To ensure you have the correct affiliate id's the best way to do it is to generate a merchant link via the network itself, and you will see your AFFILIATEID in the URL as follows..
Avantlink: (We require both the AFFILIATEID and SITEID, however only the SITEID is used in the links) http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=ml&ti=PROGRAMID&pw=SITEID
Each network may have their own references to such as AFFILIATE ID, PROGRAM ID and MERCHANT ID, but to keep them all uniform across the board we stick to a universal name for each, this is why we recommend you find the details from within the built affiliate links to ensure you add the correct details into our system.
Linkshare's AFFILIATEID is an 9+ characterset (not a 7 digit number.. that is your site id and not used in links)
For Avantlink we require both the AFFILIATEID and SITEID entered in the form AFFILIATEID/SITEID within your login area.