Bidchaser, Inc. Launches Affiliate Partners Program - No Website Required
Bidchaser.com, the refreshing online shopping experience, launches an exciting Affiliate Program on Thursday, October 23, 2003.
Affiliate partners get paid commissions on revenue generated from the selling and buying habits of their referrals. Referrals to Bidchaser can be either by text or logo links placed on a member's website, or simply by sending an email to friends, associates and family members with a link in the signature line.
Bidchaser.com draws from the experience of seasoned Online Auction Professionals, a top-notch technical team, and a firm commitment to its membership. The Bidchaser Team has created an online community where experienced as well as new auction enthusiasts can exchange their goods at minimum risk in an elegant, simple, and entertaining format.
The Affiliate Program adds another dimension to Bidchaser's commitment to servicing the needs of both buyers and sellers The Affiliate program is the first of many initiatives that will focus on Bidchaser's unwavering support of the 'forgotten traders' - those who trade in smaller and unique items.
Visit http://info.bidchaser.com/affiliates for more details on this unique and exciting opportunity.
posted on October 23, 2003 09:02:52 PM new
Thanks for the help with the UBBs. BTW, I love that story. In the end, doesn't he turn into what he always yearned to be, and everyone lives happily everafter?
posted on October 24, 2003 07:49:27 AM new
Actually they do need to legally have your SSN or FEIN for use on their 1099 forms. The same thing has recently come up with Amazon affiliates as well. Most payments to "non-employees" that are not direct business expenses need this. I'm no accountant, but the rule is something like that. I can't fault them for follow the law.
Don't get me wrong. I'll never sign up or give them that information. But it's not a scam. It's a dilemma they are going to have to work around.
The IRS - helping business everywhere. Or not!
-------------------
Replay Media
Games of all kinds!
posted on October 24, 2003 06:09:13 PM new
If and when a payment is made, then they can ask for SSN for FEIN. If it's not provided, backup withholding can be taken.
And, since they are offering this affiliate program worldwide, then how are Non-US affiliates' 1099 going to be filed without a 1099?
posted on October 24, 2003 08:34:58 PM new
As with any program that results in the disbursement of funds, we have to be extremely cautious and thorough. This is a completely voluntary program, but we believe it is a great way to reward the loyalty and good will of those who participate in it.
The reason we ask for the indentifying information up front, to quote from our program agreement, paragraph2, the identifying information prevents certain misuse of the program:
"Members shall not (i) activate more than one Member account; (ii) select or use a username or another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (iii) use a name subject to rights of another person without authorization from that person; or (iv) use false names or addresses to activate a Member account."
As far as the tax requirements for other countries, we handle them on a case by case basis. It's our intent to provide a truly global environment, and we are willing to complete the research and accommodate members who reside outside the US, also from paragraph 2:
[i]All non U.S. residents are required to send Bidchaser a copy of the tax form required by each country's authorities. Bidchaser reserves the right to withhold any payments until we have received such documents.[i]
I hope this helps to clarify some of the program's requirements.
Regards,
Leo Cunha
http://www.bidchaser.com
[spelling corrections]
[ edited by bidchaser on Oct 24, 2003 08:39 PM ]
[ edited by bidchaser on Oct 24, 2003 08:42 PM ]
posted on October 24, 2003 08:50:06 PM new
Sounds like a good way to get rid of duplicate members of the program. Difficult to fake a SSN and collect at the same time.
Ebay uses the affiliate program and gets great results. There was a good read in todays auctionBytes newsletter about profiting from ebay referrals and such
Battle for Eyeballs Drives Google Traffic to eBay
By Ina & David Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
October 24, 2003
eBay has become the latest weapon in the search-engine ranking wars. Ryle
Goodrich, a mountain-climbing programmer, figured out how to exploit eBay and
Google to create a money-making machine.
Goodrich, a 25-year old Carnegie Mellon graduate, has learned how to rocket
nearly half a million of his Web pages to the top of Google search results
pages. A self-described "peripatetic profiteer," Goodrich uses this premium
search engine placement to drive traffic to eBay search results pages using his
affiliate links, making it a potentially lucrative operation.
How does Goodrich's system work?
A prime example is illustrated by searching on Google for the term "Roseville
Vase." As of this writing, the first listing is for a page on Elicitrus.com, one
of at least three dozen similar sites owned by Goodrich. But clicking on the
link does not take the visitor to Elicitrus.com, it redirects the user to an
eBay search results page for Roseville vases using a cloaking technique. Anyone
who then bids, buys or registers on eBay during this visit is putting money in
Goodrich's pocket through his participation in eBay's affiliate program. (Note
that ad-blocking programs installed on some computers may prevent the redirects
from taking place.)
Attempting to redirect Google and other search engine results is not new. Search
engine experts have been writing about this problem for years.
"Search engine spam can definitely compromise quality," said Danny Sullivan,
Editor of SearchEngineWatch.com. "That's why they all fight this problem. In
general, there's no consumer advantage to having an affiliate simply redirect
people to the same page that a search engine might also list."
The first step for a "search-jacker" is to get high placement on Google results
by creating doorway pages. According to Sullivan, "they are trying to make a
page that will get people to walk into their Web site, which in turn becomes a
doorway to send people to another page. Since doorway pages are often ugly,
cloaking or redirection is often used to hide them from users. Google
specifically does not like cloaking."
What's ingenious about Goodrich's system is how he populates his pages with
relevant content to boost his Google rankings. Goodrich uses a program to
automatically harvest auction descriptions from eBay to fill his Web pages with
terms and content to attract Google’s spiders.
eBay's User Agreement prohibits the use of robots, spiders, scrapers or other
automated means to access the site for any purpose without eBay's express
written permission. In addition, sellers own the copyright to their auction
descriptions; they already deal with problems of image theft and even template
theft from competing sellers. Goodrich said he believes his use of the content
is protected under fair use laws.
Typically, before Goodrich's operation, eBay listing content did not show up on
Google results, aside from paid advertising. (eBay pays Google to appear in
Sponsored Link sections on search results page.) In 2000, eBay sued Bidder's
Edge to prevent it from spidering its site and placing eBay’s auction content on
their servers. It could be argued that Goodrich, while skirting some eBay
policies, is actually benefiting eBay by driving visitors to its site.
Phillip Davies, President of TIAS.com, an online antiques mall, keeps a close
eye on Google. When TIAS merchants put items up for sale on his site, they often
show up in Google search results. Davies does periodic searches on Google and
other sites to see how his merchants' items perform.
Davies became concerned in early October when he saw an unusual pattern on
Google search results for collectibles. Certain sites were dominating the
results, and they all led to eBay. Davies wondered why, suddenly, eBay was
included on Google search results, and why those results were not displaying the
eBay URL.
"The inconsistent quality of Google search results has left many users wondering
what is going on with their favorite search engine," said TIAS’ Davies.
AuctionBytes contacted Commission Junction, the company that administers eBay's
affiliate program. A spokesperson said, "redirects are allowed at the discretion
of the advertiser (eBay). eBay felt that they are informed about what the
publishers are doing and there no concerns that there are any agreement
violations in this instance."
A spokesperson for eBay said that if Google didn't have a problem with it,
neither did they. She did not get back to AuctionBytes about the auction-copying
aspect of Goodrich's operation.
A Google spokesperson would not comment on the specifics of the case, but said,
"Google's ranking technology is built on more than 100 different components and
is designed to be highly spam resistant. Additionally, Google updates its search
algorithms on a regular basis as part of a concerted effort to ensure that our
users always see the most relevant search results."
When contacted this week by phone, Ryle Goodrich said, "This whole business is
staying one up on the competition. I think we're providing a service. We're
really connecting people with products." He said it was hard to say how much
money he was earning, but it was "barely enough to support myself. We do a bit
better every month."
Goodrich later added in an email, "[My sites] are just designed to give search
engine visibility to eBay auctions, something these auctions still don't have
much of. These sites only show up on a tiny fraction of a percentage of Google
searches every day, and I believe that people who hit these sites should be
aware of what the results of their searches are at eBay. Eventually eBay will
communicate more efficiently with search engines, and that will have a much
larger impact than these sites have."
When asked whether search-engine spam affects the usefulness of Google, a Google
spokesperson said, "There are people who attempt to influence Google search
results. These efforts do not negatively affect the quality of the more than 200
million search queries we serve everyday."
Google's Web site claims the success of their search technology relies on the
"uniquely democratic nature of the Web." As more Webmasters become acquainted
with techniques for outwitting Google spiders, that democracy may be in
jeopardy.
It looks like this is shaping up to be the battle of the bots.
NOTE: Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported today that Google is
considering conducting an initial public offering of stock next year. Rumors
have been circulating for some time on a possible Google IPO.
***
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on October 25, 2003 03:52:23 AM new
Spam is Spam.
So, how DID my email address end up on the bidchaser spam list?
From reading other places, I'm not the only one. It's really odd my email address was never spammed before now and as I said previously, I DON'T opt-in to any lists.
