Changing affiliate terms without notice ... then denying it

[kayceee]

Here's a nice twist on the "not paying" theme ...

I signed up with this merchant last summer - they're a small player in a particular industry, but they are in a niche which gives me most of my conversions, from a buyer's standpoint they seemed OK and I wanted to offer my visitors a little more to choose from. I'm positive at the time I signed up that their payout threshold was $50. I made a handful of sales for them in October and November, each confirmed with an email to me including the phrase " We will send you the commissions once they reach $50.".

Sooo I finally crossed the $50 mark with them. What do I get? An email confirming the sale and saying " We will send you the commissions once they reach $100."

I replied to the affiliate manager asking about the change in the terms and the reply was "Our commission threshold is always $100" ... then they had the nerve to suggest that I put one of their banners on the home page of my site, noting that my site "has room" !! (As if!!!).

Any suggestions for how to proceed with this? Other than replying with an attached copy of one of the messages promising payment at $50? (I still have the original emails - I'm such a packrat ) ...

It's not a lot of $, BUT ...

[Rosalind Gardner]

Hey kayceee,

Just ignore the 'put our banner on your homepage' comment... affiliate managers are paid to say that. That's their job.

I would definitely send them the email in which they promised to pay when your account reached 50 bucks.

(BTW, I keep all my emails as well.)

As long as you confirm that they didn't send you a notice of the change in conditions, you have every right to demand your money now.... nicely, of course!

Cheers,
Ros