Please read our creator and affiliate terms and conditions carefully before you join our program or begin marketing our program. These terms and conditions are written in plain language intentionally avoiding legalese to ensure that they may be clearly understood and followed by affiliates. Each Affiliate is responsible for assuring that its employees, agents and contractors comply with these terms and conditions. Affiliate terms and conditions are subject to change.
Updated 4/30/2024
DEFINITIONS
As used in these terms and conditions: (i) “We”, “us”, or “our” refers to Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc. and our website; (ii) “you” or “your” refers to the Affiliate or Content Creator; (iii) “our website” refers to the Tartar Shield properties located at www.TartarShield.com; (iv) “your website” refers to any websites that you will link to our website; (v) “Program” refers to the Tartar Shield Creator and Affiliate Program.
ENROLLMENT
After receiving your application, we will review your application and notify you of your acceptance or rejection into our Program. Please allow up to 5 business day for your application to be reviewed. We reserve the right to reject any application, however we encourage you to contact us if you feel we have made an incorrect decision. Including all of the websites that you use in your profile will help us make a better decision.
WEBSITE RESTRICTIONS
Your participating website(s) may not:
- Infringe on our or any anyone else’s intellectual property, publicity, privacy or other rights.
- Violate any law, rule or regulation.
- Contain any content that is threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, harmful to minors, or contains nudity, pornography or sexually explicit materials.
- Contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data, or personal information.
- 5. Contain software or use technology that attempts to intercept, divert or redirect Internet traffic to or from any other website, or that potentially enables the diversion of affiliate commissions from another website. This includes toolbars, browser plug-ins, extensions and add-ons.
LINKING TO OUR WEBSITE
Upon acceptance into the Program, links and discount codes to be used in your content will be made available to you through the affiliate interface. Your acceptance in our program means you agree to and abide by the following.
- You will only use linking code obtained from the affiliate interface without manipulation.
- All domains that use your affiliate link must be listed in your affiliate profile.
- Your Website will not in any way copy, resemble, or mirror the look and feel of our Website. You will also not use any means to create the impression that your Website is our Website or any part of our Website including, without limitation, framing of our Website in any manner.
- You may not engage in cookie stuffing or include pop-ups, false or misleading links on your website. In addition, wherever possible, you will not attempt to mask the referring url information (i.e. the page from where the click is originating).
- Using redirects to bounce a click off of a domain from which the click did not originate in order to give the appearance that it came from that domain is prohibited.
If you are found redirecting links to hide or manipulate their original source, your current and past commissions will be voided or your commission level will be set to $0. This does not include using “out” redirects from the same domain where the affiliate link is placed.
PPC GUIDELINES
If you are enrolled in our Program and participate in PPC advertising, you must adhere to our PPC guidelines as follows:
- You may not bid on any of our trademarked terms (which are identified below), including any variations or misspellings thereof for search or content-based campaigns on Google, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook or any other network.
- You may not use our trademarked terms in sequence with any other keyword (i.e. Tartar Shield Coupons or Tartar Shield Promo).
- You may not use our trademarked terms in your ad title, ad copy, display name or as the display url.
- You may not direct link to our website from any Pay Per Click ad or use redirects that yield the same result. Affiliate links must be directed to an actual page on your website.
- You may not bid in any manner appearing higher than Tartar Shield for any search term in position 1-5 in any auction style pay-per-click advertising program
If you automate your PPC campaigns, it is your responsibility to exclude our trademarked terms from your program and we strongly suggest you add our trademarked terms as negative keywords. We have a strict no tolerance policy on PPC trademark bidding. You will forfeit all commissions for a minimum of the past 30 days and your commission will be set to $0 without warning if you engage in PPC trademark bidding that uses our trademarked terms.
Trademarked Terms: Tartar Shield
COUPON GUIDELINES
If you are enrolled in our Program and your Website promotes coupon codes, you must adhere to our Coupon Guidelines as follows:
- You may ONLY advertise coupon codes that are provided to you through the affiliate program.
- Posting any information about how to work around the requirements of a coupon/promotion (ie first time customers only) will result in immediate removal from the program.
- Coupons must be displayed in their entirety with the full offer, valid expiration date and code.
- You may NOT use any technology that covers up the coupon code and generates the affiliate click by revealing the code(s).
- You may NOT advertise coupon codes obtained from any non-affiliate marketing channel, including coupon codes from our email, paid search or any other non-affiliate advertising campaigns.
- You may NOT give the appearance that any ongoing offer requires clicking from your website in order to redeem. For example, if all items on the site have free shipping over $100, you may not turn this into an offer that infers that the customer must click from your site to get this deal.
Additionally, if your website ranks on the first page of Google for terms related to our website or company name(s) combined with the words coupon, coupons, coupon code, promo code, etc. and/or your conversion rate exceeds 25%, you may be offered a lower commission than our standard rate to offset the reduced profitability of orders.
COUPON ATTRIBUTION & AUTHENTICATION
Affiliates whose primary business is posting coupons, who are viewed by the program as being a coupon site, and/or who are tagged as coupon in our system, may not be paid commissions for sales generated without a corresponding valid coupon code. Valid codes are defined as codes that are made available to the affiliate channel in general, through newsletters or the Deals Database in ShareASale, and directly or privately to affiliates.
Coupon codes that are not real, expired, not specific (i.e up to 40% off sale items) or are long-term sitewide offers that do not require a code may not considered valid codes and the affiliate will not be given commission on these orders.
SUB-AFFILIATE NETWORKS
Promoting Tartar Shield through a sub-affiliate network is permitted, however you must be completely transparent with regards to where traffic from your sub-affiliates originated. Sub-affiliate networks must ensure that all sub-affiliates promoting the Tartar Shield program adhere to our program terms and conditions. This includes restrictions on advertising through toolbars, browser extensions, and through any paid placements such as a pay-per-click campaigns. Sub-affiliate networks must also receive approval prior to allowing any type of coupon sub-affiliate to promote the Tartar Shield program.
Failure to comply with our sub-affiliate network terms may result in a loss and/or reduction of commission from sales made through any sub-affiliate that does not comply with our program terms.
DOMAIN NAMES
Use of any of our trademarked terms as part of the domain or sub-domain for your website is strictly prohibited (i.e. tartarshield.website.com or www.tartarshield-coupons.com).
ADVERTISING & PUBLICITY
You shall not create, publish, distribute, or print any written material that makes reference to our Program without first submitting that material to us and receiving our prior written consent. If you intend to promote our Program via e-mail campaigns, you must adhere to the following:
- Abide by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Public Law No. 108-187) with respect to our Program.
- E-mail must be sent on your behalf and must not imply that the e-mail is being sent on behalf of Tartar Shield.
- E-mails must first be submitted to us for approval prior to being sent or we must be sent a copy of the e-mail in both pdf and full HTML code.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Promotion on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms is permitted following these general guidelines:
- You ARE allowed to promote offers to your own lists; more specifically, you’re welcome to use your affiliate links and discount codes on your own Facebook, Twitter, etc. pages. For example: You may post, “20% off sale at Tartar Shield through Wednesday with code TartarShield20.”
- You ARE PROHIBITED from posting your affiliate links on Tartar Shield Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. company pages in an attempt to turn those links into affiliate sales.
- You ARE PROHIBITED from running Facebook ads with Tartar Shield trademarked company name.
- You ARE PROHIBITED from creating a social media account that includes Tartar Shield trademark in the page name and/or username.
OPERATIONS OUTSIDE UNITED STATES
If you are conducting business in other countries, you will follow the laws of those countries. For example, you will comply with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) if you are conducting business in or taking orders from persons in one or more of the European Union countries.
REVERSAL & COMMUNICATION POLICY
Tartar Shield takes pride in its very low reversal rate, which we attribute to open communication with our affiliates. However, we reserve the right to reverse orders due to order cancellations, duplicate tracking, returns, disputed charges, and program violations as outlined in these terms and conditions.
Additionally, if we ask you for clarification or more information on any orders or clicks that we suspect may be in violation of our terms and conditions, we expect that you will respond in a timely and honest manner. Below are violations of our communications policy:
- You are not forthcoming, intentionally vague or are found to be lying.
- You are not responsive within a reasonable time period and after multiple attempts to contact with information listed in your network profile.
- You cannot substantiate or validate the source of your traffic to our program with clear and demonstrable proof.
If any of the above apply, then we reserve the absolute right to reverse orders, set your commission to $0 or suspend you from the program for the period or orders in question. We know that many violations are a result of automated processes; however, it is incumbent upon each affiliate to ensure that it has the appropriate checks and balances in place to pro-actively address these issues and adhere to our program rules.
Independent Contractor Relationship
As a participant in the Tartar Shield Creator and Affiliate Program, you agree to engage with us in the capacity of an independent contractor. This agreement shall not be construed to create any partnership, agency, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc.
Tax Compliance and Responsibilities
You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for the completion and submission of all tax forms and documents required by law. In particular, you are required to complete and submit a W-9 tax form, which can be found on the IRS website (here).
You are also responsible for the payment of all national, federal, and state income tax, social security tax, and any other amounts due under applicable payroll and similar laws with respect to all amounts paid in connection with this Program.
Compensation and Benefits
No part of your compensation under this Program will be subject to withholding by us for the payment of any social security, federal, state, or any other employee payroll taxes. We will report amounts paid to you by filing Form 1099 with the Internal Revenue Service as required by law. As an independent contractor, you are not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits, workers' compensation benefits, pension, bonus, or other fringe benefits from Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc.
By participating in the Tartar Shield Creator and Affiliate Program, you acknowledge and agree to the terms outlined above and confirm your understanding of your status as an independent contractor in relation to Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc.
Updates to Terms & Conditions
We reserve the right to modify these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice. It is your responsibility to regularly review these terms. Any changes will be effective retroactively to the date of the original agreement upon acceptance into our program. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. Please check back often to ensure you are aware of any updates.
Dispute Resolution
In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising from or relating to this agreement or the breach thereof, the parties hereto shall use their best efforts to settle the dispute, claim, question, or disagreement. To this effect, they shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and, recognizing their mutual interests, attempt to reach a just and equitable solution satisfactory to both parties. If they do not reach such solution within a period of 180 days, then, upon notice by either party to the other, disputes, claims, questions, or disagreements shall be settled by arbitration administered by the part of our choosing
Termination
You party may terminate this agreement at any time. We reserves the right to terminate the agreement immediately for any breach of terms and conditions herein or for any activity deemed illegal by prevailing laws, without notice. Upon termination, all outstanding commissions and payments shall be settled in accordance with the terms established herein.
Data Protection
Affiliates agree to comply with all applicable data protection laws regarding the transmission of data exported to or from the United States or the country in which the affiliate resides. Affiliates are obliged to implement all necessary and reasonable measures to safeguard personal data obtained during their participation in our Program.
Limitation of Liability
Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc., us, shall not be liable for any claims related to the affiliate’s, your, participation in the Program, including, without limitation, errors or inaccuracies in tracking referrals or loss of data from malfunction or other technical issues.
Indemnification
The Affiliate, you, agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tartar Shield Pet Products, Inc., and its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners from any claim, suit, action, or administrative proceeding brought against us arising from the Affiliate's participation in the Program or violation of the terms.
Non-Competitive and Content Compliance
You agree not to feature or promote any Tartar Shield, our, products in any content or promotional material that simultaneously features or promotes any competitor’s products that serve as a substitute or alternative to Tartar Shield’s offerings. This is to ensure the distinct marketing and branding of our products without association with competing brands.
Furthermore, affiliates must comply with requests from Tartar Shield Pet Products to take down, remove, or delete any content that we determine, at our discretion, does not abide by this agreement. Failure to comply with such requests in a timely manner will result in immediate termination of the agreement.
Program Operated via Shopify Collabs
Our Affiliate Program is managed on the Shopify Collabs platform, a product of Shopify Inc., located at 151 O’Connor Street, Ground Floor, Ottawa, ON K2P 2L8, Canada. To understand more about Shopify Collabs, visit this link. The terms of service for Shopify Collabs can be found here. We do not monitor or maintain the terms set by Shopify Inc.; it is the responsibility of the affiliate to stay informed of any changes to Shopify’s terms.
FTC DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
You must include a disclosure statement within any and all pages, blog/posts, or social media posts where affiliate links for our affiliate program are posted as an endorsement or review, and where it is not clear that the link is a paid advertisement. This disclosure statement should be clear and concise, stating that we are compensating you for your review or endorsement. If you received the product for free from us or from the affiliate management team for review, this also must be clearly stated in your disclosure.
- Disclosures must be made at the beginning of the claims and may not appear solely in a “Terms of Use”, “Legal”, “About Us” or another linked page.
- Disclosures should be placed above the fold; scrolling should not be necessary to find the disclosure. (e.g. disclosure should be visible before the jump).
- Pop-up, hover state and button disclosures are prohibited.
- Disclosure policy applies to all social media, even when space is restricted (e.g., tweets)
- Disclosures should be made in the same medium as the claim (e.g. video, text)
For more information about FTC disclosure requirements, please review the FTC's "Dot Com Disclosures" Guidelines at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2013/03/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf (example 21) and the FTC's Endorsement Guidelines at http://business.ftc.gov/advertising-and-marketing/endorsements
If you engage in so called “native advertising”, you further agree to comply with the FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/896923/151222deceptiveenforcement.pdf and the related guidelines.
Mutual Acceptance of Agreement
This Agreement shall be considered accepted and effective upon completion of the following two-step acknowledgment process:
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Affiliate’s Agreement Submission: The agreement is acknowledged by the affiliate when they submit their application to join the Tartar Shield Creator and Affiliate Program, either through the Shopify Collabs platform or via any written or verbal application method provided by Tartar Shield Pet Products. Submission of an application constitutes the affiliate's agreement to abide by the terms and conditions outlined herein.
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Tartar Shield’s Formal Acceptance: Formal acceptance and agreement by Tartar Shield Pet Products occur only when an affiliate’s application is reviewed and approved by us. Approval is at the sole discretion of Tartar Shield Pet Products, and this decision is communicated directly to the applicant. Until formal acceptance is granted, there is no binding agreement between the affiliate and Tartar Shield Pet Products.
This dual acceptance process ensures that both parties fully understand and agree to the terms under which they will collaborate, reinforcing a clear and mutual agreement prior to any engagement within the Program.