Affiliates - Poll and discussion

[JohnW]

I would like some opinions on the affiliate module as to the value it brings to your store. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best please vote even if you don't want to discuss it.

I set up the affiliates contribution in max 2.0 in Dec 2005 but never got great results from it, however, I didn't pay much attention to catalog side of it from that point. In 2008 I discovered the module had broken and I'm not sure when it happened since I didn't pay attention to it. The current version doesn't work for me with register_globals off so I have it disabled.

My original plan was to go to Max 2.0.* having stripped osc affiliate out, but I changed my mind when I realized the module had been broken and maybe I didn't give it a chance. So, I have it installed and I've worked on it some this week but I wonder if it's a waste of time and I should just strip it out. After all it's got more files than anything else and if I'm not using it then it's just in the way.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

[ridexbuilder]

None of my (small number of) contacts have shown any interest whatsoever.

[pgmarshall]

I have always thought that whilst an affiliate network is a very high end piece of kit for a website ... with the superpowers of internet retailing all offering some form of network ...

I am not sure that it fits the average profile of an oscommerce or osc variant user.

I can see very little reason to build an affiliate network for a small to medium scale store - it would end up being a lot of hard work for very little increase in sales.

Anyway - that is my 2 pence worth.

And I don't use the affiliate stuff so may well remove from my final site ...

Regards,

[JohnW]

Well, it seems I had getting singups for at least a year but I did not get many and the only sales I got were from 2 of the affiliates themselves so you can see why I dismissed it. But, then I wondered if it helped my rankings with Google for instance and it may have but I see that some possible bad bots that like to do bad things have come to me from the affiliate links.

I've often thought that we should discuss some of the features on Max from more than just a how to get it working view. Seems like Mike could get some benefit from this discussion on features and maybe save himself some time on modules that no one cares about anyway. Maybe he has some different input. More definitely isn't always better especially if you have to clean it, maintain it, or stop hackers from getting in through it.

[ridexbuilder]

I will say, a wider scope would be useful. I find the continuation of modules/features to be a valid discussion, though not sure where it would be best served - a blog perhaps?
I wonder if it may bring a greater community involvement and I guess some help may be needed, to realise the changes. With such a large forum pool, let alone the number of unknown users, will we see more people making an active contribution?
What should be on the Hit List? The unused SEO switch in Admin.?

[Just some thoughts/ramblings ]