Sales not been validated for ages

[cashchampion]

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Hi,

Typically I was having sales validated every day, and sometimes every 2 days.
However, since 1 december I have had no sales validated at all.
Is this typicaly of the xmas rush, or is there an issue somewhere?

thanks,
Marc

[Claire Theobald]

Hi Marc,

Can you please drop me a line with your details so we can look into this.

That would be great.

Many thanks

Claire

[cashchampion]

Thanks Claire,

Email sent.

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

I have been chasing to see when a few Zavvi transactions are going to be validated - with rumours of the company not being in the best state, the sooner AW can verify commissions and invoice Zavvi the better - Anyone else not seeing Zavvi commissions verified for the last 8 weeks?

Cheers

Al

[Stuart]

Yes, Zavvi are very slow, I was promting an item that clearly said in stock and they declined a load of sales, when they ran out of stock I stopped my PPC.

I still have sales for Zavvi and other merchants that are older than 6 weeks, which I was told the average time for validating as they ahve to wait for returns etc

Br
Stuart

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

I think we are in the same boat Stuart with the Zavvi sales - what worries me is if they go into administration in the new year, this delay in validations could really loose any revenue outstanding - better to slap Zavvi with an invoice now whilst they are still running, rather than leave it until the New Year.

I've just emailed Claire, I will let you know what she says.

Cheers

Al

[aclements10]

Hi Al,

With the Zavvi program now paused and the future of the online business still uncertain the merchant is not in a position to validate any more sales. Obviously, the merchant cannot validate the sales if they are unable at present to pay out the commissions.

We will speak with Zavvi regarding the outstanding transactions, and if the merchant is in a position to process and pay out on these transactions then I am sure they will.

Should you wish to speak with me directly regarding this please don't hesitate to do so.

Kind Regards
Anthony Clements
Manager, Key Accounts
Tel: 020 7553 0353 Email: aclements@affiliatewindow.com

[Stuart]

Thanks Al and Anthony,

Please let us know ASAP.

My argument is that at the time of promoting they had stock (according to the web site) and were still taking web orders, so they are real sales where monies had been taken and if they had stock the orders should have been shipped, therefore they are sales before the issues started with Entertainment UK their supplier

Br
Stuart

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

Hi Anthony,

I am 100% in agreement with Stuart, I have just looked at my reports, and I have sales that were generated on and around the 17th October - these orders would have been paid for and recieved by the customer - the problems with Zavvi arose with the administration of Woolworths and their Entertainment UK business which did not happen until end of November.

Thanks

Al

[milojones]

I have a very bad feeling about this, i've got about £400 outstanding and my gut instinct tells me i'm not going to see it.
It also doesn't help when anthony commented:

and if the merchant is in a position to process and pay out on these transactions then I am sure they will.

I hope i'm wrong.

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

Me too...the thing which I find even more frustrating is that I have been asking the account manager over the last two weeks what the situation is regarding Zavvi sales and have been given all sorts of a run around, either that they had just received a validation batch, or that a validation batch would be received in the afternoon, or even yesterday that validations have just been done.

I am a big fan of AW, and find them awesome to deal with, but on this occasion, I have found this very frustrating.

[aclements10]

All,

Firstly, I am sure you all appreciate the delicate circumstances that occur when a company falls into economic difficulties.

The Zavvi account management team continue to do an excellent job relaying information and liasing with affiliates to ensure everyone is kept as up to date as we are about the latest circumstances surrounding the program. Nobody has been deliberately mislead, and any possible confusion stems from account managers having to mediate between several parties to ensure the best course of action for all concerned.

I apologise for any misunderstanding and intend to clarify the current situation with Zavvi as clearly as possible here.

Whether Zavvi validate the commissions or not means very little unless they are actually in a position to pay affiliates for those commissions. Zavvi have validations that are ready to be processed, however we are still uncertain as to whether Zavvi are in a position to pay for those commissions once they have been validated.

I am sure you all agree, there is no benefit for affiliates in Zavvi processing commissions if they are not able to pay for those commissions. This will only create further confusion and frustration.

The network wants to see validated commissions just as much as all the affiliates we work with. However, we cannot act as the conduit for commission payments between an affiliate and a merchant if there is no possibility that we will receive payment for the commissions ourselves.

I can assure everyone that we are continuing to seek confirmation from Zavvi that they are in a position to pay for approved commissions. Once this confirmation has been provided from their Accounts Department Zavvi will validate in the normal way.

Finally, I would like to thank everybody for their patience on this matter. I realise this is frustrating, however we are working hard to get the situation resolved and I will communicate a further update on Zavvi validations as soon as I have it.

Should anyone wish to contact me directly regarding this please don't hesitate to do so.

Kind Regards
Anthony Clements
Manager, Key Accounts
Tel: 020 7553 0353 Email: aclements@affiliatewindow.com

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your indepth reply.

I can understand your points, but I would like to question a number of factors as to how this problem has been handled.

Firstly, what are the actual economic/financial problems that Zavvi have fallen into? From what I have read in the press, they have denied that they are under administration, and secondly, the email that was sent out to us in the beginning of December made no mention of financial difficulties, simply that Zavvi were unable to fulfill orders due to stock shortages (as a result of Entertainment UK).

Is Zavvi treating the affiliate channel with distain ie. not paying us in preference to paying ordinary trade creditors etc. Surely they are contractually obliged to pay us within trade terms, and if they are not paying you, surely the way to go forward is to be forceful ie. potentially launching legal action to recover the amounts due (which I would imagine is sizable when all affiliate commissions are considered).

I could understand the problems that are associated with a company that is in administration, but due to the fact that Zavvi is not in administration, they should be paying their debts as and when they fall due - if they are not capable of making these payments then Zavvi is technically insolvent providing grounds for the administration/liquidation. Affiliate Window should be doing everything in their power to fight for the affiliate commission now whilst you still have the chance of obtaining it.

It is extremely frustrating to see busy Zavvi stores on the high street, when they are not paying their bills!

Regards

Al

[LearnAffiliateMarketing]

Just wanted to update, that I have just had a chat with Anthony from AW, and wanted to thank him for his time and appreciate the efforts that he and his team are going to try and secure the Zavvi payments.

Thanks

Al

[aclements10]

Hi Al,

Thanks for your time on the phone earlier.

For the benefit of others looking for information on this issue I am happy to clarify that Zavvi remain clear of administration, and while they do so they are capable of settling with creditors.

This is not an issue of Zavvi being unable to release payment, but rather a delay that we need to resolve before we can continue to release commissions. As it stands, Affiliate Window are exposed on commissions already paid out and this is something we need to address before allowing the commission cycle to continue.

I am sure this does not in any way reflect a negative attitude towards the affiliate channel, but rather an issue with many creditors being involved in the chain, some of who - such as store staff - are integral to running the Zavvi business.

We are doing all we can to ensure a positive outcome for affiliates and I will up date this thread as soon as I have more information.

Kind Regards
Anthony Clements
Manager, Key Accounts
Tel: 020 7553 0353 Email: aclements@affiliatewindow.com