Trying To Making Sense Of The Nonsensical

Aug 7, 2008 -

Trying To Making Sense Of The Nonsensical What tablets have Pixmania taken?
Which silly billy’s have been “advising” them?

For those that aren’t aware, I am referring to a recent email from Pixmania in which they have issued a whole load of discount codes for use when people purchase sepcific goods, or goods that come to a specific value. Their email reads;

OFFER IN BRIEF:
Pixmania are offering fantastic new codes on appliances and they have extended the expiry date for one TV code! Pixmania are also offering exciting generic codes for all affiliates, except vouchercode sites, and they have a list of their top products for you to promote!

So they have “exciting discount codes” yet they are not allowed to promoted on discount code websites. I mean thats ludicrous! Firstly I don’t find the discount particularly exciting when comparing the prices to competitors especially as Pixmania are apparently “#1 UK electronics e-retailer“. It’s like offering discounts for their Top 10 DLR’s, but refusing any website that focuses on DLRs to feature them! I also wonder how they distinguish which sales have been made via a voucher code website.

I am in the process of moving all my links from websites, to a centralised domain, something similar to OpenAds. This will allow me to easily track clicks myself and compare them with what merchants and networks are recording. It will also mean administering any movement of a merchant from one network to another, quick, simple and a one off job across all my websites. Therefore Pixmania, along with others, will all originate from a centralised domain – so will I be penalised for clicks from NON discount code websites?

I am surprised that they have decided to take this stance, and even more so that the merchant hasn’t changed their mind, especially as it follows Affiliate Windows announcement of a voucher code tool. I notice that the exclusion doesn’t include cashback websites which I find even stranger and see that others are annoyed and bewlidered by this rash decision.

http://www.shopcodes.co.uk Raymond Theakston

Pixmania product codes do not convert for me. The ONLY reason I persevere with adding their many frequently changing product codes is because they sent me a nice tv at Christmas.
http://www.webaffiliate.co.uk Chris Frost

A company buys you a TV and you persevere with a programme that is ludicrously silly? Come on Ray, dont let Pixmania “buy” you ;) Next Chrismtas I will buy you a DVD player and hope to see links to my website all over ShopCodes :D

I continue to push their codes, and will do so. If they continue to get arsey then I will simply make use of better e-retailers that higher conversion, offer better prices to consumers, and allow discount codes sites to use discount codes – Dixons, Comet, Currys to name a few!
http://www.davidfiske.com David Fiske

I understand Ray’s perspective. An incentive isn’t just a freebie – it’s a means to continue promoting that brand (IMO).

I won a holiday care of Sunshine. I’m not going to turn around and stop promoting them. I’ll be thinking of them before I consider other merchants.

Incidentally, no one wants to send me a TV even though my main affiliate focus is consumer electronics.

As for your link ideas (concentrating them all onto one site), I like this idea. I can see the time saving benefits of implementing something like this although it may be more time consuming with deeplinking.
http://www.webaffiliate.co.uk Chris Frost

Agree Dave – it was a tongue in cheek comment!

I also agree with you on SunShine, however what Pixmania have done here, that SunShine haven’t and wont (as they are clued up), is to give with one hand and take with the other hand.

Ray runs a discount themed website amongst others, and he too will be penalised by Pixmania’s new rulings.

It beggers belief TBH.
http://www.here.org.uk Kieron

Mate I stopped promoting Pixmania codes many moons ago. The problem I found was that they had too may codes, for only ever a short period of time, that didn’t really offer anything special for the consumers. This latest announcement from them just means that you need to bin them. Ridiculous.
http://www.moreniche.com katie clarke

Too many codes is a real pain it is hard work to keep on top of all these changes. Thing is they are restricting themselves in the long run.