Affiliate Marketing Blog: What's Wrong With Discount Code Sites

Thursday, 25 September 2008

What's Wrong With Discount Code Sites - Prime Example(s)

A new merchant, no codes issued but good ole Mark acts if they are!

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB225GB225&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=the+purveyor+discount+codes&spell=1

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB225GB225&q=zelens+discount+codes&btnG=Search&meta=

10 Comments:

At 25 September 2008 at 22:13 , Matt said...: In all fairness Lee it's not just Mark who's appearing here. There are plenty of people at it.
At 25 September 2008 at 23:20 , Anonymous said...: Totally agree, its not just MVC although they are by far the worst offender or perhaps just the highest profile offender.

To me MVC's methods do not provide a good user experience so its a very short term business strategy. Sure they are dropping lots of cookies but how many visitors must they lose each day who are fed up with being misled about the availablity of non-existant / or expired codes.

This is clearly an issue for networks / merchants to tackle.

Personally on my site i always mark codes with expiry dates (where know) and then subsequently remove expired codes in a timely manner.

I don't force users to click to reveal codes or even to use the codes on my site.

If i don't have codes available for specific merchants this is clearly marked on the site.
At 26 September 2008 at 16:55 , Joe Connor said...: The problem is on most sites the pages are built dynamically so the template for the page is always going to offer codes and deals and just pull in the merchant name BUT I agree if there are no codes the page should say so - or at least not imply there are any when the visitor arrives.
At 26 September 2008 at 21:33 , Anonymous said...: just so you are aware and not think the network is ignoring this - I spoke yesterday with the merchant's affiliate manager and they will be addressing the issue.

I have asked Mark in the past that unless he has a promotion in his hands, he should not promote a merchant, so I will be following up.
At 27 September 2008 at 15:47 , Anonymous said...: The Zelens one is laughable, they don't even issue codes. They just have the field for one because it happened to be in the ecommerce package they use.

Surely it can't be long before the average customer cottons on or even Google decides that their site is a duff user experience and gives them a slap?
At 30 September 2008 at 00:13 , Anonymous said...: I ma going to build a 100 sites with no codes....:)
At 30 September 2008 at 12:56 , Anonymous said...: Hero

I don't think its an issue of not having a code so don't list the merchant. It would'nt be practical or sensible to remove merchants from the (any) site just because one week / month / year they dont have a code.

The issue from my angle is the 'click here to reveal codes' when there is'nt one.

It would'nt be hard to simply display a message saying 'sorry no codes currently available'....
At 1 October 2008 at 00:25 , Anonymous said...: Mark Pearson from Myvouchercodes is the least ethical person I have ever come across in a. m. He's been repeatedly caught with his hands in the till, so I wouldn't put anything past him.

Just like the 'greed is good' bankers who have now been caught out, Mark Pearson 's get-rich-quick strategies will eventually implode.
At 1 October 2008 at 18:26 , Anonymous said...: Would Mark care though - if he lasts till Jan I imagine he'll already have made a fortune!
At 1 October 2008 at 20:59 , Anonymous said...: The cycle goes full circle though doesn't it? To my mind, the merchant doesn't give a monkeys how it gets its traffic or sales, as long as it gets them. I'm not in agreement with the methods used, but unless the merchants... well you know the rest!