Concerns About Ambassador, Referral Tracking & Third-Party Sales

[Susang6]

I’ve noticed a significant challenge that many Zazzlers—including myself—are facing when it comes to earning referral and from the Ambassador program: the issue of third-party sales overwriting our ambassador, referral and direct links.

I spend an average of 6  hours each day sharing Zazzle products across social media, blogs, and emails, hoping to gain a potential customers to click and buy from my ambassador and referral  links. Despite this effort, I consistently see my sales categorized as third-party, meaning I lose out on the expected royalty. From what I understand, the issue stems from how Zazzle tracks referral clicks—favoring the last-click attribution model.

I appreciate the exposure Zazzle’s advertising brings, but this system makes it almost impossible for ambassadors to receive the full benefit of their promotional efforts. Since online shoppers frequently browse multiple sites before making a purchase, many of them unintentionally pick up other referral cookies—even though my link originally led them to Zazzle. Unfortunately, there’s no realistic way for me to ask customers to clear their browser cookies before clicking my links.

I genuinely believe that Zazzle values its ambassadors, and I would like to see a fairer tracking system that gives us a stronger chance of earning from for the traffic we bring.

Here are some possible solutions:

• Extending Cookie Duration – Ensuring the ambassador’s original referral holds weight, even if the customer clicks another link afterward.
• First-Click Attribution – Prioritizing the initial referral that brought a customer to Zazzle, rather than the last one they clicked.

I think that with small improvements, ambassadors could continue driving valuable traffic to Zazzle while being fairly compensated for their efforts

[minix267]

I'd still like to know why all sales that used to be none (not referred) are now converted to 3rd party. ... I used to get nearly 50% of my sales as non referred sales and since April 1st I have only had ONE.  I don't think that is right at all!  

[Westerngirl2]

My results are just like yours. It sounds like everyone else's is, too.

Yes, there has to be an explanation. It doesn't "just happen" that way.

But really, it's the huge marketing fees that is killing my once reasonable profit from this venture.

[Windy]

Hopefully Zazzle will weigh in and let us know whether anyone should bother taking the time to affiliate Zazzle products. At this point, it seems like a NO.

[Cat]

They've already extended the referral period, that was one of the major changes they made. I believe that the way it currently works is that the referral cookies or flags last for 45 days and cannot be overwritten for 14 days. I can't remember exactly what it was before, but it was shorter - I think it used to be 7 days that it could not be overwritten, not sure about how long it lived if it wasn't overwritten.

[Heather]

Hi @Susang6 - Referrals are tracked using cookies and other technologies lasting 45 days. If someone purchases within 45 days after clicking your Link (and has not clicked another Referral Link since then), you earn the Referral Commission. With the launch of the Ambassador Program, we've extended the referral window to two weeks, meaning you'll receive credit for any qualifying sales that happen within 14 days of someone clicking your Referral Link. This is a meaningful improvement: the majority of Zazzle shoppers make a purchase within this extended timeframe, so your efforts are protected for longer. After two weeks, if a customer clicks another referral link, that new link becomes the active referral, and commission credit will be reassigned accordingly. I hope this helps clarify the intent of the new Ambassador Program and please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you! 

[Windy]

Please spell out for us how a NONE sale would happen. Many of us want to get a few more of those.