Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Hostgator Affiliate Program *thumbs down*

[viclopez]

I sent two sign ups to them. One in February and the other in March IIRC.
I have yet to receive any compensation. I email them about it, and they tell me I will be getting payment for one sign up.

Now, im amused and ask that this be looked in to further since both my referrals were done in person. One of the sign ups was a co-worker. And the other is a friend of mine.

They finally get back to me and tell me that I will only be getting paid for one since one was a duplicate. They claim that both came from the same IP. Impossible. Both have never even met each other and there is no possible way they would have their IP.

My conclusion? Its a sham. I've seen horror stories about hostgator's affiliate program. I've heard of them not paying out or simply denying sign ups. I came on here a month ago asking for a better affiliate. I signed up with a competitor, and I've already gotten my first payment.

Hostgator is great in hosting. Its terrible at its affiliate program, and its customer service.

[David]

Oddly enough since Chad became the affiliate manager at Hostgator I've had a lot less problems with delayed payouts.

Lately they've been getting better & better at it. I suspect an awful lot of the delays were a result of their (recent enough) office move. I can't complain though they've been excellent!

[The Stealthy One]

viclopez, did you signup both users from your own computer? That may be what they are referring to when they mention that both users have/had the same IP address.

[2Mhost]

any affiliate program owner want to save every $$ specially if the affiliate payment almost equal to the signup payment .. in the other hands the webmaster will do anything to get a sign up and forget why hostgator put this reward .. they put this reward to spread the word about them, to get banners here and there .. your "word of mouth" advice to your freind is not what the affiliate program made for .. its result of good service of hostgator

[rosebud9843]

A 'co-worker', and a buddy. Can't you send better referrals? Affiliate programs dont like this type of referrals. I recall people sending their buddies to online casinos and making threads about gambling companies not paying.

You spotted their good payout and tried to make a quick buck. I don't see why an honest individual would request payment for referring buddies to a service that they enjoyed. Doesnt make any sense.

I would not pay you anything if i were manager at HG aff. program.

[redmalloc]

Originally Posted by rosebud9843

I would not pay you anything if i were manager at HG aff. program.

I have not read the ToS, but I have a hard time imagining that they qualify sales so that "direct human contact" is not allowed. Even if they do, how the heck could they know? If the OP is being honest, HG is not running their aff program in a reasonable way.

It would be "neat" if we could all create contracts and then selectively ignore terms that don't suit ourselves later on.

[viclopez]

Originally Posted by The Stealthy One

viclopez, did you signup both users from your own computer? That may be what they are referring to when they mention that both users have/had the same IP address.

no. im pretty sure that goes against the terms.

[RackZen]

Originally Posted by rosebud9843

A 'co-worker', and a buddy. Can't you send better referrals? Affiliate programs dont like this type of referrals. I recall people sending their buddies to online casinos and making threads about gambling companies not paying.

You spotted their good payout and tried to make a quick buck. I don't see why an honest individual would request payment for referring buddies to a service that they enjoyed. Doesnt make any sense.

I would not pay you anything if i were manager at HG aff. program.

It shouldn't matter if he is sending his co-workers or buddies. He took time to direct them to a host he felt was reputable and made some money in the process; big deal. As long as he is within their TOS, there should be no problem. It shouldn't matter if he's referring a friend or someone he doesn't know. The goal of most, if not all, affiliate programs is to generate new business and customers without the company having to do the work themselves. The whole point of an affiliate program is to reach out to customers that they are not currently reaching. I've never seen an affiliate program discouraging affiliates from referring customers based on the type of relationship. If the client who signed up had the same last name, was the affiliates wife/husband/son/daughter, then I might call foul play. Otherwise, I see no problem.

If HG is claiming the signup was from the same IP that does make me wonder a bit. As "The Stealthy One" said above, did you signup the customers from the same computer or the same office (ie. where you work)? If so, I can see why the IP would be the same and this would be a red flag for ANY affiliate program.

[viclopez]

Originally Posted by rosebud9843

A 'co-worker', and a buddy. Can't you send better referrals? Affiliate programs dont like this type of referrals. I recall people sending their buddies to online casinos and making threads about gambling companies not paying.

You spotted their good payout and tried to make a quick buck. I don't see why an honest individual would request payment for referring buddies to a service that they enjoyed. Doesnt make any sense.

I would not pay you anything if i were manager at HG aff. program.

Are you trolling or seriously ignorant? I sent them customers. I should get compensated. How is sending them customers online, any different from sending them via word of mouth? They get customers. I should get paid.

[viclopez]

Originally Posted by RackZen

It shouldn't matter if he is sending his co-workers or buddies. He took time to direct them to a host he felt was reputable and made some money in the process; big deal. As long as he is within their TOS, there should be no problem. It shouldn't matter if he's referring a friend or someone he doesn't know. The goal of most, if not all, affiliate programs is to generate new business and customers without the company having to do the work themselves. The whole point of an affiliate program is to reach out to customers that they are not currently reaching. I've never seen an affiliate program discouraging affiliates from referring customers based on the type of relationship. If the client who signed up had the same last name, was the affiliates wife/husband/son/daughter, then I might call foul play. Otherwise, I see no problem.

If HG is claiming the signup was from the same IP that does make me wonder a bit. As "The Stealthy One" said above, did you signup the customers from the same computer or the same office (ie. where you work)? If so, I can see why the IP would be the same and this would be a red flag for ANY affiliate program.

at work, we all share the same ip. but my friend works and lives and hasn't ever even spoken with the other person i reffered. I dont know how this could of happened. I know time warner recycles IP's between customers, but i find this next to impossible.

[jonwatson]

Originally Posted by rosebud9843

A 'co-worker', and a buddy. Can't you send better referrals? Affiliate programs dont like this type of referrals. I recall people sending their buddies to online casinos and making threads about gambling companies not paying.

You spotted their good payout and tried to make a quick buck. I don't see why an honest individual would request payment for referring buddies to a service that they enjoyed. Doesnt make any sense.

I would not pay you anything if i were manager at HG aff. program.

Why the heck would it matter where the customers came from? I'd much rather take the recommendation of a buddy I know and since it's no skin off my nose I may as well sign up via his affiliate link while I'm at it.

Many of our customers have referred people to us because they were happy with our service even before we had an affiliate program. Now that we do, I wouldn't expect them to not refer people or not take advantage of making a few bucks when they do.

Your post makes no sense to me.

[WireNine]

at work, we all share the same ip.

Maybe they thought that your work buddy was actually you signing up again just to get compensated? I wouldn't blame them for not paying you.

[viclopez]

Originally Posted by WN-Ali

Maybe they thought that your work buddy was actually you signing up again just to get compensated? I wouldn't blame them for not paying you.

A huge number of people get recommendations for services from co workers.
I guess this takes out a huge slice of the affiliate sign up base.

[BrentOfHG]

Any legit referrals sent the affiliate will be paid for it. What is your ticket number on this?

[viclopez]

#uju-681628