Forum Moderators: skibum
I'm a merchant and we've our own affiliate program using idevdirect as our software. It has been okay, but i'm not completely happy with it. Therefore I was thinking of joining a network. Not just for the volume issues, but for practical issues such as payments, tracking, etc.
I have tried looking around at different sites for pricing information. Some of them I have found out, such as shareasale.com charge 20% of the affiliates payout. However, I had a look on cj.com and myap.com and they were reluctant to give out the information. When i have searched on Google for 'affiliate networks comparisons' etc, etc, all i get is poor sites loaded with affiliate links. No real information.
So I was hoping some of the good folk on here would have some information on setup/charges for the major networks. I'm just looking for non biased pricing info.
Thanks,
Tim
Key point: CJ and LS will charge you $2,500 to $5,000 setup plus large monthly minimum fees. ShareASale's setup fee is only $250 and their monthly minimum is $25 or $50 (check their site).
As you note, SAS charges a fee equal to 20% of the amount paid to affiliates; the other networks also have a similar fee structure, though the percentages do vary.
MyAP/Kowabunga used to be inexpensive, but 12-18 months ago they imposed HUGE increases in fees for new customers.
In general, the ones that charge big set up costs do so to keep small merchants away, and because they have the best affiliates.
Linkshare: Minimum Monthly Fee = $2000.00. That alone will keep out most merchants. According to them, they already quoted me the least as they charge other merchants $10,000/month and up. I guess with this fee, they may provide some marketing (but I can't confirm that). I calculated that my first year's expenses would be about $35,000 (including their setups, monthly minimum fees, escrow, etc). I was actually seriously considering them but finally decided not because they also require exclusivity which is a deal breaker.
CJ.com = cheaper, but still will set you back about $2250 setup, plus $3000 deposit. Minimum monthly is $300 (last they quoted me). It will cost more if you do not want to give them exclusivity.
Clickbank = very cheap ($50 setup), mostly digital products. Unless you're selling simple 1 product or 2 products, i recommend other networks with more serious software power.
[edited by: eljefe3 at 3:37 am (utc) on Jan. 9, 2007]
As I suspected, some of them are very expensive and way more than I would be prepared to pay. For the time being I think i'll just stick with the software I have. I still want something better in the long term, so I'll keep looking for alternatives.
Thanks again.
Tim
I was actually seriously considering them but finally decided not because they also require exclusivity which is a deal breaker.
Are you sure that might not be negotiable? Maybe not so much for smaller merchants, but at least for the larger ones?
The reason I ask is because I have seen some LinkShare merchants on other systems as well. Mind you, not small merchants--these are big names.
