Affilinet Becoming an Affiliate Agency
August 19th, 2009 by Peter Glaeser |
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I’ve just heard the news about eBay pulling their affiliate programs in German-speaking countries out of Affilinet next month. eBay has done this in most countries before already. It makes total sense as they are now able to customize everything to their needs and switch to a performance-oriented click commission (away from pay-per-sale).
However, what struck me is the fact that Affilinet will continue to the following things for eBay here:
- program management
- affiliate scouting
- program development
Now, isn’t this what we usually describe as “affiliate agency services” or “outsourced program management” (OPM)?
Granted, all networks are more than just technical solution providers. They try to push their affiliates into the most profitable programs, share data, and so on. Everyone is out there to get the most out of things.
However, networks must maintain a minimum level of neutrality. I think with Affilinet openly providing full service to a single merchant they’ve lost their neutrality. I’m a strong believer in the separation of powers between merchants, affiliates, networks, and agencies. Fishy stuff will happen whenever you mix up the roles.
Ask yourself: If you were a merchant, would you run an affiliate program on a network which is also the full-service agency of your competitor?