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Clickbank Vendors Are Cheating Us Out of Sales...Here's How!

by Domain Dude
24 replies
I just discovered a way Clickbank Vendors are avoiding paying us referral fees when we drive traffic to their offer.

I was checking my hoplink to make sure it was working properly on a Forex offer I promote. The sales page uses a popup message to encourage the customer to stay on the page when they try to exit. Pretty common. When I clicked on the "stay on page" option it opened a new window with a special discounted offer. Still pretty common.

However, once I filled in my name and email address to purchase at the discount, a credit card page opens that does not belong to Clickbank. Because the customer now completes their purchase outside of Clickbank, you lose the commission. Your hoplink does not carry over to the new credit card page. You get no credit for the referral.

I contacted Clickbank to see if this was within their TOS. Here is their response: "Vendors are allowed to use multiple payment options on their sales page. If this is a concern, you may want to stop promoting this specific product".

"If this is a concern"...yes, it is a concern and makes me very angry that Clickbank allows this and a vendor would knowingly use this tactic to avoid payments!

Do you think this is wrong also?
#cheating #clickbank #commission #payments #saleshere #vendors
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    It's just a "payment leak". (Not exactly "news"??)

    They're not that uncommon. As an affiliate, you have to check out this kind of thing before promoting a product.

    (With that one, I wouldn't have got as far as that, myself - anything with an opt-in on an exit pop-up is an automatic "no" for me, anyway.)

    ClickBank is just a retailer, you know? (Most) vendors host their own sales pages, and ClickBank obviously allows them to sell their products elsewhere in addition. What do you expect them to do about it?

    These two threads might possibly interest you ...

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post2161932

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...oduct-opt.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Domain Dude
    Good Point Alexa! Avoiding offers with exit pop-ups and opt-ins would solve the issue. Thanks for calming me down! :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author petetong
      I can't believe clickbank allow such a leak to a different payment processor after all the hoops you have to jump thru to get accepted as a vendor then each product...wow ! I suppose they've got your one off $49.95 activation fee by then as a vendor lol !

      There is some rubbish on all affiliate networks re products to sell but stuff sells I guess.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by petetong View Post

        I can't believe clickbank allow such a leak to a different payment processor
        So if I sell a book from my website, do you expect PayPal to refuse to do business with me if I decide also to give my customers the option of paying by 2Checkout (or vice versa)?!

        Originally Posted by petetong View Post

        There is some rubbish on all affiliate networks re products to sell
        Call me pedantic, but this isn't "on" an affiliate network: it's on the vendor's own website.

        .
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      Originally Posted by Domain Dude View Post

      Avoiding offers with exit pop-ups and opt-ins would solve the issue.
      There is no need to avoid good Clickbank products simply because the sales page has exit pop-ups, opt-ins, or other vendor leaks. This has been a thorny issue among affiliates for quite some time now, and is not uncommon for many affiliates to simply bypass such distractions with direct links to Clickbank's payment page. This post may be helpful in getting around these and other spurious vendor methods: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6893376.
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  • Profile picture of the author KenJ
    Hi Mr Domain Dude

    Your headline is a sweeping generalisation and sensationalist. You could have more accurately said. "I have found a vendor who is cheating me out of sales."
    As a small time vendor I find many affiliates doing all sorts of strange things to try and sell my product.

    So vendors can do what they want and so can affiliates it seems.

    You have to understand the rules and decide how you are going to work within them. It is pointless bleating on about a vendor AFTER you find out the repercussions of their sales process. Check out the whole offer including the sales process and then decide whether to promote it.
    I find that buying a product often reveals things I am not happy with. On other occasions a vendor will over deliver and surprise me.

    If you are in business you need to do your market research.

    KenJ
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    • Profile picture of the author GforceSage
      Originally Posted by KenJ View Post

      Hi Mr Domain Dude

      Your headline is a sweeping generalisation and sensationalist. You could have more accurately said. "I have found a vendor who is cheating me out of sales."
      As a small time vendor I find many affiliates doing all sorts of strange things to try and sell my product.

      So vendors can do what they want and so can affiliates it seems.

      You have to understand the rules and decide how you are going to work within them. It is pointless bleating on about a vendor AFTER you find out the repercussions of their sales process. Check out the whole offer including the sales process and then decide whether to promote it.
      I find that buying a product often reveals things I am not happy with. On other occasions a vendor will over deliver and surprise me.

      If you are in business you need to do your market research.

      KenJ

      You seem to have overlooked the fact that vendors can go back and change the sales page after the affiliate army has been assembled and some time has passed.
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      • Profile picture of the author ClickBank UX
        Honest question, to those you of who have encountered "payment leaks" and other vendor tactics described in this thread:

        How often have you notified ClickBank about such vendors?
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        • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
          Originally Posted by ClickBank UX View Post

          Honest question, to those you of who have encountered "payment leaks" and other vendor tactics described in this thread:

          How often have you notified ClickBank about such vendors?
          Exactly once...

          and their response is the reason I stopped promoting Clickbank products.

          I was met with apathy from the Clickbank rep, and told (with incredulity) that I couldn't honestly expect Clickbank to monitor all of their merchants' offers once they had been approved.

          Apparently CB was making no effort to police the offers in their marketplace.

          This was years ago, and I was willing to accept that they may not have any good way to police offers after the approval process. What I could/would not accept was that they had no interest in correcting the situation even when provided with the specific "hoplink" in question.

          They just couldn't be bothered. Since then... neither could I.
          Signature

          Sid Hale
          Coming Soon... Rapid Action Profits (Pro)

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          • Profile picture of the author ClickBank UX
            Sid -- thank you for your direct and detailed response. This is the exact kind of feedback and experience that I'm interested in hearing.
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          • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
            Originally Posted by Sid Hale View Post

            Since then... neither could I.
            So it was a case of hail and farewell

            .
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            • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
              That's right, Harvey...

              Originally Posted by Harvey Segal View Post

              So it was a case of hail and farewell.
              I could forgive an inability to automatically detect the merchant's replacement of the buy button, but not the fact that rather than accept my reporting of the problem and investigating the replacement of that buy button. (It only required following the hoplink to the sales page, and could have been verified immediately.)

              I often make allowances in my dealings with others - but there are also occasions when I don't give 2nd chances.
              Signature

              Sid Hale
              Coming Soon... Rapid Action Profits (Pro)

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  • Profile picture of the author rossle
    From a CB vendor point of view, I'll weigh in if I may.

    OP, I totally agree with your sentiments. Affiliates work hard to drive sales to your offer and they deserve to be rewarded in every possible way. In regards to the CB vendor employing the practice you have described, I personally think its disgusting. He should hang his head in shame.

    I'm shocked that it still happens.

    Affiliates deserve to be treated like gold. They are our sales force. They deserve every penny they receive from commissions.

    My advice; before promoting a CB offer as an affiliate, go through their entire sales funnel and meticulously check each step to ensure the affiliate is rewarded at each step in the funnel.

    Regarding exit pop ups, I think it gives the impression of a used car salesman. Desperate for a sale. Plus it decreases the "value perception" of the product.

    I only use exit "opt ins", in exchange for a free gift. The prospect then receives an autoresponder series re-persuading them to visit my site. The KEY here is to use a neutral/non aff link back to the site, then the original affiliate will always be paid for the sale, providing its within 60 days, ie, the lifetime of the Clickbank cookie.

    Exit detection software opt ins do work well and increase conversions, but always ensure the affiliate is credited with the sale.
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  • Profile picture of the author samjaynz
    I promoted a product on Clickbank for a while that (unbeknownst to me at the time) would randomly send a purchaser to either Clickbank's order page ... or a Paypal order page.

    Safe to say I quickly kicked that one to the curb!
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  • Profile picture of the author SonnyKing
    Banned
    Not really a new thing here. Something that has been going on for a while.

    Keep in mind...we are in a business that often times lends itself to a having a crooks mentality.

    Just do a little more research on the offers you promote.
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  • Profile picture of the author markgaperl
    It is really hard to find vendors who will not have OTO, pop-up, exit ops offers. It is part and parcel of the game. The best way to tackle this is to send traffic that is pre-warmed with the offer and ready to buy. This takes time and effort but it would avoid these leaks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      So if I sell a book from my website, do you expect PayPal to refuse to do business with me if I decide also to give my customers the option of paying by 2Checkout (or vice versa)?!
      No - but in the case of a product appearing in the ClickBank Marketplace I think ClickBank should insist that no other payment options are allowed on that landing page.

      To allow the vendor to have other payment options he could include code which detects if a hoplink is used and then present only the ClickBank option.

      .
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Harvey Segal View Post

        I think ClickBank should insist that no other payment options are allowed on that landing page.
        I'll be happy if you can persuade them to, Harvey. And maybe you can if anyone can?!
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      • Profile picture of the author Michele Miller
        I thought they used to insist that no other payment options should be allowed, but I could be wrong. I always give affiliates a different page that looks like my home page without the leaks and I think the OP should be upset that the particular vendor is screwing his affiliates by offering the exit popup to a different payment processor. Just make your affiliates a very similar page to promote that looks like your home page so they get all deserved commissions from their hard work.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevenjacobs
    Banned
    this happens all the time you just need to promote something else
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  • Profile picture of the author WilliamVillagran
    Wow I thought Clickbank only wanted payments through clickbank. Very good information to know when picking clickbank vendors. Thanks for the info
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    First of all Clickbank should not allows this type of thing... and this combined with many other reasons is why a lot of vendors stay well away from Clickbank these days.

    Unfortunately it's up to you to do your own policing BEFORE you promote any Clickbank product. Go through the entire process just like a customer would and make sure there are no leaks.
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  • Profile picture of the author smaddoxjr
    I understand this is a common problem. What I do not understand is why this is acceptable. Its hard work to earn those commissions. Their need to be more solutions.
    Signature

    Scott Maddox Jr

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  • Profile picture of the author ATAC
    Something like that is not allowed with clickbank and you should let them know what is going on so that they can fix the issue..
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    This all-in-one marketing platform saves me over $7,000 per year. See how:
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