Cashback Sites : Love Them or Hate Them or Impassive?

[BFG 9000]

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I can certainly see why some people are suggesting that the use of a discount code should automatically mean that the commission goes to the affiliate who's code it is (talking about exclusive codes), however........

My argument against this would be that it would be very easy for someone like Mark P to create a printable list or RSS feed of all the codes which people can keep close by whilst they're merrily surfing away clicking on affiliate links, perusing unique well written content & clicking on adwords.

The buyer would then simply type in the code whilst making a purchase & the commission would go to the voucher site.
Just my initial thoughts....


Colin, you banned me from your forums a couple of years ago - any chance you can let me back in?


TTFN

BFG

[Colin@DVDTimes]

Colin, you banned me from your forums a couple of years ago - any chance you can let me back in?

Send me an email or PM and I'll look into it.

[Washerhelp]

Imagine a shop setting up on the High street. It sells most of the same goods all the other shops sell. However, its business model is to give back all or most of the discount it gets from its suppliers to customers in exchange for a modest annual fee.

What effect would that have on the rest of the businesses? The only difference between this and the cash back sites is that it's a bit more hassle to get the cash back from a site which fortunately (for now) limits its power to destroy legitimate businesses.

The most puzzling thing to me is why merchants ever entertained the idea of working with businesses that unfairly compete with all its other affiliates.

Some of these cash back sites even spread the idea that ordinary affiliates are ripping the public off for having the affrontary to try and make a profit.