Maplin & custom deeplink formats

[authcode]

I've just found out that Maplin uses a custom link structure that isn't compatible with the standard AW link structure that I've been using to build outgoing links from my sites.

I'm sure a lot of people use a goto.php to mask their outgoing links and hide their affiliate IDs etc. etc. so how do people handle cases like Maplin where they insist on using their own format for links?

I currently build a link out of the merchant ID and the product ID (if available) but I don't know how to use this for Maplin (I can't even find out what their link structure is - all their account page says is don't use the deeplink generator).

Does anyone know of any other special/annoying cases like this and as a topic starter should all merchants be forced to provide a standard linking method?

[Confuscius]

Hi Steve

I only use the standard Shop Window goto routine and sales seem to be tracked OK - over the last few weeks I have recorded 17 sales, 2 paid, 14 approved and 1 pending and zero declined (other merchants please note that zero!). So it seems the standard SW format works, see:

http://www.shopwindow.com/category.php?c=&m=1256 and the buy links follow the normal : goto.php?p=488603&a=XXXX&m=1256

So it seems that DigiWin need to confirm that this linking does in fact work and then they ought to rewrite the info on the Maplin Merchant page to make it clear to everyone how links should be built.

Paul

[authcode]

Thanks Paul.

When I first looked at the client goto script and the links it created I couldn't figure out why it took over 100 lines of code to do what I did in 8. But of course I didn't realise that the link structure wasn't standardised!

The client goto takes all the parameters and does additional look ups to get the deeplink from the feed, whereas I create it from scratch wrongly assuming every merchant used the same format (i.e. redirecting through AW).

In light of the Maplin problem I'm obviously going to have to revisit my goto script although I'd much prefer the deeplink format to standardised.