What is Vendor?

Vendor is the usual name for the seller on platforms such as 2Checkout and other software marketplaces. It is the same role as a merchant or advertiser: the vendor owns the product, sets the price and decides the commission and cookie window.

On a marketplace, the affiliate joins the platform once and then applies to individual vendors. Each vendor approves affiliates on its own, so you may be accepted by one software company and still wait for another.

Example: an antivirus developer sells licences through a payment processor. It is the vendor; the processor handles the checkout, tracks affiliate sales and pays the commission.