[cumbrowski]

Hi Linda,

Exactly the same topic was discussed in a private merchant forum at another forum site.

I keep it short and just write the fazit of the discussion.

The Fact
It is impossible to determine for sure who is responsible for a sale, the Merchant who has an AdWords Campain running where the Customer clicked on or the Affiliate Site the same customer clicked through earlier. There were a lot of arguements, who did and who did not and how much percent etc. etc. but at the end remains the fact, it can't be determined for certain.

This is an important fact.

The Decsion
Now, If the Merchant decides to kill an Affiliates Cookie or not to pay commission or revert commission when the Customer is clicking a Merchants Ad somewhere else or a Link in the Merchants Newsletter (Welcome Email, Follow up email etc. does not matter). This decision must be made by the Merchant. All kind of reasons must be considered like Marketing Cost, Margins and the Merchants Opinion or Policy.

The Must Do
Now, If the Merchant decides not to pay commission, then it is absolutely crucial, that this is spelled out in the Affiliate Program Agreement between the Merchant and Affiliate. Not in legal jibberish, but in plain and clear language, that an affiliate can understand this restriction / policy and make an educated decision, if it wants to partner with this merchant under those conditions or not. It should also be mentioned outside the Agreement from time to time, such as Affiliate Newsletters and Forums or direct communication with the Affiliate.

The Don't Ever Do
Not doing so could mean, correction, will mean serious trouble when Affiliates find out about it somewhere else. One Merchant in the discussion was able to experience first hand the result of this. It caused serious damage to his Program and If the Merchant's AM would not have been a trusted authority for his affiliates and other AM's for years, the whole program could have fallen appart in a matter of days.

That's it and there is not much to argue about it, except the details of the "Decision" - do it or don't do it and the "How" of the "Must Do" part.