Will Google let you do this or does it violate their TOS? I read the fine print and didn't see anything in there about this but maybe I missed it. Is it okay with them and if so, is it a viable way to bypass the landing page and just have the customer go directly to the product or service on the affiliate page?
If there are multiple people promoting the same product...then you will usually need to get a domain name to mask your affiliate link, or else create a landing page (which would help conversions)
Thanks for explaining that. As for masking the affiliate link, I thought that the URL in the ad had to tell the customer exactly where they're being taken. Having your own domain in the ad and then linking to the affiliate using that would qualify as deception, wouldn't it?
Google has no problem with you linking directly to the merchant. However, only one ad per display URL (and therefore destination URL) can show - so if other affiliates are also direct linking, only the one with the highest CTR/bid will show. Typically this will force you to be in #1 position, whereas you can often get a better ROI lower down if you use a landing page.