The stupid "$20/yr. minimum" rule

AllPosters.com deletes $16.06 from my account

[super70s]

(I hope this is the correct forum for this rant, if it isn't I apologize.)

I've been an AllPosters.com affiliate for over 10 years now, way before they were taken over by Art.com (actually it was an AllPosters rep who solicited me to join their program). It hasn't been a huge revenue generator but I was able to make some money with them, and their commission rate was generous compared to a lot of other programs.

I was infuriated to learn last week that in September they deleted $16.06 in commissions I had earned and left me with a dollar in the account because I hadn't earned $20 in commissions in a year's time. I wrote them and told them I was getting rid of a dedicated poster page that links from my main page, and also deleting over 800 links to them on other review pages on my site (actually I just changed everything to an Amazon aStore for posters).

Any Amazon sales are going to be at a much smaller commission than AllPosters, but at least I'm not giving them traffic and the opportunity to delete $19.99 from my account because that stupid $20 minimum rule in the fine print.

It reminds me of the crap Commission Junction would pull when I was signed up with them ages ago, that's why I've always hated them too.

[onlineleben]

Allposters - all crap (IMHO). the terms and conditions they have are not really friendly and as a consumer I only bought from them twice (the first and last time). They didn't include an invoice and charged me with late payment fees when asked them to send me an invoice - not recommended from a consumers point of view.

With the link to Amazon you might get smaller commisions per poster sale, but your visitors have the opportunity to buy other stuff on Amazon, which could earn youeven more.

[RhinoFish]

Comm rate might be lower, but Conv Rate may push your EPC higher than before. In any case, the comm take back is silly. Seen it too many times. I bet they're paying folks doing unsavory things to them in bulk, and robbing comms from people sending them good traffic. Only thing I can think of is, if they're an indie, maybe their payment processing costs put them in this position, reason number 625 why an ethical aff network is better than an indie / in-house operation.

[mslina2002]

Any Amazon sales are going to be at a much smaller commission than AllPosters, but at least I'm not giving them traffic and the opportunity to delete $19.99 from my account because that stupid $20 minimum rule in the fine print.

When they first went in house and other affiliates on another affiliate forum complained and dumped them, I decided to dump them as well. It's simply ripping off the affiliates. They should be giving you the money PLUS interest, not the other way around and taking your money. Although Amazon may pay less in commission rate initially, you will be surprised to see what else visitors put in their shopping cart thus resulting in larger sales. Conversions are much better too.

[super70s]

Only thing I can think of is, if they're an indie, maybe their payment processing costs put them in this position

The thing I don't get is why would that $1 they left in my account be any more difficult to "administer" than $16.01? This is kind of different from the policy of Commission Junction, who would take back your commisssion and kick you out if you didn't meet their minimum sales quota but also leave you "on probation." You could reapply after 6 months (which I did the first time they did that to me, then the second time I said forget it).

AllPosters is not requiring any action like this to weed out the weaker accounts, they're just deleting your commission if it doesn't reach $20 but also keeping you as an affiliate (with $1 in your account).

When they first went in house and other affiliates on another affiliate forum complained and dumped them, I decided to dump them as well.

I thought they had always been in house, at least they have since I've been with them for well over 10 years. A few years ago they were taken over by a competitor, Art.com, and I have a sneaking suspicion they're the ones who always had this $20/yr. minimum rule. I guess I just haven't tripped it until now.

[mslina2002]

I think you are right. The incident did not register too well in my mind as I was not a long time affiliate and I prefer to work with networks. But here is a bit of the convo: [abestweb.com...]

[super70s]

Very enlightening, thanks for that link. This part from one of the forum participants could be why I didn't even make $20 in commissions this last year: "Meaning, they might click thru my website setting a cookie but if that visitor clicks thru one of their ads somewhere else, their own PPC, their banner on some other site etc., your cookie gets overwritten."

Can you believe that? Those guys are history with me. They didn't even bother to respond to my complaint and notice I was dumping their links (I guess they've seen too many of them since 2010).

[RhinoFish]

The thing I don't get is why would that $1 they left in my account be any more difficult to "administer" than $16.01?

Not defending them (they suck for stealing from you!), but I'd guess they can't hold your money for tax reasons, cuz of their legal structure.

In any case, the whole situation is ridiculous! No way their payment processing is at that level, could just be a way to pinch everyone small.

I still maintain they likely have bad acting affiliates who steal from them (and from these robbed affs), so they are in effect, rewarding those who stab them in the back, and punishing those who drive them legit traffic. This is common with indie programs.

[RhinoFish]

I just Googled them by name, the ad link is:

ht tp:/ /affi liates.all posters.c om/link/redirect.asp%3Flang%3D1%26AID%3D1023741760%26VTP%3DStart%26NetWorkType%3Dg%26PAdCopyId%3D16992686406%26ClickPos%3D1t1%26VTP%3DEnd%26KWID%3D742810474

That's an affiliate link (I inserted the spaces).

So you see, if you fyck them and bid on their name, they'll pay you a ton.

But if you have a relevant site and drive incremental bona fide traffic, but don't send much volume, they'll make sales and build their brand and not pay you your share.

I could keep looking around and embarrass them to a ridiculous degree. They don't know what they're doing. Find another merchant to work with. And take indie dolts off your list of alternatives to consider.

[super70s]

I get what you're saying about AllCrap.com but I wouldn't make such a sweeping generalization about indies.

Maybe you've heard of "GEMM," an international network of music dealers. Several years ago I was solicited by the CEO of this outfit to start linking to them, he even gave me a $50 credit from any of the merchants on the site just for signing up. It's been a great match for my music site, and I have custom links to them on the same 800 review pages that I was talking about with AllPosters. They seem like an honest company and I've gotten modest but steady revenue from them (and it's even getting better with time).

Also, they don't sit around and figure out ways to lower the percentage of your commission like Amazon and some others, if someone clicks through and visits other pages on the site before buying something you still get the full 10% commission.

[RhinoFish]

"if someone clicks through and visits other pages on the site before buying something you still get the full 10% commission."

you are assuming they understand how to police affiliates who play games... i showed AP doesn't. it may be a sweeping statement, but indies do not have the aggregate policing info or experience that an affiliate network does, nor do they have the manpower ratios or AM expertise required to learn these things. yes, some indies know what they're doing, no doubt, but betting on it, not a chance. most avoid a network because they pinch pennies, and don't understand these issues. but hey, if you've found the exception to the rule, good for you! i visited their site, i remain unpersuaded. happy selling to you!

[skibum]

They may also be using their in-house affiliate tracking system to track their in-house PPC programs instead of using another tracking system just for PPC>