Thanks for Nothing, Jerry Brown
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the budget today, which included affiliate nexus language. So, there goes a substantial part of the income of 25,000 small business in California. The Performance Marketing Association reported it earlier today. Executive Director Rebecca Madigan is in Sacramento today attempting to do what she can to benefit Affiliates.
Unfortunately one of the bills that was included also included very vague language about even doing business with California based vendors, hosting companies, etc, so effectively this affects not just the affiliate marketing industry in California, but all small businesses.
Way to go, Jerry, shoot California in the foot.
Luckily for me, I do not make the bulk of my income from being an affiliate. My ventures into acting as an affiliate have been mostly for the learning experience and to try to offset the costs of domains and hosting for my various web-based hobbies.
This does impact my husband’s site, RailroadRedux.com, as he has a large Amazon widget recommending different model railroading books, and impacts my site GirlScoutGuide.com as Fabric.com exclusively carries Girl Scout licensed fabric.
Affiliate Programs Dropping CA Affiliates (Updated As Of 12:45 PM PDT 7/26/11)
- 6pm.com
- 1-800-PetMeds
- Adorama
- Amazon.com
- Amerimark
- Backcountry
- Bag.com
- BagsBuy.com
- Bargain Catalog Outlet
- Barware.com
- BedBathStore
- B&H Photo
- Boden
- BookCloseouts.com
- BrickHouse Electronics
- Brylane Home
- BuildDirect.com
- Cabela’s
- Calvin Klein Jeans
- Camp Saver
- Candelabras.com
- CD Universe
- ChristmasCardsDirect.com
- CKU
- Collections Etc.
- Compact Appliance
- Costume Craze
- CreateForLess.com
- CSN Stores
- Cymax
- Dermadoctor
- Dr. Leonard’s
- Endless.com
- Eurosport
- Fabric.com
- Fingerhut
- FootSmart
- GAIAM
- Garden.com
- Gardeners Supply
- Gettington
- HalloweenCostumes.com
- Hayneedle Stores
- Herroom
- Jessica London
- KingSize Direct
- K. Jordan
- Luggage Online
- Maryland Square
- MetroKitchen
- Movies Unlimited
- MyFavorite Shoe Store
- OneStopPlus
- Overstock.com
- Overstock International
- PC Connection
- PhotoCardsDirect.com
- Potpourri Group
- Powells.com
- Roaman’s
- Shindigz
- Shoe.com
- ShoeBacca
- ShoeBuy.com
- ShopBop.com
- ShoppersChoice.com
- Silkpalms.com
- SmartBargains.com
- Spiritline
- StumpParty
- TABcom
- theWineEnthusiast
- ThinkGeek
- TimeForMeCatalog
- Total Gym
- Woman Within
- Woot.com
- Zappos.com
I’ll keep this list up to date, so if you are a CA affiliate and get dropped by a merchant not on this list, please let me know.
Edited to add: when my husband came home and I told him to remove his Amazon widget, he decided to not just remove it, but to replace it with a message to his site’s visitors telling them why his book recommendations were removed and urging people not to shop with Amazon.com in support.
Read MoreDue to recent changes in California law which negatively affect affiliates, and the fact that Amazon dropped all affiliates who reside in California, I will no longer be featuring deals from Amazon.com. I strongly recommend that you no longer use Amazon.com or any of their services due to the poor way they treat the people that advertise for them.
Merchants to NY Affiliates: Hit the Road!
June is here, which means the “Amazon Tax” law, as it’s been dubbed, is now in effect. Merchants with affiliates residing in New York state will now have to charge tax on orders of customers in New York. In short, the state of NY has decided that affiliates constitute nexus, i.e. a term used to describe whether a business has sufficient presence or activity in a state or other taxing jurisdiction to become subject to the tax(es) of the state or jurisdiction. So now in NY state online retailers with affiliates residing in that state have to charge tax, regardless of where their corporate headquarters actually are. Some good links that explain this better than I ever could are to TechCrunch’s May 14th post and Scott Jangro’s May 22nd podcast.
So many of the larger online merchants with a large number of affiliates in NY have made the decision to drop their affiliates who reside in NY. The great folks over at ABestWeb.com Affiliate Forums have kept a running list of the merchants who’ve dissed their NY affiliates. So if you’re from NY, be aware that these merchants may not approve your application if you apply in the near future.
