Received an email this morning from clickbank security containing a complaint from a clickbank publisher. Here is a snippet: I review clickbank and non-clickbank products. Only two products from clickbank I actually gave good scores for, out of 8. And also, I provide links from other sources which have complained about the products I review on my site. So in other words, If I write a bad review, I back it up so with evidence. I dont see writing negative reviews as being illegal. We know clickbank have crap products, and I wouldnt be promoting clickbank if it had nothing but crap. The two products I gave good scores for deserve it and the others deserve their low scores. I dont see how letting buyers know what is out there and what to avoid as being 'unethical'. If I gave every clickbank product a top score that would be fraudulent and unethical! What is your opinion? I have replied to the email basically stating what I have written here.
Sorry but the sad truth is that clickbank is willing to suspend or terminate accounts without any proof of this. The customer does not come first with clickbank, and they will sometimes just take the word of the complainer over yours, because they don't want to be liable, even if the complaint is, with lack of better word, dumb. I had one ruthless competitor complain about my ads, when I checked with google over 3 times and that im all good. Unless you make a lot of money with them, your dispendable. Sad, But True, Vene
If CB send you an email back and decide to suspend your account . Send them back an email with your website on it , so they can see you are not doing anything wrong .
Obviously the person that wrote that is an idiot, or a 'tard. Reviews or "opinions" are not fraud, defamation or libel. I wonder what would happen if I said I don't like captain Crunch Cereal, I guess that's libel and fraud. GRRRRR RATE! The only thing is really could be considered is tort law, and even than he has to prove why people would actually listen to you. Tort law would apply to engineers that tell people to build a bridge this way and it ends up falling down. Engineer is liable because you actually expect to get good advice from him.
First of all congrats that your site is visible enough as is evitable from this threads birth. Carry on the good work. Although you said it all, but if we compare 2 products then one will definitely have a positive edge over the other. You cannot oppose as to what CB does to your account but you have all the right to present your website to visitors that makes $$$s for you.
Thanks for everyones replies. If worst comes to worst, I'll do what clickbank says... because well they make me money. But everyone is correct, alot of affiliates use reviews to promote clickbank products, and from reading the clickbank terms and conditions I cant find it anywhere as not a welcomed form of promotion. I will update more when I get more news, probably not until after the holiday period as im sure clickbank staff dont work on public holidays.
Ok, I have to ask the obvious question. If you're giving a product a bad review, why do you need a clickbank hoplink to do that? Why would you want to make money off of a product that you have given a bad review to? Now if you were just posting the product and the product's url, I would say that clickbank couldn't touch you. I mean how could they? But if you're using clickbank hoplinks in your bad review, then why would the vendor or clickbank want to pay you? And they shouldn't have to. It only makes complete business sense that they would have nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with ethics - they just shouldn't have to pay you for driving customers away from their products. And by the way - you'll find that the most successful clickbank review sites are alomst completely positive - just some products get higer reviews than others.
Wouldnt that be fraud and considered false advertising if every clickbank product just happens to be 'oh so great' ?
Not if you find products that you like. And besides there's no difference in that and taking money for a product you've just given a bad review on. You're still being a hypocrite. I wouldn't care if my product was great or crappy - I wouldn't pay you one cent for writing a bad review of my product. And I think you have a lot of nerve taking money from anyone you've just written a bad review for. I'd definitely turn you in to clickbank as well if you were using one of my hoplinks to give me a bad review. There's no way I'd pay a commission to someone that's driving away my business. Plus clickbank already has it's own natural review process in place, and it works rather well. They give you up to 60 days to decide if you like a product or not - and in that time you can get a refund from them no questions asked. Then if a vendor's refund rate becomes too high - their product gets booted.
I make my money on Clickbank by doing reviews myself, I simply happen to review the products I like and not waste visitors time/bandwidth on trashing 90% of the stuff from CB.
I also make money from review sites the same way. I'll usually review a dozen or more, and then have a top 5 list, and leave the one's I don't like off of the list.
Don’t be threatened, he’s using scare tactics to try and frighten you of your freedom of speech. You’re not in the wrong, so don’t be afraid.
Explain to me how my method of promotion is in any way considered 'fraud'? I'm sorry but if your product is crap, I WILL write a bad review on it and not let the customer be sucked into a scammy product such as yours. That is not in any violation of any of the rules on clickbank client contract. You dont like it, then create a product that is worth paying money for. I have every right to say a product is crap. Heres the client terms contract, have a read: http://www.clickbank.com/terms.html Don't see my method of product promotion 'illegal' or 'fraudulent'. And as for having a hoplink for a bad review, as you said, the cutomer has a 8 week trial period. So if they want to see if the product is right for them, but not for me, they can pay for it and have a trial. And if they intend to keep it past the 8 week period good for them and good for me. It might make me a hypocrite, but being a hypocrite is not in violation of clickbank's client contract. I still wouldnt mind getting paid for purchasing the crappy product and spending MY time reviewing it. Time is money. If im going to spend it on a product that is worthless than the e-paper it is written on then I except to be compensated one way or another. What is fraud is buying a product, re-branding it as your own and then re-selling it. Which alot of clickbank publishers do, and yet they dont get hassled.. hmm, but when someone genuinely reviews products and intends to make an honest buck on products worth promoting, and worth paying money for, they get hassled by scammers losing money.
Many people sell their products with private label rights. Many people build their entire businesses around PLR products. That doesn't make it fraud. It's a legitimate business. What you're doing is not fraud either - it's just unethical. If you're in it for the legitimate review, then don't take money from the products you're bashing. You're either writing a legitimate review, or you're in it for the money like every other reviewer. And by the way - Free speech - means "FREE" . It goes both ways - if clickbank doesn't want to pay you for your views - they don't have to. Then your speech will truly be free. Frankly I don't see this as having anything to do with free speech. I just find it highly arrogant on your part. I'd like you to find any company out there that would pay you to bash their products. Why don't you put WalMart's products in a bad limelight, and see if you can manage to squeeze any money out of them? Your argument is laughable. You can write good and bad reviews all day long, and no one here is trying to stop that. Just don't expect someone to keep you on the payroll when you give them a bad review.