AFE Partners FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What do I need in order to be an AFE Partner?
A. You need an open AFE Trade Account, and a website with sufficient space and bandwidth to handle the images for the AFE products you wish to sell.
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Q. Will this slow down my website?
A. The actual online transaction is done on the AFE website, your site merely hosts images of your chosen products, which contain an embedded link to the AFE e-commerce site. We’ll provide the images in a medium-size, medium-resolution JPEG format, so you can reduce them in size or compress the files further using any of the usual image manipulation software products, to a size and format that suits you best. The speed of your site should not be affected, but customers using a dial-up connection may find that the images take a little time to load, if you don’t compress them to a small size.
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Q. So why don’t you provide small images automatically?
A. The images we provide come directly from the data store on our website. We upload images in a variety of sizes and resolutions, depending on what is appropriate for the product, and sometimes depending on what is available from the source of the image. Mostly, we use medium or high-resolution images and this can be important because often our customers will benefit from viewing a detailed picture before purchase. Our website automatically generates small thumbnail files from these images, to keep our site running smoothly and quickly, after all you don’t want to wait while your browser downloads high-resolution images of products which don’t interest you. These thumbnails are of limited value as a sales aid, however, so we prefer to provide the bigger file, and let our Partners decide on the best format for their own purposes.
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Q. I don’t have an AFE Trade Account, what do I do?
A. Download this form complete it and submit it back to the address on the form. We’ll undertake to have your account up and running as quickly as possible, assuming you meet the qualifying criteria.
Alternatively, call us, or email us and we’ll send you our Trade Account pack, which is filled with useful information and advice for AFE Trade Account customers. There are certain Terms & Conditions relating to AFE Trade accounts, we recommend you make sure you are familiar with them before you sign-up.
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Q. So, how do I qualify for an AFE Trade account?
A. You’ll need to have a business which re-sells the sort of pilot supplies and flying training equipment we provide, to your own customers. There is then a genuine requirement for a trade-discounted account, to give you an appropriate profit margin on the sales.
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Q. I have an aviation business, but I don’t sell pilot supplies, can I still become an AFE Partner?
A. The main reason for opening an AFE Trade account is the one we give, above. That means that flying clubs & schools, gliding clubs, pilot shops and other similar businesses will meet this qualifying requirement almost automatically. Other aviation businesses, such as engineering facilities, FBOs, charter and air-taxi operators and other related companies will often qualify, provided they are buying the equipment to re-sell.
We always consider applications on their own merits, not merely applying an arbitrary set of rules. The restrictions are simply intended to prevent individuals opening a trade facility and obtaining discounts on personal purchases which they are not entitled to. We will make the normal background verification and credit checks from information supplied on the account application form.
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Q. Can I become an AFE Partner without opening an AFE Trade account?
A. Any commission earned through your AFE Partners facility is credited to your AFE trade account and can be used to make other purchases, or offset outstanding invoices. Without an open Trade account therefore, there is no mechanism for getting your commission to you.
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Q. So, how much commission can I expect?
A. Commission levels are set at 5%, 10% and 20%. The commission varies, according to the type of product being purchased. Hardware such as GPS equipment, Headsets, Transceivers, and most Software, e.g. simulators etc. will attract levels of discount of typically 5%, Charts and other third-party products, e.g. books from publishers and producers other than AFE, will normally get 10% and AFE products, e.g. AFE branded textbooks, logbooks, checklists, navigation equipment, flight cases, flight guides and so-on will get up to 20% commission.
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Q. How do I know how much commission I’m due?
A. The website automatically estimates commission from parameters we set in the software. This is stored as a file against your account, and you can view the current total online, via the secure login you’ll be given once your Partners scheme is activated. Sometimes, we may need to make adjustments, for example it may not always be possible to assign a particular level of commission to a specific product, or group of products. In those cases, we’ll try to make sure the figure displayed online under-estimates rather than over-estimates the level of commission. The commission is accounted for quarterly, and the credit note we apply to your account will itemise the level of sales and commission earned in that quarter.
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Q. Remind me, how do I get my commission?
A. We issue a credit note, on a quarterly basis, to your AFE Trade account. If your account has any outstanding invoices which are due, you can use this just like any other credit note, to offset your account balance and reduce the amount you have to pay to settle your account. If your account has no outstanding balance, this will put it in credit and you can use the funds against other purchases.
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Q. Can I ask for the commission to be paid to me instead of credited to my account?
A. No. We can’t issue cash refunds, sorry. This is mainly to keep administrative costs down, so we can keep commission levels high. Credit balances will be left on your account for as long as the account is open, so you can draw on them at any time against purchases. They don’t expire, in other words. If you have an AFE Trade account, the expectation is that you’ll have a regular requirement for purchases from AFE, so the regular quarterly commission will come in handy.
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Q. OK, I’m convinced, how do I start?
A. Click here
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