Is it wrong to buy clickbank and affilaite product through your own aff code ?

[marcel]

Is it wrong to buy clickbank and affilaite product through your own aff code ?:yin-yang:

I would gladly buy Amazon products using my own aff link
Clickbank feels a little sleazy. But if it's good for Amazon, why can't it be good for Clickbank ?

What do you think ?

 

[pat J]

Yes, how dare you? That's just.. low..

 

[turbolapp]

I think the bigger question is what the hell are you buying through clickbank?

 

[alexa7]

Read their TOS. Surely it's in the Free Ebook Section, or maybe the Stompernet section.

 

[CLKeenan]

Little Valentine's Day tip for you guys

Here's a thread I made on DP (Yes, I know DP sucks blah blah blah) almost 2 years ago where I had Alex from Azoogle and even the great shoemoney weigh in on their opinions (saying that it was legit to buy from your own affiliate links)

 

[LazyHippy]

From what I recall, Clickbank allow it, but you have to have other sales as well to get paid. Other's depend on ToS... but it's not unreasonable for a marketer to have cookies with their id when they buy something is it?

 

[AdHustler]

I see no problem with it.

 

[BlueYonder]

There's no reason it should be wrong using your affiliate links if you're interested in the product. An affiliate is also a consumer.

Let's say you're an affiliate with a car insurance bill that's rather high, and remember there are offers to get competing bids from insurance companies. The affiliate completes the offer and gets a whole bunch of bids, and follows up by signing up with a new insurance company. The affiliate got a little bit of change for using his link, saved some money on auto insurance and the advertiser received a commission for a completed sale. Win-win.

This actually happened.

 

[HarveyJ]

Don't forget to make a WSO about how to do it.

Seriously though, it seems just like any other sales job where you buy your own product. If you actually have need of the product, there's nothing wrong, so long as it's not against the TOS.

 

[vexellon]

of course if the payout is higher than the cost of the product itself...

 

[interwebmarketr]

It shouldn't be a problem if it's a sale. You had a legitimate interest in the product and the merchant still gets their money.

 

[kingfish]

Its funny cause Clickbank is totally cool with it and Amazon is not.

 

[Catt]

If it's something I need I always buy through my affiliate links, it gives me the chance to test out the merchant. I can then honestly recommend them if their service is good, if it sucks I tell them so, I've never had any complaints from merchants for doing this. I don't know about amazon but it would make sense that they would frown upon it, they are so large and already have consumer recognition and confidence.

 

[bitsdawg]

If it's something I need I always buy through my affiliate links, it gives me the chance to test out the merchant. I can then honestly recommend them if their service is good, if it sucks I tell them so, I've never had any complaints from merchants for doing this. I don't know about amazon but it would make sense that they would frown upon it, they are so large and already have consumer recognition and confidence.

I agree. If you want to give an honest review of a product, you need to have it. I would think that any merchant would be happy to let you have the "discount" for that reason.

 

[Trademark]

I'm going to go against the grain. Before dismissing me as a knucklehead, hear me out.

I've been a Clickbank merchant, affiliate, and customer. As a merchant, I provided a 50% commission to those who made the effort to sell my products. And I gave them plenty of tools to do so. When a customer purchased my products using his affiliate code (without asking me), I expected that customer to generate additional sales. If that didn't happen, it affected my view of that customer.

In addition to the product, customers had full access to me. That wasn't a part of the package; it's just how I personally enjoy conducting business. If they had questions, I made myself available. If they needed advice or guidance, I was there. However, if a customer purchased my products with their affiliate code and then failed to generate additional sales, I made myself less available to them.

The reason was a matter of respect. I felt they were undercutting, for their own convenience, the price that I had set for my products.

As an aside, many customers approached me and asked, "Hey, would you mind if I purchased your product through my affiliate code?" I always welcomed them to do so. Further, many customers purchased my products for the full price and went on to generate affiliate sales. Whenever I was able to track them down, I'd refund their purchase with a personal email thanking them for their efforts.

As an affiliate, I've approached CB merchants and said, "Hey, I've generated 10 affiliate sales. Here's my affiliate code so you can verify that it's true. Can I get access to your product? That way, I can sell it more effectively."

They have always complied. Again, it's a matter of respect.

Regarding whether CB actually allows customers to use their affiliate code to purchase products, understand that CB has a vested interest in every sale. In my mind, that reduces their credibility (in this matter, at least).

Is it right? Is it wrong? I dunno. I'm merely offering my perspective. My hope isn't that it sways you to one side or another. Instead, I just wanted to add another slice of insight to the conversation.

 

[guerilla]

It's always wrong to use your own aff code. You should always use mine.

PM me for details.

I also offer affordable counseling services for Christian Guilt.