"Just received a referral" emails with products that are NOT mine

[GabrielaG]

Hi Zazzle, just wanted to let you know that yesterday (June 20th), I received a "You just received a Referral" email with a product that is NOT one of my designs. Today (June 21st) it happened again, another email with a different product that is not one of my designs. 

This is the third time it happens. Last month, (around June 6th) I had the first email letting me know of a referral from a product that was not mine, I emailed Zazzle letting you know. Incident Reference Number: CAS-7649656-H5L8Y4   Since customer support appear to not know what to do, I though with these new wrong referrals it was best to contact you here.

All emails mention the referral ID number and the number they shows it is in deed my referral number, but the designs are not mine! First I though maybe someone is making a mistake and adding my referral number into their designs by accident,  but I checked, and the emails show products from three different designers!

Please let me know if you need any more details from me!

Hope this gets fixed swiftly as this is a serious mater. We all need to know our referrals are going into the rightful designer owner!

[Malissa]

@GabrielaG 

You can get referrals from products that are not yours.  If you only promote your designs, then what probably happened is someone came in on your product link with your design, but decided to buy something else that was not yours.  You will still get the referral because your link brought them in.  You will never get a royalty off products that are not yours, but those are legitimately your referrals that you earned. 

[Scott]

Thanks for the quick response! I agree that this is probably what's happening.

[GabrielaG]

Hi Scott, I used to receive referrals from other designer products until I changed to a different kind of contact with Zazzle, where I receive higher referrals for my products but I can not receive referrals from other designers products... forgive me, but I don't remember how it was called the new program I signed in about two years ago. Since then I should not receive referrals from other designer products, even if they landed on them after visiting one of my products before. And that's how it has been for almost two years or so until last month.

[GabrielaG]

Found it. It's called Zazzle Promoter Program and it's states: that since Zazzle is offering a very high 35% Promoter (self) referral rate to my own products for sales driven via my own promoter link, sales from other people's products are not eligible for referrals.

[Malissa]

I know I am not Scott, but-

If you did not clean up all of your old links that you put out prior to joining the promoter program, someone may have stumbled on an old link with your referral number.  I am also in the promoter program and you can earn referrals on other peoples products (and your own) at the regular affiliate rate of 15% if they come in on a link with your referral number attached.   If you used to add tracking codes to your links, you can go to your referral history and see where the link was clicked.  

[CreativeLeahG · Accepted solution]

It is probably from links you shared before you joined the Promoter program. Be happy, this is fab!

[GabrielaG]

Oh I see, you think it's probably from some very old links shared before I became part of the Promoter program!  that's good news, thank you both Melissa and Leah!  🙂

[alissag]

I'm in the promoter program too, and I do get these from time to time too. Usually I believe it's someone who clicked on a link to one of my own products, but ended up buying something similar from another Zazzle creator. At least that's what it looks like when I see what has sold. Just to clarify because I see there's some confusion in the responses, if this was from one of your new promoter program links even though you are receiving these messages from Zazzle, you don't actually earn a referral on these sales. So not to rain on your parade, but if they're from your promoter program links you're getting $0 referrals despite these emails.

[Malissa]

If that is the case it will show $0 right in the email and she could tell right away that it was a promoter link.  I was going off the assumption it must have shown a dollar amount, but it could well be a zero dollar amount.  I wasn't confused in my replies just working under limited information.

[GabrielaG]

Hi Malissa, it does show a dollar amount.

[Malissa]

Then those are from old links!

[GabrielaG]

Thanks Allissag for the clarification! Good to know that if they are from very old links before I joined the promoter program I'll receive the referral. If they come from any of my promoter links even if I received an email, the referral will not actually be applied. That's what I initially thought !  and since I evolved and changed completely the style of my store,  I thought I erased all my old links from before I joined the Promoter program, it seamed strange to me that suddenly I was receiving referrals from other designers products again. Maybe I forgot to erase a couple of old links!.... thanks again, I appreciate it!

[GabrielaG]

Got it! good to know 🙂  Thanks again Malissa, I appreciate it!

[Malissa]

You are very welcome!😊

[sharonrheafords]

I just lost a $250.00 - $300.00 referral on a product  on which a lady who has now become a friend  and I worked forever when she saw my Facebook designs. Sick about it. I didn't even get my royalty. Something is amiss, yes? If I created it, spent money on licenses and far too much time I needed otherwise, and Zazzle sold it for $830.00, shouldn't I get something? Even enslaved labor got free rent and food - I'll take Omaha Steaks, thank you 😁 !                                                                                                                                                                                                              This has never happened since I joined almost 20 years ago? Or maybe I didn't know. .... Also, if I am getting no credit for even existing on the order other than from the customer who is thrilled, then who is responsible for commercial license fees on images?

[ColsCreations]

 I didn't even get my royalty. Something is amiss, yes?

Unlike referrals, where many factors out of one's control can result in not getting it, the only way to not get a royalty either is if the product was never actually posted for sale. You can set it to Direct Only and then after the customer orders it, set it to Hidden if you want, but it has to be published to your store to get credit for the sale, otherwise it goes down as a personal buy, which in this case sounds like it went down as a personal buy of your customer/friend (something they made for themselves) rather then something they bought from your store. I'm sorry you didn't get credit for such a big sale which you worked so hard on. I'm sure a Mod will be along to look behind-the-scenes for you and explain what happened with this order.