How long after a sale a referral shows up in Reports?

[catinarezi]

Well, I enrolled in the associates program a long ago but never received a single referral. At first I believed there were no self referrals, until I started posting here and saw many of you talking about it. Then I imagined my sales never came from my pins (with my code), they were probably from other affiliates, but now I'm in doubt because something curious happened to me.

Some days ago, a client asked me if it was possible to make more customizations than just editing the text using my instant photo template. She wanted to recreate the exact same design she made using Canva, with fonts not available in Zazzle. She was in a rush and was also not so familiar with the Design Tool, so I created a NEW & NOT LISTED product specially for her.

When she approved the mockup, I sent her the link using Zazzle's share button, and it was generated with my affiliate id code. After I realize it, I thought that I would finally discover how self referrals work. Well.. I just thought, because she made 4 different purchases thanks to my effort of creating something specially for her but I received NO REFERRAL until now. In my royalty history it shows up as NON REFERRED.

Do these links really work? What are the criteria?

Thanks if anyone knows the answer.

Catherine Marie
Art in Card - Creative Design

[Windy]

Your link had cookies attached, and it is cookies which are used to assign referrals. However, if this buyer came to Zazzle as a result of someone else's cookies, by clicking on someone else's link, or even by clicking on a Zazzle ad, then those cookies will have remained in effect for a certain period of time. A new referral link made by you within that period of time, will not have overridden the referral code from the Zazzle ad or Pinterest pin which brought the shopper to Zazzle.

According to this, the cookie length is 45 days. https://www.zazzle.com/sell/affiliates

[SimplyDesigned]

Wanted to add if they previously shopped with zazzle they might have come in from one of their emails which would also have their referral code attached.

[PacifierCity]

When someone picks up a Z cookie, set by any designer or Z itself, there is a 7 day period where that cookie can not be overwritten by another cookie.  A cookie can last for 45 days as long as it is not overwritten and the customer does not clear there cookies, visit via an incognito browser, etc.  Now a days customers may use multiple devices throughout their design/purchase process.  They may spend time chatting with you over a mobile, but go home to make adjustments and purchase via a laptop or home PC.  Your cookie would have been set on their mobile not the other device.  There are a number of ways where the elusive self referral slips through ones fingers and it is often frustrating...  But there are a number of folks here that earn them on a daily basis...

PC

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[Barbara]

I remember when Zazzle said our cookies couldn't be overwritten for 7 days, but in the next breath, it seems they're saying it can't be overwritten for 45 days? Or does this mean a cookie can possibly last that long if it doesn't happen to be overwritten in only 7 days? I'm having a problem making sense of this. Why not just set a single length of time?

Colorwash's Home

[PacifierCity]

@Barbara  - A cookie, once set, has a lifetime of 45 days.  It cannot be overwritten for its first 7 days.  After the first 7 days, someone else's cookie can overwrite the cookie you set.  That could happen on day 8, day 20, day 40... etc... But after day 45, they are setting their own cookie and not overwriting someone else's...

At any time a customer can clear their cookies thus deleting the cookie you set. 

PC

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[Barbara]

@PacifierCity  Thank you so much for the explanation. I was a complete puzzle to me.

Colorwash's Home

[Barbara]

Let me explain: Though I'm often a complete puzzle to me, in this case, it was the cookies that puzzled me. 🙄

Colorwash's Home

[catinarezi]

I always understood that once I create a link, this cookie would work for 45 days. I.e. if I create a pin on pinterest, for the next 45 days, if someone clicks it, I would receive a referral. Then I would have to recreate it if I wanted to earn a referral from it and not just royalties. 

But now after reading the comments here I'm a bit confused if I my link would work forever, but the cookie thing would actually mean that when if someone clicks on my link (before any other), then if he/she buys something from Zazzle within 45 days I would receive a referral.  Would make sense because if I generate a new link, the code is the same. How does Zazzle know when my link was generated?

And now I'm thinking my first thought was right and if my cookie is on the 45 days of activity and someone clicks it, even if the person gets to any product with someone else's link, my link would still be the chosen one to be paid for during 7 days.

I'm so confused... 

[Badeesie · Accepted solution]

The links are good forever. If you create a link today and somebody clicks on it three years from now, they get your cookie. If they look around for a while and buy something, you get the referral. If they leave and come back and buy something at any point in the next seven days, you get the referral. If eight days from now, they follow my link to Zazzle, my cookie overwrites yours and I will get the referral for anything they buy. If, however, they never click on anybody else's link, you will get the referral for anything they buy up to 45 days from the time they first clicked on your link.

Does that make sense?

[catinarezi]

Absolutely! You solved cookie mistery better than Scooby Doo. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thank you so much!

[Barbara]

Curious, I looked at the cookies on this computer and was surprised that I couldn't find the spot I used to go to where I could see the expiration dates. Once upon a time, it was there. Does anyone know the right spot on a Windows computer?

Colorwash's Home

[TheDesignerVib1]

The same thing for me, I never got a referral yet since May 2022