[cowboysfan]

If so, we could use your help. Please join the PMA Google Group for CT Affiliates, we need your help to fight the "affiliate tax" legislation. If you are not in Connecticut but know of any affiliate marketer that is please ask them to take action. The only way we can beat this is with the help of in-state affiliate marketers – legislators will listen to us! Please PM me if you have any questions. Here's the link to the CT Google Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/pma-ct/

[Rhea]

Too bad you didn't show any support for us NYers when we were in the thick of our affiliate tax battle three years ago. You were probably busy running your business.

Too bad, but now I'm busy.

[cowboysfan]

You got the wrong guy. You don't know me, and I don't know you. I live 20 min from the NY border. I was there to do what I could in NY, and i did the best I could do. In fact, i did all I was told I could do, and not because it did me any good. I have friends in NY, and obviously, the more places i could stand up for our industry, i'm for it.

You don't want to do anything in CT; fine. but dont make it out like others didn't try to help in NY because some of us did the best we could. As an affiliate, we're all on the same side anyway, at least, we should be when it comes to the affiliate tax BS.

Anyone wants to help if they can in CT..that's fine, you don't, that's fine too. See the link above if you want to participate.

[Herb Ô¿Ô¬]

Originally Posted by cowboysfan

You don't want to do anything in CT; fine. but dont make it out like others didn't try to help in NY because some of us did the best we could. As an affiliate, we're all on the same side anyway, at least, we should be when it comes to the affiliate tax BS.

Affiliate types in other states than NY [back in 2008] mostly ignored the situation. "Guess it can't happen here." But now it is.

We in NY are hoping for an eventual reversal of the situation, but that could still be years away. So we met with an internet-savvy lawyer (we were supported in this by Shareasale and the OPM Andy Rodriquez) back then and figured out how to appease NY and make some of the merchants happy also. Of course, our method doesn't work for every state due to the wording in the law. Anyway, some of the more than a couple hundred merchants that dropped us did take us back because of this.

So a lot of us feel we've done our part for now. Good Luck to the rest of you.

[cowboysfan]

I hear what you are saying Herb. I remember that time fairly well. I've personally helped a small handful of affiliates get their business going in Westchester County. When this all came down the pike, they all pretty much quit.
I'm sure you've noticed...it just seems like in the states where there's pending affiliate tax legistation, its a little difficult getting "in-state" affiliates to help. I could only imagine how hard it was to get non new york residents to assist.
I made this post with the hopes of reaching New Yorkers who moved to CT. I'm just trying the best I can to muster all the affiliate help we can to defeat this bill. If anyone out there would like to assist, please PM me personally to chat if you wish.

[Herb Ô¿Ô¬]

Originally Posted by cowboysfan

When this all came down the pike, they all pretty much quit.

They shouldn't have. Not all merchants gave up, though it was difficult to find some to replace them. But replace them we did. And some merchants came back to the NY affils. More are, when they realize that their B&M presence created nexus which transfers to their online presence. (I'm waiting to hear even now of some we lost who will return.)


No one forum reaches everybody; not everyone gets the word on this subject.

[markwelch]

Herb, you wrote that "some merchants came back to the NY affils" -- is there a list somewhere on ABW? It would surely be useful for folks in affected states to see that there is still some hope...

[Herb Ô¿Ô¬]

I believe it was mentioned in affiliatevoice.com or the posts here that followed the May 2008 NY-split. That is, the original series of posts about NY state. If there is a complete list and I find it, I'll post it here. As I found returning merchants I posted them in the ABW thread. There are probably others, but I don't know.

I think there is a small problem, though, with the fact that the wording of sales tax laws varies per state. NY State, for instance, allowed us to only post links (~advertise) as opposed to direct contact, handbills, phone calls, etc. And we have to provide an affidavit to the individual merchants to the effect that that is our only sales method.

[Herb Ô¿Ô¬]

Here's a list from Mellie's site of NY - Friendly folks. I think some of the merchants have recently shifted networks.

NY Affiliate Friendly Merchants

[flamingoworld]

I think it is highly unfair to be in NY and act like martyrs, that no one helped you and left you out to dry or whatever.

Back then it was all new, it came out of the blue, there weren't organizations or anyone consistently reporting on it or educating non-NY affiliates. We didn't understand it, it was all new. I saw a lot of anger at other people, I saw a lot of bashing, which was misplaced.
I think instead of pulling people in to help it drove people away. It was either you are for us or against us. If people weren't vocal, we were against them. This was not true.

Here in MN i didn't see a lot of MN people even rallying, i know of about 5 that maybe did anything at all. The only ones there educating us and guiding us was the PMA. phone calls, we got insider tips on who to talk to, what arguments to use, etc. We got no one from any of the networks step up to help us, no one hires us lawyers. A few of us on our own just wrote emails, testified, did what we could.

Maybe us in MN should be angry because no one from SAS, no one from any of the other networks, no merchants, no one stepped up to help us, no one funded our fight etc.

However I am more than happy to help any other affiliates in any other states however I can, by showing them where to get information, guiding them on email writing, testifying and anything else.

It isn't a state by state fight, it is an industry wide fight. The more states that win the more ammunition we have in other states. Each state fight gives us new information.
It shouldn't be me against you, it should be US agains them.

[Herb Ô¿Ô¬]

agreed

[Bill]

Originally Posted by flamingoworld

I think it is highly unfair to be in NY and act like martyrs, that no one helped you and left you out to dry or whatever.......

Back then I lived in Maryland, yet contributed $$ a legal fund to help NY affs. There were many out-of-state affiliates who supported those in New York. I still have (and wear) my "Supprt New York Affiliates" shirt.

From the Affiliate Summit / buy.at Tax Talk & Crab Feast, Baltimore, July 2009.

[24hrDeals]

Guy's you have a fight on your hands! Like all goverments they love the word tax. Live in the UK but have a HostGator server will have to see how it affect us in the UK?