Changes to Camsense Affiliate Program Terms & Conditions... Huh?
 

Just got this in the mail today...

"[...] Camsense has implemented a new definition for an Active Affiliate, which includes the following:

1. Referred visitors who become members of a CC Network site must not, in the aggregate, exceed chargebacks of 1 ½ % over a one (1) month period.
2. Active Affiliates must comply with new customer identification requirements (see #4 below) within thirty (30) days after becoming an affiliate or within sixty (60) days from a request by CC Network for such compliance for existing affiliates.
3. To be considered an Active Affiliate, you must deliver at minimum five (5) qualified spenders per month to a CC Network site.
4. CamSense has the option to discontinue the payouts for your referred visitors who have become qualified spenders on a CC Network site upon your failure to meet the criteria for an Active Affiliate over a two (2) month period. [...]"

With all due respect CamSense, what's this?

guess which cam company will be up for sale soon!

I guess they want to weed out the inactive affiliates and to get people to promote them

Shades of the videosecrets issue... although at least camsense is upfront about their policy.

I've already asked if my registration levels are sufficient (and what exactly a "qualified spender" is) because apparently a lot of my sales are generated by existing members. I'd be pretty pissed if my account - which over the past year has generated 6 figures worth of gross sales - gets canned because not enough new people are registering. :(

In that same year I've only had 178 new registrations, or an average of about 15 a month... I'm not sure whether registration requires a CC or whether that's a further step/conversion block... if so then I could be in trouble.

Rowan, Contact me. Or let me know your contact information and I will contact you. :]

If this will become a trend among sponsors, it's bye bye affiliate biz.

We have been promoting camsense for a long time, in that time we build a nice returning rev share. With these terms it is almost impossible to stay an active affiliate. 1 shitty month and all that hard work would be gone...

This one is nice too, and you cannot control it :
One whose qualified spenders do not, in the aggregate, exceed chargebacks of 1½ % over a one (1) month period.
Did you ever run a camsite ? 1½% chargebacks in 1 month is very plausible !

Don´t worry - where there is traffic, there is someone who will buy it :thumbsup

If you read further down on the new terms and conditions they are also requiring more identification from affiliates. They want bank account info and photo id submitted.

I went looking on their site for a place to input this information and could not find anything.



"For individuals, a residential or business street address;


For a person other than an individual (such as a corporation, partnership, or trust), principal place of business, local office, or other physical location;

Affiliate's bank, together with the full postal address and telephone number of such bank;

Identification number, which shall be:


For a U.S. person, a taxpayer identification number; or


For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.


For corporations, the registration number, together with where the corporation was incorporated, and the names of all directors and officers and the beneficial owners of the corporation.


(14.2). Certain information required above must be verified by you providing CamSense a true and accurate photocopy of one or more of the following documents:


For each individual who controls or has a beneficial interest in the affiliate, an unexpired government-issued identification evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard, such as a driver's license or passport; and


For a person other than an individual (such as a corporation, partnership, or trust), documents showing the existence of the entity, such as certified articles of incorporation, a government-issued business license, a partnership agreement, or trust instrument."

I love it. They'll probably come out and say this is the best new thing for affiliates since FHGs.

True... but that does not mean affiliates should not be very careful what they do with their traffic.

In the cams business, and i presume you are aware of this, it's all about revenue share. The last thing a cams affiliate that has referred a few "big spenders" needs is that the cam company comes with new terms that basically, more or less, take away that commission from you. Sure, you can after that find new ways to cash in on your traffic, but you've already lost a nice commission that should have rightfully been yours.

That's why i'm saying this move of CamSense creates a precedent that puts us, affiliates, in a vulnerable position and that affiliates should be very careful where they send their traffic to and think in the long run so that they don't cry later.

Only had a few members on there that hardly ever rebilled, so I don't feel so bad redirecting my links. It's such a shame though, that they are pretty much screwing the bigger webmasters who do have active members on there.

Yeah, some folks will not be very happy to hear about this new terms, that's for sure.

I am not sure if I should drop my links to CamContacts or not. What is everyone else doing?

Do you have memebers signed up and spending? Can you send a minimum of five (5) qualified spenders per month to a CC Network site?

If yes to both, keep your links.

If no to either, drop 'em.