Merchant and Customer Disadvantages: The merchant may suffer from high commission costs in addition to as costly set up and maintenance fees that are usually caused by a lot of affiliate facilitators. Sometimes the affiliates engage in hollow advertising and deceive the customer in order to get commission. This means that some affiliates sometimes make claims and promises regarding the product and services which are completely wrong or that are extremely inflated. When this happens the merchant usually suffers complaints and they definitely lose potential consumer. The customer is disappointed and sometimes disillusioned about making purchases online at all.

Affiliate Marketer Disadvantages: Unscrupulous and dishonest merchants sometimes just close down programs without informing the affiliates.  They leave without paying commissions which is even worse. There are some dishonest merchants who attract new affiliates by promising high commissions then after a week or two, they dramatically drop those commission rates. Aside from that, when hijackers interfere, affiliates typically don’t get just commission, it goes to the hijacker instead. The shady and illegal practices involved in this kind of business include false advertising, unlawful use of trade names, logos, or other branding, SPAMming and hijacking. All are illegal practices.

Even though there are disadvantages to affiliate marketing for all concerned parties, affiliate marketing is still considered as one of the best ways to make money online. We just have to understand that in any thing that humans do, especially if money is involved, there will always be cheats and people who will be engaged in illegal methods.

You shouldn’t be one of them. Keep in mind that it is always right and advisable to act ethically and lawfully work hard to make your customers and business partners trust you and always see to it that you go beyond your customer’s expectations.