Well see what have u sold first and you will know how you got it . The most i have made was like $27.00 on a sale
WTG, congrats, yes cookies is a great thing, if any affiliate program dont leave cookies- dont promote them
It is also important to consider how long the cookies are maintained, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 days a year? Obviously the longer the better for affiliates. I am not sure if there is a down side for merchants.
I never take sites down for just this reason. I may neglect them but it always seems that people stumble upon stuff and ocassionaly I get an adsense click or affiliate sale. But then again I do my own hosting. Congrats anyway, may it be the first in a long string of sales.