General
* What are Partners?
* Why should I work with Network Sellers and Affiliates?
* What is the difference between Network Sellers and Affiliates?
* I want to sell through Plimus. Should I register as an Affiliate or Vendor?
* How and when are commissions paid?
* What are the advantages of working with Partners?
* What are the main risks?

Network Selling Transactions
* How does a Customer know who is responsible for product service if there are multiple Vendors?
* What happens if a customer raises a dispute and wants a refund or demands a chargeback?
* Am I protected if one of the items order is the cause of a refund claim?
* How are chargebacks dealt with? Can this lead to withholding of payments due to me from Plimus?
* Am I protected in the case of fraud from a Partner's actions?

Using the Network Sales and Affiliate Platform
* How do I find Partners to sell my products?
* What are the Featured products?
* I sent a Request to Sell now what happens?
* How do I find products that I can sell?
* I sent an Invitation to Partner but I have not heard back. What do I do?
* I now have a Partner – what do I do next?
* How do I set up a Cross Sale? Why do I need to set up a Promotion?
* Are there additional fees to pay to Plimus for sales by multiple Vendors?

Transaction Behaviors
* How do the Buy Now pages work for Partner Sales?
* What happens about invoicing?
* How is VAT dealt with?

* Who gets customer data information when there are multiple Vendors or Affiliates?
* How do you deal with upsale items like Extended Download Warranty?
* Can a Back up CD-Rom be offered? How is pricing sorted out?
* What happens if a CD-Rom is larger than 700 MB?
* Is it possible to offer coupons in a multiple Vendor sale?
* What happens if a party accepts orders from free email domains and another does not?
* Who can set up IPNs?
* What happens if one of the Vendors’ products is not allowed to be sold in the customer’s country?

General    
*  What are Partners?  (top)

Partners are Plimus Vendors and Affiliates with whom you can form business relationships. The broad objective is (1) for you to sell their products and earn commissions; and (2) for them to promote and sell yours. Plimus provides the technological framework for you to build more business through cooperating with Partners. The potential from such partnerships is high, and the more energy placed into building high-value relationships, the greater the return will be. 
*    Why should I work with Network Sellers and Affiliates?  (top)
It makes great business sense to increase your points of sale and your product catalog or inventory through networking with other Vendors and Affiliates. Getting a commission from the sale of one or two affiliated products will often come close to matching the profit you make on a direct sale of one of your products - and that’s even before you consider the benefits of another Vendor selling your products. With Network Selling you can sell a mix of your own products and complementary items from other Vendors.

The main factor to consider is that building your own online sales network creates a viral effect that gains you entrance into your partners’ networks and vice versa. The effect is that more and more opportunities open up as people harvest the benefits of these win-win relationships.

* What is the difference between Network Sellers and Affiliates? (top)
Network Sellers are Vendors who have their own products to sell, while Affiliates concentrate on marketing other Partners’ products. Affiliates cannot engage in Network Selling but will benefit from the increased numbers of Vendors looking for good Affiliate marketers.

* I want to sell through Plimus. Should I register as an Affiliate or Vendor? (top)
If you have your own products to sell then you should join as a Vendor. If you want to promote and sell other parties’ products then you should join as an Affiliate.

* How and when are commissions paid? (top)
Commissions for Network Sales are paid at the same time as regular payments due from Plimus, normally the 15th of each month. So, for example, commissions earned in August are normally paid on the 15th of September.
All normal restrictions apply, and if you have negotiated a different payment schedule prior to engaging in Network Sales, your custom schedule will remain in force.

*What are the advantages of working with Partners? (top)
When you work with a Partner, you both (1) expand the visibility of your own products through co-marketing and co-selling activities; and (2) increase the revenue potential of your business by increasing the inventory of goods you have to sell.

*What are the main risks? (top)
Before entering into any Partner deal you should check the fit of the product to your business, and the reputation of the Partner. Associating with Products and Partners that do not align with your company’s focus may not bring benefit to your brand image.

There are scammers online, and an offer that is ‘too good to be true’, probably is just that, so be thoughtful in your selection of Partner Inclusion in the Plimus network does not provide a guarantee that a Partner will have your best interests at heart.

In the case of Network Selling, where for example three products from different Vendors might be sold on a single order, you should be confident that all Partners share a common commitment to service, customer satisfaction and quick resolution to customer issues.

On the whole if you choose your Partners advisedly the rewards significantly outweigh the risks.

Network Selling Transactions 

* How does a customer know who is responsible for product service if there are multiple Vendors? (top)

The sales information made available to Customers shows each product Supplier. The Customer is supplied with contact information for each supplier, to ensure that quality service can be quickly and intuitively achieved.

* What happens if a customer raises a dispute and wants a refund or creates a chargeback? (top)

The post-sale process enables a Customer to raise a dispute or refund claim against one specific product or all products. When a claim is raised against one product then the relevant product supplier will be contacted and begin a communication stream with the customer. In the rare instance where that dispute escalates or all products are disputed by the customer then Plimus Customer Support will handle the complaint and solve the dispute.

Each Vendor will be able to give a refund for their part of the invoice, subject to a limit of one refund between the Vendors. Only Plimus may give a refund for the full transaction.

*Am I protected if one of the items order is the cause of a refund claim? (top)

Plimus will ensure that all refund disputes raised by Customers are closed swiftly and with an eye to customer satisfaction.

* How are chargebacks dealt with? Can this lead to withholding of payments due to me from Plimus? (top)

A chargeback will be assigned to each Seller if the whole transaction is subject to a chargeback. Where possible, Plimus will work with the Customer to arrange a Refund before they resort to the Chargeback process, which is a negative experience for all concerned.
Withholding can occur if the potential refund or chargeback liability is deemed high risk by Plimus. (top)

* Am I protected in the case of fraud from a Partner's actions? (top)
You will not be protected for the value of your order or commissions. Beyond such sums will depend on the individual circumstances of each case.

Using the Affiliates and Network Sales Platform

*How do I find Partners to sell my products? (top)
You can find Partners through the Plimus Product Catalog, which lists tens of thousands of items that are available for Partners to sell. You can see information about the Suppliers of these Products, allowing you to determine which businesses might be appropriate to work with.

The Community is also a useful place to indicate your interest, and you can freely publish information about your business and products, and develop a positive reputation.
* What are Featured Offers? (top)
The Featured Offers are a mix of products that some of Plimus’ better-known Vendors have agreed to make available to Network Sellers and Affiliates. Those marked as ‘Approved for Sale’ can be selected and immediately used for Network Selling and Affiliates. We recommend that you start and gain initial experience with your Partner initiatives using these items. Partners may, from time to time, change terms and availability to demand and market conditions. You will be notified if commissions are changed or a product or your permission to sell is withdrawn.

* I sent a Request to Sell now what happens? (top)
Your proposed Partner will get notice of any Request to Sell that you issue through the system. Some companies have a lot of requests to process and it is worth waiting a few days before following up your interest by email. Your Pending request log shows the relevant contact details. Polite persistence will probably pay off but do not get upset if your overtures are ignored: this will help you to understand that a Partner that looked like a fit likely is not.

* How do I find products that I can sell? (top)
In addition to your current trade contacts the Plimus Product Catalog is designed to help you find items to sell. A Request to Sell can be issued in seconds and can be tracked in the control panel.

* I sent an Invitation to Partner but I have not heard back. What do I do? (top)
A polite follow-up email after a few days may help. If not, check that you have given the right Invitation link details and that your approval settings are correct.

* I now have a Partner – what do I do next? (top)
We would advise you to get straight down to business once you are sure that the Partner is right for you. You have a choice to market the Buy Now link and act as an Affiliate or add the contract to your products as a Promotion. Full details and a video guide are in the Learning Center.

* How do I set up a Cross-Vendor sale? Why do I need to set up a Promotion? (top)
You can be involved in a Cross-Vendor sale by offering your products for Partners to sell with their own or vice-versa. Offering complementary products from another Vendor at the moment of sale is very effective. The Promotion strategy is a useful instrument to generate extra sales, which may not only defray your payment processing costs, but actually deliver a net profit to your business.

Selling through affiliates and as an Affiliate is also an important part of your overall strategy. Vendors can benefit enormously by promoting a catalog of related products alongside their own. Another effective strategy is to offer products at a special rate on the sales confirmation page or a time limited offer in the email receipt.

Full details of how to do this are in our step-by-step and video tutorials. Basically you need offer an attractive product(s) from another Vendor(s) as a promotion to of one or more of your own products. The Plimus system handles payment and commission shares while you concentrate on building more sales and partnerships.

* Are there additional fees to pay to Plimus for sales by multiple Partners? (top)

At this time, there are no additional fees to pay Plimus for this advanced functionality. It’s all part of the platform. Plimus’ benefit currently comes from the extra business that is generated through the system.

Transaction Behaviors

* How do the Buy Now pages work for Partner Sales? (top)
Buy Now pages can be configured in terms of design and branding, by the Vendor who is the ‘owner’ of the Buy Now page. This Vendor is also termed the ‘Lead Vendor.’

The Vendor does not have to disclose on the actual sales page that the Partner products are not its own, but equally should not hold itself as the product manufacturer or supplier as that would be misleading. A customer will be able to select the products as it sees fit, and the order will record the choices.

The order confirmation process clearly sets out for the Customer the full contact information of each Vendor.

* What happens about invoicing? (top)
According to law, Plimus is the actual merchant of record for these transactions. The Customer receives a single electronic receipt from Plimus showing each product item, its price, its supplier and the total price and relevant tax. The Vendor who initiated the sale through the Buy Now page is deemed to be the lead Vendor.

* How is VAT dealt with? (top)
There are no additional VAT or sales tax consequences that apply to Network or Affiliate sales. These taxes are invoiced and paid across to the authorities in the normal manner by Plimus.

* In the case of multiple Vendors and Affiliates how are commissions divided? (top)
Commissions are divided according to the ratios agreed by the parties. In some complex situations there might be two (or more) parties claiming for the same commission particularly where Affiliates are involved.

Plimus does not split commissions or manage “sub-commissions.” As a result in these more complicated situations where transactions include multiple Vendors and Affiliates, two or more parties might have a justifiable argument to share commissions. Accordingly Plimus has devised situational rules to direct the commission to just one party in such instances

* Who gets customer data information when there are multiple Vendors or Affiliates? (top)
Customer data will be made available to each participating Vendor as they are deemed to have sold products and supplied the customer through Plimus. In turn they will have an obligation to treat that data in accordance with Plimus’ privacy policy and relevant legislation. Affiliates will receive notification of the sale, but will not receive the customer’s personal data.

* How do you deal with Extended Download Warranty? (top)
An Extended Download Warranty can only be offered if the Lead Vendor’s Contract permits. If one of the Lead Vendor’s contracts permits – defined as the Vendor who is the ‘owner’ of the Buy Now page – then EDW will be permitted and will cover all the items supplied in terms of extended download access.

* Can a Back up CD-Rom be offered? How is pricing sorted out? (top)
A Back up CD will be supplied if offered by at least one of the Vendors. A single CD will be supplied covering all the items that offered a CD.

The Price of the CD will be based on that the settings associated with the main contract (according to value) if that offers a CD. If the lead Contract does not offer CD on Demand then the price will be based on the terms of a promotion that belonging to the Lead Vendor that offers a CD. If none of the Lead Vendor’s Contracts offers CD on Demand then the price will be calculated based on the settings of the promotional Contract. The CD surcharge will be given to just one Vendor according to the order just described. If one contract offers to absorb the cost of a CD then a separate CD will be delivered comprising of just that item.

* What happens if a CD-Rom file set is larger than 700 MB? (top)
If the items cannot fit on one CD then additional CDs will be delivered with the extra cost being defrayed by Plimus.

* Is it possible to offer coupons in a multiple Vendor sale? (top)
Only one coupon can be offered for a multiple Vendor transaction. If the main contract does not allow coupons then no coupon will be offered.

* What happens if a party accepts orders from free email domains and another does not? (top)
If just one party does not allow customers from free email domains then no orders can be accepted for any of the products from such a customer.

* Who can receive an IPN? (top)
All Vendors and Affiliates can now receive notifications when a new order is received. The additional notifcation events are refund/chargeback, order cancellation, subscription renewal and subscription renewal failure.

The lead Vendor will receive a separate notification for each part of the order.

* What happens if one of the Vendors’ products is not allowed to be sold in the customer’s country?  (top)
A restriction will only affect the relevant contract(s). The others can be processed for the total price less the restricted item.