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A New One For The Clickbank Files

by Steven Wagenheim
24 replies
As you know, Clickbank just made some changes. Not sure what, but got
the notice posted the other day.

Well, just made a sale. Customer bought the main product and the OTO.

The main sale went to one affiliate.

The OTO went to a different affiliate.

If anybody can explain how that can possibly happen I'd love to hear it.

Just when I thought I had seen it all.
#clickbank #files
  • Profile picture of the author winebuddy
    Now THAT's amazing.

    Could it be the result of the new upgrades and enhancements? Maybe CB is into "wealth sharing" and wants to pass it around a little?

    Maybe the customer had another browser tab opened and between the purchase and the OTO went to a different affiliate's page?

    Still - the cookies should have stayed with the first affiliate...

    That's a good one - can't wait to hear How CB support will explain that one away
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Okay, I've been wracking my brain with this and the only possible explanation
      is this.

      The OTO is tied into a different Clickbank vendor name, though that
      shouldn't really matter since they have to go through the first page to
      get to the OTO page. And they have to actually PAY for the first product
      to get to the second one. It's two separate transactions.

      Only explanation is that somehow, they found the original sales page for the
      OTO product (it is out there) through a DIFFERENT affiliate and THEN when
      they bought the main product, the cookie only wrote for the first product
      but kept the second product the same cookie from the initial visit to the
      sales page of the OTO product BEFORE they hit it through the main product.

      If I just confused the hell out of anybody, my apologies. I may have not
      explained the above clearly, but in my head, I think I got it straight.

      It's the only logical explanation. As Sherlock Holmes says, when you rule
      out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be
      the answer.

      Now my head hurts.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sten M. Andersen
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        It's the only logical explanation. As Sherlock Holmes says, when you rule
        out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be
        the answer.
        Hm, my instinct as a programmer makes me bet there's a better, truer answer out there. Just because you haven't thought of it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gary King
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Okay, I've been wracking my brain with this and the only possible explanation
        is this.

        The OTO is tied into a different Clickbank vendor name, though that
        shouldn't really matter since they have to go through the first page to
        get to the OTO page. And they have to actually PAY for the first product
        to get to the second one. It's two separate transactions.

        Only explanation is that somehow, they found the original sales page for the
        OTO product (it is out there) through a DIFFERENT affiliate and THEN when
        they bought the main product, the cookie only wrote for the first product
        but kept the second product the same cookie from the initial visit to the
        sales page of the OTO product BEFORE they hit it through the main product.

        If I just confused the hell out of anybody, my apologies. I may have not
        explained the above clearly, but in my head, I think I got it straight.

        It's the only logical explanation. As Sherlock Holmes says, when you rule
        out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be
        the answer.

        Now my head hurts.

        If this is the way it went down Steve, then that's a programming issue with the vendor. I would reach out to them and let them know they aren't resetting the cookie on the entire sales funnel.

        I suppose they COULD do it this way, but it would make me seriously consider not promoting them - if I push the sale over the edge, then I would like credit for the actions, not a partial credit.

        Some believe in first find, first sale... i.e., if Bob Jones got them cookied first, he wins the sale no matter what.

        Have a great day!

        - Gary
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        • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
          Originally Posted by Gary King View Post

          If this is the way it went down Steve, then that's a programming issue with the vendor. I would reach out to them and let them know they aren't resetting the cookie on the entire sales funnel.

          I suppose they COULD do it this way, but it would make me seriously consider not promoting them - if I push the sale over the edge, then I would like credit for the actions, not a partial credit.

          Some believe in first find, first sale... i.e., if Bob Jones got them cookied first, he wins the sale no matter what.

          Have a great day!

          - Gary

          Um Gary...I'm the vendor.

          I didn't think the way I set this up would be a problem but obviously it
          is.

          I'm going to have to figure out how to get the affiliate ID to write to
          both accounts. I am not technical at all so I have no idea how to do this
          but if anybody has a solution, I'm all ears.
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          • Profile picture of the author webfighter
            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

            Um Gary...I'm the vendor.

            I didn't think the way I set this up would be a problem but obviously it
            is.

            I'm going to have to figure out how to get the affiliate ID to write to
            both accounts. I am not technical at all so I have no idea how to do this
            but if anybody has a solution, I'm all ears.
            I'm not really sure how clickbank works. However, if it allows you to callback to a URL with the sale information once a sale is made - you could simply point it to a php file that gets the affiliate id from clickbank and redirects to your other product page with that affiliate id.

            I could have dig a bit deeper, but the clickbank API page is throwing an Internal Server Error at my end.
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          • Profile picture of the author rondo
            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post


            I'm going to have to figure out how to get the affiliate ID to write to
            both accounts. I am not technical at all so I have no idea how to do this
            but if anybody has a solution, I'm all ears.

            Just put both products in the same account.

            Andrew
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        • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
          Originally Posted by Gary King View Post

          If this is the way it went down Steve, then that's a programming issue with the vendor. I would reach out to them and let them know they aren't resetting the cookie on the entire sales funnel.

          I suppose they COULD do it this way, but it would make me seriously consider not promoting them - if I push the sale over the edge, then I would like credit for the actions, not a partial credit.

          Some believe in first find, first sale... i.e., if Bob Jones got them cookied first, he wins the sale no matter what.

          Have a great day!

          - Gary
          Gary, I just read your reply again and son of a gun, this actually isn't my
          fault.

          The way CB's cookie system works, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong,
          is that when John Doe goes to the sales page via affiliate A's link, that
          cookie gets written for 60 days.

          If John Doe then goes to that sales page through affiliate B's link on day
          45, affiliate A will still get credit for the sale.

          So the way my sale went down is the way it should have gone down
          given the way CB's system works.

          You may not agree with it, first come gets credit, but unfortunately,
          that's the way their system works. I have no control over that.

          My only recourse is to setup my own affiliate program and award the last
          cookie written.

          Right now, I am in no position to even attempt that.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Hi Steven,

            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

            The way CB's cookie system works, and somebody correct me if I'm wrong, is that when John Doe goes to the sales page via affiliate A's link, that cookie gets written for 60 days.

            If John Doe then goes to that sales page through affiliate B's link on day
            45, affiliate A will still get credit for the sale.
            Well, you did say "correct me if I'm wrong" ...

            This honestly isn't how it works at all. If John Doe goes to that sales page on day 45 (or day 5, or day 105) through affiliate B's link, then affiliate B will get the sale. "The most recent cookie gets the sale." It was ever thus.

            The first affiliate's cookie lasts 60 days unless and until overwritten by another.

            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

            You may not agree with it, first come gets credit, but unfortunately, that's the way their system works.
            I promise it isn't!
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            • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              Hi Steven,



              Well, you did say "correct me if I'm wrong" ...

              This honestly isn't how it works at all. If John Doe goes to that sales page on day 45 (or day 5, or day 105) through affiliate B's link, then affiliate B will get the sale. "The most recent cookie gets the sale." It was ever thus.

              The first affiliate's cookie lasts 60 days unless and until overwritten by another.



              I promise it isn't!

              Thanks, I wasn't sure. But then this doesn't explain another problem that
              I've tested where I've gone to sites with a new affiliate ID but the old
              one wasn't overwritten.

              But that's an old story that we've beaten to death here a thousand times
              so I won't start ranting about it now.
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              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                Thanks, I wasn't sure. But then this doesn't explain another problem that I've tested where I've gone to sites with a new affiliate ID but the old one wasn't overwritten.
                No. Indeed. It doesn't really explain this problem, either. But this is Clickbank for you: nothing ever quite explains anything, and one deals with them either on that basis or not at all.
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                • Profile picture of the author rondo
                  Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

                  No. Indeed. It doesn't really explain this problem, either. But this is Clickbank for you: nothing ever quite explains anything, and one deals with them either on that basis or not at all.
                  From now on they will be known as known unknowns and unknown uknowns.

                  Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author Bronwyn and Keith
        Steve

        We had the same thing happen on a purchase a couple of months ago.

        Being the sceptics that we are we concluded that it was some kind of "cookie switcheroo" created through or by the vendor.

        Reckon that's way more likely given the shenanigans that have been going on with some of the vendors lately.

        Regards

        Bronwyn and Keith

        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Okay, I've been wracking my brain with this and the only possible explanation
        is this.

        The OTO is tied into a different Clickbank vendor name, though that
        shouldn't really matter since they have to go through the first page to
        get to the OTO page. And they have to actually PAY for the first product
        to get to the second one. It's two separate transactions.

        Only explanation is that somehow, they found the original sales page for the
        OTO product (it is out there) through a DIFFERENT affiliate and THEN when
        they bought the main product, the cookie only wrote for the first product
        but kept the second product the same cookie from the initial visit to the
        sales page of the OTO product BEFORE they hit it through the main product.

        If I just confused the hell out of anybody, my apologies. I may have not
        explained the above clearly, but in my head, I think I got it straight.

        It's the only logical explanation. As Sherlock Holmes says, when you rule
        out the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be
        the answer.

        Now my head hurts.
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  • Profile picture of the author AidenChong
    No wonder I heard people saying that newbies should avoid using CB initially...

    I guess I have to find an alternative for my upcoming project
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    • Profile picture of the author Sten M. Andersen
      Originally Posted by AidenChong View Post

      No wonder I heard people saying that newbies should avoid using CB initially...

      I guess I have to find an alternative for my upcoming project
      Don't let a curiosity like that one stop you. CB works great, and is easy to use.
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      • Profile picture of the author AidenChong
        Originally Posted by Sten M. Andersen View Post

        Don't let a curiosity like that one stop you. CB works great, and is easy to use.
        I would like to use them in the future, but just not now. Maybe just a simple Paypal button or WSO pro in the WF first?

        If there's any 2-tier referral built-in marketplace like Nanacast, that would be good.

        For a cheaper fee than Nanacast offer, that is...

        Aiden Chong
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by AidenChong View Post

      No wonder I heard people saying that newbies should avoid using CB initially...

      I guess I have to find an alternative for my upcoming project
      Not necessary. This is actually all my fault for the way I set up my sales
      system. I tried to tie in two Clickbank accounts into one transaction and
      obviously you either can't do it OR the way I have it setup doesn't work.

      I'm going to, when I get the chance, contact Clickbank and ask them how
      to correctly do what I'm trying to do. If there's no way, I'll restructure the
      whole process.

      Don't stay away from Clickbank because I did something dumb.
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      • Profile picture of the author AidenChong
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Not necessary. This is actually all my fault for the way I set up my sales
        system. I tried to tie in two Clickbank accounts into one transaction and
        obviously you either can't do it OR the way I have it setup doesn't work.

        I'm going to, when I get the chance, contact Clickbank and ask them how
        to correctly do what I'm trying to do. If there's no way, I'll restructure the
        whole process.

        Don't stay away from Clickbank because I did something dumb.

        Haha! Thanks for the explanation Steven.

        I heard a lot of negative stuff from others too.

        I would just avoid using it in the earlier stage. Since I've never launch anything before. Getting my feet wet first, then jumping in to CB.

        Shying out. But will definitely jump onto CB in the future. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author ruch1v
    Steven, have you contacted clickbank and asked how this is possible?

    Ruchi
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  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    Actually it's the last affiliate that get's the sale.

    Also if you're doing a OTO, then it has to be w/ the same account for the affiliate to get credit for it, because both of your accounts have separate hoplinks. The only way an affiliate can have their cookie placed for a product, is w/ the proper hoplink. A hoplink for one account does not transfer over to another account.

    All you would have to do is to add the product to the same account, and then change your order/buy links.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Barrs
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Shannon Herod
      Just another example of how bad their tracking actually is. I ran tests before on an affiliate program that offered both ClickBank and an in-house affiliate program.

      The in-house affiliate program resulted in three times more sales than ClickBank.

      That should tell you a little bit about how their tracking works. And a little bit about how the ability to purchased through your own link works.

      Talk soon,

      Shannon
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  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    Also Steve - Clickbank can do an upsell. You sell enough that your affiliate manager could probably approve it for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary King
    Steven,

    I did a little testing.

    Went to clickbank and found the first hop link of something there's no way I've been to.

    Replaced the hop link with my affiliate id.

    Visited site --> Clicked Through --> My affiliate id was in the CB form.
    Check.



    Within a minute, replaced the hop link with a friend's affiliate id.

    Visited site --> Clicked Through --> HIS affiliate id was in the CB form.
    Shows the cookie was replaced immediately.



    Replaced the hop link with a bogus affiliate id (random characters).

    Visited site --> Clicked Through --> NO affiliate id was in the CB form.


    If you would like (I've emailed you as well) send me the two links for the product and oto directly - I'll test all the way through the payment process for you.

    Gary
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