Is this company a bad affiliate choice?

15 years ago

I think you've already answered your own question. How do they track affiliate activity without cookies? There must be something on their site that reassures any potential affiliate that he'll get paid. And the minimum quarterly is pretty high. Without knowing more than you've posted I'd pass on this one.

Thanks
1 reply

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karuna

15 years ago

Sorry, they do offer cookies, just for the inititial visit.

Here's the email they sent to me:

We do use cookies that last only one visit-
It will carry through the whole shopping cart experience.

If someone bookmarks your page and uses your link, you get credit for that
sale. If someone bookmarks the product page you had linked to and then
returns to purchase, the cookie will have expired. If they bookmark the link
that includes your tracking code, the cookie process will get restarted and
you will get credit. That eventuality depends on the browser...

Right now we don't have any tracking you can check in an ongoing fashion.
We are planning to join a affiliate network that will allow our affiliates
to check their accounts anytime, and we also hope to have customized banners
and special affiliate-only sale coupons for you in the near future.

Thanks
2 replies

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karuna 15 years ago

Is it "normal" not to offer cookies for more than one visit?

Their competitors offers 30 -60 day cookies.

Thanks - just new to all this.

Still the non trackable system is what bothers me the most.
- Thanks
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Scott Burton

15 years ago

Originally Posted by karuna

(And if sales don't reach $500.00 in any quarter, then they don't pay, and it doesn't roll over. That part doesn't bother me so much as hope to generate a lot of sales.)

If you don't reach $500 in one quarter, they keep the money. Red Flag. If you start today, you're in the 3rd month of the quarter, so any sales you made between now and April 1 would probably be a waste

We do use cookies that last only one visit-
It will carry through the whole shopping cart experience.

If someone bookmarks your page and uses your link, you get credit for that
sale. If someone bookmarks the product page you had linked to and then
returns to purchase, the cookie will have expired. If they bookmark the link
that includes your tracking code, the cookie process will get restarted and
you will get credit. That eventuality depends on the browser.

If someone comes to their site via your link, finds a product they like, then bookmarks it for later, you lost the sale. (they bookmarked to product page, not your link or linked to page) Yellow Flag at best, Red Flag at worst. As long as you know and accept this up front you could proceed with caution.

Right now we don't have any tracking you can check in an ongoing fashion.
We are planning to join a affiliate network that will allow our affiliates
to check their accounts anytime, and we also hope to have customized banners
and special affiliate-only sale coupons for you in the near future.

Since you have no way to track your sales, you could make, $800 and they could come back and say, "Sorry you only made $490. Better luck next quarter."

I would be very tempted to send them a courteous message saying something to the effect of, "Thank you very much for the additional information about your affiliate program. After careful review, it does not appear that your program will fit into my marketing efforts with sufficient incentive for me to send customers to you. Please contact me when you have made affiliate sales tracking available." (and feel free to include other elements that were part of your decision making process here as well.)

For now, I would have to walk away from the company, but I wouldn't burn the bridge. Who knows they could shape up in 6 months to be a runaway success for affiliates.

Thanks
1 reply

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karuna

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Scott Burton

If someone comes to their site via your link, finds a product they like, then bookmarks it for later, you lost the sale. (they bookmarked to product page, not your link or linked to page) Yellow Flag at best, Red Flag at worst. As long as you know and accept this up front you could proceed with caution.

Thank you, Scott! What do you mean, "proceed with caution", other than putting an bookmark on the particular page on my site?

Thanks
1 reply

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Kay King 15 years ago

We don't name names here and the name doesn't matter - it's the terms that are the problem.

What is the average sale$/buyer? What percent of visitors to the site convert to a sale? $500 per quarter at 15% commission is about $3400 in sales that you will have to make to be paid each quarter. Those are the numbers you have to look at - not just the commission percentage.

If the company is indeed reputable, chances are they pay exactly as they claim. The company may work mainly with high volume sellers who send loads of highly targeted traffic. The question for you is whether you can generate enough traffic to make money under their terms or not.

kay
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Chris Thompson

15 years ago

Too many red flags here. If you can't track your results and if they don't feel it is worth investing in better tracking, then they don't care about you.

Is there a particular product that you want to promote which attracts you to this network, or something else?

Thanks
1 reply

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karuna

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris Thompson

Too many red flags here. If you can't track your results and if they don't feel it is worth investing in better tracking, then they don't care about you.

Is there a particular product that you want to promote which attracts you to this network, or something else?

I have spent many many hours in looking at the other companies - they don't even come close. Amazon has the products - directly from this store. And I hate Amazon - such a low percentage payout, and they don't pay commission if the buyer buys from a third party listed under their price.

Thanks
1 reply

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karuna 15 years ago

To UM who PM'd me - can't PM you - dont have 15 post yet - almost though.

Not from India.
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jasonl70

15 years ago

sounds bad all around..

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-Jason

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Alp Bozkurt

15 years ago

They are trying to make money. They are not trying to make YOU money. This is not the right attitude for today's internet business.

If you send a visitor to them, you deserve the money no matter if he buys instantly or the next day.

This is one of the silliest things that I've heard recently...

Thanks
1 reply

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Sandor Verebi 15 years ago

I'd suggest you to try another company because they think only themselves with and not you. Don't waste your time and energy on such offers, there are many other companies who honor your tiredness. Just search, you'll find them.
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karuna

15 years ago

Yeah, it really sucks as they offer exactly what I want to sell on my site. Unless I go with Amazon. Amazon I would get about 6%, and they offer 15%. No cookies from either company, so it's a toss up. At least, I would hope that Amazon is tracking with integrity.

Who knows about any affiliate program these days? Wish there was a way these companies could be regulated or have some oversight. hehehe.

Thanks
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karuna 15 years ago

Would it be in bad taste to mention the company's name here?
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karuna

15 years ago

Kay - The amount is $500.00 in gross sales, not commission.

I would hope that I would generate more sales than that, or I am wasting my time. I do really well in SE0 - my site is No 1 and 2 on Google for 3 search terms. My traffic is small compared to some of you guys, about 100K hits a month, and no backlinks. Will add those later. Haven't even submitted to web directories. I think my PR is in the hundreds of thousands - hehehe

Thanks
1 reply

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Scott Burton

15 years ago

Originally Posted by karuna

Thank you, Scott! What do you mean, "proceed with caution", other than putting an bookmark on the particular page on my site?

What I mean by proceed with caution, you are entering into the situation fully aware that you may get nothing back if you can't profit under their terms.

If you are comfortable with taking such a risk, that is up to you. I personally would rather wimply have to ask "how long will it take for me to get paid?" rather than "Am I going to make enough sales before the end of the quarter, or will I lose all my work?"

Originally Posted by karuna

Kay - The amount is $500.00 in gross sales, not commission.

I would hope that I would generate more sales than that, or I am wasting my time. I do really well in SE0 - my site is No 1 and 2 on Google for 3 search terms. My traffic is small compared to some of you guys, about 100K hits a month, and no backlinks. Will add those later. Haven't even submitted to web directories. I think my PR is in the hundreds of thousands - hehehe

It would certainly be easier to achieve $500 in sales than $500 in commission, so at least you'd have that going for you.

You are calling 100,000 hits per month small, saying you have no backlinks, and you are number 1 or 2 on google for 3 search terms?

If you have no backlinks, it is surprising that Google would rank you exceptionally high (for any length of time) for any significant keywords. But if you truly are receiving 100,000 hits per month of some form of semi-targeted traffic, you probably could monetize in a number of ways, not just by selling as this company's affiliate.

I have sites that only get a few thousand hits (a few hundred unique visitors) per month, but they more than pay for themselves when I'm not paying attention to them.

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Samuel Lee

15 years ago

From what you've said it seems that you might want to find another alternative company as they seem to be thinking of making money for themselves and not helping you. I'm sure there are much better alternatives available, keep searching and find one who is willing to assist you in making money, while helping themselves as well. Hope this assists!

Thanks

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GreatBiz

15 years ago

Without a proper tracking system and no rollover of payment, you can say goodbye to it. There is nothing worth pursuing further with this company.

As a product owner myself, I make it my own commitment to make sure my affiliates get the best, whether it is tracking, training, commissions or bonuses.

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BigHef

15 years ago

By the sound of things you'll probably make more off Amazon anyway with their proper tracking?

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Alp Bozkurt

15 years ago

You say "Amazon gives %6, but this one %15"

I will just say "choose Amazon"

Why? Because the conversion rate will be much, much higher with amazon. People trust amazon so they have EXTREMELY high conversion rates.

Amazon is a really untapped source for affiliates but most fall into the trap of low % commissions. They totally neglect conversion rates.

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Craig Fenton

15 years ago

Hi Karuna:

Hope all is well today. Many times your first inclination is the right one. You obviously sense doubt about how the company is doing business. Although you spent time with the research, use it as a positive. You learned about weeding out the good and the bad and didn't lose anything in terms of commissions.

When you read the fine print it is all too common that what looks good on the surface has a myriad of cracks underneath.

You'll find something better and will achieve your goals.

Thanks

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stevenh512

15 years ago

Session cookies for affiliate tracking? That's just sick. Look for someone who cookies the visitors you send them for at least 30-60 days. Some places (like Amazon) cookie them for an entire year, so you keep making money off of anything they buy for a year unless they click through some other affiliate's link in that time (then the cookie changes to the last affiliate, obviously).

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Is this company a bad affiliate choice?

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