Affiliate Merchants That Dont Pay

[Lynn Terry]

What action should I take on affiliate merchants that dont pay commissions owed? I currently have two merchants that are past due with their payments for my promotions... and "past due" would be a gross understatement.

One merchant owes me $602. The payout is supposed to be sent monthly (assuming minimum is met, which it has been consistently)... yet I havent received a check from this merchant since the end of March 2005 (in 8+ months). That payment was my very first commission check, and was $175. I have earned a total of $777 in commission from this merchant - leaving an outstanding balance of $602.

I corresponded with the owner/manager several times in August, September and October 2005 - both by email and by phone. Each time he assured me he was going to handle it personally ("walk the check out the door"). I got an apology and an explanation that they were transferring to a new service to manage their program, etc - and assurance it would be taken care of.

December 1st - I call the toll free number I usually reach this affiliate manager at... and the number is "no longer in service". I sent an email... but at this point, I am not sure what course of action to take next?

I do have one other merchant that owes me several hundred. I am sure whatever advice you can offer me on the 1st one will apply to the second one as well.

For me, it's the principle of the matter. These guys owe me a chunk of money, and I intend to make sure they own up to their end of the agreement. In addition, I have advertising expenses and time put into those promotions - so I'd like to see that money back, of course.

A thousands bucks is a thousand bucks. Your thoughts?

[Rosalind Gardner]

Thanks for the good question, Lynn.

I think that's something everyone worries about, and may in fact keep some folks from becoming affiliates in the first place.

Let me say therefore that although this happens, it is not the norm.

That's one of the reasons I like to check out a program thoroughly before joining, especially if the merchant isn't associated with a big affiliate network that makes sure the merchant is good for the money before affiliates start making big sales.

I do that by checking to see how many affiliates are promoting the product first, which is easy enough to do when you search on Google for the merchant name. Then start visiting the sites that are returned by the search and see how many are affiliate links. You may at times want to get in touch with the affiliate and ask about their experience with that particular merchant.

That's another reason I'm not too quick to jump on the bandwagon. News this past week about Chitika eMiniMalls publisher income audit, has some publishers reporting serious earnings drops, is one good example.

That's not to say I haven't been burned. I have. I signed up for and promoted a program that came highly recommended by a trusted colleague and friend.

That program has owed me $1400 for the better part of a year, and I have no hope now of ever receiving that money. The scumbags will only admit to $700, although I know I made two sales, neither of which was refunded.

So what can you do when a merchant doesn't pay you the commissions they owe you?

Make sure you take screenshots of the affiliate interface to prove your earnings.

Phone everyday until they can't stand hearing from you anymore and they send you a check - or the number is disconnected as in Lynn's case.

One company that I was dealing with filed for bancruptcy. As one of the affiliates they owe money, I receive a notice from their lawyer every couple of months as to the proceedings in the case. Maybe I'll get a check for 5 bucks once all their creditors are paid. Maybe.

Report the merchant to the Better Business Bureau.

Contact a lawyer. The initial consultation should be free.

Although I've threathened legal action, I've never pursued it, because the total amount stolen from me has actually been very small in the grand scheme of things. To me it's just not worth the stress, or the cost.

Hire the Dun & Bradstreet collection agency, which will collect a fee from you only after they've collected money from the merchant. You'll find out whether or not the company actually has the funds to pay you, AND the claim gets posted to the merchant's credit report when you file it. Check them out at:

http://www.dbrms.com

Warn other affiliates by relating your experience and posting names of scumbag merchants to the various affiliate forums.

Good luck, Lynn! Let us know how you make out!

Cheers,
Ros

[Lynn Terry]

Excellent advice, Rosalind - Thank you

I have an appointment with my lawyer in the morning - and have all of my paperwork (including details of outstanding balance owed as well as the original affiliate agreement) printed and ready.

I am planning to write a full report on this situation as soon as I walk through a couple of my options... I feel I owe it to my community (at SSWT) and those that read my newsletter & website regularly, to let them know of my experiences on these merchants - as well as to talk openly about the issue itself.

We'll see how my appointment goes in the morning, and I'll take it from there. Thank you very much for the link to the Dun & Bradstreet collection agency as well - I'll check into that immediately!

[Lynn Terry]

[orion2000]

[jschuman]

Let me politely say the Article Marketer owes me $930 and from what I have seen from other forum posts they owe a bunch of affiliates.

Here is what I do not like. Instead of fessing up and sending us emails they let everyone keep making more sales every month which indebts them even more. It pisses me off they do not even care about hurting affiliates.

I have given up on receiving my $930, but I hope to inform everyone else to avoid selling their service.

Here is my advice. Do not promote Article Marketer as an affiliate and buy any membership from them to promote your articles with the idea they may not be in business long enough to promote them for you.