Affiliate Jump was launched last week with usual launch fanfare i.e. lots of affiliates aggressively mailing their lists, seemingly desperate to get to the top of the “leaderboard” of JV partners.

It seems to be some kind of CPA network – CPA meaning “Cost Per Action” – where you basically earn commission by getting people to fill in forms. Sadly it also usually involves “free trials” and forced continuity as the money has to come from somewhere to pay for all those forms people fill in.

CPA has been a buzz topic for months now and it’s no surprise that Filsaime has decided to jump onboard the trend. I am slightly surprised though to see that there is no guarantee to this opportunity and some CPA experts aren’t convinced that it’s worthwhile.

It seems that Affiliate Jump is pretty much just a CPA network that you have to pay $200+ to join whereas most CPA networks are free to join.

Also, you share any commission you make with Mike and his partners which is not ideal.

I’ve read some reviews by some very disappointed people who have, quite rightly, asked for their money back because they aren’t satisfied with the quality of the product. Those same customers are also complaining that they are being refused refunds.

One was kind enough to post the response from the Affiliate Jump support desk:

“Please note that there are no refunds for Account Activation fees or your first month of service. Because of this, we’d encourage you not to cancel and to stick with the program.”

The “Account Activation” fee is $200. The “first month of service” could be $39.95, $89.95 or $99.95 depending on the level chosen by the customer and is an ongoing monthly fee.

Therefore any disappointed customer who wants a refund and is refused it will be out of pocket to the tune of between $239 and $299.

In my opinion, this is unacceptable.

According to the small print during sign-up, the $200 fee is refundable only when (if?) you earn $1000 through the program. On the affiliate signup page, potential affiliates are told that until the 23rd of August they will earn $200 for each new member they introduce.

So it seems that the $200 “Account Activation” fee is actually the affiliate commission which may go some way to explain why it is non-refundable.

I was under the impression that best practice for marketers is to refund immediately whenever there is a complaint. It’s extremely disappointing to see that a well-known marketer like Mike Filsaime is putting his name to a product where unhappy customers are denied a refund.

Please heed this warning if you were looking at Affiliate Jump with an intention to buy – if you are unhappy with the quality of the product you may find it difficult to get a refund…

** UPDATE 19/08/09 **

There are rumours on certain forums that people are now being issued refunds so perhaps the marketers behind this product have decided to retract their “no refunds” policy. Let’s hope so!