Yep, this is a rant. But I have to bitch about this to someone.

A start up affiliate network hit me up this week. They’ve been around for a few months and require their pending affiliates to give them three industry references. These references must include affiliate managers from other networks.

I’ve heard of receiving referrals from affiliates already in the network. And I think that’s a great way to manage your network on a smaller scale. This is a little different when you are asking for recommendations from another affiliate manager.

My phone rang and out of the blue, this chic starts asking me about an affiliate and what type of traffic they do for us, how much volume they do and if I ever had any issues with them.

I think my mouth just dropped.

Number one; I don’t owe you anything. You are a no name company that just started up that might not be around in another month.

Number two; I’m not giving you any information about anyone. That is private to our company.

Number three; you are wasting my time.

I know there may be benefits in this, but to me it’s just crossing some kind of line. Yes, fraud is an issue and I think there is merit in networks using each other as resources.

But when it comes to numbers, promotion method and volume, as well as, something that doesn’t really benefit the affiliate or me at all, then you’re getting nothing.

What are your thoughts?