Have A Coke And Pay A Commission!

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If you walk into a bar and order a coke, the bartender or bar owner doesn't come rushing to the balcony warning you that he will receive a commission or profit if you buy that bottle of coke through him.
In my opinion that would be just plain stupid because we as customers know that the bar exists to serve it's customers but also to make a profit... that's business, right?

So why do we as online marketers in the internet marketing space, have to make disclaimers and "warn" people that if they choose to buy whatever we are promoting, we will receive some sort of compensation? Just like any other business we are in the online business to serve but to also make a profit, right?

I haven't heard or read much about this issue in the internet marketing niche, so just decided to put my thoughts out there.

Let me know what you think about this "commission disclaimer" topic.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #coke #commission #pay
  • Good question

    because in our world, the bartender/blogger is consistently talking to you and telling you how great coke is..

    If you're reading a post or watching a video then you are being spoken to a designed message is being delivered to you...

    That's why, I believe..

    Have a cold one,
    Ike Paz
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    • ...yeah the prospect is being spoken... people are constantly being sold on and pitched almost in every sense day after day. When you go to a shopping mall, a store, a coffee shop, a movie theater, on the beach, read a magazine,etc. ...and you won't always see disclosures all over the place. Get my point?
  • Bartender is getting paid to work not talk about a product / MMO have to by law by the FTC have the disclaimer so when the buyer reads why and buys we get paid

    Jason
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  • Lol now I'm having a Coke..you sold me on that one..
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    • LOL...did the person who sold you the coke, tell you that is would make a profit of your purchase!! lol...
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Banned




    Maybe because the bartender doesn't write mile long sales pages claiming his bottle of Coke cures cancer. I bet the profit margin on a Coke is nothing compared to whisky.
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    • LOL... but not all sales letters promise to cure cancer, but they still need to disclose. yeah...whisky should be the OTO upsell for coke buyers.
  • For many of us, it's the law.

    There's a difference between someone selling a Coke at a bar or a book online and someone who gets compensated for endorsing that Coke or gets an affiliate commission when a visitor buys a book that was reviewed on their website.

    To simplify, the relevant difference mostly comes down to when as a business owner you are being paid by the seller of a product and not by the buyer of a product. In that case, your motivation for writing about or otherwise promoting a product must be disclosed, both for legal and ethical reasons. Your customers deserve to know that you have a financial incentive for your activities.

    That said, if you're creating an e-commerce site selling Coke or books or widgets, as you say, the financial incentive is apparent so there is no need for additional disclosure.
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    • Wow . . . I've been wrong all these years. I thought the buyers of my products were paying me.

      Steve
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    • Ok I get the your point of view, however everyone in business has in the core a "financial incentive", otherwise they wouldn't be in business.
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  • Bartenders getting Commission off each drink sale ?? That's news to me.
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    • LOL... that is not what we're talking about. However you may a point there...
    • Don't the Shot girls get a % of whats sold at a alcohol promotion? therefore they should have a sign around there necks telling the punters this

      Jason
  • In a sense there is a point. If I buy some PLR and start to sell it I do not need to disclose that I am making a profit. But the affiliate promoting for me has to, even though they are using the same marketing techniques and material that I am.

    Have a coke and a smile

    al
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    • Exactly! ...doesn't make much sense... even looking at it from the consumers rights point of view.
      Appreciate your comment.
  • In many countries, it is required to make disclosures by law. I know here in the US, you must disclose.
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    • Yes in most countries it's required, but the point is why should affiliates have to make such disclosures. It's pretty obvious that if someone is working to get sales, he's doing it for some sort of compensation...pretty obvious in my opinion.
  • Because too many people were writing "reviews" as if they were an objective commentator, when in fact, they had a financial interest.

    Now people have to state upfront that they have a financial interest.

    It's commonly know as "transparency."
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  • EIGHT posts in a row to "make your point"???? You can make one post with multiple quotes - and one "lol" is usually sufficient.

    You are wrong if you are talking about affiliate products - which is what the OP has mentioned. A buyer pays the same whether from an affiliate or the product creator....it's the SELLER who pays commission.

    The OP doesn't seem to know the difference between affiliate commission and product markups in a retail environment.

    If a bartender serves a coke - it's part of his job as an employee.

    But more than that - the owner of that business buys the cokes wholesale - just like the rest of his inventory is purchased from middleman supply companies. Thus, he owns that product when he sells it to you (at a markup) so there are no disclaimers to make.

    It does make perfectly good sense. An affiliate marketer is selling a product without the need to buy and stock it before selling it.

    The person selling your "coke" has to buy that product and physically have it in inventory before it can be sold.

    That's pretty basic business info, wouldn't you think???
  • As Brent said, the disclosure is required because too many affiliates learned to use what one former member here called "little fictions", totally made up stories about how Product X did wonderful things for him (or whoever he was pretending to be).

    .info domains were nearly ruined by spammers using the cheap domains to promote fake news pages, localized by the reader's IP, touting some medical miracle product.

    Since said affiliates have no shame, regulators had to provide an artificial substitute. Better a disclaimer than a trip to the poorhouse after a fine, or even a trip to the graybar hotel...
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  • Good point!, it's just because of the increasing number of online "Gurus" promote fraudulent products I guess with big promises and hype.
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    Have A Coke And Pay A Commission!

    If you walk into a bar and order a coke, the bartender or bar owner doesn't come rushing to the balcony warning you that he will receive a commission or profit if you buy that bottle of coke through him. In my opinion that would be just plain stupid because we as customers know that the bar exists to serve it's customers but also to make a profit... that's business, right?