Do Affiliates Get Commission on Cancelled Orders?

From Wiki

The initial response to this question is no. Merchants do not have to pay affiliate commissions on orders that are cancelled by the customer or are deemed to be invalid.

In an effort to prevent any confusion, it is a good practice for merchants to clarify in their Terms and Conditions that affiliates are only compensated for valid sales/orders/subscriptions/leads as well as stating exactly what “valid” means.

Additionally, it is good practice to ensure that it is not possible for customers to purchase items that are out of stock. Make sure that sold-out items are removed from the website and data-feed or listed as out of stock at time of purchase.

Examples of affiliate transactions that would need to be declined:

Customer Behaviour

• Payment authorization failed

• Fraudulent sale

• Returned order or unclaimed shipment

• Repeated (duplicate) order

• Cancelled order

Affiliate Behaviour

• Fraudulent transaction

• Test transaction

• Self-referral (if you’ve specified in your T’s and C’s that you do not allow it)

Merchant Behaviour/Circumstances

• Test transaction

• Order non-fulfilment

This list is non-exhaustive and will vary depending upon the affiliate programme.

Bear in mind that affiliates reserve the right to request proof of the above. Merchants should try to be as responsive as possible as leaving these queries unattended can diminish the affiliate’s trust in the merchant and the transparency of their affiliate program.