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What's Happened to the Affiliate Program of Shop Direct, Littlewoods, Great Universal, Kays, etc ?!

Now as you look at this page you may notice that it isn't exactly Shop Direct, Littlewoods Catalogue, Great Universal, Ben Sherman, Marshall Ward, etc. However there is a story behind this which is worth reading. The fact is, you're reading this at an affiliate website which was very good for business for a long time.

Everything went well for years, as Zyra's website is connected together in an interesting way, and the good business generated was well appreciated by Littlewoods Shop Direct Group and by customers who found the shopping catalogues could easily be reached. Everything was going well, that is, until Buy.at decided to impose a new contract.

In my opinion, the imposition of the new contract was out-of-character for Buy.at , as they had previously been a quite reasonable company. However, since those reasonable days they'd been bought out by AOL, and that may hint at a problem, and I believe that a relationship can only work if there is trust, and by now I was starting to have suspicions about the whole thing.

I refused to sign the contract. I am like that. I don't sign things which I don't agree to. It's not a matter of what's legal, it's a matter of having some personal integrity and honour.

Sadly Buy.at did not take this well, and rather than sorting out a reasonable contract which everyone could sign, they sent me a formal 14-day notice of expulsion.

The problem then was, of course, who's going to tell the merchants? Who's going to tell these great merchants, famous shopping catalogues, multi-million pound companies, that the marketing company has kicked off one of their best affiliates because they wouldn't sign the ridiculous contract?!

In the end I told the merchants myself, at least all of those whom I could get in touch with. They were, almost all of them, very understanding. Some were horrified that Buy.at could make such a mess of things, especially considering the many years of good business and ongoing prosperity.

I think that a most commendable job was done by the representatives of Littlewoods Shop Direct, who urged Buy.at to come to a reasonable agreement, but it was all in vain, and Buy.at did not agree. Or, as another affiliate put it "Buy.at have negotiated in bad faith".

I hasten to add, none of this problem can be blamed on Littlewoods Shop Direct Group; they have been exceptionally helpful and accommodating. So if you're wondering about Shop Direct, remember: It's not their fault!

I, as a successful affiliate, am missing out on several tens of thousands of pounds per year of affiliate income (as (at the time) Buy.at represented about a fifth of the site's income). However the loss of sales on the part of the merchants must be an order of magnitude or so higher, I would have thought. It is altogether very sad, and most regrettable. However, it's better than dishonourably signing up to a contract which I don't agree to and which hasn't been mutually resolved properly.

I like Littlewoods Shop Direct and I feel I get on well with the people there, and I would very much like to promote them again at this website. In my opinion, Buy.at are getting in the way of good business. I recommend that Littlewoods Shop Direct Group have affiliate programs at several different networks, preferably low-fuss networks which are affiliate-friendly. This allows the free market to function better, and it's also likely to attract more affiliates. This page, like other corked pages, have an important feature: Pages that have been Corked can be UNcorked, and the idea is that they will be uncorked when there is an amicable route for good business to continue!

Customers, I'm sure you're hoping to visit some of these shopping catalogues, so here are some helpful resources:

Shopping Catalogues - a set of shopping catalogues at Zyra's site.

Littlewoods Direct at Stamp Demon - a page at another affiliate website which we like to encourage!

If enough of us vote with our feet, we can stamp out bad practice.

A few notes of advice about bad practice:

* Agreements are a matter of honour and personal integrity, not litigious stuff. Companies that get this wrong are missing the point. Plus, they'll miss out on good business here, as well as alienating other good affiliates.

* See How to Run an Affiliate Company Properly. Many companies are doing the right thing, and that's where we are moving the business to.

* Companies should Avoid Exclusive Agreements. These are risky as the marketing company involved can GO BAD and can leave an affiliate program in shtuck. They are sometimes used as a free ticket for situations of threat and bullying. Don't let them get away with it!

* The sending of legal threats can sometimes lead to the death of the recipient by suicide. It's important to realise this, because companies aren't allowed to get out of their liability for death. Plus, there is the matter of additional bad PR.