Think I've Been Ripped Off By Affiliate

chrisinbc · #1 (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 03:40 PM

Hello everyone,

I am still very pleased with my purchase of SBI, but I think I might have been ripped off by the SiteSell affiliate I purchased SBI from. He had an Adsense ad offering $50 off SiteSell. All you had to do was use his SiteSell affiliate link and than fill out a form with my name and email address. His page promised to contact me soon to get contact info to mail a $50.00 US cheque to. I followed the steps above, but haven't heard from him. I contacted SiteSell, but they basically said that discounts that affiliates offer is the Afilliates responsibility, but not SiteSell's. They suggested contacting the affiliate again, which I did. Still haven't heard from the affiliate. I think SiteSell should take some responsibility of affiliates that make promises like this and don't fullfill their promise, by terminating the SiteSell affiliates account. If the affiliate makes an offer like this and doesn't honor their promise than they are in fact committing fraud. SiteSell seems like a very honest company to me, and I'd hate to see SiteSell's reputation tarnished by unscrupulous affiliates. By the way, the url of the affiliate in question is http://www.direct-laptops-guide.com/build-a-site.html. I found their site by clicking on an Adsense ad on someone elses site.

Chris H.

Chris H.

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 03:51 PM

Hi Chris

Wow, sorry to hear about that. I can understand SiteSell's position and I understand yours as well. You might want to send them an email suggesting adding something about this in their affiliate terms. Even though SiteSell did not create the offer, the affiliate is tied to their company and it sort of makes them look bad too.

I heard of someone else complaining of the same thing recently. I wonder if it's the same person?

chrisinbc · #3 (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisa

Hi Chris

Wow, sorry to hear about that. I can understand SiteSell's position and I understand yours as well. You might want to send them an email suggesting adding something about this in their affiliate terms. Even though SiteSell did not create the offer, the affiliate is tied to their company and it sort of makes them look bad too.

I heard of someone else complaining of the same thing recently. I wonder if it's the same person?

Thanks for the reply Lisa. That is a really good idea emailing SiteSell suggesting adding something about this in their affiliate terms. The ironic thing is that my idea for the niche on my SiteSell site is Internet Scams. If I do go ahead with that niche, this will give me some material to write about, which is my own experience, though unfortunately this is not the first time I've been scammed both on and off the Internet. Do you know Lisa if there is a way to contact Ken directly about this matter. I'm sure that Ken would not be happy about an affiliate essentially committing fraud. Have a great weekend Lisa!

West · #4 (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 04:17 PM

If I were you I would post your issue in the SBI! forum. That would kind of put the person on blast but it may bring the issue to Ken's attention. I agree with Lisa that SiteSell's position is valid, but at least you can warn others if this person is in fact ripping people off.

chrisinbc · #5 (**permalink**) 07-31-2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by West

If I were you I would post your issue in the SBI! forum. That would kind of put the person on blast but it may bring the issue to Ken's attention. I agree with Lisa that SiteSell's position is valid, but at least you can warn others if this person is in fact ripping people off.

Thanks West for taking the time to reply. I will take your advice and post this issue in the SiteSell forum. That sounds like really good advice! Have a wonderful weekend!

noodle24 · #6 (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 12:41 PM

Hey Chris,
This is Ryan Whiteside, the owner of Direct Laptops Guide

I saw this post and was shocked! I sincerely hoped that I didn't make a mistake. I've been honoring this rebate for over a year now with over one hundred people and haven't had an issue like this yet.

I checked my files and I don't have anyone under the name "Chris" who signed up through me. Did you possible order SBI! under a different name? If so, I can check and see if there is an error on my end.

I also checked my email log and don't have any responses through my contact form by the name Chris.

I would really love to get this straightened out. If you can, please use my contact form at my Direct Laptops Guide site and we can get this straightened out. I've spoken with someone at SiteSell and they have confirmed that you are not registered through me. SiteSell's cookie tracking gives credit to the last affiliate link that you clicked on. Is it possible that you clicked on Lisa or somebody else's affiliate link after mine?

I look forward to hearing from you and getting this squared away. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

- Ryan

lisa · #7 (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 12:55 PM

Good of you to contact her, Ryan. I hope you two can get this squared away.

chrisinbc · #8 (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 02:53 PM

I really appreciate Ryan for his quick response. He sounds like a very ethical and honest person. I actually used the name Christopher to purchase SiteSell with a canada.com email address. I have emailed Ryan with the contact info that I used to purchase SiteSell, including my user name, and look forward to hearing back from Ryan. I appologize to Ryan for using such a public forum to deal with this matter. Thanks Ryan so much for your quick reply.

chrisinbc · #9 (**permalink**) 08-01-2009, 02:58 PM

PS - That is amazing that out of all the affiliates I purchased SiteSell from, Ryan happens to be a member of the Website Babble Forum! Quite a coincidence! Welcome to the Website Babble Forum Ryan! Looking forward to getting this sorted out.

chrisinbc · #10 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 04:52 PM

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that this issue with not being contacted about the rebate by the SBI affiliate has all been sorted out. It turns out that even though I clicked on Ryan's SBI affiliate link to purchase SBI Ryan doesn't earn anything from me purchasing SBI. The reason why is because I have purchased SBI in the past and took advantage of SBI's 30 day money back guarantee. Thus, the first affiliate that I purchased SBI from will receive the commission. I received an email from an SBI affiliate manager and he assured me that Ryan has provided a $50 rebate to over 100 new SBI owners, with no complaints. So anyone using his affiliate link to purchase SBI, who has not purchased SBI in the past, should be confident that they will receive a $50 rebate cheque from Ryan. Hope this clears everything up.

Chris H.

lisa · #11 (**permalink**) 08-03-2009, 04:56 PM

Thanks for the update Chris. Very glad you got it all sorted out and way to go Ryan for following up and making good on your offers when applicable.

West · #12 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisinbc

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that this issue with not being contacted about the rebate by the SBI affiliate has all been sorted out. It turns out that even though I clicked on Ryan's SBI affiliate link to purchase SBI Ryan doesn't earn anything from me purchasing SBI. The reason why is because I have purchased SBI in the past and took advantage of SBI's 30 day money back guarantee. Thus, the first affiliate that I purchased SBI from will receive the commission. I received an email from an SBI affiliate manager and he assured me that Ryan has provided a $50 rebate to over 100 new SBI owners, with no complaints. So anyone using his affiliate link to purchase SBI, who has not purchased SBI in the past, should be confident that they will receive a $50 rebate cheque from Ryan. Hope this clears everything up.

Chris H.

Chris,
were you a current SBI owner when you tried to buy from Ryan's link? If you purchase SBI through and affiliate link and leave, and sometime in the future purchase it again through another affiliated, that 2nd affiliate does not get the credit? Am I understanding this correctly?

lisa · #13 (**permalink**) 08-04-2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by West

Chris,
were you a current SBI owner when you tried to buy from Ryan's link? If you purchase SBI through and affiliate link and leave, and sometime in the future purchase it again through another affiliated, that 2nd affiliate does not get the credit? Am I understanding this correctly?

I believe that is the case, which makes sense. When you first buy SBI!, you are tied to the referrer in the system by your name, address, email, phone, etc. It's not just a cookie like most affiliate programs. So if you come back 6 months later and reactivate or buy again, your name and info is still tied to that original affiliate. So even though she went through someone else's link the 2nd time, her name and info is still attached to the original person.

Seems pretty fair because the person who originally referred you should get the credit. It only gets tricky when there is an offer being presented by the 2nd affiliate, as in this case. Although I would imagine that doesn't happen too often.

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