"woefully uneducated" indeed. why didn't he tell the affiliate network "no coupon sites, no trademark bidding, and approval required for all new affiliates."
Those are three of the most utterly basic things any new affiliate program would do.
His real complaints should be that he lacks knowledge in this area, didn't hire people who have it, and got poor customer service from his affiliate program.
He could've easily shut down all of that activity or even experimented with it in a controlled fashion with select affiliates, getting near-immediate feedback and optimizing (or then deciding against it).
Those are three of the most utterly basic things any new affiliate program would do.
His real complaints should be that he lacks knowledge in this area, didn't hire people who have it, and got poor customer service from his affiliate program.