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I just added a new product and used the Buy Now code. However, for some mysterious reason, when I test-purchase the ebook for $1, one of my affiliates gets an e-mail:
You have earned an affiliate fee of 0.00 USD for the sale (ID:3801049-4485206) of 101 Advanced Techniques Every PowerPoint User Should Know on Wed Sep 23 2009 13:02:55 MST.

Also, her affiliate code is included in the E-junkie Notification-Sale e-mail that I received. [%aff55162|iaff%][%bl656yyb%]

To buy the product, I typed in the URL, so it didn't have an affiliate code. The affiliate code isn't in the Buy Now button code either.

Why is this happening?

Thanks,
Ellen

Clicking an affiliate's Hop Link sets a cookie in the buyer's browser that expires in 6 months, so any affiliate-eligible product that buyer purchases from you during the lifespan of that cookie will earn a commission for that affiliate.

You must have clicked that affiliate's Hop Link at some point in the past 6 months, so that cookie was still in your browser when you made the test purchase, associating that affiliate as having referred the "buyer" (you) to your site. You can clear your browser cookies before making any test purchases to prevent this from happening again, and this is good practice anyway to make sure you're testing from a clean slate.

I have just received an email with the following:

You have earned an affiliate fee of 0.00 USD for the sale.

Having read the above, it sounds like my situation is different.

I have an affiliate link on my website for an e-book. I've never bought this e-book (I was given a copy), or even tried to test-purchase (I didn't know you actually could do that). So why wouldn't I have received a commission?

You receive a notification every time a buyer you referred to a merchant makes a purchase from that merchant, regardless of whether the particular item(s) purchased grant any commission. If you have any further questions about that, please contact the merchant who operates that affiliate program; you can use the Contact Merchant button in your Affiliate Admin to send them a message.