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[Andy Fogdog]

ATTENTION ALL AFFILIATES:

EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, THE FOGDOG AFFILIATE PROGRAM WILL OFFICIALLY AND FORTHWITH BE MANAGED AS 100% PARASITE-FREE.

DOCUMENTED CHANGES WILL BE REFLECTED IN AN UPDATE TO THE FOGDOG AFFILIATE TERMS & CONDITIONS AS SOON AS RESOURCES PERMIT.

Any affiliates that are confirmed to have a downloadable application that includes fogdog in its operation will be immediately instructed to remove fogdog from the application. Noncompliance will result in prompt disaffiliation. Your assistance toward this is both welcome and encouraged. Specifically, any suspicious activity can be reported to me. I can be reached directly at clarkea@gsicommerce.com, or toll-free at 866-373-9163, x. 1

I am hopeful that anyone who was reticent about committing to changing over to fogdog product feeds or featuring fogdog with more prominent link placement will now support the program in earnest with the "parasite-free" policy officially in place.

Thank you for your patience with this process, and please let me know if I can answer any questions.

Regards,
Andy

[Trust]

Cool

[ecomcity]

Looks like Fogdog will get some exposure from me again as I pulled their links when they were at BeFree for not converting traffic. The sporting goods marketplace is rife with parasitic friendly merchants so every little bit helps.

[CDC]

CDC

[ToughTurkey]

Great news.

Can you confirm that fogdog carries the exact same product line as MVP?

[jimh009]

Sold me. Count me in.

[happypoon]

From previous notices, there was supposed to be a parasite test performed that would cover most / all of GSI partners.

Since a test was announced (actually for the second test announced) it would be nice to get a response to what the test results were.

*) Are we to assume the test is over?
*) Are we to assume the parasite free policy will not be carried over to other GSI merchants as was stated previously the test would cover?

[Andy Fogdog]

Andy,

To answer your questions...

1) Yes, the test is concluded for fogdog. It is now a policy. We found that while sales did not increase as dramatically as we hoped after starting the test, they nonetheless were not adversely affected after removing the affiliates that require fogdog to be included in any downloadable apps.

2) The test was specifically for fogdog. It's relationship to other GSI stores is not direct, as each program is operated independently within GSI. That said, the possibility still exists that other GSI merchants may or may not implement similar policies. Much of that has to do with what happens from here with fogdog - do sales remain constant, or does the permanent policy change affect more significant results? We had to start somewhere, and we did so with fogdog. My recommendation is to prove to us that this was the right thing to do for fogdog. That will at least increase the chances that other merchant affiliate managers take notice.

[Andy Fogdog]

"ToughTurkey",

MVP and fogdog mostly carry the same product lines. There are, however, a few items carried by MVP and not fogdog. The most significant example that I know of is that fogdog does not (yet) have the rights to carry the Mitchell & Ness brand.

[mgeGSI]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a quick update. As I'm sure you know, Andy has left GSI a while ago, before September began actually. I am now managing the fogdog.com affiliate program. I want you all to know that this change in management will in no way affect the no-parasite policy at fogdog.com. We will continue to operate this program without the "help" of parasites. If you see any fogdog.com affiliate links on a parasite web site, please let me know so that I can investigate their business. I appreciate all of your help and your promotion of fogdog.com.

[ahmar]

Way to go Matt!