I don’t normally get involved in all the Twitter dramas and try to steer clear of the Beauty Blogging Bitching but this matter I feel I need to speak out about as it’s clear that a lot of people know nothing about it! I feel strongly that its unfair, misleading and exploiting bloggers.
So how does the Eyeko Ambassador scam, I mean scheme, work? If you are to purchase something from Eyeko’s website (used to be when you spent £10, now it’s £15) you would enter a Eyeko Ambassador Code, and in turn you would receive a free gift with your purchase. The Eyeko Ambassador would then receive a 15% commission on the amount purchased, so everyone’s a happy bunny (or so they would be if the scheme actually worked out that way!)
I joined the scheme a few months back but it wasn’t until I attended the Eyeko Blogger Event that I was given cards to promote my Eyeko code and learnt more about it. I was happy to get involved and promote Eyeko products, as I do genuinely like them and I thought the scheme was a good way of earning a bit of extra cash myself and also readers would benefit by receiving a free gift with purchases so everyone’s a winner! We were all told that the commission would be paid on a monthly basis (if the amount was over £5), if not the amount would roll onto the next month, which is only fair right?
I’ll admit I’ve been confused by some of the mixed ‘vague’ messages that Eyeko sends out, I heard that a few Ambassadors had been told they MUST write about Eyeko products every 2 weeks or their account would be deleted? There are only so many Eyeko products out there and it’s going to become very boring writing and reading about the same product reviews in the beauty blogging world! I have also heard from several people that they have entered my Eyeko code but not received their free gift. I don’t intend to mislead anyone so this is why I have chosen to speak out about it!
Eyeko do not pay for PR, or advertising instead choosing to get beauty bloggers and Eyeko Ambassadors involved to ‘spread the love’ and rely heavily on Online Social Media to promote products. You may/may not be aware of how stupidly expensive advertising costs to companies and also the value of good PR! As far as I’m aware Eyeko don’t pay bloggers to talk about products, instead offer the incentive commission scheme.
It wasn’t until I started asking questions about when the commission would be paid that eventually after several frustrating emails I got a clear answer: Eyeko DOES NOT pay out commission if £5 hasn't been reached in a month and this amount is NOT rolled onto the next month. So what happens to this commission money? As yet I have had no answer from Eyeko but was informed by another Eyeko Ambassador that they are reviewing the way the scheme works at their next meeting......
Given there’s over 10,000 Eyeko Ambassador’s, if each of these were to earn say £4.99 every month in commission for a whole year that’s a hell of a lot of money not being paid out! Surely if Eyeko don’t pay this commission money out to ambassadors then they should at least do the moral thing and donate it to charity not keep it for themselves?
Let me know what you feel about this matter in the comments below or you can Tweet me!
How do you feel about Bloggers being exploited and treat unfairly?
Oh wow, I'm an ambassador too and I didn't actually realise that if the amount wasn't over £5 you didn't get paid. And now I hear that it doesn't even get rolled on to the next month, it's ridiculous. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeletewww.elsieandclara.blogspot.com
Hmmm interesting. The scheme does seem abit flawed!
ReplyDeleteAlso not too sure I would like to HAVE to talk about Eyeko products every two weeks! If that is the case.
All sounds abit fishy to me.
Fee x
Thanks for the heads up, I actually wanted to purchase a few polishes from eyeko and get a free gift, but obviously after this I don't think I would.
ReplyDeleteI'n an ambassador too & that's shocking they would treat dedicated customers like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the post lovely!
Wow that sucks! :/ So, what's the point dear Eyeko in putting the code on our blog if we won't win anything?
ReplyDeleteAnd who wants to talk about a specific brand at least every 2 weeks? it's boring and frankly most people don't like being told what to write on THEIR blog.
xxx
Sounds a bit weird, I am not an ambassador or a purchaser of anything the brand has offered up, but both should be informed of the changes when related to the code deal, although the site seems questionable in regards to the lack of info on the ambassador deal, I at the same time I think people sign up to these schemes too quickly without looking into it further. Yet I am sure that for many people that being an ambassador may benefit them greatly. I am a bit dubious of this being a scam I have read of eyeko alot over blogs in a positive form and its probably just an innocent oversight that needs to be sorted quick for all involved.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about having to blog about Eyeko every two weeks as well, although it might have been you that I heard it from in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI'm not an ambassador as I'm not really an Eyeko fan, and it's always seemed very sales-driven rather than being about promoting positive messages about the brand. Brands like Liz Earle also use social media rather than advertising to promote themselves, and I think they do it much better. Aussie is another example of a brand that does this well.
If Eyeko are not being upfront about the terms that ambassadors are signing up to then this is really poor on their part, and they could find they lose a lot of support in the blogging community - which must be where they get a lot of their business from, as none of my non-blogging friends have ever even heard of them.
And if they're not sending people the free gift when they're using an ambassador code, then they're not even standing by their own promises!
Im not an ambassador but SO many people have the scheme that no one uses anyone else's codes because they have their own. They should make it more exclusive so that they can stick to their promises.
ReplyDeleteI made my first sales as an ambassador last month and got paid a few days ago, I was really happy (even if I don't expect that to happen so often ^^).
ReplyDeleteI got a card on which they say (I'm typing it with the card in front of my eyes, so those are their exact words) : "Don't forget to update your profile within 14 days with either an Eyeko related video, blog post, or pic to stay an Ambassador!".
I wondered what this was about, and wrote a mini-Facebook article including a picture of my ambassador gift (a lipgloss).
I never heard that I would have to blog about them every two weeks... do you HAVE to be a blogger to be an Ambassador? I don't even think so.
Now for payments, I thought the amount was rolled on to the next month too, considering my poor sales, I think it may happen more than once that I don't get paid... but what I would like to be sure of is that people who order with my code actually get their gift, or I would be the one to be called bad names :/
You love nail polish and I have an O.P.I. GIVEAWAY...
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested check out www.thefashionguitar.com
xo thefashionguitar
Yeah I made £4 something and didn't get paid. I thought that £4 would still be there and other commission would be added to it but no, it's completely gone!
ReplyDeletex
All sounds very confusing. I don't think i've ever made anything through my Eyeko Ambassador account and no of nobody who ever makes more than £10 a month (bar the ones featured on the site who never seem to change).
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I'd be suprised if anyone realised they don't roll over under £5.00 as it isn't made clear anywhere that I can see. They said in their reply to me, "Yes, we have considered this and I will bring it up in our next meeting. " So not a promise of a review but perhaps hopeful?!
ReplyDeleteBecky (pinksugarbeauty) x
bought 3 items the other day and put your amabassador code in! didn't notice it was 3 for 2 and that made it £14.99. i didn't get a free product, the items were basly packaged, and i think they're quite rubbish quality considering how much eyeko have put up their price of late. it used to be such a cute brand that did some brilliant, cheap, well packaged products... nowadays prices are going up, quality is going down, and the messages that are sent out to ambassadors are getting more and more vague. i haven't mentioned my code to anyone in ages as i don't want to support the brand anymore. i think this whole £5 and over or it isnt paid is just ridiculous and disgusting.
ReplyDeletei also think that with so many liggers around, and so many blogs popping up that are concerned solely with PR and freebies, bloggers are now no longer being taken seriously and are instead, being taken for granted. we need to remember that everything we write is free press!!!!!
another issue i have with them is that a blogger works for them and chooses who goes to events etc, this means that the same girls are invited all the time, so the same products pop up on the same blogs over and over again! a little bit of variation would be nice once in a while!! sick of seeing 50+ posts on the same shit, different blog. xxxx
I noticed this earlier this month when my commission, which hadn't reached £5, was not rolled over to the next month. It just disappeared and now my commission is back to zero.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every blog I come across has an Ambassador code for their visitors, it's not exclusive enough anymore!
A blog post every two weeks is ridiculous, they are really expecting us to purchase products every two weeks?
This is a really poor show by Eyeko which is going to lose them custom in the long run!
ReplyDelete@Kemcaflipflops
I did a blog post linking back to your blog, hope you dont mind, Im trying to get the word out.
ReplyDeleteI am not an Eyeko ambassador or customer. The only thing I have of their's is a nail polish from Very.co.uk which is where I first heard about them.
ReplyDeleteEyeko clearly need to get their terms and conditions in order.
This level of miss-communication is simply not acceptable.
Thanks for sharing this! I was thinking of becoming an ambassador too, but now I'm sure i'm not going to do it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this! You made it totally clear!
ReplyDeleteI did stated in their old website (when I signed up) that the comission would be rolled up. I have asked them, they say no... It remember thinking to myself: this is ok, the first month I will probably will not be doing that much, but with the second month, it'll be alright.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it is ufair, I did bring them this business, even though for that month I didnt make 5 pounds...
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ReplyDeleteI like eyeko products (nail polishes) a lot and I´m an ambassador myself too.. But the chance that you get to £5 is very small considering the fact so many people are ambassador. I made 1.73.. And I guess I'm not having to expect to see it paid on my bank-account. Ridiculous! If they won't pay it to the ambassadors because it's too 'low', they definitely should donate it to charity, indeed!!
ReplyDeleteWhat they also could do is the next time you make an order to use the money you 'earned' as a discount. (For example a nail polish; £4.00 minus £1.70 "discount")
But I don't think I'd like the idea of above either.. because it's still a waste if you aren't planning on ordering something anymore.
Thank you for sharing this and making everyone aware. I keep seeing this on people's blogs and I was going to check it out until I read this post! Based on what I know now, I think I will give it a miss.
ReplyDeleteCatherine x
www.beautyblogbycat.blogspot.com
I was wondering about that. I put 2 orders with ambassador code from one of the bloggers, and never got any gifts. I I was ticked off, and even doublecked that I entered the code correctly but sure not, no free gift like promised.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible! I went to check and it's true their site states that the money doesn't transfer from one month to another. I got 5,7€ of comissions which by google is a tiny bit over 5 pounds and I didn't get my money on PP! I have emailed them and asked what the heck is going on.
ReplyDeleteI won't support them if they won't change anything about it.
I've signed up for there scheme today I was getting excited, but after reading this I'm just gonna delete me account or something!
ReplyDeleteIt's kinda upsetting seeing all these comments, they have no right to do that to people! Ughh greedy pigs! And £5's not even a lot so why can't they roll it to the next month, either way am leaving there program
yes they are greedy, they are happy for bloggers to promote them without being paid its disgusting! they used to sell really good affordable cute makeup in superdrug the nail polishes were £2.50...then they put the prices up to £3.50, then £5 (same size)! How can you double the price of something in a matter of months?! They disapeared for a while 'rebranded' and came back with selling mascaras and eyeliners for £15 each! ridiculous in my mind it's always gonna be that cheap brand from Superdrug NOT high end!
DeleteI got rid of my Eyeko account long time ago and have no interest in joining again they take advantage of bloggers!
ReplyDeleteLiloo also wrote a blogpost about eyeko here:
ReplyDeletehttp://lilooblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/rant-for-perfect-petite-posh-pastel.html
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