By venkat-rk on

As a would-be drupal consultant, one of the dilemmas I face is whether I should get a reseller account through which I handle my client domains or sign up as an affiliate of a hosting company and direct all new clients to sign up with that host.

Currently, I have a reseller account and don't make anything out of it. As an affiliate, I could make something on new signups that would offset my costs, especially in the initial stages of consultancy. My questions are:

1.) Is this an ethical approach?
2.) If yes, should I disclose to clients the fact that I get an affiliate's commission when they sign up?

I would appreciate comments and suggestions from the community.

Comments

Gary Feldman’s picture

Gary Feldman commented

Any time you're making a recommendation in which you have a financial interest, ethics require that you disclose that to your client. They're expecting that any recommendations you make are unbiased, professional recommendations unless you say otherwise.

That doesn't mean you have to present it as though the only reason you recommend the hosting service is your commission. You can present it, for example, as "I've done my research and decided that this service is reliable enough to recommend to my clients. Now I have to tell you that I do get a commission for every client that I refer to them, and it's certainly easier for me to deal with just one hosting company, but I wouldn't suggest them at all if I didn't think they were a good choice."

Gary Feldman

wdrupal’s picture

wdrupal commented

You can tell your clients that you no longer offer hosting because it is not worthwhile, but that you offer assistance with helping them sign up. You can charge them a fee to help them, or you can get the affiliate commission. Just make sure that it is a company that you would use on your own sites. Some of the highest-paying affiliate programs offer crap hosting. That would be unethical.

I am in a similar situation and am not sure what I will do. Since it is the same company that I use myself, I lean towards not bringing it up because it is probably more information than they want to know. But I would tell them if they ask, and explain that I have several accounts with them myself and am offering them free assistance with getting a good hosting plan.

Walt Esquivel’s picture

Walt Esquivel commented

I think either choice - reseller or affilate - is ethical as long as there is FULL disclosure on your part.

I completely agree with Gary's comments on disclosure. Ethically speaking, the only way for me to recommend a particular company, product, or service I have a financial interest in is through FULL disclosure. Most likely, I would probably not want to ever do business with someone if I found out after the fact that they had a financial interest in something they promoted to me and did not come out in the open with FULL disclose before I made my purchase or signed a contract. I would see it as UNethical on their part. To me, it's not so much whether, as your question asks, they are a reseller or an affilate because I just want to know they are treating me honestly and in an open manner. Also, it helps to be a paying customer of the company and/or a user of a product/service that I'm recommending and to believe in the company, the product, and/or the service.

For example, take a look at http://www.wellnesscorps.com/affiliate.htm where you'll see I've made it obviously clear that I am making some affiliate money for each customer that signs up using one of my PROMO CODES. I don't try to hide my financial interest in any way and it's completely up to the customer to decide whether or not to proceed. Also, as I explained on the link, I'm a DreamHost customer and, while DreamHost is not perfect, I'm happy enough to recommend them. I've seen dozens and dozens of web firms on Drupal forums both praised and bashed, sometime almost at the same time. DreamHost, it seems to me, has its ups and downs much like the others. It's not dedicated hosting, and I feel generally good about their service. Could I find a better solution? Perhaps. But they suit my needs for the time being.

However, things are a bit different when you become a consultant, Drupal or otherwise, IMO. Being a consultant means your reputation is very much on the line because the clients you're directing to a particular web hosting company either as a reseller or as an affiliate will look to you to fix things. They will hold you accountable, IMO, either way and, if things aren't fixed, take their consulting business elsewhere. If things aren't fixed, it will reflect poorly upon you simply because the recommendation came from you, even if the problem is entirely out of your control.

So I most definitely think that as a Drupal consultant, you have much more skin in the game than I do as someone who is merely recommending a particular web hosting company to make a few dollars on the side via an affiliate releationship. Your entire livelihood could be at stake if you choose the wrong web hosting company, either as a reseller or as an affiliate, because your customers will associate you with that web hosting company.

I hope that helps. Bottom line IMO is that full disclosure is THE ONLY ethical alternative whether affiliate or reseller.

Walt Esquivel, MBA, MA, Captain - U.S. Marine Corps (Veteran)
President, Wellness Corps, LLC
DreamHost Rewards Affiliate Program

venkat-rk’s picture

venkat-rk commented

Thanks everyone! I didn't quite expect such detailed answers, so all your insights are most helpful.

Now that's three people who endorse ethics over everything else, more or less, so there's no question which way I will go:-) My own inclination was towards full disclosure, but I wanted the benefit of the community's insight and experience, both help me firm up my decision and avoid potential problems down the line.

Gary and Walt, you are right, I myself would feel miffed if someone did not disclose their business interests when recommending something and I found that out later.