CJ & referrals

How does it work?

[DonQ]

Hi everybody. I'm new around here, ex-lurker. I'd very much appreciate it if someone could clear up a point for me re CJ.
So I got a content-affiliate site, carefully built to be sticky so I can try and retain most of my customers and get many, many sales... drool.
Now on CJ the merchant specifies a referral period and occurances. If I can get my customer to click through to the merchant site I get $$$$ :). Now if the customer comes back to my site and clicks through to the same merchant AGAIN outside of the referral period (or allowed occurances) do I get % again on sale or does the merchant now consider that client 'his'. (tracked via cookies or IP)
I have this sickening feeling that I will only be credited with one original sale, so making the site sticky is pretty useless from that point of view.
Please tell me this isn't so.....

[itisgene]

For most of the merchants, the duration starts with ANY first visit within that duration from a specific site. For example, if visitor A goes to merchant B and purchase nothing but goes there again directly or through the same affiliate within the duration, say 6th day for 7 day cookies. The affiliate will get the credit for it. If the visitor A goes directly to the merchant and purchase something after duration, then no commission there. But if the visitor A click thorugh any link from the affiliate again after a month, then the clock starts again for the next 7 days.

There are some exceptions. Some industry, such as hosting companies only allow on transation for...long time(for the cookie's life). It was like that about two years ago and I belive it still is (correct me if I am wrong here.)

So, yes. you could get multiple commisions for the same visitor for many merchants. Best bet is "ask your merchants". If you ask a few in your industry, you will get some answers.

[DonQ]

Thanks itisgene... <breathe sigh of relief>