Sell adult products online

Affiliate FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What is an Affiliate Program?
2. Does it cost anything to be an Affiliate?
3. Who maintains the web site and stock?
4. Who processes the orders and ships the items?
5. How do companies track buyers coming from my Web site?
6. When and how do I get paid?
7. What is a sub-affiliate?
8. What kind of advertising can I do?
9. What kind of advertising is prohibited?
10. Will I have to pay taxes on my commissions?
11. Can I just put banners on my site to sell your products for commission?
12. Why the hell are you giving away all this information for free?
13. Can I buy from my own store? Will I still make commission?

1. What is an Affiliate Program?
The very simple answer is this: a program set up for you to sell someone else's product and get paid for it. There are two variations of Affiliate Programs. First, the older version of placing ad banners on your site, driving buyers to someone else's store. They keep track of where the traffic came from, giving you a commission on any sales made from your traffic. The second version which is becoming increasingly more popular are the kind this site is dedicated to: you have your own store selling someone else's products, earning commissions on your own sales.

2. Does it cost anything to be an Affiliate?
Not a thing. Nada. Zip. Zero. All it costs is your time setting up the store and putting banners on your own site or otherwise getting the word out. If you don't have a site already, you'll need to get one. See our list of recommended hosting companies to get started on that end. The cost of hosting a web site can be as low as $7.95 per month, plus the cost of buying your domain name, which costs between $7.95 and $20 per year (depending on the vendor).

The reason it's free to become an affiliate is the companies providing the service know that they're selling more product because of you. It really doesn't matter who makes the sale, as long as the sale is made. So while they're providing you the service of running your store, you're providing them the service of selling their products.

3. Who maintains the web site and stock?
The company running your affiliate program handles the entire store site. They add new products, update prices, promote specials. All the hardcore technical issues of running an online store are handled by the code monkeys at the company behind the scene. You don't have to know anything about e-commerce or programming to keep the store running. It's all taken care of for you.

4. Who processes the orders and ships the items?
Just like number 3, the company handling the web site handles all the orders and shipping the orders, called "fulfillment". You don't have to worry about storing or keeping track of stock, which is good, because these companies have HUGE warehouses filled with their stock. They do the credit card processing and shipping, and they handle all the customer service. Seriously, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is get people to the site. That's ALL.

5. How do companies track buyers coming from my Web site?
Your affiliate ID is placed into the URL of your web store. In some cases, the store has the same address as every other store, except with your affiliate ID in it, which controls how it looks, how it works, and keeps track of whose store it is. In other cases, your URL can be your storename.companyname.com. Either way, the affiliate code is passed through the browser to the company's server when the visitor gets to the store.

6. When and how do I get paid?
Typically, you will get paid by check once a month, so long as your commission is above a certain reserve amount. That mount varies by company. Some have a reserve amount as low as $20. So if you make more than $20 in commissions that month, you'll get a check. If not, that amount will roll over in to the next month, and be held until you make the reserve. Also, some companies have the ability to pay you via direct deposit if you so choose.

7. What is a sub-affiliate?
A sub-affiliate is an affiliate who signs up under an existing affiliate The companies listed on this site will pay you a commission on sales made by any sub-affiliate that signs up through your site. Basically, if one of your shoppers decides they would like to start their own store, and they click the "webmasters" or "affiliates" link on your web site to sign up for their own store, you will receive a commission from their sales (typically 5%). They still make their normal commission, but you get paid as well. And there is no additional work for you involved; it's all handled by the company. PEcash allows unlimited sub-affiliate commissions, meaning you'll make a commission off anyone who signs up form you, anyone who signs up from that person, and so on down the line.

8. What kind of advertising can I do?
That depends on the operating agreement of each company. It varies. But generally. online you can place banners on other sites, place your URL into search engines and directories, and enter link exchanges. Offline, you can generally place advertisements in magazines/newspapers or any other advertising medium that allows adult advertisements. Or try printing up business cards or postcards. I'm a big fan of the stickers I had made for my own site, bigdaddystoybox.com.

9. What kind of advertising is prohibited?
Again, that depends entirely on the operating agreement of each company. But generally, they do not allow you send out unsolicited commercial emails, SPAM. Anyone caught sending out SPAM will typically have their account terminated.

10. Will I have to pay taxes on my commissions?
Will you HAVE to? Nah. But I'd suggest that you report the income you make on commissions to the IRS, because the company paying you WILL report it. You'll be required to provide your Social Security number if you're signing up as a person, or your Federal Tax EIN number if you're signing up as a company. Which means, come April 15th, the government WILL know how much money you were paid in commissions. So unless you like the repercussions of NOT paying your taxes, I'd suggest you report them and pay them. =)

11. Can I just put banners on my site to sell your products for commission?
Absolutely. Visit Big Daddy's Toy Box 3 and sign up for our affiliate program there. This program is of the older variety which means you'll put banners on your site, or otherwise drive people to my site, and you'll get paid a commission based on resulting sales. And you'll make 20% on those sales, which is one of the highest commissions paid out there for a banner driven affiliate program. Once you sign up, you can get banners from my site and be on your way without having to thing about running your own store.

12. Why the hell are you giving away all this information for free?
Ah, the voice of the cynic. Seriously, that's a good question. The answer is really simple. If you've read this FAQ, especially question 7 about sub-affiliates, you may have already guessed that all the links on this site sign you up for these programs through my affiliate number. So in exchange for getting you started on the path to making your own income from the adult novelty world, the companies you sign up with will throw a little cash my way too. REMEMBER, that money is NOT coming from your pocket or out of your commissions. You still make the advertised commission on all your sales. But they'll pay me a little too. That's fair, don't you think? We all win. You, me, and the company all make money. Sounds good doesn't it? Then lets get you started already.

13. Can I buy from my own store? Will I still make commission?
Absolutely, you can! In fact, that's one of the best things about owning your own adult store. If you buy items from your own store, you'll still get cash back. In some cases, you'll be saving 35% on the adult shopping you do normally. What's better than that? I'll tell you what ... knowing that you're getting up to 35% from the shopping your friends do at your store also. So spread the word. Just remind them that the shopping is completely confidential. You will never know what your friends are buying. So their secrets are safe. And your pockets are getting fat!

You must be 18+ years old to participate in these affiliate programs.
There is no guarantee that you will make money from any of these programs.