As affiliate marketers, we look at a number of factors to determine which programs we want to work with. Among these are obviously the type of products, the reputation of the merchant, the EPC, and how the program is managed. One other metric that is often debated is the Reversal Rate, shown only in some networks. The reversal rate can be an indicator of very good or very bad things, but you have to know what you are looking at to figure that out.

What is the Reversal Rate?

The reversal rate is quite simply the percentage of affiliate sales/leads that were reversed for any reason during a time period. I like that ShareASale shows both the 7 day and the 30 day reversal rate. You can see these even before you join the program.

Why Do Commissions Get Reversed?

Commissions can be reversed for any number of reasons. The most common is usually that the order was cancelled either before it was placed or after the customer received the merchandise. This would include orders where the credit card could not be processed. Orders can also be cancelled if they were duplicates for technical reasons or for fraud. Less commonly, a commission may be reversed because the customer exchanged the merchandise for a different size or color. [Read more…]