Purchasing Thru Your Own Affiliate Links A Morale?

[kflo01]

Is it frowned upon to buy thru your own affiliate links? The reason I ask this is because a friend of mine asked me to forward her the web site to purchase cheap cell phone items (cellphoneshop.net) She couldn't remember the name. cellphoneshop.net happened to be a merchant in the affiliate network I belong to so I forwarded her my affiliate link via email. Quick .45 made

Now I am in the market for a 32" LCD TV and started thinking. If I purchased this thru Amazon using my Amazon Affiliate link I could save a decent amount of money. But is this frowned upon or against the rules?

I must admit I have not read all the T's & C's of the different Affiliate Networks and Merchants so could I get your thoughts?

 

[Larwee]

kflo01, Amazon states the following:

You may not purchase products during sessions initiated through your own Associates links and will not receive referral fees for such orders. This includes orders for customers, orders on behalf of customers, and orders for products to be used by you, your friends, your relatives, or your associates in any manner.

You should always read and follow the terms.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi kflo01,

Good question. Some programs are OK with it, some even encourage it and some it's a very big no-no. So you really do need to read the TOS of the specific program before doing it. I'm 99% certain I read that it's prohibited with Amazon.
I buy a TON there and if you could do it I'd be saving a ton of money every year on all my purchases.

With some programs they just won't pay you your commission, but I think with some it could be grounds for termination too.

OH here it is in the Amazon TOS. Found it for you.

https://affiliate-program.amazon.co...soc-center-1&pf_rd_r=&pf_rd_i=assoc_join_menu

"You may not purchase products during sessions initiated through the links on your site for your own use, for resale or commercial use of any kind. This includes orders for customers or on behalf of customers or orders for products to be used by you or your friends, relatives, or associates in any manner. Such purchases may result (in our sole discretion) in the withholding of referral fees and/or the termination of this Agreement. Products that are eligible to earn referral fees under the rules set forth above are referred to as "Qualifying Products."

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks Larry, we were writing a post at the same time.

 

[kflo01]

So sending the link to my friend did not break the T's & C's cause I am not going to be using the item I was just leading her to the site to make a purchase. I def wil not buy from my affiliate links now I know that.

 

[Anomaly]

So sending the link to my friend did not break the T's & C's cause I am not going to be using the item I was just leading her to the site to make a purchase. I def wil not buy from my affiliate links now I know that.

As mentioned above though, it does vary by network ... e.g. clickbank it is ok from time to time as long as that is not the soul use of your account ...

 

[FDC]

I wonder if affiliates do it accidentally if their ID is cookied in from a test click or something....

 

[libertygadget]

I wonder if affiliates do it accidentally if their ID is cookied in from a test click or something....

They do, and on some networks they need to be very cautious as sometimes the networks are over zealous and will ban your account and forfeit some of your already well earned commissions. Beware and clear cookies!

 

[Linda Buquet]

... e.g. clickbank it is ok from time to time as long as that is not the soul use of your account ...

So think of it from another perspective and that's one of the problems I have with CB. You can turn someone onto a product, they read the review you spent hours researching and writing, then just swap out your affiliate link for their own.

 

[James Spinosa]

As mentioned above though, it does vary by network ... e.g. clickbank it is ok from time to time as long as that is not the soul use of your account ...

Gotta love ClickBank for that, I couldn't believe it the first time I read their terms of service. The obvious downside that as somebody that relies heavily on ClickBank income I lose a ton of commissions to people using their own affiliate links.