Michael Morgan

What’s the worst thing that could happen to an affiliate site whose revenue comes from selling cases for the iPhone? Well, it’s happened to me. Due to the signal issues with the iPhone 4 Apple have decided that they will now provide free bumper cases to those who have or are about to purchase an iPhone 4. On top of that they are also offering a full refund to all customers who have previously purchased a bumper case from Apple.

I’ve seen the effects of this with one of my affiliate sites right away and have watched sales figures plummet since the announcement was made. Sure, my site may not be affiliated with the official bumper case product but who’s going to buy an iPhone case if Apple are handing them out for free? There may be the occasional iPhone owner who wants something different than what Apple is offering and may go ahead and purchase their own but this has put myself and many other iPhone accessory affiliates at a disadvantage which will likely cost quite a bit in affiliate sales.

I guess it’s time to concentrate my SEO efforts on alternative products.