Once again, I have to “out” one of my affiliate programs for not processing my commission on a product I’ve marketed for them.
At the end of my post about the Six-Figure Blueprint book, I posted an affiliate product from 101Phones, a 2-line phone with two portable extensions, which in essence gives you 3 phones to put in different rooms. About two weeks ago I had someone purchase that phone; I know that because I was informed of the purchase. I got the numbers I needed to verify it, just in case I never got credit for it.
This is another company through Commission Junction, so I went to the CJ site and found the affiliate information for these people and sent them an email with all the information. By the way, I waited a week to see if my commission was going to show. I waited 3 days, and didn’t hear a thing. I then sent a second follow up email, and I included another email address I found for the company, as well as an email address I had for CJ, which I’d had to use at one point last year when I initially had problems getting credit for another sale. Here it is, 4 days after that one, and once again I’ve not heard anything.
In the second email, I told them if I didn’t hear from them I was going public with my complaint; this is it. Now, why am I doing this? One, I think two weeks is long enough to wait for notification of my commission, especially since CJ says it should only take a week at best. Two, I don’t want anyone else getting cheated if these folks are scam artists. Three, I know they’re on Twitter, and since my posts show up on Twitter when they see the headline, if they care about their business, they’ll head over here and see what I’ve written and I’ll get some kind of action. It worked that way when I had issues with both Panda and Football Fanatics in the past.
It’s hard enough to make money online without feeling as though you’re being cheated. This time around, though, I have to admit that I’m surprised I haven’t heard from Commission Junction either. After all, they’re the initial folks helping to support these companies, and it has to make them look bad when they’re affiliates aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do.
If it takes another 4 or 5 days to get some action, I’ll be removing any advertisements for their products, sending them an even sterner email, then probably dropping them forever. I kind of like their stuff, and the product was delivered very fast, but if this is how they treat their affiliates I don’t want to have anything to do with them.
Yeah, this is how I take a stand; I hope y’all don’t just sit by and let someone treat you badly, especially when it’s money that’s concerned.
Mitch, I wouldn’t go postal yet. I’m on CJ too and they process commissions on the 20th of the month for the previous month’s performance. See what happens tomorrow. BUT, they should have responded to your inquiry, for real.
Monique
Thanks Monique. Actually, except for my previous problem, I’ve always seen my commission within 3 days at least, and this one’s been two weeks, which is why I’m griping. If someone had just said something to me, I’d be okay.
It’s always been my experience that CJ posts on their site once I’ve made the sale and then I have to wait before I get the money.
Did the sale appear on your CJ account at all Mitch?
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Release The Child In You And Become A Better Blogger =-.
No it didn’t, Sire, and even now, I’m frankly irritated by the company and what appears to be unethical actions.
That’s weird that it didn’t even register the sale on CJ. Did you check the link to make sure you didn’t miss anything out?
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Release The Child In You And Become A Better Blogger =-.
And how would one do that, Sire? The person clicked on the link in my post and bought the exact product I was marketing. What’s left to check?
Just to make sure your affiliate code was intact.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Release The Child In You And Become A Better Blogger =-.
It’s one of my products; still, whether the code is proper or not, I wrote them with the information; they should at least respond to that.
You would think so. Still if the affiliate part of the code didn’t embed properly they wouldn’t be able to track the sale. Stranger things have happened.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..My First Squidoo Lens & About Bloody Time Too =-.
They can track the sale through the receipt; remember, I had that same problem last year with the other affiliate I mentioned in this post,a nd they found it that way.
I know I can be pretty thick sometimes Mitch, but if the affiliate code had a digit missing they wouldn’t be able to track it properly. So even if they had a receipt for the sale how would they know what site sent them? Or am I missing something?
.-= Sire´s last blog ..The Adelaide Arcade A Great Place To Shop =-.
Yes. Even if the affiliate code was missing, which it’s not because I got it from them, they know the sale came from online. I gave them my affiliate code along with the receipt & everything else. Since they approve every affiliate, they have to have my number in their records. Not only that, but they change up the code that one puts on the site to make some someone else can’t steal it.
OK, so where did you get the receipt from. I’ve made several sales and have never gotten a receipt.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..The Black Swan: Animals Make Great Photo Subjects =-.
I know who bought the phone, so I got the receipt number & everything else.
Link attributes aside, and sire does have a point, they should at the very least reply to emails…complaint emails at that.
I’ll give some commissions slack, if the company has been good in the past; but y’all know how I feel about a lack of communication! 😉
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..WANTED – Keyword Research Expert(s) =-.
It’s the communications part that’s irking me the most, Dennis, and right now, the same goes for Commission Junction, who also isn’t responding to any emails.
Any issues with CJ not replying in the past?
If no, they might be waiting on a response from the affiliate first also.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I am Unsubscribing From Your Blog – Again =-.
CJ has always responded in the past; that’s why this is so odd. Now, I can’t say they’ve ever been overly helpful, but at least they respond, which lets me know they’re at least possibly looking at one of their affiliates in some fashion.
Yea, they might be waiting for a response from these clowns before responding to you.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I am Unsubscribing From Your Blog – Again =-.
Actually, I got a response from them that I didn’t like, saying, kind of, that if I couldn’t prove that the sale came through a link provided by them that they didn’t have to compel an affiliate to pay. I wrote them back giving them the link, but talk about being greatly offended.
I might have explained to them that this might be my last affiliation with them…then thank them for the awesome blog material for several high traffic blogs I know of. 😉
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I am Unsubscribing From Your Blog – Again =-.
Really glad I found your blog because I am opening up an affiliate site and I just signed up with Linkshare and CJ. Please do more posts about your experiences with them please.
I’ll do what I can, Sarah. Overall, I’ve had pretty good success with CJ as far as fairness, but this last one is the first who hasn’t come around and acted like they really cared what I did.