe 1 refund every 20 sales. I promote products about cooking, fishing, how to get your ex back, how to barbecue, etc. For example, one of my best performing products is an ebook that teaches you how to make and sell fresh fruit bouquets. I never would have thought that thse niches would perform as well they do. I suspect it's because they deliver on what their sales copy says.

I think it has more to do with the jaded and scammy elements of seasoned IM and Blk Hadderz gaming the system. Its a snowball ...

The thief - buys it - instant refunds - then uploads to their warez forum sites. The serial / crack / bonus items etc are available too and so the need for a "licensed" copy becomes unnecessary.

sad ...

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Silas Hart

14 years ago

Originally Posted by cjmo75

Since migrating from the IM/MMO niches, I have experienced practically no refunds. I've seen thousands of IM ebooks and 95% of them don't deliver what they promise on their sales page. Most of them are basically tutorial about how to set up a blog or how to submit articles. They are basically just re-hashes of another IM ebook. Very rarely does a good IM product come around. I think the last one I saw came with 3-30 page ebooks and 12 video modules. That one was actually worth $50.

I have moved to different niches now and get maybe 1 refund every 20 sales. I promote products about cooking, fishing, how to get your ex back, how to barbecue, etc. For example, one of my best performing products is an ebook that teaches you how to make and sell fresh fruit bouquets. I never would have thought that thse niches would perform as well they do. I suspect it's because they deliver on what their sales copy says.

I have experienced the same. My niche products have a refund rate between 3% and 12% (to be fair, the 12% eBook is targeted towards a more younger audience, so I expected it when I released it)

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Raydal

14 years ago

I've been selling through both Clickbank and Paypal for about
8 years now and without fail the refund rate with CB
for the SAME product is ALWAYS greater. Always.

Everybody knows that the IM niche buyers scam the
system more that other niches.

In fact, one pattern I saw for CB was that those who
ask for a refund never opt-in for updates to the
products. This tells me that they know they are
going to ask for a refund BEFORE they decide to
buy--otherwise why would you not opt-in on the
download page?

That's the pattern I picked up. I don't know if it's
the same for other buyers.

-Ray Edwards

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Lauryn

14 years ago

I've started to purchase affiliate CB products so I can honestly review them.

I purchased one system recently... well one product and it's honestly crap. I may ask for a refund and choose something different.

Yes, there are crappy products in every market, but it's starting to seem like ClickBank doesn't really have a review process for the things they sell. Where's the integrity? If your product sucks, people are going to ask for their money back. This isn't directed at you OP, just the crap I've seen in the past few days.

If I ever create a product, and I want my face attached, I'm going to make darned sure it's as high quality as possible. I don't even promote products whose squeeze pages look like crap, much less fail to have decent affiliate resources.

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Christophe Young

14 years ago

I also sell the same product through Clickbank and Paypal. While, I did get more refunds through CB initially, I rarely get any through both now.

Everything runs in patterns. As mentioned above, a high quality product and realistic sales page will always reduce refunds in any payment processor.

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Clickbank Refunds Are Getting Ridiculous Lately!

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