How can I know that I am not cheated

[Rheingold]

I am still a beginner in affiliate marketing. It bothers me that how can I know that my affiliate partner doesnt cheat me. By this I mean how can I know they honestly report every join and sign up that really has happened. Im not blaming anyone in particular, just asking this question on general level.

[jIgG]

Same way you know your power company counts your use properly. Or the water company. You just trust that they do it.

Someone like CCBill would have no incentive to fudge your stats since they get a cut of the sale before you get yours and they do the tracking. As for programs using 3rd party tracking software, research to see if someone raised an issue with payouts or missing sales, give them a try and don't put your eggs all in one basket

[rob]

Of course the other way of looking at it is how does the affiliate program know you are sending legitimate joins?

The trust runs both ways

[Rheingold]

Of course the other way of looking at it is how does the affiliate program know you are sending legitimate joins?

The trust runs both ways

How could a join be illegitimate. If someone joins, he must pay.

[rob]

How could a join be illegitimate. If someone joins, he must pay.

Using stolen cards.

[sarah_badoink]

Using stolen cards.

It's actually a pretty big issue. We have to monitor our affiliates all the time to look for signs of credit card fraud.

That being said, you can ask the programs you use to implement a tracking pixel for you. We do this for a number of our affiliates