Just something I was wondering - there seems to be a hatred of them everywhere but I see them as beneficial:
From you FAQ:
Affiliate links are not welcome on OzBargain. Many OzBargain members are already using various cashback schemes (e.g. CashRewards) to receive cashback from various affiliate networks. Therefore by using an affiliate link, our members may miss out the chance of getting cashback, which makes your deal more expensive! We also don't want to encourage users sharing low quality deals for the sole purpose of affiliate commissions.
IMO I think these arguments are invalid.
- If I want to buy something through CashRewards then I will do so by not clicking through Ozbargain (as that way the sale would not track). Letting the OP put an affiliate link in the body of their submission would in no way affect this.
- Regarding low quality deals I can see this being an issue however deals are peer reviewed (through downvotes/upvotes etc.). The bad deals would simply be weeded out. Alternatively make a requirement of 98% upvotes:downvotes or something to start putting affiliate codes.
I many benefits of affiliate codes, the primary one being:
- Encourages users to actively go and look for deal (I know some do already). I would trawl Amazon in my spare time if I knew there was a financial incentive for finding a good deal.
Also another thing to think about:
Sites like I Want That Flight operate off Affiliate deals. Many deals are linked straight to them as opposed directly to the booking site which you can often get Cashrewards cashback through. I feel as though if these websites are allowed then there is no reason affiliate deals should be banned.
Opinions?
(Just raising some points and I'm happy to hear Scotty's reason for the banning of them.)
They're not banned and some users are making a good financial return.