BuyCostumes.com's New Affiliate Policy Levels Playing Field by Suspending Certain "Loyalty" Sites that Use Nefarious Software

BuyCostumes is leading by example and updating its affiliate program policy by not allowing any affiliates with opt-in downloadable software.

New Berlin, WI (PRWEB) July 14, 2007 -- Since 1999 BuyCostumes.com has been an innovator in the Halloween industry, gaining a 30% online market share by 2006. At the core of its success is the Company's fundamental belief in Affiliate Marketing. For BuyCostumes.com, no other marketing vehicle is as powerful as CPA. Affiliates make money by generating sales for their retail partners and BuyCostumes.com affiliates are a powerful part BuyCostumes.com's success.

In 2004, BuyCostumes.com was the first Commission Junction retailer to implement a zero-chargeback policy, meaning the company would never reverse an affiliate's commission, even if the order was returned. At the time this was hailed as a big win for affiliates. "It seemed like the right thing to do; why should we penalize our affiliate partners if we failed to meet the customers' expectations?" commented Jalem Getz, the Company's CEO, "we're flattered the practice has since been adopted by many Commission Junction advertisers, including our competitors," Getz added.

This past Spring, BuyCostumes.com discovered some corporate loyalty based affiliate partners were using downloadable software or "reminder" toolbars with the capacity to override other affiliate's cookies under certain circumstances. BuyCostumes.com completed a thorough study to learn just what these circumstances were. Bottom line, it was discovered that BuyCostumes.com's ability to pay the last referring affiliate for a sale could be interrupted by a toolbar or software that customers could download to "remind" them of participating merchants. It quickly became clear that the rule of "last click gets the commission" was not being honored in some cases. "The last referring affiliate receives the commission. It is the foundation of our program, there are no exceptions," stated Kristen Grace, the Company's Affiliate Manager.

As a result, BuyCostumes.com has taken it upon itself to suspend any affiliates it discovers are violating the "last click" policy. While this policy has caused BuyCostumes.com to remove some of the Company's large corporate affiliate partners, it is the Company's belief that in the long run it will create a more fair and lucrative program for everyone. "We want our affiliate partners to make a lot of money this Halloween. The more they make, ultimately the more we'll make," commented Karen Van Ert, BuyCostumes.com's Director of Marketing. "It wouldn't surprise us to see other retailers adopt this policy in the future. As the largest Internet retailer of costumes and Halloween products in the world we believe in leading by example." The company believes this policy is designed to level the playing field for all affiliates and would welcome back any suspended affiliates provided their software meets the company's requirements.

This policy is just one part of the 2007 Halloween Affiliate campaign rolled out by BuyCostumes.com on July 13th. The Company is also able to boast the largest selection of costumes, 30% market share, highest average customer satisfaction, a default commission increase, a $20,000 affiliate sweepstakes and of course the No-Chargeback policy.

To learn more about the BuyCostumes.com Affiliate Program, visit www.BuyCostumes.com.

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