Affiliate Marketing

Hello all,

I am currently working on a project where we will include fees from affiliate marketing efforts as a major source of revenue.  We are trying to decide  whether to go ahead initially with an Affiliate network, or whether to start our own network from scratch.  Any input on why one would choose a particular route over the other (in-house / through a network)  would be very helpful.  

Also, if anyone knows of any compelling reasons to select LinkShare over SkimLinks or has suggestions for other Affiliate Networks that are as good / better this would be helpful as well.

Finally (i know this is looking to be more of an essay than a question), we're really hoping to look at tracking multiple levels of affiliates in a similar way to what Pinterest has purportedly done with their site, so again, just looking for feedback / experience with any of the networks (or software) that might fulfill these requirements.

Thanks