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Overall: 
Commission Junction is a veritable behemoth in the affiliate marketing industry with products and relationships reaching into every corner of the Internet marketing world. For affiliates who sign up for one (or many) of the hundreds of affiliate programs offered through Commission Junction at any given time, the size and prominence of Commission Junction can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, you have access to many exclusive offers and a truly top-notch technology platform, on the other hand if you are a new affiliate you can get lost easily. As an affiliate, you have to be selective when using Commission Junction because some commission rates are much more appealing than others. Always keep in mind that Commission Junction is an affiliate network, the consummate "middleman," so you will often be able to achieve higher commission rates if you go directly to the merchants. We also take issue with the way Commission Junction issues payments: not fast enough and with more hassle than we need.
Ease of Use:
Reviewing Commission Junction on the basis of ease of use feels a bit silly. Is an F-22 Raptor fighter jet easy to use? No, but it is an amazing technology. As an affiliate, think of Commission Junction as the F-22 Raptor of affiliate marketing: tough to learn, but incredibly powerful. Our recommendation for newer affiliates, when signing up with Commission Junction, is to use 1-3 merchants for your first efforts, and spend time learning how to use the Commission Junction system and tools. Staying focused and not trying to do everything at once is a must for new CJ affiliates.
Reputation/Security: 
Founded all the way back in 1998, Commission Junction is part of ValueClick, one of the first Internet marketing companies in the world to really hit it big with performance-based marketing. The idea that marketing and advertising could finally, FINALLY be directly tied to sales and measurable in terms of return-on-investment was a revelation, and ValueClick / Commission Junction has been an integral part of turning that revelation into reality. When you work with CJ, you can expect the best technology, reams of actionable data, and just plain all-around professionalism.
Customer Service:
Since we mainly cater to new and intermediate affiliates, it's difficult for us to highly rate the affiliate support department at Commission Junction. Yes, the company has a large staff of affiliate support reps, and yes these affiliate support reps know what they're talking about, but again, just due to the sheer size of this company, any affiliate who is not generating significant commissions will naturally be prioritized a little bit differently than the thousands of highly successful affiliates / publishers on which Commission Junction is focused. If you are the kind of affiliate who needs hand-holding, CJ and you may not be a match made in heaven.
Commission Rate: 
As with any affiliate marketing network, the commission rates depend on what merchant you are talking about; different merchants will offer different commission rates. At Commission Junction, you will find a wide variety of merchants offering a wide variety of commission payment rates. Some pay per lead generated, some pay per sale, and others pay per thousand impressions (i.e. like a more traditional advertiser). For most cost per action (CPA) programs, Commission Junction gives a high commission of 50-90 percent. However, some of the global brands that use CJ, for instance TurboTax, pay relatively low commission rates because everyone wants to work with them and they don't have to pay more. Remember that Commission Junction charges a middleman fee, so you may want to check with the merchants in question if they have a direct affiliate program that may offer a higher commission rate than the ones posted to CJ.com.
Ease of Commission Payment: 
If you ever want to work with an affiliate partner that really would prefer not to pay you and will make it hard for you to collect your earnings, Commission Junction is an excellent choice. Whether it's denying your application, de-activating your account, or delaying your payment because it doesn't meet the monthly minimum, few affiliate programs will give you more hassle than CJ when it comes time for you to get paid. Unless you are marked as an "important" affiliate, then you will get paid in full and quickly.
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