Product Images and Screenshots from Amazon - The Great Debate
Screenshots
I recently learned that you cannot use screenshots of Amazon customer reviews on your website. I was doing this for months and months thinking it was fine. I have seen other people do the same thing. Apparently it is not alright (at least not with Amazon).
Here is my question and Amazons response on the issue :
ME: I wanted to know if I can take a screenshot of a review from your website and have it on my website within my own personal review. It would be clear that the review was from Amazon. I would then link with a text below my screenshot that says, "Read More Reviews On Amazon" and link to the review page for that product.
AMAZON: We would ask that you do not screen shot any reviews from Amazon.com, as this could be a security issue for our customers. A lot of our customers use their real names. You may paraphrase a review, also with out the customers name.
Ok, so no screenshots from Amazon. I asked another company that I affiliate for if I could take screenshots of reviews from their site and they said yes, so best to ask before you do.
Product Images
This is something that really confuses me. I have heard Jay say that you can use product images from merchants websites. You see these same images used everywhere the product is sold. And yet, you are not allowed to save that image from Amazon and use it on your site ( I find this to be a stupid rule). I don't like to use Amazon's image link because it gets blocked by ad-blockers. Why can't I use what the company provides to it's sellers??
Here is my conversation with Amazon:
ME: I also wanted to know if I can save a product image from your website and use it in a product review. I know that you have image links but they get blocked by ad-blockers and I would rather just use a saved product image. I see these same images on all online retail outlets for the same product so I assume they are owned by the company making the product.
AMAZON: Saving our images is against our operating agreement. That could be a trademark issue if that item can not linked. (please read our operating agreement for more information on which items can and can not be linked). So if possible please use the images from our product linking. You may also advise your customers to turn off the ad blockers.
Prices
In the training we are shown to include a price in our reviews...well this is a no-no with Amazon too!
ME: Can I write the current price in my review or should I leave that out and use a text link that says, "check the current price now".
AMAZON: We would also advise you to not to add prices. It could be very misleading.
So now I have to go through ALL of my product reviews and remove prices, change images and get rid of screenshots. This is going to use up a bunch of time, but I guess I have to do it.
I find it annoying that there is so much conflicting information on the internet about what you can and can't do. Someone really needs to write out Amazon's terms and conditions in plain English and show examples of what we can and cannot do. That would be a valuable resource. If any of you are up for the challange I say DO it!
Recent Comments
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Thanks for sharing this Andrea! If not for this post, I would have certainly used the screenshots .
I agree this is all very confusing and seems to go against logic since we are approved affiliate marketers working to drive Amazon sales.
Regarding product Images I would say this. If you know that the image used on Amazon is plastered all over the internet, including the manufacturer's site, it should be safe to take a screen shot of it (which creates a unique file) then use that on your site. Unless it is unique to Amazon, I don't see how they would be able to determine the image was captured from Amazon's site.
Yah, that is what I figure too...like if it is all over the internet then why can't we use it??
In an affiliate relationship, it is normal to be able to capture an individual product link or banner, but this then display the affiliate. Most affiliate programs don't allow you to copy pictures and deescriptiions, not because of their affilates, but because of people who are not their affiliates who use pictures and script without reference to the owner.
About prices: there are plugins which keep them updated. This is what I am doing, but:
Some very successful people here do not add prices at all. So why are we making problems to ourselves?
I'm not happy with some of the "generic" answers I receive from Amazon helpdesk/customer services, and I often challenge them.
Often when they say "Our Operating Agreement states this", but it doesn't. I email back to say "I can't find the clause, where is it?" (in the nicest way)
I remember the agreement says you can use the product images, you can resize them but they only have to be in the same proportion? (Perhaps you could check)
Customer review screenshots - what they said to you is not mentioned in the agreement either. Perhaps you can ask them if they would allow if you blurred the username out?
Prices - the agreement mentions about outdated prices, but it never ask you not to show the prices at all in your review site?
(Correct me if any of these are wrong....)
It may be worth emailing them back...though I know you may not want to provoke them and risk losing your account.
I find their operating agreement hard to understand. I have read it, and I am still left confused.
Hi Andrea, so their language is hard to follow, imagine how it is at my side, English is not my native.
But thank you for all this. My biggest problem are images. I use screenshots of them all the time. So I have literally over thousand. This is a problem which we cannot solve. I am going to use them regardless what they say.
Ray, I do not save their images because they always have wide margin around which I dislike. So I always cut and paste them by using snipping tool. Am I in trouble with this?
Yeah, I really wonder if I should just leave all my old posts the way they are and just move forward with the new knowledge.
Hi Jovo, I think all it says is;
"You may resize Content consisting of a graphic image in a manner that maintains the original proportions of the image"
https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/participation
So I interpret that snipped image is "content consisting of an image", and you can resize it as long as the shape is not skewed?
I see what you mean, I download the image if I can, but I snip it when it's in a funny format...
So am I!
Whenever I ask them to confirm, they come back within an hour but with a generic answer. I email back 2-3 times to say "that's not what I'm asking / I'm not convinced" (very nicely). They go off for a day or two and give me the final clear answer...
It's not conflicting information. It's Amazon's rules, and what everyone else tries to get away with. Or at least what they do to the best of their understanding from Amazon's lawyer language (assuming they read it in the first place).
If you're an Amazon affiliate, you're agreeing to their rules. At least you're aware enough to ask the questions and make sure you're following them.
Darrel, do not you see the problem here: you cannot copy images, so have to use them through links, but those links are blocked by users. This makes no sense, useless for all sides involved here.
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Hi Dj-drea: I really want to get into this aena because my hobby's are photography and pottery. Knowing this info about Amazon --I don't think i would be able to peacefully co-exist with them. So there you have it!