Questions about affiliate links

[fl_beachbum]

There are a few paper crafters I really enjoy who share affiliate links on their posts and/or videos. I'd like to support them and am wondering how affiliate links work. Do they get a percentage of my entire purchase or only for the item I clicked on to get to the store? Also, do I need to open a new shopping cart or is it okay to add the item to a shopping cart I've started and saved on a site?*

*If this doesn't make sense... I had added a couple of items to a cart at Ellen Hutson but didn't close out the order. The next day, I clicked on an affiliate link that took me to the EH store where it still pulled up those items in the store. If the person is getting a percentage of my order, I want to make sure they're getting compensated for what was entered prior to clicking on their link. :confused:

[fl_beachbum]

no one...?

[wavejumper]

I know they get something...but I am not sure exactly if it is a flat fee just for you clicking through and buying, or only that item, or a % of the whole purchase. It may change company to company. DT rules and perks do.

Bottom line...if you want to support the blog author use the links-whatever it is, it is.

[dini]

First of all, thank you for using those affiliate links! I employ a few on my blog and what I redeem from them is not much, but every little bit helps - so I know whoever you are supporting is super appreciative.

Affiliates receive a small percentage of your total purchase, not just the item that you click. For the links I'm using (through Amazon, Blick, Ellen Hutson, and Whimsy Stamps) the rewards are between 3 and 10%. The Amazon rewards are tiered, based on the number of purchases per month - the more purchases, the higher the reward.


Most companies are using a third party website to track and reward sales/commissions and there are a huge variety to choose from (Commission Junction, Shareasale and Refersion are a few I'm familiar with). Usually there is a time period that the site saves a 'ticket' with your IP address so that whatever you purchase after clicking through from the affiliate link will be credited to that particular affiliate. I'm not positive about saved carts, but I would think that they would be fine and included in the purchase if you've clicked through from the affiliate link before checking out.

Hope that helps a little!