Taobao Affiliate Program Bans Cash Rebates
Ebrun, 11/21/12
Hangzhou-based C2C & B2C e-commerce site Taobao announced today that starting January 1, 2013, its Taobao Alliance online advertising platform will no longer support cash rebates to members and customers who purchase items from within Taobao stores under the Taoke affiliate model, which offers commissions to individuals or websites ("Taoke") that help promote products from Taobao stores. The service will only permit non-cash rewards through Taoke, including point-based rewards, bonus items, coupons, and vouchers.
The policy changes come in response to a number of complaints from customers alleging that some Taoke harmed customer interests by exaggerating the size of cash rebates, causing bad-faith delays in payment of rebates, and deliberately setting rebate conditions in order to make rebates difficult for customers to claim. Still more disturbingly, a number of illegal organizations and phishing sites bilked customers out of money using promises of cash rebates. These groups' deliberate exaggeration of rebate claims and fraudulent advertising also severely harmed price systems for ordinary businesses.
As a result, Taobao Alliance will eliminate the cash rebate model for Taoke in order to protect customers' legal interests and ensure that sellers are able to conduct business normally. To help Taoke affiliates make a smooth transition to other models, Taobao Alliance will begin working with Taoke, effective immediately, to troubleshoot arrangements and make necessary adjustments, and will issue reminders for all Taoke who have not made the necessary adjustments by year's end to do so. Taobao Alliance will terminate its agreements with all Taoke who fail to make adjustments by January 1, 2013.
Cash rebate sites are one category of Taoke affiliate marketing sites. The sites offer rebates on products promoted by Taobao merchants, and derive commissions from completed sales, with some cash rebate sites receiving commissions of as much as 50% of the transaction price. A common tactic for sites seeking to attract customers is to offer a percentage of their commission as a rebate. The changes to Taobao Alliance policies, which ban direct rebates outright, could completely wipe out rebate sites.
Keywords: e-commerce Taobao Internet policy online advertising B2C C2C Taoke Taobao Alliance ad union online shopping rebate
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