Non US Affiliates

popdawg · July 8th, 2003, 11:53 AM

I mentioned briefly in the welcome thread my frustration at the part of the affiliate agreement that states the following:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR> United States Based Individuals and Entities Only. Affiliate represents and warrants that Affiliate is based in the United States. Any Affiliate which is not based in the United States is ineligible to be an affiliate of Merchant. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
To be fair, I should state my ARRRGH in the form of question.
GSI are not the only ones to do this. Many do, and of those many are starting to or have already changed their policies to reflect the fact that
1) The internet is Global with many international affiliates targeting U.S. markets.
Only ship within the U.S.? Perfect, over 90% of my traffic is U.S. based.

2) Not every country outside the U.S. is a hot bed of fraud. Some affiliate managers have used this to justify their decision.

These are just a couple of the excuses I have heard and I know there are many reasons why some mercants refuse to accept international affiliates.
I would be curious to hear yours.

Also, as I think back to when I promoted your stores more, I can't recall having a message like that before.
What about those who have already been accepted to many of your programs? Will they no longer be considered eligible to receive commissions? I see upon looking at some of your stores I belong to that they all state that message above. Will I see sales reversed for this on stores that I was previously accepted into?

Thanks for you time.

Game on!!!!

perfectG · July 8th, 2003, 11:57 AM

Game on pops

I would like to know this too as I am an affiliate though not in US. Should I remove my links? Perhaps that is why no sales have been reported for such a long time with your program

?

Smallshop · July 8th, 2003, 01:18 PM

Yep, Game on!

I've also noticed this on their terms.
So I've never signed up with them.

But suddenly one day, I found *MCSports.com on my list of merchants, although I know I never applied, just because of those terms. This auto-signup has happened before on other merchants, so I'm not very surprised.

I'm not sure if commish on those links will not be reversed or something, as I'm not US-based and therefore in violation of their terms.

Needless to say: They don't get any clicks from my visitors.

Javi · July 8th, 2003, 01:19 PM

Is this new? I have several GSI merchants getting my traffic.. do we remove the links or will we be paid?

Javi

-------------
build, build, build, build...

Mike Abolafia · July 8th, 2003, 01:41 PM

I wanted to let you know that I am not ignoring this post. I am researching this issue and will post a response tomorrow. If you are a foreign affiliate your tracking or commissions are not treated any differently then anybody else’s.

markymark · July 8th, 2003, 02:34 PM

Yeah, I'd like an answer to this one too. I nearly signed up with one of your companies the other day, but didn't or couldn't because of the 'US Affiliates Only' policy.

Search Engine Positioning - 1 Design 4 Life

popdawg · July 8th, 2003, 03:43 PM

Thanks Mike.
I look forward to hearing what you have to say on this.

Game on!!!!

popdawg · July 11th, 2003, 11:53 AM

Tommorow was the day before yesterday, any chance of hearing about this today?

Game on!!!!

Mike Abolafia · July 11th, 2003, 01:54 PM

Pop......I haven’t forgotten about this issue. My contact that was looking into the issue has been unavailable for the past 1.5 days. I will touch base early next week and get a response for you. I apologize for the delay.

Mike
AAE
Affiliates@GSICommerce.com

popdawg · July 11th, 2003, 03:16 PM

Thanks Mike.

Game on!!!!

markymark · July 15th, 2003, 04:17 PM

Would still like to know about this - particularly regarding Sports Authority. However, PopDawg, you can join FogDog sports over at BeFree - that program accepts non-US affiliates.

Search Engine Positioning - 1 Design 4 Life

josephmonuit · July 15th, 2003, 04:24 PM

He'll only join "FogDawg"

popdawg · July 16th, 2003, 12:43 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>He'll only join "FogDawg" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR> Pop......I haven’t forgotten about this issue. My contact that was looking into the issue has been unavailable for the past 1.5 days. I will touch base early next week and get a response for you. I apologize for the delay.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ahem ...

Game on!!!! - The DawgFather

Mike Abolafia · July 17th, 2003, 06:14 AM

I wanted to update you on this topic. MarkyMark, thank you for picking out the difference in FogDog's terms compared to the other GSI run affiliate programs.

Here is the general gist of this situation:

The decision to exclude non-US affiliates was not a decision make by the affiliate or online marketing teams. It was also not for any of the reasons that were listed in this forum as other “excuses” that merchants give. It is simply a case of the terms of the legal contracts that we have with our partners.

I understand all of your points as to why non-affiliate websites should be allowed to be affiliates and I hope to work something out. However, my legal contact has been out of the office for personal reasons. That is why an "official" response has been drawn out.

As I said before this issue is top on my priority list. However, there isn’t much I can do till my legal contact comes back. I promise that I will update you as soon as I get more information. In the meantime do not worry about your commissions or tracking, as they are not affected.

Mike
AAE
Affiliates@GSICommerce.com

walleyewarrior · July 17th, 2003, 08:24 AM

Oh sure, so it ends up being we don't want to feed the lawyers??

Sorry being sarcastic. At least it's a different non canned answer that many give. Still sucks if this is the reason though.

...............
WW

Make a difference! Support your local Cancer Care providers.

Mike Abolafia · August 5th, 2003, 02:17 PM

Our terms state:
"Only Web sites with general or United States based domain name extensions (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, etc.) are eligible for participation in this Affiliate Program."

So If you are based ouside of the United States you can join our affiliate programs as long as the website(s) that you are promoting has a US or Nuetral extension (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, etc.).

Mike
AAE
Affiliates@GSICommerce.com

July 8th, 2003, 11:53 AM	#1
popdawg Pimp Duck Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Take off eh? Posts: 3,005	I mentioned briefly in the welcome thread my frustration at the part of the affiliate agreement that states the following: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> United States Based Individuals and Entities Only. Affiliate represents and warrants that Affiliate is based in the United States. Any Affiliate which is not based in the United States is ineligible to be an affiliate of Merchant. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> To be fair, I should state my ARRRGH in the form of question. GSI are not the only ones to do this. Many do, and of those many are starting to or have already changed their policies to reflect the fact that 1) The internet is Global with many international affiliates targeting U.S. markets. Only ship within the U.S.? Perfect, over 90% of my traffic is U.S. based. 2) Not every country outside the U.S. is a hot bed of fraud. Some affiliate managers have used this to justify their decision. These are just a couple of the excuses I have heard and I know there are many reasons why some mercants refuse to accept international affiliates. I would be curious to hear yours. Also, as I think back to when I promoted your stores more, I can't recall having a message like that before. What about those who have already been accepted to many of your programs? Will they no longer be considered eligible to receive commissions? I see upon looking at some of your stores I belong to that they all state that message above. Will I see sales reversed for this on stores that I was previously accepted into? Thanks for you time. Game on!!!!

July 16th, 2003, 12:43 PM	#13
popdawg Pimp Duck Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Take off eh? Posts: 3,005	<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>He'll only join "FogDawg" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Pop......I haven’t forgotten about this issue. My contact that was looking into the issue has been unavailable for the past 1.5 days. I will touch base early next week and get a response for you. I apologize for the delay. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Ahem ... Game on!!!! - The DawgFather

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July 8th, 2003, 11:57 AM	#2
perfectG ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 2,345	Game on pops I would like to know this too as I am an affiliate though not in US. Should I remove my links? Perhaps that is why no sales have been reported for such a long time with your program ?

July 8th, 2003, 01:18 PM	#3
Smallshop Full Member Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 347	Yep, Game on! I've also noticed this on their terms. So I've never signed up with them. But suddenly one day, I found *MCSports.com on my list of merchants, although I know I never applied, just because of those terms. This auto-signup has happened before on other merchants, so I'm not very surprised. I'm not sure if commish on those links will not be reversed or something, as I'm not US-based and therefore in violation of their terms. Needless to say: They don't get any clicks from my visitors.

July 8th, 2003, 01:19 PM	#4
Javi ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Madrid Posts: 758	Is this new? I have several GSI merchants getting my traffic.. do we remove the links or will we be paid? Javi ------------- build, build, build, build...

July 8th, 2003, 01:41 PM	#5
Mike Abolafia Full Member Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 295	I wanted to let you know that I am not ignoring this post. I am researching this issue and will post a response tomorrow. If you are a foreign affiliate your tracking or commissions are not treated any differently then anybody else’s.

July 8th, 2003, 02:34 PM	#6
markymark ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,737	Yeah, I'd like an answer to this one too. I nearly signed up with one of your companies the other day, but didn't or couldn't because of the 'US Affiliates Only' policy. Search Engine Positioning - 1 Design 4 Life

July 8th, 2003, 03:43 PM	#7
popdawg Pimp Duck Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Take off eh? Posts: 3,005	Thanks Mike. I look forward to hearing what you have to say on this. Game on!!!!

July 11th, 2003, 11:53 AM	#8
popdawg Pimp Duck Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Take off eh? Posts: 3,005	Tommorow was the day before yesterday, any chance of hearing about this today? Game on!!!!

July 11th, 2003, 01:54 PM	#9
Mike Abolafia Full Member Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 295	Pop......I haven’t forgotten about this issue. My contact that was looking into the issue has been unavailable for the past 1.5 days. I will touch base early next week and get a response for you. I apologize for the delay. Mike AAE Affiliates@GSICommerce.com

July 11th, 2003, 03:16 PM	#10
popdawg Pimp Duck Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Take off eh? Posts: 3,005	Thanks Mike. Game on!!!!

July 15th, 2003, 04:17 PM	#11
markymark ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,737	Would still like to know about this - particularly regarding Sports Authority. However, PopDawg, you can join FogDog sports over at BeFree - that program accepts non-US affiliates. Search Engine Positioning - 1 Design 4 Life

July 15th, 2003, 04:24 PM	#12
josephmonuit ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 1,930	He'll only join "FogDawg"

July 17th, 2003, 06:14 AM	#14
Mike Abolafia Full Member Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 295	I wanted to update you on this topic. MarkyMark, thank you for picking out the difference in FogDog's terms compared to the other GSI run affiliate programs. Here is the general gist of this situation: The decision to exclude non-US affiliates was not a decision make by the affiliate or online marketing teams. It was also not for any of the reasons that were listed in this forum as other “excuses” that merchants give. It is simply a case of the terms of the legal contracts that we have with our partners. I understand all of your points as to why non-affiliate websites should be allowed to be affiliates and I hope to work something out. However, my legal contact has been out of the office for personal reasons. That is why an "official" response has been drawn out. As I said before this issue is top on my priority list. However, there isn’t much I can do till my legal contact comes back. I promise that I will update you as soon as I get more information. In the meantime do not worry about your commissions or tracking, as they are not affected. Mike AAE Affiliates@GSICommerce.com

July 17th, 2003, 08:24 AM	#15
walleyewarrior ABW Ambassador Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Location: Winterpeg, the Mosquito Capital of Canada Posts: 2,328	Oh sure, so it ends up being we don't want to feed the lawyers?? Sorry being sarcastic. At least it's a different non canned answer that many give. Still sucks if this is the reason though. ............... WW Make a difference! Support your local Cancer Care providers.

August 5th, 2003, 02:17 PM	#16
Mike Abolafia Full Member Join Date: January 18th, 2005 Posts: 295	Our terms state: "Only Web sites with general or United States based domain name extensions (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, etc.) are eligible for participation in this Affiliate Program." So If you are based ouside of the United States you can join our affiliate programs as long as the website(s) that you are promoting has a US or Nuetral extension (e.g. .com, .net, .org, .us, etc.). Mike AAE Affiliates@GSICommerce.com