Loot: 
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is an affiliate program? How does it work?
- How do I get started?
- Who can participate?
- Does it cost anything to participate?
- How are sales tracked from my site?
- How much will I earn? How and when do I get paid?
- Who is Commission Junction and why is ThinkGeek using their service?
- What is a parasite? What is your policy regarding parasites?
- I'm signed up, now what?
- How do I create links to ThinkGeek?
- How do I link to a specific product?
- Does ThinkGeek have a Product Data Feed available?
- Is there anything else I need to know?
- I need more help!
- I need to contact ThinkGeek regarding the affiliate program.
- What is an affiliate program? How does it work?
An affiliate program is a revenue sharing program where the affiliate (that's you!) drives traffic to a merchant's web site (that's us!) in exchange for referral commissions. When a visitor to your site clicks on the affiliate link to our site and completes a purchase, you get a commission on every item they buy!
We have partnered with Commission Junction to provide our affiliates with tracking, reporting, prompt monthly payments, and the flexibility of being an affiliate for any of Commission Junction's other merchants.
Once you sign up for and are accepted to our program, you'll be taken to the Commission Junction site where you'll create your own personal and secure account. Here you can log in at any time to get our banners and links, find out about commissions earned and even learn about how many impressions each of your links has received. - How do I get started?
- Step 1: Sign up! If you're already a Commission Junction publisher, click here to become a ThinkGeek affiliate!
- Step 2: We manually review all applications within 3 business days. Once your application is approved, we will send you setup instructions as well as banners and text links that you can put on your web site.
- Step 3: Collect your commissions, and be one happy geek.
- Who can participate?
Just about anybody! Whether you run a large commercial web site, a small personal blog, a non-profit site, or anything in between you're welcome to apply to join the program. We also welcome owners of opt-in e-mail newsletters. All applications are manually reviewed, and we reserve the right to refuse any application, especially if the site or e-mail list contains objectionable material, participates in unsolicited e-mailing, is a "parasite" [more about parasites], or if it violates the Commission Junction Publisher Service Agreement. - Does it cost anything to participate?
No! As long as you are an active affiliate, all you need to do is keep linking and collect your commissions. - How are sales tracked from my site?
Once your application is accepted, you will be given a unique affiliate ID as well as custom-formatted links that will ensure that traffic coming from your site is properly tracked. We maintain a 45-day cookie, meaning that if a visitor clicks on a link from your site, you are credited with the sale as long as the visitor purchases within 45 days.
Commission Junction records all transactions from your site in real time, meaning that all impressions, links, and sales are tracked instantly. The Commission Junction Members Area has all of the reports and tracking resources you'll need to see how you're doing. You can use these reports to find out which of your links are performing the best and to optimize your site for maximum sales. - How much will I earn? How and when do I get paid?
All new affiliates can earn commissions of 7% to 7.5% based on performance, with a cookie length of 45 days. Affiliates who generate consistent results over time may be upgraded to our Gold Program, with 60-day cookies and commission rates of 8% or more.
Commission Junction pays affiliates monthly and when the commission balance is $25 or more. Please refer to the Commission Junction Publisher Service Agreement for more information. - Who is Commission Junction and why is ThinkGeek using their service?
ThinkGeek has teamed with Commission Junction, a leader in third-party affiliate marketing programs to handle our affiliate program. They will be able to provide affiliates with trusted third-party tracking, real-time reporting, and monthly commission checks. For more information about Commission Junction, and learn more about affiliate marketing, you can read the Commission Junction FAQ. - What is a parasite? What is your policy regarding parasites?
The term "parasite" refers to technology (including browser plug ins, helpers, toolbars, popups, etc.) that intercepts and changes an affiliate's link. This technology is also known as "unsolicited commercial software" and is often found in Adware and Spyware software. Parasite activity essentially "hijacks" the affiliates link and the affiliate commission gets redirected to the parasite, instead of the affiliate who rightfully earned it. This type of software is normally installed unknowingly, often without the end user's consent. For an excellent description of parasite software, how it gets installed, and how to remove it, visit Doxdesk.com.
We are committed to preventing any parasites from becoming part of our program. If we determine that any of our affiliates are parasites, they will immediately be inactivated and banned from the program. Please e-mail us if you suspect that one of our affiliates may be a parasite. - I'm signed up, now what?
Visit ThinkGeek's Advertiser Detail page at Commission Junction to confirm that you have applied to the program. If you haven't, click on the "Apply to Program" button at the bottom of the page.
Once your application is approved, you will receive an e-mail welcoming you into our affiliate program. It will include all the instructions you need to get started. If you're ready to start adding links to your site, check out the next section on creating links to ThinkGeek. - How do I create links to ThinkGeek?
Current affiliates can get links, including banners and text ads here. We we will be regularly updating our links, to include lots of resources to help you sell. You're also welcome to create links of your own, as long as they conform to the Commission Junction Publisher Service Agreement and do not abuse the ThinkGeek brand. Feel free to link to the home page, category pages (like Ladies T-Shirts for example) or to product pages directly. - How do I link to a specific product?
To link directly to our products, use the Commission Junction "Get Links" tool which allows you to grab the links you need that are correctly formatted with your tracking code. If you log into your CJ account, and go to "Get Links" then choose "By Relationship" you'll see ThinkGeek listed there, and you can click on "View Links". Here you'll see several banners and text links. We have a text link for every category on our site (T-Shirts, Caffeine, etc) and you can click on "Get HTML" to get the html code for those category links.
To to link to a specific product, there's a link called "ThinkGeek Generic Link" that links to the home page (the link id is 10356324). This link has the option of changing the destination URL so you can link to anywhere on our site using that link. Just click "Get HTML" for that link, and click on "Show Advanced Options". You'll see the Destination URL listed as http://www.thinkgeek.com/?ref=c so to change it, just change everything to the left of ?ref=c to the URL of the product you'd like to link to. Just make sure to keep the ?ref=c at the end of the URL. You can use that link over and over again to create properly formatted custom links to any page on our site. - Does ThinkGeek have a Product Data Feed available?
Unfortunately we are not planning on offering a product data feed. - Is there anything else I need to know?
Yes. By participating in the ThinkGeek affiliate program, you agree to our supplemental Terms and Conditions. Please contact us if you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions. - I need more help!
Here are a few resources you may find useful: - I need to contact ThinkGeek regarding the affiliate program.
The best way to contact us if you have any questions or problems is to e-mail us at affiliates@thinkgeek.com.
