These terms were updated January 21, 2021.
Out of the Sandbox welcomes agencies and freelance designers to participate in our Shopify Theme affiliate program.
I'm an agency or freelancer. How can I sell my clients themes?
In order to refer a client and be eligible to collect commission, you must send your client your affiliate link and let them know what theme to purchase.
They should use their own name, email and payment information when making the purchase.
Please be sure to review the notes about registration and discount codes below.
Note that your client must purchase the theme from our website (outofthesandbox.com) and not the Shopify Theme Store (themes.shopify.com).
Once a client purchases the theme, have them forward the download link to you. We also recommend requesting a copy of the receipt showing the itemized list of the theme purchase and total order amount for your records so that, if any licensing issues come up, you can help your client respond.
Am I allowed to buy on behalf of my clients?
No. Your client must enter their personal information and own payment information during checkout.
If you would like to purchase themes on behalf of your clients, we recommend you apply to join our Themes Partner Program. This program is designed to offer discounts to customers who purchase multiple theme licenses at once. Please note that you may not be a part of both the Affiliate Program and the Partner Program. Send an email to affiliates@pixelunion.net if you have questions.
How is the theme registered?
We also recommend that agencies and freelancers download and install our Theme Updater App and complete the registration process on behalf of clients once a theme is purchased.
Remember to use the email address used to make the purchase.
Do I have to use my affiliate link?
Yes. If you want to earn commission on your client's purchase you must use your tracking link.
Some agencies may be concerned about sharing an affiliate link and ask for another way to track conversions but we are unable to honor these requests.
If you are concerned about sending your client an affiliate link, you may want to consider using a URL shortener on your affiliate link or create a redirect on your site (such as yourdomain.com/themes) that forwards users to your affiliate link.
Please be aware, however, the redirects and URL shorteners may affect affiliate tracking codes and we cannot be responsible for clicks on your links that remove or alter your affiliate tag. Please enter your code carefully and verify that, after it is clicked, the ?rfsn= tag remains on the end of the URL in full on the first page.
Also note that in most cases, shortened URLs will still expand to reveal some type of tracking code and you must ask your client to click a specific link.
If you prefer not to do this, then our affiliate program may not be suited for your business. We are unable to provide any alternative tracking methods besides your unique link.
I'm an agency or designer and keep having issues with my referrals tracking
Most tracking issues are related to either browser privacy settings or discount code searches during the checkout process.
However, if you continue to have issues with conversions not tracking, please note that we cannot manually credit your account for missed conversions.
If you continue to have these issues, you may want to consider increasing your professional service fees slightly to anticipate for improper tracking issues. For example, since a commission on a $180 theme is about $30, consider increasing your fees by about that amount.
You can still continue to use your affiliate link and if the client makes the purchase and it is tracked, then you'll get a slight uptick in cashflow both from the client and our approved commission. However if tracking proves to be a challenge, you can still collect the revenue you invoiced the client since that is outside of the affiliate tracking system.
Important notes about discount codes
We encourage you to share your unique affiliate discount code with your client, which saves them 10% off their theme purchase and ensures you still earn your commission.
However, please note that we strongly recommend that you advise your clients against searching for any other discount codes during the checkout process.
Searching for discount codes, even if a code isn't used, can cause your referral to be credited to another affiliate — and we can't adjust your account if this happens.