MERCABL Affiliate Program Policy

Welcome to the MERCABL Affiliate Program. This Affiliate Policy outlines the terms and conditions governing participation in our internal affiliate initiatives. MERCABL ("we", "us", or "our") offers affiliates the opportunity to earn commission through the promotion of products and shops on our platform using unique affiliate links. This document explains your rights, obligations, and our expectations.

Our affiliate program is operated entirely in-house and includes two types of commission-based structures:

1. Platform-Level Affiliate Program – Earn commission by referring new sellers to open shops on MERCABL.
2. Seller-Defined Affiliate Programs – Sellers may choose to enable affiliate commissions on their listings, defining custom commission rates.

By applying and participating in this program, you (“Affiliate”) agree to be bound by this Affiliate Policy, the MERCABL Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and any other applicable policies. You are responsible for complying with local regulations governing marketing, privacy, and consumer protection.

1. Eligibility and Enrollment

To participate, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old (or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction);
• Own and operate a public promotional channel (e.g., public website or social profile);
• Apply and be approved by MERCABL;
• Maintain accurate account, tax, and payment information;
• Declare any affiliation with MERCABL shops you own or are associated with.

All applications are reviewed by MERCABL, which reserves the right to accept or reject any affiliate, for any reason, at its sole discretion. Your participation may be limited based on geographic location and other eligibility criteria.

2. Authorized Channels

Affiliates may only share affiliate links on publicly accessible, owned and operated channels. Authorized Channels include:

• Public websites and blogs (each unique domain must be approved);
• Public Instagram accounts (original content only);
• Public Facebook pages and groups (no paid ads);
• Public Pinterest profiles (Idea Pins only, no direct paid ads);
• Public YouTube channels;
• Public TikTok accounts;
• Any other public channel explicitly approved in writing by MERCABL.

Private or closed environments such as email newsletters, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, private Facebook groups, or any messaging platform are not allowed unless explicitly pre-approved.

Prohibited Sources:

• Paid advertising platforms (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.);
• iFrame-based content or embedded widgets;
• Pop-ups, pop-unders, or automatic redirects;
• Spam networks, link farms, or traffic exchanges;
• "Cashback" or voucher-only sites;
• Price comparison websites;
• Content focused on infringing, offensive, or inappropriate material;
• AI-generated or bot-driven accounts lacking genuine audience engagement.

Traffic Laundering Prohibited: Affiliates may not use intermediary pages or landing pages to disguise the original traffic source. Any attempt to hide or reroute traffic (e.g., via paid ads or bots to a blog, then to MERCABL) may result in denial of commissions.

3. Commission Structure & Payouts

3.1 Platform Affiliate Program

• Earn $10 USD for each qualified shop referral.
• Referred sellers must:
  • Open a shop using your affiliate link;
  • Activate the shop and remain active for at least 30 days;
  • Meet our quality and policy standards.

3.2 Seller-Defined Affiliate Program

• Sellers may offer affiliate commissions on individual listings.
• Commission amounts (flat or percentage) are defined by the seller.
• A commission is earned only if:
  • The buyer clicked your link;
  • The product was added to the cart and purchased;
  • The order is not refunded or disputed within 30 days of delivery.

3.3 Payments

• Commissions are held for at least 45 days following the transaction being marked as completed. This clearance window ensures the entire order has been fulfilled and is not subject to refund, dispute, or chargeback activity.
• MERCABL reserves the right to extend the clearance period at its discretion in cases of suspected fraud, chargeback risk, delivery delays, or abuse of the program.
• Once cleared, your balance becomes eligible for payout.
• Payouts are processed within 2–7 business days once your balance reaches US$10.

4. Tracking and Attribution

Tracking is based on a unique affiliate identifier attached to each link. We use:

• First-party cookies (valid for 30 days);
• IP address and browser fingerprinting;
• Internal tracking sessions for real-time attribution.

The last-click attribution model is used. If multiple affiliate links are clicked, the most recent eligible one before the conversion is credited.

Referrer headers are recorded where available, but not used as the primary validation source, as they can be manipulated or unavailable.

5. Program Restrictions & Compliance

You may not:

• Use your own affiliate link to self-refer;
• Incentivize clicks via misleading or deceptive tactics;
• Use unauthorized marketing techniques (e.g., spam, forced clicks);
• Cloak or disguise links to route traffic through third-party domains without approval.

Affiliates must comply with all applicable marketing laws and disclose their relationship to MERCABL clearly (e.g., using "#ad", "#affiliate").

Violations may result in withheld commissions, account suspension, or permanent removal.

6. Modifications, Termination, and Contact

We may revise this Affiliate Policy at any time. Continued participation after changes are made constitutes your agreement to those changes.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any affiliate account at any time, with or without notice, especially in cases of suspected fraud or abuse.

For questions, concerns, or support, contact us at:
affiliates@MERCABL.com