All ClickBank members need to be aware of ClickBank’s dormant account charge that can be deducted from an account that is not generating earnings.
What triggers a dormant account?
A ClickBank account can become dormant if there is a positive balance in the account but no earnings have been made for a 90-day period. Once an account becomes dormant, ClickBank will begin deducting daily $1 charges from the account until there is no balance or it becomes active again. Deduction amounts increase to $5/day after 180 days and $50/day after 365 days.
Read ClickBank’s Dormant Accounts policy:
Accounts with a positive balance but no earnings for an extended period of time are considered dormant. Dormant accounts are subject to a charge of $1 per pay period after 90 days of no earnings, $5 per pay period after 180 days of no earnings, and $50 per pay period after 365 days of no earnings.
How to avoid a dormant account?
To avoid letting an account go dormant, ensure the account meets the following:
- ClickBank’s CDR requirements have been met
- A payment threshold is in place that can be met in less than 90 days.
Note: Set the payment threshold in the ClickBank Account Settings page under Payment Information.
How to identify a dormant account?
To know if a ClickBank account has gone dormant, members can login into their ClickBank accounts and view the Reporting – Transactions page. If the account is dormant, any of the following item codes may appear in the Paycheck Detail table’s Item column:
- chrg-0002 – Dormant account charge – 90 days
- chrg-0003 – Dormant account charge – 365 days
- chrg-0006 – Dormant account charge – 180 days dormant
January 9, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Miles I found this site last week and love it. The info here is great for people just starting out with ClickBank.
January 10, 2012 at 9:02 pm
Hey Joel, glad to have you here! Looking forward to seeing you around!
November 19, 2011 at 5:46 am
This doesn’t seem fair in my opinion. I once left money in a bank account and to my surprise I found it a couple years later…online… on one of those State Controller’s office websites where you can look to see if you have any money that you forgot about. Banks and most other money holding agencies have to turn over money that is left in an account that becomes inactive. They are supposed to try to contact the account holder at the last known address also. Then, if they cannot locate the individual or company they must turn the money over to the state. The state then holds it virtually forever or until the account holder or a legal heir claims it. Seeing as how you don’t even send an email to let the person know that you are going to charge them, I would say that you aren’t really trying very hard to be fair. And why would you not be subject to the same laws as banks and other agencies?
November 19, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Well, technically ClickBank is not a “bank” and therefore subject to different regulations. I think ClickBank should attempt to contact affiliates and vendors who may be at risk for losing their funds, however there could be reasons behind this that we are not aware of. Thanks for your comment Ginny!
October 19, 2011 at 3:50 am
5 Uniques is fair, but 90 days with no earnings seems a bit short in my mind, and could leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth if they come back to unexpected fees after a long hiatus – Miles, have you ever heard of those fees being reversed or of potential changes to the policy? It’s not a unique one, CJ has something similar IIRC they charge an inactive account fee as well.
October 19, 2011 at 4:03 am
You know, I don’t think 90 days is bad, but perhaps a solution would be to email the ClickBank user so they’re at least aware. I’ve never heard of the fee being reversed. It happened to me, that’s where I got the screenshot from. $90 I didn’t know I had slowly evaporated in a dormant ClickBank account I wasn’t using and didn’t have associated with my other accounts. I never asked anyone as so much time had passed when I finally discovered it and personally I wasn’t too concerned. Nonetheless, I do hear this as one major complaint from beginners and I think it warrants a change of some kind, not sure what that would be exactly though.
October 14, 2011 at 8:06 pm
First, let me say – I just found your blog last night via a YT video. I think this information will be helpful so I’ve set up an RSS feed for it.
With that said – this policy kind of bugs me. I’ve had an account with CB for a couple of years now. When I first tried I couldn’t sell anything so I gave it up for a while; now I need to get more money coming in so I’m trying again. But while researching their payment policies for a different reason I discovered that in order to prevent commission theft they won’t pay until the affiliate has made 5 sales from 5 different card #s. To me that says that the threshold, no matter how low it is, doesn’t matter; they’re not going to pay until I have 5 unique sales.
I understand why CB is doing this; I’ve read that affiliates change hoplinks all the time (which I guess is why the hoplinks are more complicated now). And maybe I’m misunderstanding this part of the policy (in which case please correct me). But if I’m right then I could see this penalization charge happening fairly frequently, especially with new affiliates who make a few sales and then get discouraged when they don’t get paid, so they stop trying. And then the little money they made gets eaten up by the penalties until there’s nothing left. And of course as a “new” affiliate I’m wondering if this could happen to me. Affiliate marketing is hard enough without wondering if you’re ever going to get paid for those sales you worked so hard to get.
October 15, 2011 at 1:13 am
Hello Meg,
Thanks for your comment, I’m glad you’re finding value in our site.
I agree that this policy certainly is not perfect. However, this policy helps to protect affiliates. Many people will sign up with ClickBank simply to purchase a product from them self in order to save money and get the commission. This cuts out for the commission for the referring affiliate. Having this policy in place deters people from doing this.
You can read further how ClickBank protects affiliates here… http://www.clickscoop.com/how-clickbank-protects-affiliates-from-commission-theft/
I agree it’s a bit overwhelming when your starting, and any obstacles, even being required to make more than a few sales to get the commission can seem like a lot. Once this requirement is met though, you’re done and you’re free to make and claim commission on all your sales.
The best thing is that new affiliates are made aware of these policies. It sounds like you are. Best of luck! Here’s to many sales!
October 28, 2011 at 3:07 am
Hey Meg, I just stumbled across this page.
I totally agree with you.
I have been trying for 2 years and with no $$
We new affiliates should not be penalized, especially if we are trying to promote vendor products the best we know how.
There is alot of competition out there. And some are super experienced.