Submitting products to the affiliate catalog

The submission form, the admin review workflow, how to handle "changes requested," and what gets approved fast.

The submission is a real review

Unlike self-listed catalog products (instant publish), affiliate- listed products go through admin review before they're visible to creators.

The review is mostly about quality control — admin checks photos, descriptions, pricing, and policy compliance. Most submissions clear in 1-3 business days.

This guide is the practical how-to of the submission flow + what gets approved fast vs slow.

The 5 enrollment states

Every affiliate product moves through these states:

Most submissions go: Draft → Pending Review → Approved within 1-3 business days. Some get one round of Changes Requested.

The submission form

Seller Hub → Catalog → + Add to catalog → pick Affiliate- list.

The form is similar to self-listing but with extra fields the program needs.

1. Product type

Pick whether this is:

• A brand-new product (no existing catalog entry).
• An existing catalog product you're converting from self-listed to affiliate.

If converting: most fields are pre-filled from the existing listing. You just confirm and add the affiliate-specific ones.

2. Photos (5-10 required)

Affiliate products need stronger photo standards than basic catalog products:

• At least 5 photos (vs 3 minimum for basic catalog).
• Multiple angles (front, back, side, detail).
• In-use shots (someone wearing the dress, the boda part installed, the food being eaten).
• High resolution (at least 1000×1000 pixels).
• No watermarks or text overlays.
• No celebrity / stock images.

Why stricter: creators need good visual material for their videos. A product with weak photos is hard to promote, so creators skip it. Admin enforces the photo bar so the catalog stays attractive.

3. Product name and description

• Name: up to 100 characters. Specific.
• Description: detailed. Cover what it is, what it's made of, what comes with it, who it's for. Aim for 100-300 words.

A common mistake: short descriptions ("Beautiful dress."). Admin will request changes if the description doesn't give creators (or buyers) enough to work with.

4. Category and product class

Pick the most specific category. For brand-new products you may also need to pick a product class (defines the variant schema).

If you're new to product classes, the affiliate flow walks you through it. Common classes:

• Clothing → has size + color variants.
• Electronics → has model + capacity variants.
• Food → has size + flavor variants.
• Single-variant items → no variants needed.

5. Variants (if applicable)

If your product has variants (sizes, colors), add each one with:

• The variant's specific attribute (size = M, color = burgundy).
• Its own stock count.
• Its own SKU (optional but recommended for your inventory tracking).

The same commission rate applies to all variants of a product. You can't set different commissions for different sizes.

6. Pricing

The price for each variant in UGX.

For affiliate products, price stability matters. Creators promoting at one price expect that price to hold. Don't list a high price expecting to discount it — list at the price you intend to sell at.

If you need to change prices later, there's an admin-approval workflow (see Price changes).

7. Commission rate

The percentage of the sale (after platform fee) that goes to the creator who drove the sale.

• Minimum: 2%.
• Maximum: 30%.
• Default: pre-filled from your shop's default.

This is the single most important field for creator pickup. See Setting commission rates for strategy.

8. Delivery zones for this product

You can set per-product delivery zones (separate from your shop's default).

If your shop normally only ships within Kampala but this specific product can ship nationally via bus, set the affiliate listing's zones accordingly. Creators promoting it can then assure their audience that nationwide delivery works.

See Delivery zones.

9. Submission notes (optional)

A free-text field where you can tell admin anything that might affect the review:

• "This is a re-submission of [previous SKU] with updated photos."
• "First product I'm submitting — let me know if anything needs improvement before I submit more."
• "Limited edition, only 10 units available."

Admin reads this. It often shortens the review back-and-forth.

10. Submit for review

Tap Submit for review. The product moves to Pending review state. You get a confirmation push.

What admin reviews

The review checks:

1. Photos meet the standard

Sharp, multiple angles, in-use shots, no watermarks. Most rejections or change requests are photo-related.

2. Description is complete and honest

Doesn't oversell, doesn't lie, gives enough detail. "Made in Uganda" should be true. "Premium materials" should match the photos.

3. Pricing is sensible

Not absurdly low (suspicious) or high. Aligned with comparable items in your category.

4. Category and class are correct

Right category, right variants if applicable.

5. Policy compliance

Not a counterfeit, not prohibited, not misleading. Same content policies as basic product uploads — see Community Guidelines.

6. Your shop's standing

Admin checks your shop's recent history (penalty tier, dispute patterns). Slow-tier shops face stricter review; healthy shops get faster approval.

What happens when admin requests changes

You get a notification: "Your affiliate product submission requires changes. Open to see details."

Open the product. The detail page shows:

• A red banner: "Changes requested."
• Admin's specific notes — what they want fixed.
• Common examples:
• "Photos 3 and 4 are blurry. Please replace with sharper shots."
• "Description doesn't mention the included accessory shown in photo 5. Add details."
• "Commission rate of 30% combined with low product price seems unsustainable — please confirm or revise."

How to fix and resubmit

1. Open the product.
2. Tap Edit and resubmit.
3. Make the changes admin requested.
4. Optionally reply to the notes in the submission notes field ("Replaced photos 3 and 4, also retook photo 5 for higher quality").
5. Tap Resubmit for review.

The product goes back to Pending review. Resubmissions usually clear in 1 business day (faster than first submissions because admin already knows the context).

What happens on rejection

Rare. Rejection happens when:

• The product is prohibited (counterfeit, illegal item).
• The shop is suspended or in serious penalty.
• The same product was previously rejected and you re-submitted without addressing the reason.

Rejected products show a red Rejected banner with admin's notes. You can't directly resubmit — to try again, you'd need to fix the root issue (admin policy, your standing) and create a new submission.

How long do approvals take?

If approval takes longer than 7 business days with no admin response, email support@kampalasnap.com.

Tracking your submissions

Seller Hub → Catalog → Pending tab shows all your in-flight submissions with their state. You can see at a glance:

• What's awaiting review.
• What's been approved.
• What needs your changes.

A common pattern — submit 3-5 at once

Many successful affiliate sellers don't drip-submit one product at a time. They submit 3-5 products in a batch, wait for admin to clear them all (usually 1-3 days), then submit the next batch.

Why: batching makes the admin workflow easier on their end, and they're more inclined to approve clean batches quickly. Constantly drip-submitting can feel scattered to admin.

Common questions

Can I edit a product while it's pending review?

You can edit, but the edit re-triggers the review clock. If you edit substantially during a review, admin restarts from scratch. Better: wait for the review to finish, then edit if needed.

Can I submit the same product twice?

Each catalog product is unique — you can't have two listings of the exact same item. But you can list variants as separate products (different sizes / colors as their own catalog entries).

What if I have many products to submit?

Submit in batches of 3-5. Admin appreciates batch quality over volume. Trying to submit 50 at once just slows everything down.

Do affiliate products show up on my shop page?

Yes — both in your shop's catalog section and in the shared catalog. Customers don't see "affiliate" labels; they just see your products at the prices you listed.

What if the product is already self-listed?

You can convert it. Open the self-listed product → Edit → toggle to Affiliate-list → re-submit for review. The product enters the review queue. Once approved, the self-listed version is replaced by the affiliate version.

Converting back from affiliate to self-listed triggers the 30-day lock window (see Opting out).

What if admin asks for changes but I disagree?

Reply to the change notes with your reasoning. "Photo 3 is the same quality as my approved photos on past products — can you clarify what specifically needs to change?" Admin reviews on appeal. They sometimes reverse if the original reviewer made a borderline call.

What's next

• Setting commission rates — fill the most important field on the form thoughtfully.
• Price changes — for after approval, when you want to change the price.